Go to Ireland but not to Trinity Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

While the academic rigor at Trinity was less than that of my home university for most of the term, the intensity picked up around finals, as finals amounted to between 70-80% of my grades. I did not mind the intensity, but I was extremely disappointed by the lack of resources available for visiting students. In my experience, professors did not articulate the form of the exams and did not answer emails. In addition, there were large inconsistencies that proved troubling. Online, it said that one of my exams was an hour and a half, yet in the exam hall the proctor said the exams were all three hours. I checked with three proctors in the exam hall, who all said the exam was three hours. The proctors then took the exam away after an hour and forty minutes. It turns out that, out of the many exams being tested in the same exam hall, one exam was meant to be an hour and a half yet the proctors were unaware. This created a very stressful and unfair testing environment. One of the proctors at the exam hall helped me file an official complaint, and I also submitted an email, yetI never got any sort of response. Unfortunately, I had many experiences like the one described above while at Trinity.

On-site administration of your program

The members of the IFSA-Butler staff were very helpful in addressing any problem that came up or finding you the appropriate resources to address your problem. However, I was incredibly disappointed with the administration of Trinity College itself. In many ways I felt like a "visiting student" at Trinity was not considered a legitimate student. I was given a "temporary ID card" that would not grant access to the 24 hour computer room in the library as well as other amenities. Also, registering for classes was difficult, and often emails, from me or other IFSA students, would go unanswered or be answered weeks after the fact.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Our housing was wonderful. I lived in an apartment complex with many other IFSA students. It was very clean, and I always felt very safe. While I would have enjoyed the opportunity to live with local students, it was nice to be with exchange students who were acclimating at the same time.

We had a kitchen in our apartment and were responsible for cooking our own food. Trinity does not have a meal plan, but I enjoyed making my own meals.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

While I felt I was living the Dublin lifestyle, I found it much easier to meet exchange and Erasmus students than students at the university. Many of the students live at home in or outside of Dublin and just came to campus for the classes and most students would go home on weekends. Also, it was difficult to join student clubs in the spring for I had missed training sessions/auditions held in the fall.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I had no health issues while away.

Dublin is a great city, and I hardly ever felt unsafe.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Dublin is an expensive city, but cooking your own meals and planning ahead can help you stay on budget.

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• being in Dublin

• communication with visiting students