Popular college courses: what you wish you had asked at the open day but forgot
Find out the inside scoop from current students from some popular courses (and some recent graduates)! Below is a collection of informal interviews with college students answering your burning questions about their course, how they got there and what they are thinking about for the future. We hope to expand this with more popular courses.
Please research your courses carefully using the CAO handbook, college prospectus and other relevant official sources. All views belong to the individual students and do not represent any advice or the views of the respective colleges or 625 points.
Biomedical Health and Life Sciences UCD
Law and Political Science TCD
Mathematics and Statistics Edinburgh
Midwifery NUIG
Law NUIG
Psychology DCU
Graduate entry Medicine UL
Commerce and French UCC
European Studies TCD
Human Health and Disease TCD
Law DCU
Medicine TCD
Law Maynooth
Actuarial and Financial Studies UCD
Medicine RCSI
Veterinary Medicine UCD
Biological and Biomedical Sciences TCD
Economics and Finance UCD
Primary Teaching DCU
General Nursing TCD
Education and Psychology in Mary Immaculate College
Primary Teaching in Mary Immaculate College
Physiotherapy UCD
Biomedical health and life sciences UCD
1. What is it like day to day?
We don’t have as many hours as other science degrees, but they can be spread out over the day with big gaps meaning you could be in 9-5 but only have 3 lectures.
On an average week we would have 15 hours of lectures and labs and tutorials, but they are not every week. I also got lucky that I had my labs on a Tuesday, but many others had them on a Friday when we only had one lecture. This meant I frequently had Fridays off which allowed me to maintain a part time job and a social life.
Also, the gaps between lectures gives plenty of time to go for coffees with classmates or engage in the many extracurricular activities on offer in UCD.
The workload is manageable enough, you sometimes get a week where you might have multiple practicals which makes it a busy week but then you also get quieter weeks.
2. Is there Erasmus?
The course is small, so Erasmus options are limited. As of now the only options are to go the University of Nottingham in 3rd year or complete your research project in final year in Lund, Sweden.
3. Is neuroscience part of the course?
Yes, it’s covered in parts in some of the 1st year modules and you can take it as an optional module after 1st year, however it’s important to note that in this course you don’t major in one particular area, we all graduate with the same degree, so if you wanted to do only neuroscience the best way to do that would be through a common entry to science course like the one in UCD.
I personally like the broad nature of biomed and that we don’t have to specialise, but that’s a personal preference.
4. Is it research heavy?
The goal of this course is to train scientists at the interface of science and medicine, to become translational researchers. This means the ultimate goal is to conduct research with the aim of improving patient care. There is a module dedicated to this in 1st year, in which you conduct 3 group projects researching translational research and we got talks from principal investigators on their work in the field. This module is the most research heavy in 1st year, and the rest are mainly learning. Final year is very research focused as that is when you undertake a research project.
5. What are the career options after this course?
The majority of students will pursue research-based careers and go on to do a master’s or PhD. This course is also very popular with people looking to do medicine, and having biomed as a foundation would leave you well equipped to study graduate medicine.
As science is a rapidly evolving and diverse field, there are many things you could do, which are not necessarily limited to research. For example, you could go into a biotech company.
6. Could this be a potential alternative if I couldn’t get pharmacy?
I think it could be, we study a lot of chemistry and spend time learning about drugs. There are also a few pharmacology modules as we have cross-over with both the medicine students and the general science/pharmacology students.
7. This course appears not to be CORU registered. Is that a potential drawback?
Yes, this course would not qualify you to work in a hospital lab upon completion. The aim of this course is more research focused, so that’s up to the individual to decide what kind of scientist they want to be.
If you were absolutely sure that you wanted to work in a diagnostic lab then it could be a potential drawback. If you weren’t sure, you could do this course as it is very broad and then do a master’s that qualifies you with CORU.
My advice if you are filling out CAO now is not to be too concerned with what job you’ll end up with, when you come to college there are many possibilities you learn about and if you are genuinely interested in a course, you can’t go too far wrong
8. Do you need HPAT or higher level maths?
HPAT is not required, I don’t think higher maths is explicitly required however the last couple of year the points have been over 600. We also have to do physics for first year which does require a knowledge of maths (but not LC physics if you haven’t done it).
Law and Political Science TCD
Mathematics and Statistics Edinburgh University
Midwifery NUIG
What made you choose Midwifery? Could you explain what the job is going to be like when you are finished?
Midwifery is a very rewarding course that has a balance of practical, hands-on and meaningful work. I chose this course as I always had an interest in obstetrics and gynaecology. I wanted to be able to provide care, respect and compassion for patients, especially during their time of transition to parenthood.
When I finish this course, I will be qualified to help monitor, examine and diagnose women during and after their pregnancy. With a multidisciplinary team, I will assist in deciding whether the mother’s care will need to be escalated. I will also be supervising and assisting women during labour and monitoring the baby, making sure that I can provide the safest birth for both the mother and baby.
Like many other courses such as Nursing, Midwifery students are advised to further their education after their undergraduate degree. If they wish, Graduates can go on to study masters in many different routes such as Advanced nursing practice, Neonatal, Nurse/Midwife Medicinal product prescribing, Medical Ultrasound, Clinical Midwife specialists, Preparation for birth & Parenthood facilitation, Recognition and Care for the acutely ill woman in maternity services, lactation consultants, etc.
With experience, you can choose to specialise in working permanently in one setting or decide to go into an educational, research or management roles. You could also move into different professions, including independent Midwifery, health visiting, neonatal nursing or even volunteering.
Direct entry midwifery vs nursing and then Midwifery – how did you decide?
I always knew that I wanted to go down the road of obstetrics, therefore, there was no reason for me to go through the nursing then midwifery route. What I would recommend is to look through all the different types of nursing, look at what attracts you the most and make a list. If the list is long, then perhaps you are better off going down the nursing route as it will give you time to explore these options. If not and Midwifery is the only thing that is attracting you, then I’d recommend going straight into it. Do what makes you happy! If Midwifery isn’t what you expected it to be, don’t be afraid to change course. The majority of colleges allow you to change course at the beginning of first year. From my own experience, I can tell you picking a course is not easy, so don’t worry if it doesn’t work out and live up to the expectations!
What is your typical day like?
I am in first year at the moment, so I haven’t gone on clinical placement just yet. Since Covid isn’t allowing us to be on campus as much, a typical day of online-lectures will usually last from 9 am until 4-5 pm, depending on the day. At the moment, I have four different modules: Bioscience, Foundations to midwifery practice, an Introduction to the profession of midwifery and Anatomy, Physiology and applied skills of midwifery practice.
Bioscience is very similar to Leaving Cert Biology, just slightly more in detail. We have covered topics like genetics, the autonomic nervous system and the cell. It is not a requirement in NUIG to do Biology for this course. Still, I would highly recommend doing it as it helps. Chemistry is not needed as much, but I found it really helped me in the biochemistry and medication calculations side of the course.
Do you spend much time in lectures, or is it more like tutorials and workshops?
It really just depends on the module, Bioscience is definitely the heaviest content-wise, we could have up to 7 lectures a week in this module whereas in Anatomy, Physiology and applied skills of midwifery practice we would generally have 2 live lectures a week.
Lectures can vary from in length from 15 minutes to an hour-long depending on the module and topic. There are several required workshops that must be done before going on clinical placement. During Covid, we have been on campus around 4 times for these workshops.
What are the assignments like?
I have only had one assignment so far. It was a 2000-word essay on the principles of Midwifery. The rest of our modules have been examined through MCQ (multiple choice question) exams.
Was there anything that surprised you about the course after you started?
How much I would love it! I love how the course is split into three different sides: Scientific, Manual/ hands-on,and interpersonal. There is a great balance between the three, which makes the course very interesting and rewarding.
So many sources say that the pay is bad and working conditions are so tough, it’s putting me off from applying. Any advice?
I wish I could say they were lying but, the truth is that Midwifery is an extremely demanding occupation, the hours are long and at the moment the pay does not reflect the work, but hopefully, this will be resolved in the coming years as it is a subject that has been frequently the topic of conversation in the Dáil in recent months. There are many pros and cons to a career in healthcare. Midwifery is a challenging yet gratifying and rewarding job. It is also an extraordinary job that is exciting and diverse; in Midwifery, your role is one that reaches all aspects of people’s lives.
Law NUIG
What is the workload like? Is it time-consuming?
Workload is intense enough as there’s a lot of ground to cover. You need to do a lot of external reading to get a good grasp on the different doctrines of law and knowledge of cases is absolutely essential. All very time consuming.
What are the job prospects like at the moment? Are there other opportunities besides the solicitor/barrister route?
There are loads of career options but to be honest very few of my class who I graduated with are in employment related to their college qualification which is disappointing given the time and effort put into getting the degree in Legal Studies. The solicitor and barrister route is an ultimate goal for so many law students, but for some it is totally unattainable. My boyfriend is currently studying for his FE1’s which just started on 5th March. In order to study for your FE1’s you ideally need to be studying full time meaning you will ultimately have no income which is a real deterrent for many people. The effort that goes into FE1’s preparation is beyond comprehension and that is coming from someone who studied law as an undergrad and came out with an honours degree. It is a very tough career to be in; spending four years in college, then two years trying to do your FE1’s then start your few years in Blackhall. About 8 years before you start earning money and even at that you start out at the bottom barely making above minimum wage; that’s the toughest part. It is a real pity because law is such an interesting field.
What aspect do you find most challenging?
Searching for different cases can take a long time as there can be multiple cases with similar or the same names.
What makes the NUIG course different to other Law courses?
NUIG have a good approach to teaching law in that you have lots of tutorials where interacting and sharing ideas is key. Moot courts and group projects were a great way to get a real clinical feel to what working in a real life legal career is like.
NUIG offers a general legal studies course through the Arts department which is the broadest law degree the university has to offer, in my opinion. You get everything from criminal to tort and everything in between. There is also Civil Law, Law in Commerce, etc on offer in NUIG.
Do you do much placement?
Placement is plentiful and is entirely up the student themselves. I know some people who went as far away as America and others stayed locally in Galway and Limerick. It’s personal preference.
What is the female/male ratio like?
I graduated in 2018 and my class was roughly 50:50 which was a great mix.
What type of person does Law suit?
You need to be so hardworking to achieve good grades in law. It takes a lot of time and patience. A tough course but so rewarding. Definitely recommend.
Psychology DCU
How many hours do you have in a week? Do you have time for a social life?
For both the first and second semester of my first year I have had 6 modules, each with a 2 hour lecture every week. Along with that we have tutorials and practicals, which are usually one hour and take place every second week typically, but some are weekly depending on the module. Like any course, there is a decent workload and I’m sure it will only increase in time, but with proper time management of course a social life is possible! I also manage to work weekends, and at first I found it exhausting, but, once you establish a routine, it is absolutely manageable.
Do you need to have done a science subject to do well in this course?
While it’s not an entry requirement for the course, I feel as though having done a science subject for the Leaving Cert is a huge advantage, both biology and chemistry in particular. You will not be able to avoid the science involved in the course, so an interest in the brain from all aspects, both biological and psychological is extremely important!
Do you find it off-putting that it takes so long to get fully qualified – and is it almost necessary to do a masters afterwards?
If you want to go on and become a counsellor, a minimum of a masters is required. To be a psychologist and work in a clinical setting, you must go on and do a PhD, so yes it is a long road – if that is the road you’re hoping to take.
However, if it is something you genuinely want to do, I wouldn’t let the time it will take put you off. It’s for good reason that in order to work in a clinical setting you have to have such extensive experience behind you, as you would be working with people at their most vulnerable. In saying that, psychology is so broad and it is almost impossible to think of a career in which understanding people and how they behave wouldn’t be of benefit, so there are many different directions you could head after the degree!
Is there much practical experience as part of the course?
During our third year we will undertake an INTRA placement for a semester, which is one of the most attractive things about studying Psychology at DCU. It is the only undergraduate psychology course in Ireland that gives students the opportunity to undertake a work placement, and will without a doubt provide us with vital practical experience.
What’s the best thing about DCU?
The staff in the school of psychology have been incredibly helpful and encouraging throughout our first semester, and I have no doubt their support will only grow throughout the years. The majority of them are active in research, so they keep us up to date with the latest findings and are experts in their respective fields. DCU is also one of the only Psychology courses in Ireland that is considered a Bachelors in Science and this is reflected in the course content. The class size is also relatively small in comparison to other colleges.
What do you find most challenging about this course? Were there any aspects of the course that really surprised you?
Personally, I find time management to be the most challenging aspect of the course so far, but I feel as though this would be the case with any course.
The course content is genuinely interesting and I thoroughly enjoy it, so the workload is definitely bearable for the most part! It is worth noting that there is an entry requirement of an O4 or a H6 in maths, which I feel is necessary as we are required to take a statistics module, and they will continue to play a central role in all we do over the next four years. It is worth taking the time to understand the statistics covered on the Leaving Cert course, as having this basic understanding makes building on it much more manageable when the time comes.
Graduate entry Medicine UL
What is the workload like?
The workload is definitely intense and I would say you need to commit a large portion of your week towards studying. However, hopefully you’re enjoying what you’re studying and find it interesting which certainly makes it easier. The workload also varies week to week and it will depend on what your undergraduate degree is.
In general though, I would say I put in on average 10 hours of work per day including lectures, and I tend to less on the weekends. However, some people would be required do less and some would be required to do more. You just have to take it week by week.
What made you choose grad entry over repeating the Leaving Cert?
I repeated my Leaving Cert and got 420 points, so I knew I would never get the points required to do undergraduate medicine. In hindsight, I’m glad that I have gone this route as my undergraduate degree in nutraceuticals in health and nutrition will definitely benefit me as a doctor and I am sure that this is what I want to do which helps with studying every day.
Is it essential to have done a science based undergrad? What one did you do?
Definitely not. The course requires you to have achieved a level 8 undergraduate degree achieving a 2.1 degree.
My advice would be to find a course that you will enjoy and something that you would be happy to work in after as there is no certainty that you will still want to do medicine after four years. In my groups so far I’ve been with people who have done business and law, languages, accounting and psychology, whilst they definitely have to do a few extra hours study a week to grasp the basic sciences, I cannot see them being at any other disadvantage. Any undergraduate course that you do will benefit you in some way. However, from what I can tell those who have studied physiology, anatomy, pharmacy, nursing or health and disease are at some what of an advantage and definitely find some topics easier.
I studied nutraceuticals in health and nutrition in DIT, and I have covered a lot of topics briefly such as some pharmacology, anatomy, physiology and basic nutrition.
Did you find the extra written section of the HPAT difficult?
I never did the HPAT.
Is the GAMSAT difficult?
The GAMSAT is a tricky exam in that it’s not based so much on your knowledge, but instead how you can interpret a question and your ability to reason an answer based on the information provided. The best way to study for this exam is to answer practice questions. It’s unlike any other exam I had ever taken based on the length of time the exam takes; also it’s a very long day to stay focused for. I repeated the exam and did much better the second time based on being more prepared for what was involved and having a better appreciation for the way the questions would be asked.
Are the financial commitments quite onerous?
In short, yes. There are loans available for your fees which definitely makes things easier, however you need to have an outlet for your day to day spending and any other expenses. There are people in the course who have part time jobs, but this is not very common. I know for me personally I would not be able to do this course with a part time job, but it is possible. It is a huge financial commitment, but if it’s something you really want to do it should be worth it.
By the time you’re done, you will have been in college for a long time. Do you find that difficult?
I never minded college or studying too much, so that aspect doesn’t bother me. I’d rather four extra years in college to have a career I’ve always wanted over working for four years in a job that I don’t like and be no further on. The only thing I find difficult is having to say no to some things like nights out etc, with my friends that now have their full time careers, but it’s only a small sacrifice in the grand schemes of things and I have noticed more and more of them are now considering going back to college or changing careers after not being initially happy with their job choices. Hopefully you will enjoy what you’re studying which will make it so much easier.
It’s a lot to fit into 4 years – is that very hard?
Yes, some weeks are very, very intense as there is so much work to fit into a week at a time, but you just have to take it day by day and just do as much as you can. UL is very good as they introduce a topic, but make sure that you have a chance to go over that topic a couple of times over the two years, so that by the time you finish you have a very good grasp of it and then hopefully you will have a chance to review this over placement for the next two years.
Commerce and French UCC
Thank you Sam Davies! Added February 2020.
What are the career paths and job prospects?
There’s certainly a wide variety of paths you can go down with this course & there’s so much choice that can be made that really hasn’t even been fully explained to me yet.
I’m using this course as a stepping stone into a masters degree that will better suit my interests such as the legal system which I am now studying through this degree! The options are very broad.
Is there a lot of choice within the course?
Yes! So much so that I don’t even know the entirety of the choices! It’s an extremely broad degree, however assuming you like French I do hope you’d take some French from it, but you don’t necessarily have to!
Do you need to be fluent in French? Do you study French literature or how does it work?
Not at all! A H3 level of French is all you need. If you can understand the basics of French, then you will be totally fine!
The course is split into a French oral module, a french written module and a french culture / history module (speaking from a first year experience). The foundations of French are covered in oral and written, and you really focused on the “nitty gritty” of French, but its very accessible. French culture is where you will study French movies, plays, eras and much more.
Is the Commerce part very maths?
I can only speak from a first year experience, and so far I’ve only had 2 “mathsy” modules which are Maths & Accounting. If you’re comfortable in Higher Level maths then you will be perfectly fine. However, I did ordinary, so I struggle quite a bit with the maths as I’ve always been terrible at it, but there’s lots of resources to help you!
What is the workload like? The hours?
Not the easiest, not the hardest for sure! Lots of exams but very very few assignments, as long as you catch up on what you miss, attend tutorials and review lecture notes you’re sorted! Homework all depends on your teacher for French.
Is it advisable to have done a business subject in school?
No, you don’t have to!
I did Economics and I had an Economics module in semester 1, but it was the basics of Economics that I had already covered, so it was pretty much useless to me to be at the lecture, but still I had an upper hand at the end of the day!
That’s the only business module I did, and I don’t even think it was necessary for the course, most lectures excluding French written and oral are taught on the assumption that nobody has ever seen this material before which is for the most part untrue!
European Studies TCD
Added February 2020.
What are the career opportunities afterwards?
Since it’s an interdisciplinary course, there are many different careers you can go into.
A lot of the people in my course are looking to go into international relations or foreign affairs. I’ve been told that there are also opportunities in journalism, PR, education, tourism and local politics.
Many go on to do further study, especially in law. A lot of people in the course don’t know what career they want, however it’s been reiterated that proficiency in two European languages and a knowledge of politics, history and the relevant social science is a great base for many careers.
How many hours do you have in a week? Is it intense?
16 hours a week, 10 of which are language lectures or tutorials.
Some people who aren’t keen on languages find it boring, and I would definitely say it’s a course for lovers of learning and speaking languages. For those who have picked up a new language (i.e didn’t do both languages for the Leaving Cert), it is at times hard. The speed at which the new languages are taught is quite fast, since we already know how to navigate learning a second language.
By the end of first year, we’re expected to be at and tested at a level similar to what I remember in fifth year. Saying this, they make an effort to vary the classes and make the experience fun, so if you enjoy language learning you’ll like it! For example, within each language module we have grammar and oral classes, then a cultural studies module.Because of this variety, I don’t find it intense on a day to day basis.
Do you need to like History to do this course?
I wouldn’t say so. I didn’t do history for the leaving cert and wouldn’t say I like history a lot, but the modules genuinely are interesting – and the lecturers are great. For essays we are given a wide choice so you can choose a topic you enjoy. There are only two lectures and one tutorial a week (therefore it’s only 1/5 of the hours), so if you don’t like history I wouldn’t worry.
How do you choose your social science and language?
I chose politics without any prior knowledge in the field. I would say look at the modules online and read the handbook to see if you’d enjoy the content. For your language, I would consider what career you want to pursue. For example, a lot of people doing Russian want to pursue a career in foreign affairs. Another major factor is how similar the language is to the one you have from school; French or Italian for a Spanish speaker will be a lot less laborious than Russian or Polish.
Can you switch if you change your mind? Is Irish an option?
I know people who switched both social science and language, so yes. Starting next year, Irish will be an option!
What is the male/female ratio like?
It’s around 1:3.
Human Health and Disease TCD
Added February 2020.
What are the career options and employment prospects after college?
Human Health and Disease in TCD prepares students for work in the field of biomedical research. It’s important to note that HHD is different to biomedical science in DIT as we are not qualified to work as biomedical scientists in hospital labs; the BSc in biomedical science in DIT, UCC/CIT and GMIT are the only ones that will allow you to do so.
HHD is geared towards people who wish to go into biomedical research and a lot of graduates go on to pursue masters and PhDs in various fields such as immunology and pharmacology or become research assistants etc, while others go into things such as medical device sales or the pharmaceutical industry.
There are of course a proportion of people who also go on to study graduate medicine. I feel that the degree is a really good base, in second year we do anatomy and physiology with the first year meds and by the end of the course we have an in depth knowledge of the human body in health and in disease which will help if you choose to go on and study medicine afterwards.
How does the course differ from medicine? From biomedical science?
For starters, our workload is very manageable compared to first year medicine. We don’t do the anatomy of physiology that the first year meds do. We had 4 modules in our first semester: From Molecules to Cells (which was broken down into The Origin of Life, Biochem and Genetics), Chemistry for Life Sciences (which was broken down into inorganic, physical and organic), Scientific Thinking, and then we did half a semester of Intro to Genetics and Molecular Biology. This differs to medicine in that we don’t jump straight into very difficult modules such as anatomy and physiology. We do however share a huge chunk of our lectures with the first meds when we’re in second year, so you could say it begins to become more human biology orientated in the second year. Our first year is laying the foundations for what is to come.
As for biomedical science, the main difference is the final outcome which I explained above. In terms of course content, they seem to jump straight into anatomy and physiology etc. in their first year while that is reserved for our second year. (Bare in mind I’m referring to biomed in DIT and not what is commonly referred to as biomed in Trinity which is really ‘biological and biomedical sciences’). According to their website they also do a module in histology, studying epithelia, nervous tissue, muscle and connective tissue which sounds very like our ‘human tissue types’ module.
How are the assignments?
Our one assignment last semester was part of our Scientific Thinking module and it was an assignment based on cognitive biases and fallacies and steps we can take to reduce their impact on biomedical research. It was worth 40% and we were given a lot of time to do it, I think we were given around a month if not more to finish it. Our course content is assessed mainly by means of mcq online exams sometimes with short note answers and then Christmas and Summer written exams (for Christmas biology was in essay format and chemistry was mcq).
The only other assignments we have so far are weekly maths assignments (Maths, Stats and Computation). We are given a weekly calculus assignment and a linear algebra assignment also which in total are worth 20%. I’m not sure whether you would consider it as assignment as such, but we also have a project for our HHD tutorials where we have to present as a group based on one of our lectures. We also have another group presentation coming up based on a biomedical research paper.
What are the hours like?
We have very few hours in reality, but they can be spread out across the day. For example, last semester I was in from 10-6pm on Mondays, but I only had 3 hours of lectures during that time. We would have anywhere between 12-19 hours a week depending on whether we had labs that week or not. We had bio labs every week for 3 hours and we have chemistry labs every second week for 3 hours. My chemistry labs were on Fridays, so I had every second Friday off which was nice! This semester we have maths, stats and computation, human tissue types, human health and disease tutorials and embryology. Our hours are very manageable and will increase slightly when we start embryology, which is due to start late February.
Stepping stone to medicine?
It is a known fact that the majority of HHD would have liked to do medicine and a proportion of the class resit the HPAT in first year while carrying over their LC points, so that’s an option if you would like to move to medicine. The degree gives you a great foundation to go on and study graduate medicine if you want due to the fact that we share modules with the med students in second year and beyond.
Although many people simply look at it as a stepping stone onto medicine, it is a good degree in it’s own right and there are people in the course who did not want medicine at all – people who want to learn about the theoretical science, but don’t have an interest in the clinical aspect of medicine. But yes, it is a very good degree to have if you are looking at grad med!
Law DCU
Thanks Erica O’Reilly. Added February 2020.
Did any Leaving Cert subjects help you with studying Law now? Do you think English and History help?
Personally, I did find English and History to be beneficial for me for my course.
You’re not going to be terrible if you don’t do History or anything. I believe English would be the most important subject to have an actual genuine interest in if you are considering doing Law. Although the structure of the Leaving Cert English course and your style of answering questions and essays is completely different, you don’t simply just give your opinion. It’s the mechanics and basic knowledge you gain from English you will carry forward.
However, in saying this, I do believe I was at a slight advantage compared to some of my friends who had not done History. As the whole idea of presenting and discussing and argument in a history essay using facts, does link in lovely in your style and mindset of presenting a legal argument in an essay. Finally, the fact there is indeed a lot of reading involved in Law, like English and History you must be willing to put the time in and read.
What type of person does Law suit?
I don’t believe there is a specific brand or personality that just fits the career. Of course, you must be hardworking and determined as it is an extremely competitive field. You must be clever and not just by remembering things word for word, that’s not important, but clever in how you can think of different solutions or suggestions. So hard work, passion, and imagination are essential.
Is it intense? What is the hardest part?
Yes, it is intense, but then again what course isn’t intense? It’s a huge lifestyle and learning change compared to school, so it will be intense and scary for a while; everything is new. Sticking with your work from the beginning does ease the pressure, also paying attention to asking questions and researching helps with the intensity.
The hardest part, I find, is bringing myself to sit down and start all these readings and trying to understand the language of Law itself. I’ve found taking your time and doing it in small sections makes it no way intense and less stressful.
Do you have any regrets about picking the law? Some people have asked that they worry it may require public speaking skills, be boring or that they may be limited in their careers because they don’t have connections in the Legal world. Any comment?
Not at all, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Although it may be tough at times, I enjoy the challenges in it and overall everything about the course.
Yes, public speaking skills will be required, but you’re not going to be expected to speak out in front of your whole lecture. You will build up the confidence and knowledge to speak your mind. I don’t find the course boring. Yes, ok, all the reading at certain times can be boring, but some of the cases and the facts are so interesting and funny at times that it’s not all boring.
Obviously, yes, if you do have connections you are at an advantage, but there will be plenty of opportunities through your college years to gain connections yourself. Personally, being a rep for ELSA – European Law Student Association and being a member of the Law Society in DCU, I have gained and learned so much. Being involved in your course will help you gain connections. Applying for Summer internships with companies or law firms will also further your connections.
Are there other opportunities besides the solicitor/barrister route?
Personally, I believe people have such a narrow viewpoint on future carers from the law. Notably yes, a solicitor and barrister are the two most popular and common, but you can also be mediator, a legal secretary, higher education lecturer, advice worker and more.
What is the difference between BCL and LLB? And BA in Law?
In DCU there are 3 types of Law degree- BCL- Law and Society, EPL- Economics, Politics and Law and BAJL- Law Joint Honours. All three are amazing.
The BCL is a pure degree of Law taking on more Law modules in the first year, the EPL is great as well because if people are unsure if they want to go through with Law, they have Economics and Politics as well and they link in well. Finally, the BAJL joint honours, this is also brilliant for people who want to take on languages or other subjects they are equally passionate about.
Is Law quite restrictive in terms of having to then stay in Ireland?
Most people who qualify do choose to stay in Ireland, but now there is the option to go abroad. As discussed previously, there is much more to the degree than being a solicitor or barrister there are more careers. Ultimately, you decide your pathway with your degree.
Do you do much placement?
As I’m only in the first year, so not yet. After the second year in DCU, you get the chance to go on INTRA, which is a placement for a year where you go out and work in the legal field, which I am interested in doing. Of course, you can do Winter and Summer internships which will be a great asset in developing your legal degree and CV.
Do you like DCU?
Honestly, most people who know me knew that DCU was not my number one choice. However, when I got the offer and went to the campus, I’ve never been so happy with a decision in my life.
It a very diverse, unique and welcoming university I love it so much. I’ve met so many people that have now become some of my closest friends, became involved in so many societies and especially the law society – ELSA that I’ve had some of the best moments of my life. There’s always something going on campus which does help with the lively support, there’s also such great support throughout. I really would recommend going to DCU.
Medicine TCD
Added January 2020.
How did you balance the mocks and the HPAT?
I did most of my HPAT preparation before the mocks started. I dedicated my Sundays completely to HPAT! From September, I completed a full length exam under exam conditions every second Sunday, and spent time during the week, usually the first 30 mins after school a couple of days per week, reviewing my exam in depth and doing drills on my weaker areas.
During the mocks, I didn’t really do any HPAT work at all, did one exam on the Sunday after, and then I did nothing during the week leading up to the HPAT. I found this the best way, as I got more value from practicing when I was fresh, and around the mocks, I started to decrease my HPAT work, so I was less stressed as the exam approached!
Do you have any advice for people who aren’t 100% sure they want to be a doctor but are thinking about it?
I think the best thing to do is to talk to a doctor themselves. I don’t know any other way to find out about the day to day life of a doctor and to see if you would like it.
If possible, work experience in a hospital is great but I know it is very hard to arrange. It is a long 5 years to commit to something you aren’t sure about, but there are many routes you can go with a medical degree, clinical medicine may be most well known but there are other jobs available too!
Did you have to repeat?
No, thankfully I got in first time! There are however so many in the course who have started other courses and repeated the HPAT to get in, and other people who repeated the Leaving Cert too. We also have postgrads in among us, so the age range is really diverse in our year!
Why did you choose Trinity?
My main reasons were that Trinity is exclusively a 5 year course, as I knew I didn’t want to do Pre-med. I also love the location as it is in the middle of everything, and I always wanted to go to college in Dublin.
I also loved the idea of the Family Case Study, where we are paired with a mother and a newborn in the Dublin region, and in pairs we conduct a number of visits with them throughout the year, so it gives us our first taste of patient contact. Our medical humanities module also allows us to explore an area we are interested in outside of the core sciences.
How did you find not having to do a foundation year?
Initially, it made the transition to college more difficult, as I felt we were thrown in the deep end with subjects such as biochemistry and anatomy, but once you get the hang of them they are actually not bad at all, just very different to LC biology and require different methods of studying.
I’m now glad I didn’t do Pre-med as I really don’t think it necessary, we still have plenty of time to relax and enjoy ourselves in first year!
What were your back up options?
I had physiotherapy down as my second choice, but I knew that I would probably have repeated if I didn’t get it on my first attempt, as I knew I would much rather a career in medicine than anything else.
What is the toughest part of the course? Are the exams very hard?
I think the toughest thing about the course is the vast amount of information you have to learn, it just seems never ending at times, especially coming up to exams! Also biochemistry can be difficult to grasp, but once you understand the pathways and mechanisms they are not too hard to learn.
The exams are quite tough, but still manageable if you put in the work.
Is it easy to socialise with people in other courses? Do you have much free time?
There are loads of opportunities to socialise with people in other courses. I live in campus accommodation, so that is a great way to mix with other first years in other courses, and even in lectures we share some lectures with other courses such as physiotherapy, pharmacy and radiation therapy.
The course is pretty full on, but I personally still have time to train for my sports 4-5 times per week and go out fairly regularly, but like with school it’s important to manage your time!
What is the male/female ratio like?
I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but it is pretty 50/50.
What are the hours like? What does your typical week look like? Would you have time for a part time job?
Our hours vary considerably, we could have anything from 22-31 hours per week, as lectures and labs aren’t on every week. We have lectures 3 mornings per week, Problem based learning tutorials 2 mornings, and then we have a mix of humanities tutorials, anatomy labs, physiology labs, biochemistry labs and HDBSE (human development, behavioural science and ethics) tutorials in the afternoons, but not always every week.
Lots of people have part time jobs, so it can definitely be done!
When do you start to interact with patients?
We have our first taste of patient interaction this year with the Family Case Study. We conduct a number of ‘Baby visits’ over the year in pairs where we go to the family home, and ask questions about different aspects of development as they grow and also get to play with them, which is obviously very enjoyable! It is a great way to introduce the concepts of professionalism and developing a relationship in a different way than we are used to. We properly begin placement in third year, but we do spend some time in hospitals in second year, but this is mainly clinical skills.
Are the books/supplies expensive?
Nope, we don’t require any special supplies this year, and the books aren’t too bad, as we can just get them from the library mainly. There is a second hand book sale at the beginning of the year so any ones we wanted we could buy quite reasonably!
Law Maynooth
Many thanks to Natasha Richardson for answering the questions we collected via our Instagram. Added 28 January 2020.
How did you know you wanted to do Law?
I was always interested in watching the news and would always see the courts on the tv. When I was in Junior Cert my class visited our local prison as part of our CSPE project and straight away it clicked with me that the justice system was an interest of mine. I originally wanted to work in the prison service, but reading more about the legal threw my interest at wanting to represent people to let everybody have a fair say in society and to prevent injustice! I just knew was right for me!
Why Maynooth as opposed to one of the bigger colleges? Do you like Maynooth?
I am from Roscommon personally, and the thought of living in Dublin freaked me out as I am a country girl; Maynooth had such a good reputation and the campus just instantly looked like somewhere I wanted to learn, everyone is so friendly and it genuinely is a home away from home. I love Maynooth so much and do not regret choosing it and never will. I think if you talk to anyone who goes there they will say the same – it’s the best environment.
Is it intense? What is the hardest part?
Yes and no, there is a lot of reading involved, and sometimes concepts are hard to understand, but Maynooth have excellent lectures, so a simple email or meeting will solve most problems you have! The hardest part personally is the group projects we have had to complete as everyone has different timetables and it’s tough to get everyone together at the one time.
Do you do much placement?
I personally chose not to do a placement year, as I know I want to be a barrister and I just wanted to finish college and get to the King’s Inn to sit my barrister exams. Maynooth does have options for placement though, so definitely look into it!
What is the female/male ratio like?
In my current class there is a very even male to female ratio, as is with most years, but everyone is always in a group effort and willing to help out.
Do you have any regrets about picking law? Some people have asked that they worry it may require public speaking skills, be boring or that they may be limited in their careers because they don’t have connections in the legal world. Any comment?
Not one regret in picking law, it is hands down the best life choice I have ever made!
I won’t lie, I found it very tough in the first 7 months, but push through it because it genuinely pays off! You don’t need any public speaking skills: I went in with the same worry as I was so, so shy and I am now about to go to Portugal this April to represent Maynooth in a Legal speaking competition!
You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to adapt, especially with the supports and classes in place to help you learn to be confident in a safe environment where you don’t feel pressured or judged. I have no family members in any legal job, I come from a farming background. I would advise people that this should not influence your decision, you will make plenty of contacts through the events Maynooth run and interacting in extracurricular activities!
What is the difference between doing this course vs law through arts in Maynooth?
I did law through arts in my first year. Maynooth has an excellent programme in place that allows you to transfer from arts to LLB or BCL law in your second year! I missed my first choice of LLB in first round offers and accepted arts and transferred through in second year and now I’m in my first choice! It’s a great backup to have.
What is the difference between BCL and LLB? And BA in Law?
BCL Law is law with an arts subject, so law and accounting, law and Spanish or law and business etc. LLB law just pure law on its own. BA in law is a bachelor of law through arts if you decide to stay in arts and not transfer into LLB or BCL.
Are there other opportunities besides the solicitor/barrister route?
A lot of people ask this question! Yes, there are so, so many other jobs than being a solicitor or barrister. For example, being a lecturer in law, a mediator, an arbitrator, a legal secretary and so many more! Maynooth run a module that focuses on Alternatives to solicitor or barrister called Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Is Law quite restrictive in terms of having to then stay in Ireland?
No, because there are loads of careers within law. People who qualify as solicitors and barristers would tend to stay in Ireland -yes, but this is not a given rule! You can choose to do with your degree what you want to do! Its your dream, so personalise it.
Actuarial and Financial Studies UCD
Many thanks to Megan Coolahan for answering the questions we gathered via our Instagram on 27 January 2020.
Do you have to be very “mathsy”? Would a H2 Maths student struggle?
Maths is a very big part of the course, and the lecturers move quite fast, much faster than your teachers would have in 5th and 6th year. They also don’t explain every part of a question, making jumps in logic and reasoning that can be a step too far if you’re a bit weaker at maths.
It depends on your ability. If you can pick things up quickly or have the drive to spend more time teaching yourself outside of lectures, it mightn’t be as hard. But I do know people that got a H1 in the Leaving Cert and they still find the maths challenging on occasion.
The focus tends to be on applications of maths to economics and finance, as opposed to pure, theoretical maths. In answer to your question, I believe if you’re only scraping a H2, getting 80-81%, then you would probably struggle to keep up. But if you’re capable of 87+, then I wouldn’t worry as much, as your understanding is probably good enough.
You need to think in terms of not how well you will do in the LC, but in terms of how good you are at maths, not maths exams.
Do you think not studying Accounting or Business at LC level is a big disadvantage?
I didn’t study any business subjects for my Leaving Cert. I know many have at least accounting, but in my experience, it doesn’t make that much of a difference.
You are not required to have Business or Accounting, and so they really go back to basics and teach you everything you need. They don’t assume anyone has any prior knowledge. If you’re worried about not having a business subject you could do a bit of reading yourself over the summer, but you really don’t have to.
Is this a very hard course? Are there many thinking of dropping out because it’s too hard?
This course is difficult, make no mistake about it. The maths is hard, and the onus is on you to search out help if you don’t understand something. With no support right in front of you like in secondary school it can be a bit daunting. But by staying on top of your work you can work to negate some of the hardship.
I haven’t heard of anybody dropping out, so if any have it would only be a tiny proportion of the course, 1 or 2 at the most.
What are the hours like?
This semester I have 20 hours of lectures, tutorials and labs a week, with a maximum of 4 hours a day. Before Christmas it was slightly less. That doesn’t seem like a lot but for every hour you spend in a lecture you should really be spending that again on your own going over everything from that day.
You still have time for socialising though. I’m a member of a few societies and besides from before exams, my course doesn’t stop me having the time to go to events. I also work at the weekends, so I have to fit all my study into the week, which is quite doable, if you plan everything out right.
Why UCD over DCU? Why this course over Ec and Fi?
If you’re looking at an actuarial degree, you have to be thinking about exemptions from the professional exams that allow you to be accredited by the Society of Actuaries.
When I applied, UCD offered more exemptions than DCU (9 in UCD vs. 8 in DCU). The Society is currently changing their exam system, so the number of exemptions will be different, but UCD should still have more.
Also, personally, when I went to the open day in November 2018, I fell in love with UCD and really couldn’t picture myself anywhere else! The facilities are great, and I personally really liked that there were so many other students. It feels like it is its own town at times.
Ec and Fi (or Economics and Finance) is very similar to BAFS. This semester we have 4 out of 6 modules with them, so in first year at least, the content is pretty much the same. When I was in 6th year I looked into Ec and Fi but I didn’t like how vague the job options were for after college.
I’ve always liked to know exactly where I’m headed and know what my job title will be after college. Ec and Fi couldn’t offer me that, so I never really considered it. Just so you’re aware, Ec and Fi have all the same maths modules as us, so even though their requirement is around the H4, they do all the maths we do (at least in first year).
What are the job opportunities like? Are you limited to being an actuary? Is there much post-grad work in order to qualify?
Job opportunities seem very good. Every year the 3rd years have a 7-month work placement and this year there were more companies offering a place for a student than there were student looking for companies. I can only assume that pattern continues when you move on to looking for actual employment.
Absolutely not. In semester 1, we had various actuaries come in and talk to the class to give us a feel of what an actuary does. One man works in aircraft leasing, which is about as far from pensions and life assurance as you can get. There is a growing trend for what is termed “wider field actuaries” who work in different roles than the traditional roles, such as aircraft leasing, for example.
How much post-grad work you have depends on how many exemptions you have. You need to do well in exams to get the exemption, so they’re not guaranteed. If you get all 9, then you still have about 5 or 6 more exams to do. However, you do will do these while working as a trainee actuary, and most companies give you study days etc, while you are doing this. Most people take about 3 years to complete all their exams.
What is the gender balance like?
It’s fifty-fifty, with maybe slightly more boys. There’s only around 54 in the class, which is a lot smaller than the 300+ in general science. The smaller class really helps everyone to get to know each other
Finally, I wish all of you the best of luck in your mocks and then the Leaving Cert, and maybe I’ll be seeing you in Belfield next September!
Medicine RCSI
Thank you Fianait Bligh for answering our questions! Added December 2019.
How much study did you study before the HPAT? How much study did you do in sixth year? How did you balance the mocks and the HPAT?
I’m a repeat student so I began studying for the HPAT during the summer after receiving my first HPAT results (I got in the 70th percentile and knew my leaving cert wouldn’t be strong enough to get me in with that score).
Every Saturday morning I completed a full length practice exam under timed conditions. I treated each exam as if it was the actual HPAT, and mentally psyched myself up before-hand. Simulating exam conditions allowed me to learn how to cope with exam nerves, which is something that knocks a lot of students down on test day.
I spent the week following each exam dissecting my mistakes and learning from them. I kept a little note book of section 3 patterns that were unusual, or words that I was unfamiliar with. My friend and I made our own patterns/questions and gave them to each other to solve each week. This drastically increased our score in section three. Whenever I had any down time (which is fairly hard to come by in sixth year), I spent it reading books. Becoming good at reading quickly and putting yourself into the shoes of another is vital for performing well in section two, as the passages are getting longer each year!
The best HPAT prep you can do is mental preparation. Learning how to trust your gut, how to stay calm when things are going wrong, and how to manage your time are infinitely more important than the amount of hours you put in. As useful as all the online HPAT resources are, these are the crucial aspects to master before test day.
As for Leaving Cert study, I spent most days in after school study until about 8pm. I focused on my weakest subjects and exam papers. I took days off for relaxation whenever needed, and made sure to get plenty of sleep. Taking care of your physical and mental health will make this year so much easier! When I got fed up of studying my school subjects, I used HPAT as a “study break”.
I made the decision not to sit my mock exams. Ultimately, the HPAT is a vital component to your application to study medicine, you’ll never be asked what you got in your mocks come August! I managed to get my hands on some of the mock exams off my teachers and sat them on my own at home after the HPAT. If you must sit your mocks, use them as a trial run for timings and getting a feel for what questions suit you. Honestly they don’t matter at all!
Did you repeat?
Yes. I repeated both the Leaving Cert and the HPAT. When I got my HPAT results it actually turned out that I didn’t need to re-sit my leaving as my points from the previous year was sufficient, but I’ve absolutely no regrets about repeating. It gave me time to mature, figure out how to study more effectively, and I felt ready to start college this September! A lot of my year are repeat students. If you are too, you definitely won’t be out of place in medicine!
How do I know if medicine is for me?
That’s a great question. I reckon if you asked 100 med students that question you’d get 100 different answers! You don’t have to want medicine from a young age for it to be the right choice for you. You don’t have to have multiple family members in the profession. You don’t even have to study biology for your leaving cert! But what you do need is a passion for learning, and a willingness to help those around you in whatever capacity you can. Personally, I read a lot of books written by doctors to get a feel for what the profession was like. I also watched documentaries and vlogs produced by patients to get an insight into what they value in their care. Hearing of how impactful the patient-doctor relationship can be from both perspectives really cemented my decision to follow through with this career choice. It is a privilege to be invited into a patient’s life, and equally satisfying to help them in some way, whether it be big or small. If you have the time, I’d strongly recommend reading books such as “When Breath Becomes Air”, “Do No Harm”, “This Is Going To Hurt” or “Being Mortal”. But really, if you have any feeling at all that medicine might be for you, I’d say go for it.
What is a typical day like? Is it more work than sixth year was?
In RCSI we don’t actually have a set timetable each semester. Our lecture hours vary from day to day. But in general, we have anatomy labs every Tuesday and Friday for an hour and a half, and lectures from 9am to 3 or 4pm each day. We almost always have an hour break for lunch, but sometimes we get two! There are also small group tutorials throughout the semester where you can ask questions and practice your knowledge.
I think it’s slightly more work than sixth year, but that overwhelming sense of pressure we all experience pre-leaving cert is gone. It can be challenging to get used to the new style of learning. You aren’t spoon fed the content and there aren’t exam questions that you can just learn off either. You really have to get to grips with the content and understand it, and this often involves moving outside the scope of the lecture slides. So in that sense, I think it’s a little harder, but overall it’s definitely manageable once you chip away at your work consistently! (Cramming doesn’t work anymore unfortunately!
What is the toughest part of the course for you?
In RCSI there is a strong emphasis on verbal presentations and OSCE’s from the start. I would have considered myself a confident person, but I found it extremely tough to deal with making mistakes in front of professors and peers. For example, during our OSCE, I introduced myself to the patient as a patient which was fairly embarrassing! However, I think that getting used to public speaking from the start is important, and learning how to brush off and move on from the little bloopers early will hopefully come in handy!
Do you meet any patients in first year? Where are the main sites for clinical placement?
We do! Throughout the first semester we each met 5 patients. It was amazing to hear their stories, and see the clinical relevance to the material we were learning. We had to complete an assignment based on these interactions, and we also got to go out to various GP surgery’s and speak to patients one on one.
The main sites for clinical placement are Beaumont, Connolly, Rotunda, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda, Louth County Hospital Dundalk, Cavan General Hospital and Monaghan Hospital. I believe we have some lectures in Beaumont hospital in second year.
Is there a foundation/ pre-med year?
Yes. There is both a 5 year course and a 6 year course.
To get into the 5 year course, you must present a minimum of 6 subjects, including an O6/H7 in Irish (unless exempt), English, Maths, a third language, and a minimum of a H4 in Chemistry, and a H4 in EITHER Physics or Biology.
To get into the 6 year course, you must present a minimum of 6 subjects (2 x H5 and 4 x O6/H7), including a minimum of an O6/H7 in Irish (unless exempt), English, Maths, a third language, and one laboratory science subject from Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physics/Chemistry or Agricultural Science.
Why did you choose RCSI?
One of the main factors was the location. It’s right beside Stephen’s Green and couldn’t be easier to get to. I liked the fact that it offered a 5 year course, as with UCD you have to do the 6 years. As a repeat student I wanted to make up for lost time! The main hospitals are quite close to where I live too. Making your life as easy as possible for future years is a good idea so look into what hospitals are attached to each Uni!
The facilities in RCSI are second to none. The building and study areas are spacious and well designed. There is literally every facility you could possibly need and more. When you start at RCSI you get a free MacBook Air and access to tons of online resources that would otherwise cost quite a bit. There are tons of clubs and societies available and plenty of opportunity to get involved. Each week there are surgical skills sessions where you can learn how to suture, do hand knots and laparoscopy games. Each year there is a research summer school that you can apply to if you’re interested. There is almost always an event on, and guest speakers come in regularly with the most fascinating stories! Honestly it feels like Hogwarts, it’s the most magical and exciting place to be! J
The international cohort is another amazing aspect! RCSI managed to get in the Guinness World Records for the most nationalities in a health awareness lesson! I’ve made friends with people from all over the world, each with such unique and interesting back-rounds! RCSI also offer the opportunity to do a semester abroad in Bahrain! I really couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.
Most people put down the courses in order of which was the highest points the year before but I popped them down in the order I really wanted them, with RCSI being first. Definitely look into all of your options and visit each college before making any firm decisions! Studying medicine in any college is an amazing choice and each college definitely has its perks! Find what works best for you.
How do you find it? What is it like studying in a college that is completely life sciences related? Do you sometimes wish you were in a bigger college or are you happy with the social life?
I absolutely adore it! Studying in a college completely life sciences related has been great so far. We get used to the multi-disciplinary setting from early on, and having friends in Pharmacy and Physiotherapy comes in handy when I’m struggling with pharmacology or anatomy!
I didn’t expect the social life in RCSI to be great, but I was proven wrong! There are plenty of non-academic events to go to, and the societies organise brilliant nights out. The college doesn’t feel small at all. There is always a buzz around the place and it’s so easy to just strike up a conversation with random people on the couches! I felt like I was a part of the college from day 1.
Veterinary Medicine UCD
Róisín has kindly answered our questions. Added December 2019.
Preparation
If you’re not sure whether this course is for you, how would you make up your mind?
My best advice would be to do work experience. To apply for the course in the first place, you need 60 hours of work experience in at least two areas, I did small animals and horses. You have to have it done by February I think. It’s the best way to see how you feel in the working environment and if you enjoy all aspects of the job! Stay the same hours as the vet, ask as many questions as you can, and get involved. I’d say definitely do the work experience and put it on the CAO to keep your options open either way! There was a point last year when I was indecisive about the course, but the fact I had my work experience done gave me time to think about it more.
How strict are they with the practical experience? Any advice?
You need 60 hours in two animal categories to apply for the course through the CAO. They are really strict about this, one of the girls from my school last year applied but her work experience was rejected because the farm she did it at wasn’t properly accredited/registered, so that’s something you have to be really careful about. I’d recommend doing a week in your local small animal vet and then another week with a different type of animal! Most vet practices are really happy to take people for work experience.
Is Leaving Cert Chemistry important for this course? What about Maths?
Chemistry is a requirement for the course, you can’t apply for it without it. It’s definitely helpful! So far, none of my modules have been maths based, I think next term I have a module with some statistics, but overall nothing heavy. However, I’d really recommend that anyone thinking of doing the course should have biology as a leaving cert subject, it’s not a requirement, but all the modules are completely biology based, so it’s good to have a basic knowledge, the lecturers kind of expect it I think! I didn’t do it for the leaving cert so I had to do a lot of work in my own time to catch up this semester.
What would you have done if you didn’t get it first time around? Did you consider going abroad?
If I hadn’t got it first time around, I would’ve been happy to do my second choice! I had decided last year that repeating would be my worst nightmare so that wasn’t going to happen, no matter how many points I got. It’s really important to have a backup plan that you’re happy with. In my case, my second choice was science in UCD, which can also be an alternative route into veterinary. Having a second choice I was happy to get was really important for me as it meant I didn’t get as stressed out about getting the results as I knew I’d be happy with whatever course I got. I did some research into going abroad, but unfortunately I wouldn’t have been able to because I didn’t do biology for the leaving cert! Most of the courses abroad require it as a subject, but UCD doesn’t.
Veterinary medicine vs veterinary nursing – could you explain what the differences are?
Vet med is basically a medical degree, so afterwards you’ll be qualified in surgery and all aspects and types of animal health. Vet nursing, as far as I know, is less involved in the medical aspect, and a lot about the care of the animal, monitoring during surgery and things like that. The best way to find out more about this would be by doing work experience.
It’s very high points (567 in 2019). How did you prepare?
Honestly it’s one of those things where you’re never going to feel like you’re prepared, no matter what you do. The best thing to do is have everything you need to do organised for each subject. List all tasks and then break them down into small, manageable steps. Reward yourself and don’t be hard on yourself! There were so many days where I just lay in bed instead of studying, and that’s ok!
I also think it’s a good idea to be really prepared for the orals. Start studying well in advance for them, just little bits at a time and they’re very manageable. It’s really good to have a chunk of Irish and another language done, and if they go well it means less pressure for the written paper. Another thing I think is helpful is to pick a couple of subjects and focus on doing well in them. I picked chemistry and physics, and I worked really hard at them to make sure I’d do well. Doing exam papers was the method I found most helpful! Also make sure you’re prepared for the worst and have a second choice you’re happy with!
This time last year, did you expect to get it?
No! I had absolutely convinced myself I would never get it, up until I opened my results. I was certain I’d be getting my second choice, and I was so shocked when I did get the points. At one stage I honestly considered not even putting it on my CAO because I didn’t want to disappoint myself. Definitely make sure you have your dream course as your first choice though, no matter whether or not you think you’ll realistically get it. There’s always a chance. I guess Christmas exams/mocks can be an indicator of how much work you’ll have to do, but most people end up doing better in the leaving cert than they did at Christmas anyway! It also definitely has a lot to do with pure luck on the day of the exam and making sure you’re not too nervous, as that can ruin everything! Once you’re doing small bits of work consistently, your hard work will pay off, even if you don’t expect it.
The course itself
What kind of animals do you deal with?
At the end of the course, you’ll be able to deal with all animals, large and small! So far, we haven’t had hands on experience with live animals yet, but in the anatomy practicals we dissect dogs and some other animals too. Next semester, we get to spend one day each week on Lyon’s research farm so we’ll get hands on experience with animals then. Another thing we have to do is 12 weeks of work experience in our own time over the holidays with different types of animals so I’ll get a lot of animal handling skills from that, hopefully!
Do you have lots of labs?
This semester, each week, I had one biochemistry lab, one anatomy practical dissection class, and one histology practical which involved using microscopes sometimes.
Do you get to choose/specialise?
As it’s a specific course, there’s no choice of specialisation within the programme – you’ll be qualified in small and large animal medicine. Next semester we do get to choose two extra elective modules, these can be literally anything you want, including languages and things outside the specific degree! After you’re finished the course you can do further courses to specialise in specific types of surgery and do a residency.
How much work is it compared to the Leaving Cert? What is the work life balance like?
The work you have to do it very different from the leaving cert. There are more big assignments rather than small tasks. It’s definitely still a lot of work though, more than I was expecting! Compared to my friends doing other courses, I think it’s definitely more work than the average course, and the exams were pretty tough.
So far the work-life balance is alright though, there’s still loads of time to have fun! I’ve heard it gets harder though, and apparently in the job itself it can be hard to have a good work-life balance.
Would there be time for a part-time job?
It definitely depends on what kind of person you are, if you’re good at time management or if you’re easily stressed. I decided not to keep my job and I have more time to relax and to do everything. I also know a few people with a job though, so I’d say it’s definitely possible to have one in first and second year anyway!
What’s the hardest thing about the course? Is the course what you expected it would be?
We have some hard modules which take a while to understand, and you have to do a lot of work in your own time to understand all the material in general. Also the fact that we have to do 12 weeks of required work experience outside term time this year during holidays is tough I think! I didn’t really know what to expect going in, but it was definitely harder than I thought. There’s no year like pre-med in this course so it was straight in at the deep end with everything! All the modules are really interesting though.
What is the gender balance like?
A lot more girls than boys! Out of 90 people in my year there’s only around 20 boys. I think that’s unusual though, there’s more of a balance in other years.
Do you get to know the teaching staff?
Not to the same level as teachers in secondary school. It’s definitely very different, something you have to get used to! They don’t spoon-feed you everything you need to know, it’s less personal. You can ask / email them questions no problem though.
How long is the average day?
It varied each day! This semester I had three long days, 9/10 – 5, always with breaks. On Tuesdays I only had two hours, and Fridays I only had one lecture some of the weeks! I think I have less free time next semester though, 9ams every day 🙁
Do you like UCD?
I really like it! It’s a massive campus and there’s always so much going on. I live on campus which is really fun, I’d definitely recommend! If you do any sports there’s facilities for everything and a free gym and gym classes. Also so many societies! The vet school itself is also a really nice community and I found it really easy to make friends!!!
Biological and Biomedical Sciences TCD
Corey has kindly answered our questions. Added December 2019.
The future
What are the career paths? Can you work in a hospital lab?
My main reason for choosing this course was for the career paths! The first two years are quite general where Biology is a constant module and you others that change each semester, i.e Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Geology, History and Philosophy of Science and many others. In third year, you choose one of eleven moderatorships, Biochemistry, Botany, Environmental Science, Genetics, Human Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Medicine, Neuroscience, Physiology or Zoology and do this for the remaining two years. I love this as you get to spend two years essentially sampling these paths before deciding how you specialise. If your end goal is to work in a hospital lab, that is completely possible, depending on how you specialise. There mightn’t be much need for a botanist in the national maternity hospital!
How are the job prospects – is it easy to get a job afterwards?
Obviously I haven’t finished the degree so haven’t been job searching just yet! However, I’ve been told that as you complete your degree with a very specific specialty this is very desirable for employers. I think this course is the only course in Ireland that offers a BA in Immunology after only four years for example. As well as this, even though it is a Biology degree, you do get a well-rounded scientific education with credits in chemistry, physics, maths and even philosophy of science.
Is it tailored for people who want research-based careers?
Research-based careers are of course a probable career path from any science degree, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s ‘tailored’ to only research careers. There are modules in science education and communication if you were thinking of science teaching or science journalism and even careers such as science law are possible. I think this degree in a great starting point for any career in the scientific world, not just research careers.
Preparation and choice
Why this course and not general science? Why not Human Health and Disease?
I wanted a course that gave me a good balance of freedom to explore my interests within science, but also specific enough that I would come out with a desirable degree and this seemed the perfect choice.
I chose this course as I was pretty sure it was biology I wanted to do, and I didn’t want to be spending the majority of my time on other sciences or modules when my heart was in bio. I did consider general science in case university biology was very different to leaving cert biology but now I’m glad I didn’t. I adored chemistry in school but it’s very different in university and I ended up not liking it as much as it does change quite fundamentally. Biology doesn’t change a whole pile from the leaving, it gets a lot more detailed and there is a lot more information but everything that made me love biology in school is still at its heart.
In regards to Human Health and Disease, I did consider it and it was my second choice, but I just didn’t want to end up pigeonholed studying only the body and disease for four years. I felt there was more leeway and freedom to explore all of biology in this course, while still allowing me to pick a specific specialty when the time came.
A lot of questions came in asking if this course can be used as a stepping stone towards medicine. Any comment? Are there any students doing the HPAT while in first year?
There are definitely lots of people in this course that are only here because they didn’t get medicine, and it does give a great scientific background to go on and do graduate medicine afterwards, but I do think that there are better ways into medicine. Biomed is not an ‘easy’ or ‘stepping stone’ course, it takes a lot of effort and dedication to do well and if your mind is focused on just getting through the four years in order to do medicine, motivation may be hard to come by. If medicine is really your passion, and what you really want to do, I’d say spending four years in a difficult course that you never really wanted to do in the first place is not the best decision.
The course itself
What kind of assignments do you get?
We don’t really get assignments as such, no 4000-word essays or anything like that. There are of course pieces of work to be completed and submitted, mainly lab reports, but also some lecturers will put up questions to be completed online and little pieces like that. Overall, we don’t have a lot of written work, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean a lot of free time. Each lecture is a massive information drop that needs to be learned so that means a lot of time in the library that makes up for the lack of written work.
Do you have labs? Do you do any anatomy?
This semester I had a bio lab on one week and a bio lab, chem lab and physics lab on the next week. The labs were 3 hours and took place on Thursdays and Fridays. Labs were generally quite interesting and enjoyable and a great way to bring up end of term marks but on the days when I had two labs, six hours on my feet wasn’t too enjoyable and the write-ups take nearly as long as the labs themselves! No anatomy this semester as we were focusing on more cell biology and microbiology than biology on a macro scale.
How long are the days, on average?
It depends, I was in 10-6 on a Monday, 9-5 on a Tuesday and 10-3 on a Wednesday this semester. On the weeks I only had a bio lab I was in 10-1 on a Thursday and nothing on Friday, on the weeks I had three labs I was in 10-5 on a Thursday and 10-1 on a Friday. It really depends on your modules and timetable, next semester I have every Friday off and no 9 ams. Overall, I had 11 lectures spread over 3 days and then labs at the end of the week so it was definitely very manageable. There were lots of long breaks between lectures as well, my longest being three hours but I know some people had five hour breaks.
Is there much Maths in this course? What about Chemistry?
A third of my time was spent on chemistry this semester, and I don’t really think there’s any escaping it, at the most fundamental level biology is chemistry. It is impossible to truly understand processes like respiration and photosynthesis without knowing the chemistry behind it so it can’t really be avoided. The emphasis is always on the biology and it’s application in biology however.
I have a maths module next semester so there’s no real escaping maths either. Again, maths is the language of science so it’s impossible to avoid really, but again it’s always taught with an eye to biology and its usefulness in biology.
Do you get to interact much with the lecturers, ask questions, etc?
To be honest, no. There’s 230 people in Biomed and over 400 people in my biology lectures as chemistry students and some others had our module as an option so with that many people questions and interactions aren’t really feasible. They can always be contacted by email if there are any serious worries though.
Is there much to be learn by rote?
Biology is a lot like the leaving cert in the way that yes, there is a lot of rote learning. Each lecture is a deposit of information that it’s up to the student to learn. I have a passion and a love for the information we are learning so that means I really don’t mind spending time studying the factors that influence gene expression or whatever it is. I find once the actual content gets you excited, gets you impassioned and fired up you don’t really mind the study. The other modules I did this semester, chemistry and physics, were a lot more equations and understanding based so they had a lot less rote learning, but I didn’t enjoy them near as much as the biology.
Is there any work experience as part of the course?
Summer internships are advised but that’s up to you to organise. There is a possibility to study abroad in third year but other than that there is no actual work experience, however the goal of the labs is to give adequate lab training.
Being in college
How are you finding the adjustment to being in college? Do you like Trinity? Do you think Trinity deserves its reputation as the top university in Ireland?
I actually adjusted a lot easier than I thought I would! I made good friends quickly and managed to adjust to note-taking and lectures easy enough. My best advice is just to be kind and to talk to as many people as possible in the first couple of weeks. Sit down beside someone you like the look of in a lecture and just start talking, I made so many good friends this way! I really am enjoying my life in college a lot more than my life in school, and I loved school. There’s just something about the freedom and independence that really improves quality of life.
As for Trinity, I love it. All of our lecturers are the absolute experts in their fields and have all (mostly) been really good at passing on their knowledge with infectious passion. Academics aside, the campus is so beautiful and there’s always something going on with any number of clubs and socs. Despite being in the centre of Dublin, the campus feels like its own little bubble, it’s always quite calm and relaxed and you’d never know the chaos of college green was just outside the front gates. It can’t be beaten for location and I think this is a lot more important than most people realise. It’s just really nice to be able to go for lunch or a wander in the city without a big ordeal and of course for last minute Christmas shopping! As well as this, it is probably one of the easiest universities to get to, being serviced by Luas, DART, train, bus and only a five-minute walk from O’Connell Street. Trinity seems to have a reputation as quite an uppity place, but I’ve never felt that. Coming from the shticks down in Cavan I was worried about everybody being full of themselves, but it wasn’t like that at all. Minus the odd exception, everybody I met seemed so down to earth and just pure lovely. There’s no one ‘type’ of person in Trinity.
Regarding its reputation as the top university, I couldn’t really comment as I haven’t attended college anywhere else! However, I definitely feel like I’m getting an expansive and relevant education and that its reputation will stand to me when it comes to looking for work.
What is the gender balance like?
Biomed is about two thirds female, one third male I would say.
Is there time for a part-time job?
There was definitely time to work, I made a point of studying until late Monday to Friday so that I could take my weekends off. I came home from Dublin every weekend and didn’t open a book when I was home, even the weekend before the exams and they went fine. As long as you put the effort in during the week it’s definitely possible to make time to work at the weekend.
Economics and Finance UCD
The first year student who answered our questions chose to not have his name published. Added December 2019.
Preparation and choice
If you haven’t done Business and Economics for Leaving Cert, is that a problem?
No, it’s definitely not a problem, and this is reflected by the fact that these subjects are not a course requirement. I think accounting could potentially be one of the most beneficial of the 3 business subjects based on the principles learned but again is definitely not a necessity. I didn’t study either economics or business for Leaving Cert. Although I am taking economics modules, some of the material covered during first year is similar to that covered for Leaving Cert, but this will undoubtedly change after first year.
Why this course and not commerce or business?
This course is far more applied than a general business or commerce course. It is directed towards a career in finance and the areas of banking etc. and not so much towards more general business roles. This course is really suited to those who enjoy maths and problem solving because a large amount of the course is based around quantitative methods. If you really enjoy maths and problem solving and are considering a business course, then this course could be for you.
The future
What are the career paths?
A degree in finance can lead you down a lot of different paths. Lots of graduates go to work for investment banks. There are a wide range of different roles within an investment bank from trading right through to mergers and acquisitions. Also a wide range of different jobs available in financial industry. Career path will depend largely on the individual and their choice of what interests them.
Do the job prospects seem lucrative?
I think they do and there will always be great opportunities for the best students and those who are best suited to this sector will get on well. The opportunity to undertake a year-long internship is also very beneficial and many can secure positions on a graduate programme with the same company after they graduate.
The course itself
What is the time-table like?
The time table is quite balanced. A typical week involves a mix of lectures and small group teaching in the form of tutorials. The first semester of first year involved just over 20 hours of direct teaching hours, but this will increase in semester 2 and in future years. Time between lectures can be spent on project work and group work. Not the most full on course in terms of lecture hours.
Do you have to be great at maths? What kind of maths is involved? Is there more business or more maths?
This course is really suited to those who love maths. If you get enough CAO points to get into this course then the chances are that you will have reached the required level of mathematical ability. Maths does form a significant portion of the overall course. If maths is something you enjoy and are willing to study further, then this course could be best suited to you.
There is lots of different maths. Calculus, linear algebra, differential equations. More advanced forms of the area of financial maths are covered in modules like Finance. Also used in economics modules such as econometrics.
The course is nearly an even split of finance, economics and maths and statistics. These are also the different streams which you can choose to focus on in stage 3. The course is ultimately a degree in finance, but this consists of a large amount of maths in the form of quantitative finance.
Is there much accounting involved?
There is only one mandatory module in accounting and this is taken during the second semester of year 1. There is the option to take more modules in accounting as part of the Electives modules if this is something that interests you. Students have the opportunity to take 5 elective modules during the 3 year course.
Is there any computer programming involved?
Yes, during year 2 there is a core module in computer programming. There are also a number of modules in the likes of statistics and management information systems which involve an element of programming. We use Microsoft Excel in a number of modules. It is preferable to be comfortable with the idea of using computers and excel. We also use different basic statistical programmes.
Is it possible to do a year abroad?
There is the opportunity to spend the second semester of second year abroad at a partner university. The options available include Australia, Singapore and Canada. However places on this programme are limited and places are allocated on the competitive basis of first year GPA.
Being in college
Is the atmosphere competitive?
If students want to spend the second semester of second year abroad, then there can be a competitive aspect to first year because places on the exchange programme are offered to the best performing students. Of course, there is competition for students to achieve a first or second class honours.
What is the gender balance like?
There are over 65 first year students. Under 20 girls, and the rest boys.
Is there time for a part-time job?
This question depends largely on the individual. Each person will have to consider this question from their own point of view irrespective of their course. It can be tough to work in the evening after a day of college but working at the weekends can be manageable. The fact that the course is only 3 years means that there will also be an increased workload.
Primary Teaching DCU
Added January 2020.
Please note that throughout these responses I will refer to four different streams which can be undertaken as part of the Bachelor Education Degree (Primary School Teaching in Ireland) including: The Church of Ireland Route, The Catholic Route, The Non-Denominational Route and the Gaeltacht Route.
Why did you choose DCU?
I personally chose DCU as I wanted to take the Church of Ireland Route of Primary School Teaching. The college for this from Rathmines moved to DCU in 2016 so this is why I decided to apply to DCU.
However, in regards to why I would recommend choosing DCU over other Universities It wouldn’t be fair of me to compare as I knew I wanted this Church of Ireland Route and DCU was the only college that offered this. But I can say the location as a whole is brilliant being so central in Dublin. DCU have a brilliant student life with so many
activities and groups to be apart of. Plus from within the Primary Teaching Route there are over 400 of us per year. This has many pro’s and con’s but at least you have the opportunity to meet lots of different people if that’s what you want!
Can you do Erasmus?
If you are within the Catholic or Non-Denominational Route you can indeed (I believe the Gaeltacht route too)! Sadly the Church of Ireland Route did not offer this option when I joined in 2017 however may do so now or potentially could do in the future. Don’t hold me to that as I am not sure! However all Routes are entitled to take an Erasmus to Northern Ireland for one of the placement settings in Year 3 (Brexit Dependent on whether this will continue).
On top of this, the University also supports some summer experiences to work with Réalt Programme. Whereby students live, teach, and train in Africa for an 8 week period over the summer. Highly enjoyed by participants.
Is the course very intense?
In ways yes and in ways no.
The timetable is very full on, with days frequently starting at 9 and ending at 6. It is stressed multiple times throughout the course that the
BEd degree is a full time course 9-6 course Monday-Friday. However there can be breaks throughout the day anywhere from 1 hour/ 2 hours/ 3 or more.
It is important to note that YOU DO NOT PICK YOUR TIMETABLE. Everyone is assigned an individual timetable which cannot be changed when allocated.
So in ways yes intense but if you are productive and can work within your breaks if can be very beneficial and you can get a lot done.
As you go up through the years, while the course is intense the timetable gets lighter which is good. However all four years I have managed to also work 8-5 Saturday
and volunteer at a youth club till 9 o’clock in the evening. Plus church on a Sunday morning. So while it is intense you can still maintain a part -time job. However most
of those who do, only do this on the weekends.
Assignments:
Yes, lots of assignments, either individual through a written essay, or reflections, lesson planning, an online learning log, group work consisting of assignments, presentations and
lesson planning are just some of the examples of assignments that are given. You will be assessed in every module (Check out DCU website on BEd course for a list of these),
So this could be assignment of exam. However primarily used are assignments. Can be a lot, but once you stay on top you will be grand! But having a variety of assignments styles can be nice!
How many in your class?
At the start I think there was 440 of us (including all the routes) for main lectures. But in workshops anywhere from 20-30 of us at a time.
Was there anything you didn’t expect that you found out when you started the course?
I don’t think so! there were a few things specific for me as I was under the new amalgamated route under DCU so there were changes to the Church of Ireland Route which I didn’t expect.
However these have all been ironed out. But in the whole aspect, I don’t think so! It’s wise, however, to take a good read of documents online, even attend the open day or head over to St Patrick’s Campus to see what life can be like.
Is there a lot of Irish? Is it very difficult?
There are a two Irish classes that happen during the week:
- Gaeilge
- 2. Teagasc na Gaeilge.
Gaeilge is all about you improving your own irish. Learning lots about grammar and going more deeply into grammar aspects that you probably wouldnt have had in Secondary School.
Teagasc na Gaeilge is all about how to teach Irish.
Usually on average Irish can fluctuate depending on the year you are in, anywhere between 3-4 hours a week.
Do you need to be musical at all to be a primary school teacher?
Nope! Some may have musical experience some may not! However everyone brings their own strengths to teaching! You may be amazing at sports or art and others could be lacking in those areas!
Is it good to have some? yes? but not necessary! However its always good to be learning as a teacher.
Do you know much about the accommodation in DCU?
If I am right, they usually try to prioritise those going into first year (but I could be wrong). Once you get your first year sorted it helps. Then start looking for accommodation for your next year
early on. Once you have made friends too you may be able to rent out a house together somewhere local. Accommodation available onsite, student accommodation nearby and then digs also available too!
General Nursing TCD
Added December 2019.
What kind of person would this course suit?
Nursing is a course which isn’t like a lot of others, I believe a person has to have a certain type of mindset for Nursing- you will be exposed to a lot on placement and you’ll see people from all sorts of backgrounds. You would have to be a strong person and be able to control your emotions and compartmentalise- but overall, being a nice person is essential! If you have a genuine interest in healthcare and helping people, this is an ideal course to consider.
What type of assignments do you get?
I’m in my first year and we’ve only had one assignment so far, it was on a seen case study and it’s about how to assess a patient for a certain illness, and individualised care plans. The assignments seem pretty standard, and are about 1500 – 2000 words in 1st Year. They’re very manageable and you have a lot of material from the lectures to assist you.
Is it hard being away from the main campus and everyone else?
Nurses and Midwives have their own building on D’Olier Street where some of your lectures (but not all) will be. It’s a very convenient location as it’s only a four minute walk to campus. It can be quite difficult when you’re on Clinical Placement because you’re away from campus for two blocks throughout the year- four weeks, and six weeks, but there is an Off Campus Officer who is more than happy to address any concerns you may be having while away from campus. But overall, it’s quite refreshing being away from Campus sometimes, it helps to break things up and you don’t get sick of it.
How is it different to other nursing courses in Trinity and why did you pick this one? Why did you pick this course over UCD?
Trinity School of Nursing is ranked 1st in Ireland and 41st in the world- It’s also very central and is in the city centre, these were some of the factors that helped me to chose Trinity. Trinity also have a very good access programme for HEAR/DARE students which is a huge advantage, but yeah, location was a huge factor for me.
What is the atmosphere like? Are there many unapproachable posh people? Is it competitive?
Trinity has a great atmosphere! Especially Nursing, everyone in the course, even lecturers are so nice and genuine, and we all help each other out. There is a great feeling of inclusion. I think there is a common myth that Trinity is full of poshies, but it’s not like this at all. Attending Trinity is becoming more and more common for CAO Students, and it’s just like any other college in terms of students. Nursing was competitive to get into, due to such a high interest in it, but if you meet the entry requirements and get the points- you have just as great a chance as anyone else!
What hospitals are the placements in and how long are they?
Trinity has a number of linked hospitals for Clinical Placement. For General Nursing; James’ and Tallaght, for Children’s & General; Tallaght, for Midwifery; Rotunda and Coombe, for Mental Health; there is a variety of different hospitals. Placement lasts for weeks at a time- in 1st year you’ll do one 4 week placement in November, and another 6 week placement in March.
What is the female/male ratio like?
Nursing is a highly female dominated profession, but there are more male nurses, now more than ever. I’d say in my year there’s maybe around 20-30 male students, out of approximately 200-300 students.
Is there are a lot of maths? A lot of chemistry?
There isn’t a lot of maths- only very basic maths such as calculating drug calculations. As for Chemistry, you learn the basics in a Biology module in 1st year, but it’s nowhere near Leaving Cert standard, so don’t worry! And if you did Biology for your Leaving Cert, you’ll be fine doing the Biology module in 1st Year.
I am thinking of medicine, but I don’t think I will get in. Do you think nursing is the next place to go?
This honestly depends on you! There is a big difference between Nursing and Medicine as Nursing involves dealing and socialising with the patients. I know a few people in this situation though and they plan on advancing to Medicine after their degree- so if you really wanted to, you could. Just remember it’ll take longer!
Education and Psychology in Mary Immaculate College
Added November 2021
What does the psychology part qualify you for? Can you branch off to different areas of psychology?
After the four years, you have a degree in psychology accredited by the psychological society of Ireland. An undergraduate psychology degree does not specifically qualify you for anything, it instead prepares you for postgraduate programmes. You can branch into any area of psychology you would like. In this particular course, there is a big emphasis on psychology in the classroom but you also get to study areas such as abnormal psychology, biological psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology and many more.
Does the psychology part enhance your ability in the classroom?
On a personal level, I chose the course to help enhance my ability in the classroom. Through the study of individual differences, behaviour and special educational needs, the course is designed to give students a deeper understanding of children and their needs which can then be applied to the classroom.
Is the psychology part enjoyable?
The psychology part is demanding but it is enjoyable if you are good at managing your time. The programme is a dual degree programme which means that it is extremely busy. There is a lot of reading involved in the psychology modules. There is also a module on research methods and statistics which can be challenging but is an essential part of a degree in psychology.
Is Erasmus available?
There is currently no Erasmus available due to the course being very busy.
Can you teach abroad with this?
Yes. Once graduating, you are a qualified primary school teacher. Many graduates go to teach in the UAE or Australia after completing the course.
What is the class size?
Approximately 30-34 students.
Primary Teaching in Mary Immaculate College
Updated April 2022
Why did you choose Mary I?
I chose Mary I because it seemed like the obvious choice for Primary Teaching for me. When I started considering doing primary teaching I researched each of the colleges and the course content. Mary I just stood out to me. I liked the way first year placement was a 2 week block rather than 1 day a week for several weeks. I also really liked the way the different years of study featured a theme or a perspective of becoming a teacher. For example, Year 1 focuses on the student as learner, whilst year 2 focuses on the student as teacher and so on. Limerick is also a great student city!
How difficult is the Irish?
I suppose this question depends on the person. I wasn’t the best at Irish in secondary school but with a bit of hard work and resilience I managed. I think the same applies in terms of Irish in Mary I. The Irish isn’t hard. The lecturers acknowledge that many people had different experiences of Irish and teach each topic from the beginning. I think many people have the preconception that Irish in college is extremely difficult. I definitely had this preconception. If you attend the lectures and do the work, it’s nothing to worry about! In first year the work we do is very similar to the Leaving Certificate, we study a novel, revise grammar and so leamhuiscints.
You study Irish as a language (Teanga) and Múineadh na Gaeilge (Teaching of Irish).
What is the class size?
The overall class size varies from 25-30. However, for some modules the class is divided. There are 15 people in my Irish class and 15 in my microteaching class. This is great for class discussions and gives everybody the opportunity to ask questions!
What are the exams and assignments like?
For me, the assignments aren’t necessarily difficult, however there is a lot of them. They assignments aren’t continuous and are usually due on weeks 12/13 of the semester. They are very diverse! For one module you could be making classroom resources and for another you could be be writing an essay. There certainly are more assignments than exams.
Can you tell us about the work placement?
The work placement is a really enjoyable experience. This year first year placement took places for two weeks in week 6-8 of semester 2. I really enjoyed my placement. There is a lot of preparation and planning involved but it was really worth it.
The college really prepares you in terms of practical work and reflection. In semester 1 you study different aspects of placement such as child protection and professionalism etc. In semester 2 the mechanics of placement are emphasised, such as what school you’re going to go to or what class you teach. The college sources your placement in first year and this certainly reduces the stress! The lecturers and staff are brilliant and try to place you close to where you live or somewhere central to Mary I.
The lectures of other modules also really prepare you for placement. The modules are interwoven to support you. They teach you how to teach certain topics, guide you in lesson planning and recommend amazing resources. You are assigned topics to teach whilst on placement and these topics are addressed and taught throughout the lectures, which really helped me. For my placement I had to teach a total of 19 lessons over two weeks. The most lessons I taught a day was 3. This really gives you an opportunity to enjoy and learn strategies from the class teacher.
Modules like microteaching and Education methodology really prepare you for placement, the whole experience is really enjoyable. You are graded on placement and are assigned a tutor to inspect you, however these tutors offer you constructive criticism and support you throughout placement. They don’t feel like an inspector but more like a mentor.
Is there any specialisation?
Yes, there is specialisation. At the end of First year, you choose your arts elective. Depending on what you choose you can the specialise.
Is there Erasmus?
Yes, there is an option to go on Erasmus in third year. You can to places like Australia, North America, central and south America, Africa, Japan and China!
Do you think there will be many jobs given that birth rates are declining?
A really interesting question, honestly I don’t believe there will be a drastic shortage of jobs although there may be a decline. I think with the recognition of additional needs presenting in Irish classrooms, the level of job opportunities won’t decline to the point where there is extreme difficultly getting employed. However, it is worth noting that although there is a large demand for primary teachers now, it is highly likely that this will decrease as the population ages. Acknowledging today’s economic climate it is to be recognised that less people are having children, but this doesn’t mean there are less opportunities for a recent graduate.
Do you know what the pay is like for primary teachers?
A primary school teacher in Ireland earns about €53,000 gross per year, but this can exceed €65,000 depending. The starting salary is around €39,000.
Do you know of any “back doors” into primary teaching given the HL Irish and high points being a problem for many potential applicants?
A popular “back door” into Primary teaching would be doing a Bachelor of Arts first and then doing the PME which is the masters in education. A wide range of subjects offered in Bachelor of Arts in Mary I. Mary I offers an excellent PME problem also. The B.A is four years and the PME is two years. I know the high points can he disheartening, but there is also 5 additional places offered to HEAR applicants and 5 to DARE applicants also.
In terms of the HL Irish, it would be a good idea to choose Irish as one of the Arts subjects to better prepare you for the PME.
Institutions like Hibernia also offer the PME. Applicants have to sit a 30 minute Irish oral. You also must have a level 8 qualification so a degree in Arts or Early childhood education is worth considering!
DCU also offer a Church of Ireland route into primary teaching, however this is restricted entry but worth looking into.
I know the high points, potential applicants and HL Irish can be disheartening. I didn’t think I would get Mary I, but it was my absolute dream course and I put it as my first choice anyway! I’d really recommend to anyone considering doing it to put in down on the CAO!
Physiotherapy UCD
Why did you pick Physiotherapy?
I always knew that I wanted to do a science based course and I also knew I wanted to work with people. I have always been very interested in the human body too, so a healthcare job was an obvious choice for me. I’m also quite sporty and I think that is what really drove me to put physiotherapy down on my CAO (you definitely don’t need to be sporty though!)
Should you really be sure you want to be a physio to do this course?
I don’t think you have to be 100% sure you want to be a physio. I have learned so much during my first year about a physios job that I never knew before. There’s so many areas and elements to the job that you don’t think of. I think many people hear the word physio and immediately think of sport, but there are so many more areas you can end up working in. I do think you have to know you want to work with people and you should be interested in science.
Physiotherapy vs Medicine- how did u choose?
I never had any ambitions to do medicine. I was set on physiotherapy from early 6th year so I didn’t even consider doing the HPAT once I had my mind made up.
Could you tell us about the workload and assignments? Is it a tough course?
We had 6 different modules for each of the 2 semesters in first year. Some modules require a lot more work than others to keep on top of but I think if you know your in the right course the content is enjoyable and doesn’t feel like too much effort. Some of the modules are challenging but also very interesting. Overall the workload is definitely very manageable once you don’t let things build up. There’s plenty of time for sports, societies, clubs, nights out etc!
If you don’t do Biology for LC will you be far behind in first year?
LC biology is a small help in first year, but you definitely won’t be much further behind anyone else that did do it. LC biology only brushes the surface of a lot of the content we covered in first year. Everything you need to know for each module is covered throughout the lectures. People who did LC biology might pick up some things quicker but as someone who did LC biology the majority of the content is new knowledge so studying is necessary regardless!
Is there a lot of Chemistry on the course? What about Maths?
One of the modules in our first semester was a chemistry/biochemistry module which I didn’t expect to be doing! It’s not very relevant to physiotherapy but it important we have a well rounded knowledge of science. For this module having done LC chemistry was a huge help as the material was very similar. However, it’s only 1 module of 12 in first year so overall there’s not much chemistry, lots of people in my course never did LC chemistry and were 100% fine.
So far there isn’t much maths at all in the course and the bit that we came across isn’t difficult. Our physics module in our first semester required you to do calculations but once you understood the content the maths bit was easy!
Is there any practical work in first year?
Yes, there is! We had a massage module in our first semester which was very hands on and different from anything you’d have done before. We had a kinesiology module in the spring semester which was another practical class about gait, posture, muscle testing and joint measurements. We also got to go on a 3 day placement around St. Patrick’s day. This was the highlight of the year as it really gave a huge insight into the job of a physiotherapist.
Are there any alternative routes into physiotherapy that you are aware of? What options did you consider if you hadn’t got the points?
I know there is a few postgraduate physiotherapy courses in ireland but I’m not sure about an alternative undergraduate route. I know there’s a level 6/7 course in Letterkenny that is physio related but I’m not sure if you can transfer across.
I think on my CAO after physiotherapy I had occupational therapy which I also think would be very interesting. I had some nursing courses down too.
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