Trinity College Vs Leeds

[Thebestdays]

Hello

My son has strong feelings about studying at Trinity College Dublin and trying to find out some more information, does anybody have any feedback or experience on this University?

I would love to knows more about what is it like academically and how much it would cost per academic year if applying from the UK?

I am Irish by birth, would that have any impact and also the fact he would hold an Irish passport?

Is it known for any certain subject strengths, I'm a bit clueless around this so thanks in advance.

[SpringFan]

It all depends on which subject he wants to do.
Not Trinity but DS did a semester at UCD as part of his degree, under the Erasmus scheme. He would have gone back for his MA but the drop in the £ after the Brexit vote put him off, especially as living in Dublin was expensive. It might be worth contacting Trinity to find out what difference the Irish passport makes, and of course, Brexit will affect things.
When DS looked at Leeds it seemed reasonable and accomodation seemed plentiful and not too expensive according to the students he met. ( As you mentioned it).
Would it be worth exploring which Universities offer a student exchange with Trinity? Might be able to do year or a semester as part of a UK degree. In his experience they get looked after quite well.DS had reduced UK fees for that year as well.

[Thebestdays]

Thanks SpringFan

Really helpful thoughts and feedback. I didn't think about the expense of Dublin but it's definitely something to factor within the mix of everything else.

Much appreciated.

[GrouchoMrx]

Fees of less than £3000 for Trinity College Dublin versus £9,250 for Leeds. Dublin would seem like a no-brainer.

[SpringFan]

Not entirely convinced! I think we paid about 70 % of the entire previous year UK uni hall fee for the semester at UCD . Uk uni cost included 19 meals per week (weekday lunch pass included, brunch at the weekend) UCD didn't include lunch. With much higher rents and costs in the Dublin it would be easy to end up paying out the same overall. The other factor would be student loan and what scholarship op son could get in Ireland.
Our DC looked seriously at studying within EE A and it's more complex than fees alone. For eg. health costs if he is ill.
That said he loved his time in Dublin. The deciding factor going back for his Master's was fhe volatility of the currency

[titchy]

He won't get a maintenance loan if he goes to TCD. Just be aware!

[Decorhate]

Neither will he get a loan for tuition fees from the UK. Yes overall the cost is lower but only if you are self-funding. The outlay is a lot higher in Ireland. A high percentage of students live at home & go to their local uni because of this.

You should also carefully research the entry requirements. For very competitive subjects you may find that the standard 3 A Levels which are the norm here won’t produce enough points.

[Thebestdays]

Very interesting points raised, thanks very much. It's a expensive business overall and it's good to know the options and possible pitfalls!

The power of Mumsnet!

[MarchingFrogs]

Doing a year abroad in Dublin as part of a degree at a UK university, he would get at least the same level of maintenance loan as for the other years here.

[User7369]

Honestly would advise anyone against Trinity at the moment if coming from the UK. There’s currently a massive housing crisis in Ireland with very little political will to fix it. If he’s lucky enough to find somewhere it will be expensive and sub par. Sorry to be a downer just really think this is worth serious consideration- if money isn’t an issue then you can’t really Beat Dublin for the craic.

[mashpot]

I agree that he will struggle to get enough points for Trinity if he has done less than 4 A levels. The standards are very high. What is he interested in studying? The new Business School is great, they are strong in natural sciences and biological sciences, economics and philosophy, theatre studies, English lit...