Trinity College Dublin - application from UK candidate....opinions/advice

[5starzz]

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5163533-has-anyone-any-info-on-trinity-college-dublin?reply=138231133

Hello - wondered if anyone has any info on the practicalities / realities of the application process and living in Dublin, studying at TCD. I have the thread running in the Higher Ed section linked above. Thanks very much.

Where would you live. ? Accommodation in Dublin is as rare as hen’s teeth and what you can find is very expensive.

This you will pay through the nose for a shit hole in Dublin .

One student (not a trinity student) I know walked around (with his dad) to all the student accomodations (there are a few private ones) in Dublin and one had a cancellation so they got a place.

If you have any family/friends in Dublin its tax free to rent a room to a student. (Or I think there are websites that will match you up)

Trinity Hall is about 55 minutes walk, 30 minutes by bus to TCD.

Thanks @booksunderthebed thats a great tip.

Is this general or someone who is starting this year? It is really really late in the day to be looking for accommodation. I thought Trinity Hall prioritised overseas students. Have you contacted them/TCD accommodation services? Other than that you could try private student accommodation or try and studentcrib (I think that's the website but google will probably throw up the correct name if not) for a lodgings type set up. The issue there is that many are only Mon-Fri options so no use to an overseas student. Good luck! The housing situation here is a nightmare right now.

As others have said the biggest issue will be accommodation.

DS did a masters at Trinity last year and was really lucky to get student accommodation. It was €15k for the year.

Visited recently and Dublin is eye wateringly expensive. Trinity is beautiful though! What struck me is that there was very little diversity in the campus (but not Dublin city centre) compared to UK universities. I did hear that a lot of students are local and go home at weekends, so that is something to factor in.

This is for 2025 entry - so plenty of time to apply for student accomodation for the first year at least.

He already has his A level results and enough points for his course - does anyone know if he will still have to wait until end of August next year or can they give an unconditional on application?

He wouldnt be classed as an overseas/international student as UK based to within CTA and applies for the course via CAO - though it would be really handy if he was prioritised.

Pretty sure that if he’s applying through CAO that he will have to wait for the round one offers next August - the only people who will have guaranteed entry are those who have deferred entry from a previous year.

The entry points change from year to year depending on the level of interest in the course and the grades of those applying for it so be mindful of that - this year’s points may be higher or lower than next year’s.

Thanks @TheRulerofThings - I thought that might be the case.

It’s worth being aware of the fact that even if he has enough points it’s no guarantee that he will actually get on to the course. Many of the more popular ones (healthcare related especially) go into a random lottery to allocate places as there are so many students who fulfill the entry requirements but not enough space.

Thanks @CherryValley5 - yes understand that he will have to wait it out and there are no guarantees. Its for History and he has been clear of the minmum points for the last 10 years - but not taking anything for granted. He currently holds a deferred place at a UK uni so is 'safe'.