Has anyone any info on Trinity College Dublin?

[5starzz]

DS is having a nosy for History grades in hand (3xAstar). Would he be able to get a student loan to pay the fees?

Any practicalities of studying in Dublin and where would it be seen / ranked by future UK employers against top UK unis?

Fabulous @5starzz, congratulations to your boy and especially well done on securing Trinity Halls, that's a huge weight off and will give him an great network of YP!

Mine is returning for her 4th year in Sept, she's been lucky enough to get accommodation on campus, the downside will be constant tourists passing her window but a minor inconvenience, and has saved us a fair bit in £.

She didn't open an Irish account so can't help there, she's worked from her 'home' account (Barclays) and just transfers to her Monzo/Chase when needed to pay in EUR, and Revolut between student transfer type stuff. I pay her fees either by EBT or via the card link, I believe the portal allows the accommodation to be paid monthly, it's slightly cheaper if you opt to pay in EUR vs GBP, or you get your son to lodge his payment details each time for monthly and you transfer to him. It's a bit clunky but still.

Re PT work, lots of the UK kids did secure bar/waiting tables type work, but for mine, the tutoring carried her through 3 years financing all but her fees/accom. And she travelled a lot. Only this year she is reducing teaching hours to near zero as she has saved enough adding summer internship monies to focus on the final year stuff.

My final tip for your boy which understandably will not be front of mind right now is to keep an eye on the spring week/summer internships/research grants etc timelines that are available for many on the island of Ireland (inc Belfast). Most of DD's peers applied successfully, given the type of corporations out there from an EU base, it seems just more proactive vs UK on that front but that is anecdotal feedback from what we've observed.

Very best of luck to him, I hope he really enjoys it!

Congratulations to your DS! Feel free to PM me if you need any specific detail.

DD has not opened an Irish bank account, but has a Monzo card which doesn’t charge to pay in euros. We sent her monthly allowance to that card.In terms of paying her halls, just be aware that if you pay from an English bank account you will be charged conversion into euros. To avoid this, DD and I each apply for a travel pass on our Lloyds bank account, which is valid for six months. We use whichever account has the travel pass to pay the hall fees. That way, we save on any ER charges.

In order to work, your DS will need the equivalent of an NI number. He should apply for that as soon as he arrives, but it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation because you need a job offer in order to apply for the Number. To get round this, DD worked in a pub who effectively kept her wages until her number came through. Sounds dodgy, but they were honourable and did pay her everything she was owed. The NMW for 18 years old is quite generous (around €14 per hour). and if she works Sunday she got time and a half so €21 per hour which she was happy with. Pretty much none of her friends,have struggled to get to work. There is also a great line in providing tuition for kids doing the leavers cert and other academic qualifications. She has also been paid to do orchestral work and quartet work. So if your DS is musical and is able to play an orchestra, definitely encourage him to try out for that.

Our best top tip is to get a BA AMEX Avios card and put all of your household expenses through that. You’d be surprised how much you spend in a year. In order to get a reward flight saver you need 9000 miles each way and there are no other charges. We’re quite fortunate in that we live close to London City and The public transport system to LHR is also pretty good. Obviously there are cheap flights involving easyJet and Ryanair but often the baggage allowance can be prohibitively expensive so do you weigh up all of this before making your final decision on flight choices. Definitely consider the flights home now and also return in January as they get booked up very quickly and can get prohibitively expensive.

In terms of local travel, public transport is very cheap. Your DS will need to get in the swing of things in terms of understanding how to get to and from Trinity halls as they are quite far out from the City. itself. I’d also recommend taking an air bed so that friends can come to stay.

DD has had a whale of a time and this term won’t be working in order to focus on studying for the scholarship exams which are just after Christmas. Success in those means a significant saving for years three and four.… Very competitive, but you don’t know unless you try!

Congratulations to your son. He'll have a great time. Regarding the PPSN (Irish equivalent to NI no), he will need something in writing from an employer confirming a job, including start date. I suggest he opens a MyGovID account as soon as he starts job hunting. Once he has a job offer letter he can set up an appointment to get the PPSN and the PPSN card. It's an easy thing to do. They only give out PPSN to non-nationals if there's a financial transaction with the government, such as paying tax, stamp duty etc, which is why he'll require the job offer in writing.

Didn't you say your DC is entitled to an Irish passport, OP? Did he apply in the end? It might make things easier from an admin point of view with bank accounts and whatnot to have Irish ID.

Congratulations! Revolut account could easily replace a bank account for a student and is easier to get. He'll need to get a Leap Card for the buses too.
Flying isn't the only option. Sail Rail from Dublin to London via Holyhead and Birmingham is cheap and easy. And no weight restrictions (as long as he can carry it). If you have health insurance, look into coverage, seeing a consultant for any reason will be a up front charge. And remember prescriptions aren't free.

Edited to add Wise is a cheaper international fx transfer service. Way cheaper than banks usually.

It would be seen as prestigious for history- not so much for a science subject as they are more theoretical than hands on practical experience. As op have said Dublin is very expensive and has a housing crisis but lovely college, especially if you’re into history (it houses the famous book of kells)

@5starzz I thikn my DD might have a revolut not a Monzo now I think about it. And great tips there also.

My final food for thought is that on the passport front, if not applied for already and he's thinking of taking advantage of a semester or full year abroad do it now, it really does help by-pass the visa process for one/two countries if looking at EU. Of course with history, he is able to prospect a wider spread of exchange universities outside of EU too so passport badge becomes less relevant.

Great tip from @Brownthomasismynewdestination on the instrument front, the auditions for Symphony are early, standard high as most are local conservatoire/music UG but, if he does play something to high level and up for it, they go on overseas tours straight after Christmas...another group of YP to hang out with. And support the summer music festivals so you get VIP access and to stage early doors at the same time.