Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

All the weather in one day in Ireland Past Review

By (PSYCHOLOGY., Wellesley College) - abroad from 08/27/2012 to 12/13/2013 with

Trinity College - Dublin: Dublin - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I had a wonderful experience in Ireland-- it had more to do with travel and experiences than it did with actual courses of study, but I'm okay with that.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Compared to Wellesley College, Trinity College in Dublin was a refreshing break from the stress of schoolwork. The attitude regarding school was much more laid back; all of my classes only met once a week for 50 minutes each. I was disappointed by how few contact hours I had each week with my classes, as well as with the rigor of the classes available for me to take. I ended up getting permission to take graduate school level classes in education because I had already taken all of the classes in psychology available to me. The classes were interesting, but didn't involve homework, interaction with the teachers, or even with my classmates.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I was extremely frustrated with the administration of the program at Trinity College. There was little to no support for exchange students in terms of scheduling and registration support. We weren't even given the possible courses until the day before term started, which made registration and figuring out which courses could transfer to Wellesley really complicated and frustrating. Whenever I had a question I had to contact multiple people multiple times in order to get an answer- frequently my emails would go unanswered for weeks, or simply be forwarded from one administrator to another with no answer.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was exceptional.

* Food:

Trinity College does not have a dining hall or meal program, something which was never advertised or addressed by the office of study abroad at Wellesley or in the admissions information I received from Trinity. Had I been aware I would have to buy and cook all my own food I would have budgeted differently, so I would have appreciated that information before I arrived in Ireland.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt integrated with the local culture because I had two Irish Suitemates and I rowed for the crew team, but other than that I didn't really have any interaction with many Irish students.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I felt very safe in Dublin- whenever there was an incident on or near campus Trinity was very helpful in providing the students with information and advice. I never personally felt unsafe out and about in the city, or walking about on campus.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

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

Not very easily because of the lack of advanced knowledge about the meal plan situation.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? spent around 50-75 euro a week on food.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? eat pasta as much as you can, and if you're going to go out to bars, it's cheaper to drink before hand than to buy drinks at a bar. Just saying.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Educational flexibility
  • Way more laid back than Wellesley
  • Time to travel.
* What could be improved?
  • Better food options
  • More contact hours for the psychology department at Trinity
  • More advice from Wellesley on budgeting and spending while abroad.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I had known about the lack of meal plan/ need to cook my own meals, as well as how laid back the programs at Trinity were. I might have taken courses outside my major/minor just for the experience and to have the freedom to take them without the stress on grades which we have at Wellesley.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.
The Academic or Linguist
You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!