10 Questions About UCD.

Gary4279

Hi All,
I'm a leaving cert student, well i was, and i am hoping to go to ucd next year to do an arts degree. I have a few questions about ucd. i'm sure you can all answer them for me.

1) how does the 1st week of an arts degree work?

2)how many days/hours on average are arts students in class?

3)with the recession at the mo, how does one go about financial matters. ie being a stingy fecker?:p

4)whats the difference between lectures and seminars?

5)do you have a set teacher for each module?

6) my school was full of junkies (im being serious, like proper heroine junkies), what the crowd like in ucd?

7) with all that class time,studying and a part time job if your lucky, how do you find the time to go out?

8) leading on from my last question, is there much to do in ucd? ie. bar ect...

9)all my mates are going to maynooth!:( is it hard to make new ones in college?

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.

thanks in advance!!!!:D

dyl10

1) If I remember correctly, there's a schedule of sample lectures for each subject. This is to give you an idea of what each course is about.

2) Hours vary from the high teens to the high 20s, typically.

3) That would depend on whether you live at home or not. Living cheaply from home is easy, I'm sure someone else can advise you about living cheap on/around campus.

4) That's a secret

5) You may have a set lecturer or you may have several lecturers. You will have specific module coordinators though.

6) Very mixed. People from everywhere. But typically, the majority population of UCD wouldn't have a whole lot of experience with that "harder" side of life.

7) You'll make time. Chances are, you won't go to as many lectures and tutorials as you may originally think.

8) Loads to do in UCD. 2 bars(that I know of), loads of sports, gym, shops, lakes, restaurants, Cafes

9) If you're open and motivated to make new friends, you shouldn't have much of a problem. The majority of new friends I made who were also in UCD, I actually met while working my part-time job.

10) Every student has to get a student card. You'll be informed of details closer to the start of college.

Blush_01

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Gary4279 wrote: »

1) how does the 1st week of an arts degree work?

The first week (after the induction days, which are basically just an introduction to UCD and some free stuff) is pretty standard. The workload is very different - not necessarily heavier, but different, so you might get a bit of a shock - I know it sounds naive, but I was amazed that we were doing Hamlet in 3 lectures, because in secondary school we'd spent months on MacBeth - be prepared to get lost, arrive in lectures late, possibly end up in the wrong place completely - and don't be surprised if you do all of the above while very drunk/hungover.

Gary4279 wrote: »

2)how many days/hours on average are arts students in class?

In first year, I think I had about 16 or 20 hours a week, plus three tutorials. I was in Monday to Friday. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the only time you have college is when you have class - you will have a lot of independent study to do too if you want to do well. For some people, that means the library. For others, it means home, or getting together with a group of people to argue over ideas. Never underestimate secondary reading.

Gary4279 wrote: »

3)with the recession at the mo, how does one go about financial matters. ie being a stingy fecker?:p

Don't buy your food on campus for a start - make and bring in your own lunch. Failing that, the SU shop is subsidised (or was when I was a student) and they do some sandwiches and rolls, but the nice ones go quickly, so shop early! Some places on campus are very expensive, but the bars used to do hot food for a very reasonable price. Elements (in Science) is very hit and miss, and the prices are steep enough depending on what you want to eat. Keep the money for socialising - it's a very important part of college life.

Gary4279 wrote: »

4)whats the difference between lectures and seminars?

Lectures are bigger, and often broader. Seminars are more specific, almost like a cross between a lecture and a tutorial. You'll know what I mean when you get there. They're the best place to specialise in what you're really interested in, so choose wisely, and let the lecturers dictate your choice as much as the subject matter. Some lecturers are amazing - always aim to study from the best.

Gary4279 wrote: »

5)do you have a set teacher for each module?

Not necessarily, although occasionally this happens. It can vary dramatically, with only one lecturer for each lecture in a module, or you might have a set lecturer with the occasional guest lecturer. Modules will have a theme - that's the consistent part in each module, not the lecturer. Also, remember to ask questions - usually after the lecture, not during - because you might not see that lecturer again.

Gary4279 wrote: »

6) my school was full of junkies (im being serious, like proper heroine junkies), what the crowd like in ucd?

Very varied. VERY varied.

Gary4279 wrote: »

7) with all that class time,studying and a part time job if your lucky, how do you find the time to go out?

Socialising becomes a priority pretty quickly for most. That doesn't necessarily mean getting buckled, but you'll find a way, trust me!

Gary4279 wrote: »

8) leading on from my last question, is there much to do in ucd? ie. bar ect...

You'll always have something to do, particularly if you get involved, be it in a club, society, sports team, the radio, paper, CTN (if that's still around) or any of the number of other things to do on campus. Plus, there are (were?) two bars on campus.

Gary4279 wrote: »

9)all my mates are going to maynooth!:( is it hard to make new ones in college?

Some people find it difficult. I didn't, because I pushed myself, joined lots of things on Fresher's week in the tent (where the societies pimp themselves for new members and give you lots of free stuff for the membership fees - there are also clubs pimping themselves in the sports centre) and started talking to strangers randomly. Worked for me!

Gary4279 wrote: »

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.

You'll be issued a student card when you start in UCD. Be prepared to hate the photo which you'll probably be stuck with for the rest of your time as a student there, and the queues will be something else.

Enjoy yourself. It's the most important part of college. The course you do will only give you part of your college experience. Don't waste it!

liamygunner29

Hi All,
I'm a leaving cert student, well i was, and i am hoping to go to ucd next year to do an arts degree. I have a few questions about ucd. i'm sure you can all answer them for me.

1) how does the 1st week of an arts degree work?

2)how many days/hours on average are arts students in class?

3)with the recession at the mo, how does one go about financial matters. ie being a stingy fecker?

4)whats the difference between lectures and seminars?

5)do you have a set teacher for each module?

6) my school was full of junkies (im being serious, like proper heroine junkies), what the crowd like in ucd?

7) with all that class time,studying and a part time job if your lucky, how do you find the time to go out?

8) leading on from my last question, is there much to do in ucd? ie. bar ect...

9)all my mates are going to maynooth! is it hard to make new ones in college?

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.

thanks in advance!!!!"

1.First the week before the rest of college starts you have orientation which you should do. But the most important thing you should do is when you find out the registration dates be up at 9 and pick your subjects or you could be left with anything. Then you get your timetable and thats it.

2. I had like 15 but never went to more then 10 and got by. But you gotta go to seminars as they are marked for attendance.

3. Really depends on if your at home or not. If not you will survive just buy in bulk.

4. It really is a secret.

5. Nah and you could go your whole degree without them knowing your name!!

6. bit more upmarket and generally a good athmosphere but its so big if you look hard enuf you could find anything.

7. When you actually get into the swing of arts you will realise this will not be a problem at all!! Trust me not even a tiny bit!!

8. Ya the bars ok. but its all about puttin yourself out there.

9. If your not livin on campus and doin arts its all about joinin stuff..like everything!! if you play football join the super league and even better if your any good join my time!!

10. you will be send a booklet with all that stuff.

Mr.Nice Guy

1) First week you'll wonder what the hell you've let yourself in for. People will be everywhere and the place will likely seem quite overwhelming. Luckily there will be a lot of people in the same boat as you so fear not! You will have to choose your subjects. My advice is choose what you like, not what you or anyone else thinks would be a good idea. I chose economics and politics as 2 of my 3 subjects as I thought they would be good subjects to know. I ended up hating both. Luckily I swapped economics for history, which I loved, but I was stuck with the politics for the 3 years. :rolleyes:

Really wish I'd done English instead of politics. Choose wisely!

2) Generally you'll likely be expected to come in every day and will perhaps have around 15 hours a week. Not many will come in for everything they're supposed to.

3) If you're at home you'll be grand. Campus life is another story. Either way avoid the Arts cafe as it's a rip-off and be careful about borrowing books as the fines (in my view) are ridiculously OTT.

4) Lectures are in the theatres. They're grand. Lecturer talks, you listen (assuming you go ). Seminars are smaller and in classroom-sized rooms with a group of maybe 12 or more. You're marked for attending these so I'd recommend you don't miss these ones. These are the best places to make friends in your course from my experience.

5) Unlikely. I'd say you'll have a good few lecturers.

6) My school was pretty rough as well and I found UCD a strange experience at first. I remember in my first lecture looking around the theatre at everybody listening and eager to learn. No bottles being thrown around the room or people trying to mess with your stuff. The crowd in UCD are a lot easier than what you're used to I imagine. There are arseholes but I found mainly they're only high on their own sense of self-importance.

7) Class time? Studying? You have a lot to learn my friend. :cool:

8) Huge range of choices in the clubs and societies. My main regret from first year is not sticking with the things I joined. Make the most of Fresher's week.

9) I won't lie, it requires effort. I didn't put much in during first year and found it difficult but I stuck through it. Second and third year were then easier for me. I think first year is the year many students find the most difficult with regards to socialising. Quite a high drop out rate in the first few weeks and months if I'm not mistaken. I'd recommend joining societies and clubs and sticking with it and trying to make small talk with people next to you in your lectures and seminars. Push yourself and you'll do fine.

10) Getting the card's no big deal but as has been said the photo will likely suck. Mine makes me look like I'm advertising anti-depressants.

Hope it all goes well for you anyway, assuming you come here.

Gary4279

thanks for clearing that up for me guys. hopefully it all goes well!!:p

Sad Professor

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

1)Luckily I swapped economics for history, which I loved, but I was stuck with the politics for the 3 years. :rolleyes:

Did you really find Politics that bad? How did other people in your class find it?

I'm seriously considering doing it as I do find politics interesting but there is a little nagging doubt in the back of mind.

dyl10

Sad Professor wrote: »

Did you really find Politics that bad? How did other people in your class find it?

I'm seriously considering doing it as I do find politics interesting but there is a little nagging doubt in the back of mind.

If you like something and are serious about it, then do it.
People typically tend to struggle with subjects they are unmotivated for.

Frank Grimes

Sad Professor wrote: »

Did you really find Politics that bad? How did other people in your class find it?

I'm seriously considering doing it as I do find politics interesting but there is a little nagging doubt in the back of mind.

Like dyl10 said, if you're interested in it and think it's for you, then go for it. I just finished a Politics/Sociology joint major; I had originally picked politics as my 'third' subject but I ended up loving it - I'm going on to do a masters in International Relations in September. Take a look around the UCD site and read the module descriptions of the various politics modules, it'll give you an idea on whether it's for you or not.

Mr.Nice Guy

Sad Professor wrote: »

Did you really find Politics that bad? How did other people in your class find it?

I'm seriously considering doing it as I do find politics interesting but there is a little nagging doubt in the back of mind.

Well as has been said already everyone's different so I don't want to scare off anybody who really has their heart set on it.

I personally had quite an interest in politics when I was in school and wanted to learn more about it in college. I figured I'd end up as some sort of political journalist in the future.

What disappointed me was that there was far less of a focus on politics in this country than I expected. I remember there was in first year but after that I mainly seemed to have choices that related to international politics and - most disappointing of all - political theory courses which I found incredibly dull.

Politics is very much theory-based. Hobsbawm thinks this, Marx argues this etc. If that's your cup of tea then by all means go for it and there were clearly a lot of people in my lectures that were fascinated by this kind of thing, but I learned the hard way it's not for me.

I much preferred history to politics so I reckon I'm someone that favours facts and actual events over hypotheses and potential events.

In defence of the subject I do think the lecturers for the most part are excellent and I do feel I have learned a great deal more about conflicts and ideologies that I previously would not have known about. Ultimately though it was a hard slog getting through it all.

princess-sprkle

Sad Professor wrote: »

Did you really find Politics that bad? How did other people in your class find it?

I'm seriously considering doing it as I do find politics interesting but there is a little nagging doubt in the back of mind.

Do politics if you find it interesting. i'm finishing up a masters in it this year and i'm so glad i did it! if you dont like it you can always skip it for second year or whatever.

MrMatisse

Gary4279 wrote: »

Hi All,
I'm a leaving cert student, well i was, and i am hoping to go to ucd next year to do an arts degree. I have a few questions about ucd. i'm sure you can all answer them for me.

1) how does the 1st week of an arts degree work?

Ya generally just float about, go to lots of different lectures and sample all the different subjects.

2)how many days/hours on average are arts students in class?

Very few. 15 max

3)with the recession at the mo, how does one go about financial matters. ie being a stingy fecker?:p

Tough at UCD everything on campus is expensive.

4)whats the difference between lectures and seminars?

There isnt one.

5)do you have a set teacher for each module?

Maybe, maybe not

6) my school was full of junkies (im being serious, like proper heroine junkies), what the crowd like in ucd?

one word. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly.

7) with all that class time,studying and a part time job if your lucky, how do you find the time to go out?

If your doing arts you wont have to study that hard, and you'll prob end up going to fu*ck all lectures.

8) leading on from my last question, is there much to do in ucd? ie. bar ect...
Theres a bar and lots of clubs.

9)all my mates are going to maynooth!:( is it hard to make new ones in college?
Not if you join lots of clubs. Especially if your doing arts.

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.
They give you one in your first week during registration

thanks in advance!!!!:D

.

Xhristy

This post has been deleted.

rainbow kirby

1) how does the 1st week of an arts degree work?
Go to lectures, try not to be weirded out by the 500 people in your lecture, try a few different subjects before you make your final choices.

2)how many days/hours on average are arts students in class?
Not enough imo - and you'll still end up skipping half of them.

3)with the recession at the mo, how does one go about financial matters. ie being a stingy fecker?:p
Bring a packed lunch from home, food in UCD is way too expensive. Get your student travel card as soon as possible too if you use buses a lot.

4)whats the difference between lectures and seminars?
Seminars usually have a smaller group.

5)do you have a set teacher for each module?
You'll usually have one lecturer for each module, but some modules might have different lecturers for different parts. Your tutorials will probably be taught by a bored-looking postgrad.

6) my school was full of junkies (im being serious, like proper heroine junkies), what the crowd like in ucd?
Depends really - arts and commerce tend to be full of the D4 type, science and engineering less so.

7) with all that class time,studying and a part time job if your lucky, how do you find the time to go out?
You'll make time!

8) leading on from my last question, is there much to do in ucd? ie. bar ect...
2 bars (there were still 3 when I started in UCD... Sports Bar RIP), lots of societies and clubs. I strongly recommend getting involved with clubs and societies, it's a great way to get to know people, especially from outside your course.

9)all my mates are going to maynooth!:( is it hard to make new ones in college?
First year in college is one of the best times to make new friends, because nearly everyone is in the same position as you. You'll be fine

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.
You'll (most likely) get it when you register.

errlloyd

Gary4279 wrote: »

Hi All,

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.

Ok I know this thread is old, but the best way to save money in cineworld is to buy an unlimited card. 240 for the year means you have to see like 40 movies or so. Easy...

El Siglo

Gary4279 wrote: »

Hi All,
I'm a leaving cert student, well i was, and i am hoping to go to ucd next year to do an arts degree. I have a few questions about ucd. i'm sure you can all answer them for me.

1) how does the 1st week of an arts degree work?

A) You go to intro lectures on modules you've chosen, mostly just getting used to the place.

2)how many days/hours on average are arts students in class?

A) 12 hours of lectures and about 2-4 on tutorials, so 14-16 hours per week in first year and then this decline in 2nd and 3rd year.

3)with the recession at the mo, how does one go about financial matters. ie being a stingy fecker?

A) Borrow, any kind of part-time work, save whatever money possible, go on the cheap etc... the usual student type stuff.

4)whats the difference between lectures and seminars?

A) Lecture is larger, you listen and take notes etc... seminar is smaller, and requires some participation but other than than size they're pretty much the same.

5)do you have a set teacher for each module?

A) No, there can be a number of lecturers (not teachers, these people have doctrates) for a module but on average 2 people will run the module.

6) my school was full of junkies (im being serious, like proper heroine junkies), what the crowd like in ucd?

A) No junkies, very nice crowd, you should never have problems like this, it is a university after all so don't expect to see them around, the worst you can expect is fools who can't handle their drink and a few stoners not major.

7) with all that class time,studying and a part time job if your lucky, how do you find the time to go out?

A) Where there's a will there's a way!;)

8) leading on from my last question, is there much to do in ucd? ie. bar ect...

A) Tons of stuff to do, you'll never be bored.

9)all my mates are going to maynooth!:( is it hard to make new ones in college?

A) No, it takes a month, September will be awful but after that you'll love it and will have tons of friends!

10) how do you get a student card? i want that 2euro saving in cineworld.

A) They'll be there in the arts block next week, so €15 and you're sorted for cineworld for the year!

dyl10

errlloyd wrote: »

Ok I know this thread is old, but the best way to save money in cineworld is to buy an unlimited card. 240 for the year means you have to see like 40 movies or so. Easy...

I'd say I'd be doing well if I've been to the cinema close to 20 times in a single year :eek: