Mature student with a choice between UCD, DCU & UL

Tmoll1985

I'm 25 and having applied to 17 courses, studying honours maths since august, sitting my leaving cert HL maths paper and going through various interviews and procedures for college courses for the past year I am left with this choice for september.

UCD - DN 077 Engineering Undenominated
DCU - DC 200 Engineering Undenominated
UL - LM 087 Energy

Both UCD and DCU are under the condition that I achieve C3 in HL leaving cert maths this year (having checked my answers online I'm nearly certain of at least a .

The UL course also requires HL maths but i was offered a place regardless after my interview. The UL course is also a science course not an engineering course.

I am a qualified plumber and intend on taking the mechanical engineering route should i choose UCD or DCU.

I have researched each course myself but would appreciate anybodies view on which course is best, or any personal experience of any course or anybodys view on whether "the energy/green energy sector" is going to turn out to be a fad or if there is a bright future to be had pursueing a career in this sector.

I know I'm asking alot of questions at once here but I would value advice from someone with experience in engineering alot more over each institutions blurb about the course on their website.

muboop1

Green energy is not a fad but a way of life for the future. Fact is that natural resources are on the fall. So renewable resources are necessary for our future. So it can safely be assumed that it will not be a "fad".

Regarding your courses. Do you want advice on what one to take or what?

Tmoll1985

well basically yes, i'm looking peoples opinion on which course would be the best. at the moment im thinking UCD but taught it to be wise to ask the opinion of people with more experience than myself.

pljudge321

Look at the modules for every year of each course. You can also judge a course a lot by the amount of postgraduate work being done in the area. More postgraduate students means more Teaching Assistants. All three colleges have good engineering reputations, I have been told by professional engineers to be wary of engineering courses that aren't a core disclipline.

The mechanical class sizes are quite large in UCD, upwards of 100, there also aren't many mature students if that is also a consideration. Doing a general entry course is the right way to go, you never know how much you'll like any of the other disciplines untill you try them.

CatFromHue

im not sure about ucd but ul and as far as i know dcu have a work placement as part of their courses
this can be very handy when you leave college as you have some experience already

i dont know anything about the energy course in ul but you mention that you want to do mech eng if you get into ucd or dcu. ul also offer a mech eng course but is it possible to transfer to it from the energy course?

also fair'd use to you for going back and getting your maths

pljudge321

No placement in UCD, the college would be of the view that a semester off for work would be a semester packed full of maths, physics and engineering modules wasted.

Tmoll1985

Thanks lads appreciate the input. As far as I know UCD do an employment placement scheme from this link http://www.ucd.ie/mecheng/me_academic_grad.html . Im still thinking UCD. It also looks like the most demanding from what I can gather.

pljudge321

There are undergraduate engineering jobs available during the summer if you go looking for them, being a qualified plumber as well would be a definite advantage in this regard. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

dan_d

I did civil in UCD-graduated 2005.
The Mech class was as big as ours, about 80-90 people in it. As far as I remember it's a fairly demanding course. They do a lot of labs, in final year a lot of presentations and it's pretty in depth. Long hours - don't expect an easy ride.
Again as far as I remember they did have to do a work placement, but it was for the summer of 3rd year, whereas ours was a 5 month placement in third year. It was compulsory though.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

pprendeville

UL - Energy

am thinking of going back myself to do mechatronics in DCU. have level 7 ordinary degree in mech eng. have looked around and DCU seems to be pretty highly regarded plus they're meant to be good at finding work or helping you. at the end of the day that's what it's all about. making contacts and getting your foot in the door somewhere.

Turbulent Bill

DCU

I'd go down the undenominated route, always better to have a good general grounding in the various fields before specialising IMHO. If you're interested in mech and energy you can always tailor your project work later in the course (final year project etc.) to these areas.

I voted for UCD, but I think DCU has a good reputation also. As a mature student you should also check out the mature student supports in each university, as you're likely to have a different perspective on the learning experience than most of your classmates. Best of luck!

Darren1o1

UL - Energy

I voted for DCU. I like the support from the lecturers, small classes, and the internship. I did medical mechanical (precursor to Biomedical), and I am doing the mechanical masters.
I am working in the US now and my final year project and work experience got me here. I cannot recommend it enough and I met some of my best friends there. One of which is a mature candidate, now on a PhD scholarship, and P/T lecturing. I cannot speak much for or against the others, as I have no experience.

Zen65

DCU

Tmoll1985 wrote: »

I am left with this choice for september.

UCD - DN 077 Engineering Undenominated
DCU - DC 200 Engineering Undenominated
UL - LM 087 Energy

I have recruited graduates from all three universities over the last 10 years or so. I find UCD grads generally best prepared in terms of flexibility of expertise, but there's not a whole lot between them. I may have a bias as I graduated from UCD myself many moons ago.

I know UCD has an active energy research unit there too. On the other hand, the placement module in DCU can be advantageous.

Good luck,


Z