Erasmus.

CokaColumbo

Has anybody here gone on the Erasmus exchange programme? Is it worthwhile? Is it very competitive (I'm doing politics, history)? And do you need a whopper of a GPA to get accepted?

I'm thinking of applying for it for next year.

Cheeers.

CokaColumbo

Nobody's been on Erasmus before?

Bazzo

One of my mates who's in UCD went off on one this year, doing French and Law but I don't know much about it at all, sorry.

donkey_kong

Hi OP I'm currently on Erasmus in Aarhus, Denmark. Based on my experience so far (2 months) I'd recommend it to anybody I'm really having a ball. As to whether it is competitive, to the best of my knowledge you need a minimum GPA of 3.0 (I could be wrong here) and if your studying history and politics I guess you would prefer to go somewhere where lessons are in English, which limits your options so it can be quite competitive to get a place. I study history and there is only 8 or 9 universities you can apply for and only 3 or 4 of them offer lessons through English. The politics school may offer slightly more, I know there is a list of all places in all departments somewhere online, the staff in the international office in the Tierney Building are also very helpful. Usually around October/November there are information meetings held both by the international office and by individual departments and students who have just returned for Erasmus will speak about their experiences. Its not a decision to take lightly though, this will take up a year of your life and a horrendous amount of money (its difficult to get a part-time job if you're not fluent in their language), but overall a totally worthwhile experience which potentially makes your B.A. look a bit more appealing on a C.V. to the other thousands of unemployed arts graduates. There is also a study abroad forum on boards.ie which might help you find out about particular destinations you might have in mind etc

Jello

Just saw this on facebook - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/notes/ucd-registry/would-you-like-to-study-abroad-as-part-of-your-degree/448625632512

When you say you need a GPA of 3.0 would that be your GPA after year 2 or the average of year 1 and 2 (assuming you're doing the erasmus in year 3..) ?

CokaColumbo

Thanks for the great advice Donkey_Kong. I called into the International office today and they said they'll be holding information meetings from next week (http://www.ucd.ie/international/exchanges/outgoing_exchange/).
Jelly, they also said that 1st year results are the most important but that 2nd year christmas exams are also taken into account.

Mod, feel free to move this thread to the 'studying abroad' forum.

antomorro-sei

CokaColumbo wrote: »

they also said that 1st year results are the most important but that 2nd year christmas exams are also taken into account.

Feck. My 1st year results aren't good at all. Will have to do much better before even applying for an erasmus I guess.