should I attend IT blanchardstown?

stacerz17

so my sister told me not to go because she heard Blanchardstown isnt very nice but she's never been and neither have I. nobody knows anything so i decided to ask you guys.

Im a quiet girl from Kilkenny so Im a bit apprehensive.

is it a good college?
is it strict on attendance?
what are the amenities like?
what are the lecturers like?
what is the area like?
how far is it from the UCD area and do buses go often?

basically i want to know is it a good college and should i accept or reapply somewhere else?

thanks

stacerz17

so im a quiet girl from kilkenny and got accepted into IT blanchardstown.
i know nothing about the colege though my sister heard it is rough and is telling me not to go.

ill be deferring the place to save anyway so would i be better to refuse it and reapply on the cao again next year or is the college good?

im totally lost as i dont know anything about the area

thanks

stacerz17

stacerz17 wrote: »

so my sister told me not to go because she heard Blanchardstown isnt very nice but she's never been and neither have I. nobody knows anything so i decided to ask you guys.

Im a quiet girl from Kilkenny so Im a bit apprehensive.

is it a good college?
is it strict on attendance?
what are the amenities like?
what are the lecturers like?
what is the area like?
how far is it from the UCD area and do buses go often?

basically i want to know is it a good college and should i accept or reapply somewhere else?

thanks

I'll try to answer the questions.

Yes, I think it is a good college. Since it's so small in comparison to major universities, you get to know other people and lecturers on a first name basis quite quickly.

No, I don't think most colleges care if you attend or not. However, some lectures might be more strict than the college itself. Attendance on comes in if you do poorly in a module. The exams board will look at your attendance and may decide to pass you (this is what I was told in first/second year).

The amenities are ok. As more student come to the college, it can be quite difficult to find a computer during college times. The gym is quite small, but has everything you would need. The canteen is ok. Although you may struggle to get a chair in the canteen on busy days. The library is good enough for the size of the college, and has most of the books relevant to the courses the college runs.

On my course (CompSci), most of the lectures are good. All are very friendly, and normally get to know you on a first name basis.

I like Blanch. Although I'm probably bias, considering I've lived there my entire life. With the Blanch centre only 15-20mins from college, you're never too far from a major bus terminus.

Quite far. I'm not sure about the buses, you should check http://dublinbus.ie. I think the 39 (39A?) goes from Belfield (UCD campus) to the Blanch Centre, and from there it's a longish walk, or ITB shuttle bus.

Imo, I would accept the course in ITB. If you don't like it, you could always dropout.

KonFusion

Threads Merged.

Welcome to the forum stacerz17. Try to avoid double posts in the future.

Lola92

I live south side near enough to UCD and I'm starting second year in ITB. I really like the college. My course is quite small, it started with around 50 students in the class. I have found almost all of the lecturers to be very good, they know you on a first name basis. If you have any issues or concerns about the course work they will do their best to help you out. The amenities are okay, for a college of its size. The canteen can be expensive but I have never not been able to find a seat.

About the area to be honest I wouldn't say its the best, quite rough. One friend of mine was mugged at the bus stop after college and got her laptop taken at 4pm in the afternoon with around 5 other people there, another friend had her car burnt out right outside her house which is a 5 min walk from the college. With regard to travel times if I were to get a bus home for me would probably take 2 hours (I am about 10mins from UCD).

Xrox

Hey Stacey,

Ill start out by stating I have attended 3 colleges in my long and varied carrer as a college student UL, DIT and ITB. Most of the pros for ITB have been covered as it is a smaller college so the lecturers actually know who are you are and care about weather you turn up and most importantly care if you pass.

In UL eventho I loved the college and people you are just a number and they dont give 2 fu#ks about you. DIT is even worse than UL.

ITB has an excellent staff that will look after you in DIT we didnt even have a proper timetable till a month before xmas exams and the whole college is a mess in regards administration.

The college library isnt massive but they will have everything you need to complete your studies. The sport facilities are improving every year as the college becomes a significant player in numberous sports (beating top universities with vast budgets).

If your moving to Dublin to go to college in ITB I do not understand why you'd want to live by UCD unless your a D4 wanna be lol just kidding. Id recommend you live closer in towards the city in the Navan road housing areas or even phibsboro so you have ease of access to the city (for night life) and to the college.

As for the area EVERY collegeI have attended has its dodgey areas close by as the cheap rental prices due to the vast amount of accomedation and the cheapier land areas colleges get built in i.e. the college can snap up vast land banks for expansion. So unless a college has its own on campus accoodation like UL did I would never recommend living right next to many college.

Hope this helps if you have any other questions just ask.

ilovesmoothies

Hi Stacey! I would definately recommend that you accept your offer instead of wasting another year. Its a grand college. It may be small and sometimes a little unorganised but as previous posts have pointed out, it has everything that you should need. I am a 4th year doing the Social Care course. Lecturers are not strict on attendance but if you are missing a lot of tutorials it will be noticed. I agree with the post above. If you are on the border line of passing or failing exams lecturers will look back at attendance and if you were seen to have missed lots of classes you would more than likely fail..! Ahh! Most of the lecturers are lovely though. I have made lots of lovely friends during my time there too! Best of luck with your future studies!

ps the Blanchardstown shopping centre is down the road too so its handy for shopping during long breaks and the National Aquatic Centre is only down the road too!! :-)