English at UCD?

GOCathail

I am a sixth year student, and am considering pursuing further education in English. Could anyone please tell me what they think of the course in UCD - past experiences, comments on lecturers, the campus, and the like.
I would love to hear any stories/advice you have to help me decide which course to take. Thank you all very much.

I am reasonably distraught - I am totally torn between going to UCD or Trinity,
is there anything that puts UCD far above TCD in your opinions?

Thanks.

Stuck Cone

How boring, both are pretentious shoiteholes, stay clear

Luca Brasi

Stuck Cone wrote: »

How boring, both are pretentious shoiteholes, stay clear

With an attitude and chip on the shoulder like that you will end up assistant burger flipper in McDonalds and get nominated (not win) the occasional Staff member of the Month

Stuck Cone

Luca Brasi wrote: »

With an attitude and chip on the shoulder like that you will end up assistant burger flipper in McDonalds and get nominated (not win) the occasional Staff member of the Month

LOL, im a professional, if the kid wants to get caught up in class warfare and "what does your parents do?" Dublin nonsensery then let him go on ahead

Try

UCC
DCU
NUIG
Queens


Instead

Witcher

Stuck Cone wrote: »

LOL, im a professional, if the kid wants to get caught up in class warfare and "what does your parents do?" Dublin nonsensery then let him go on ahead

'Dublin nonsensery'...a good, reasonable argument there:rolleyes: Never encountered that once in UCD.

OP, go to the open days in UCD and Trinity; you'll see both and get answers to your questions. If you're considering English then you'll be doing a lot of reading, the same for history...having a serious interest in both is a must really..if you're just doing them because you have a passing interest you'll find them hard.

kingcobra

Blay wrote: »

'Dublin nonsensery'...a good, reasonable argument there:rolleyes: Never encountered that once in UCD.

OP, go to the open days in UCD and Trinity; you'll see both and get answers to your questions. If you're considering English then you'll be doing a lot of reading, the same for history...having a serious interest in both is a must really..if you're just doing them because you have a passing interest you'll find them hard.

Unfortunately the Open Days have already passed by so it's too late to go to them now. However I think they have open evenings for arts degrees so give them a look. I'd say Trinity has a better reputation for arts but I think for this case you should go around each campus and get a feel for the college and college life and then base your decision on that

GOCathail

Stuck Cone wrote: »

LOL, im a professional, if the kid wants to get caught up in class warfare and "what does your parents do?" Dublin nonsensery then let him go on ahead

Try

UCC
DCU
NUIG
Queens


Instead

I'm afraid that both UCD and TCD have much better reputations than DCU and NUIG for arts, while UCC is on a par with them (or so I'm led to believe). Meanwhile Queens, as it is in NI is more expensive to go to plus accommodation is rather expensive so that's a no go.
As for "Dublin nonsensery" the fact that you're making a blanket indictment of all universities in Dublin ( bar UCD I assume, as you listed it ) shows that you are probably not as wise as you claim to be. Thanks for the exceptionally unhelpful response.

To everyone else, thanks very much for actually giving me advice!
As regards Open Days, I went to both UCD's and TCD's, I also went to NUIM's - all three had aspects I loved. UCD has a brilliant campus in my view, plus class A facilities. While TCD is bang on in the city centre and is very prestigious... So attending open days only confused me more!
Thanks again, and any more advice is very welcome!

Maldesu

I'm doing English as a minor in UCD and it's pretty heavy going. If you plan on taking English as a single major, be ready for a heavy work load esp after 1st year. I know a few people who are doing it and the end of the semester has lots of essays to hand up. If you take it with something else, be careful you don't overload yourself with tough modules. This would be the same in TCD.

1st year - mix of essays and group projects. Lectures were pretty good, but the tutorials can really depend on the tutor and other students. Direct entry to English has some different modules to the Joint BA entry, such as 'The Essay' while the Joint has 'Literary Genre' (good module but crap tutor in my case).

If you are taking English in UCD, be prepared for the amount of work you have to do. Plenty of reading and research. Your lectures will be packed with people (at least at the start), up to 400-500. English in Trinity will be in smaller lectures but I've no idea about the content.

Don't pick your college based on its prestige - pick it on the content and on your circumstances.
This link will show you the list of modules on offer for the direct entry to English. Take a look and judge from there.

Mardy Bum

Stuck Cone wrote: »

How boring, both are pretentious shoiteholes, stay clear

Stuck Cone wrote: »

LOL, im a professional, if the kid wants to get caught up in class warfare and "what does your parents do?" Dublin nonsensery then let him go on ahead

Try

UCC
DCU
NUIG
Queens


Instead

Superficial Ross O Carroll Kelly view of all things south Dublin: check.

How enlightened you are for a "professional".

I would advice picking a double major rather than a single major for future career opportunities and to widen your base of knowledge. If so pleases you could specialise in English with a postgraduate course.

alphamule

What books do you read in First year English??

Maldesu

You can get the reading lists here.

alphamule

Maldesu wrote: »

You can get the reading lists here.

Outstanding!