Trinity or UCD?

Shards

Im trying to decide whether to go to UCD or Trinity. I know this forum will be a li'l biased but when i went on the UCD forum everyone was talking about how it was extremely difficult to make friends or have any sort of social life unless you were sort of some clique already. so whats the social scene like in trinity?

Kevin_rc_ie

You must be in 5th year or below.

the social scene, is what you make of it, but you get more bang for yor buck in trinity than elsewhere.

[age old advice]

Don't decide on a college, decide on a course.

[/age old advice]

Kevin_rc_ie

but the question was

so whats the social scene like in trinity?

...

Jonny Arson

Trinity, trinity, trinity!

and this is coming from a UCD student.

Cliques are hugely rampant in my course Arts in UCD4 = rubbish social life....... but I'm sure there will be an equal amount of snobs, arseholes etc. in Trinners

Trinity is located right bang in the city centre aswell what more could you want!

Nietzschean

Myth wrote:

[age old advice]

Don't decide on a college, decide on a course.

[/age old advice]

and then change courses 2months later?

rsynnott

Also please note that if you live on the northside your commute time to UCD is likely to be silly. (I have to go there the odd time for USI stuff; it usually takes me about 2hrs).

jellie

ucd isnt all full of cliques. i think its just arts. in most other faculties people are there because they want to be, not cause their friends are so theres a lot of people who dont know anyone and need to make friends.
the fact that ucd isnt in town can help with the socialising with friends, in that theres 3 bars on campus, so your less likely to lose people, and more likely to meet people you know/recognise and then socialise with them. its close enough to get a bus into town then if you want to.
but i wouldnt recommend choosing your college/course for the social life. although its better than my random choice

Blondie86Star

I'm in UCD (arts) and I found that I only made about 4 new friends, only ones who are in my course, I still hang round with the "school crowd", my bf n his friends, and the guys that we used to hang round with. A few of my frienda are in tcd, and they literally have friends from each department. While I love ucd, the social life's great, I still find myself drifting to the Pav on a Friday night.
So my advice...trinity

jellie

Blondie86Star wrote:

I'm in UCD (arts)

arts isnt the only faculty in ucd. u cant judge the whole place by arts students.

The Shol'va

sar84 wrote:

arts isnt the only faculty in ucd. u cant judge the whole place by arts students.

Out of all my friends in UCD, in all different courses, they only have friends in their own courses.

dublinguy2004

Shards wrote:

Im trying to decide whether to go to UCD or Trinity. I know this forum will be a li'l biased but when i went on the UCD forum everyone was talking about how it was extremely difficult to make friends or have any sort of social life unless you were sort of some clique already. so whats the social scene like in trinity?

If you want a qualification, go to UCD. For an education, Trinity is your only man.

dublinguy2004

dublinguy2004 wrote:

If you want a qualification, go to UCD. For an education, Trinity is your only man.

Bollox.

Kevin_rc_ie

is that the first official post of edu-myth? class. absolute class.

Kevin_rc_ie

these types of threads are crap anyway,

it's like asking, which is emperically better, a snickers or a mars bar?
or, which car manufactuer is better, Mercedes Benz or BMW?

gom

Exactly. HOw about saying the merits of and disadvantages to Trinity over UCD on grounds of social scene and that alone as the OP asked.

My home upon leaving school was literally a 5 min walk from UCD. I grew up around the place and hanged out with some older mates that started there when I was still in schooling. I can't say that I was impressed. In fact I hated it. UCD it seems is for UCD students(read Middle-Class Irish). I find the diversity in Trinity refressing. Now I'm not claiming to be working class. I'm Middle-Class Irish Southside type. But do I really want to hang out with all the idiots that you went to school with??? Hell no! I know people in UCD that I was in primary school that still hang out with one another. WHats that about? Clique for life?

Trinity is a place of endless possibilties socially. UCD is full of peeps going on J1s. Everyone seems to read the same new novels and talk about the same bloody thing.

The dynamic in Trinity socially is hard to pin down. I've been here 3 years now and its always suprising. SO many SUb-groups, its fantastic. If you end up living on Campus in Trinity also the social life takes a whole new meaning. Trinity Campus life is probably going to be one of those years of my life I'll never forget.

Trinners for winners

Kevin_rc_ie

if i lived in one of those crazy places outside of dublin and had to go to a college where i didn't know anyone at all. i'd go to TCD. because you just have to turn up at a society function and some equally desperate person will hang out with you. seriously, just pretend you're interested in that SU hackerymalarky and you'll get loads of mates.

afaik, this doesn't work in ucd. if they don't already know you, you'll get the "No Homers" response.

dublinguy2004

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

if i lived in one of those crazy places outside of dublin and had to go to a college where i didn't know anyone at all. i'd go to TCD. because you just have to turn up at a society function and some equally desperate person will hang out with you. seriously, just pretend you're interested in that SU hackerymalarky and you'll get loads of mates.

afaik, this doesn't work in ucd. if they don't already know you, you'll get the "No Homers" response.

I'll give you the SU hackerymalarky that infests house 6. You may get well qualified at UCD, but it just doesn't have the international reputation that Trinity does. If you go to the US or Britain and say 'UCD', nobody has ever heard of the place.

Trinity is and always has been Ireland's premier establishment. UCD may aspire to being the best which is all well and good, but it will never have the history and tradition that Trinity has. Young people aspire to going to TCD (even if it means having to study Theological and Biblical Studies), unlike at UCD who attract nothing but middle-class-southsider-generics who model themselves on some neuve-riche-Ross-O'Carroll-Kelly-style-RL-Tommy-Hilfiger-wearing idiots who'll probably get a third in Orts and end up in the Smurfit Business school with the rest of the tie-wearing, laptop-carrying generics.

Belfield IT is but a suburban wasteland of celtic cubs.

Kevin_rc_ie

i wouldn't over estimate the prestige of the college's name.

DadaKopf

Shards, it depends what subject you're going for - if you care about getting the best education you can.

I'm not so sure UCD is more foreboding than other universities. Small class sizes might help to get to know people, but having gone to UCD, I suppose the downside of small classes is getting stuck with people you might't like and the feeling you're missing out on more opportunities. I found UCD a welcoming place once I found groups of people I clicked with via college media and societies.

Whatever you think works for you, but go to where the best courses are.

Jonny Arson

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

which is emperically better, a snickers or a mars bar?

Snickers!

Kevin_rc_ie

Mars Bar!

rsynnott

dublinguy2004 wrote:

Young people aspire to going to TCD (even if it means having to study Theological and Biblical Studies), unlike at UCD who attract nothing but middle-class-southsider-generics who model themselves on some neuve-riche-Ross-O'Carroll-Kelly-style-RL-Tommy-Hilfiger-wearing idiots who'll probably get a third in Orts and end up in the Smurfit Business school with the rest of the tie-wearing, laptop-carrying generics.

Belfield IT is but a suburban wasteland of celtic cubs.

Eep, is it really that bad? The only face of it I've seen is a collection of mad gay socialists, who are presumably not representative...

Kevin_rc_ie

yep trinity is basically a big gay socialist theme park.

rsynnott

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

yep trinity is basically a big gay socialist theme park.

No, I was talking about UCD. Trinity gays are usually relatively moderate; I'm one of the madder ones.

Kevin_rc_ie

woops my mistake i always mix up my gays.

ApeXaviour

He's the ooonly gay in the village.. you see

Kevin_rc_ie

ah there's a few floating around this board.

egan007

Myth wrote:

Bollox.

True - an IT it the only place you will actually learn anything pratical...

Kevin_rc_ie

how many jobs require practical espertise? i wouldn't over estimate learning stuff in ITs like that, a year in the job and you'll master it.

egan007

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

how many jobs require practical espertise?

Most of them

rsynnott

egan007 wrote:

True - an IT it the only place you will actually learn anything pratical...

While in a university, at least in theory, they give you the skills you need to learn the practical stuff you need to know (this is certainly the case with CS; those who aren't really interested and do a bit themselves tend to not to come out with useful knowledge)

egan007

rsynnott wrote:

While in a university, at least in theory, they give you the skills you need to learn the practical stuff you need to know (this is certainly the case with CS; those who aren't really interested and do a bit themselves tend to not to come out with useful knowledge)

You get those skills in an IT as well.....
I think that goes without saying about a 3rd level institution....

IMHO IT's are much better at training people to be good at something that they can build a career on quickly like Science, Computers....etc.- whereas universities are much better at knowledge intensive diciplins like medicine law etc...

Sleazus

My experience of UCD is limited to a few brief (not brief enough, one might say) stop-overs throughout the years. I have never been on a UCD night out. I do, however, know of at least one UCD nurse who frequents Trinity Law nights out.

Cliqu-ishness is a problem, but no more here than anywhere else (this from a Trinity Law Student), but you'll find that - despite liberal usage of the term hack (I've been called a Law Hack, a GMB Hack, an SU Hack and a Hist Hack) - people are generally incredibly welcoming. I don't think you'll find so much fantastic variety anywhere else in the country.

Trinity does have an image problem. If you go to Trinity, you'll always be introduced (even back home if you're from the country) with the honorary "... he's going to Trinity" tagged on after your name, which translates as he's an elitish snob with arrogance in place of a personality. In my case, it was an improvement from what people thought beforehand, but it's still a pain for otherwise common people. There are a few Trinity elitists, but they're few and far between.

In short, any college you go with will be exactly what you make of it. If you're willing to explore and branch out both academically and socially, Trinity is a great experience. If you want an education and nothing more, Trinity will seem a bit pretentious and self-important.

claireoby

wat i notice bout goin to trinity over any other college is this...in my home county if my group of friends are bein introduced to a new person the followin wud b said...W is in UCD doin medicine, X is in UL doin Law and Y is in UL doin physio and Z 'is in trinity', no one is ever told wat i do in trinity....they think its ok just to say i go there. this has happened on several occassions.

Kevin_rc_ie

stop with the crazy talk and type correctly. however capitals are not important.

claireoby

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

stop with the crazy talk and type correctly. however capitals are not important.

i find it very hard not to type that way...but i will try if its annoying you. ( i already found that hard to type.) bit of a textaholic i suppose.

Kevin_rc_ie

Good girl, thanks very much.

Time Magazine

Sleazus wrote:

liberal usage of the term hack

Really? I've never experienced that .

Kevin_rc_ie

angryb is also a hack. you're not alone.

Pet

Angry Banana wrote:

Really? I've never experienced that .

LOL...heheh, I snorted water down my nose..

Kevin_rc_ie

TCD, tbh.