Starting UCD this Sept. ¿any advice?

[lsluke]

Hey guys/gals,

getting everything ready for ireland. really excited and looking forward to starting school this fall at UCD (5 year program).

i´m a texan boy, ready to learn about medicine and ireland.

any other UCD student out there with experience?
student life
school workload
what to pack
housing
socializing
etc...

any input appreciated....

Luke

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[leorl]

there's loads of these threads. Just have a quick run through of recent threads in this forum, and do a search as well.

 

[Badkarma25]

student life is pretty good, most of your time will be spent socializing. it's a completely different atmosphere than if you were doing medicine at home (obviously). you can discard any horror stories about long hours, heavy workload that your friends doing med in canada might throw at you. if you have a degree from a canadian university you will be fine. i just finished my 2nd year, and i had enough time to work at least 20 hours per week, go to all my lectures (well MOST anyway), go out drinking whenever i wanted, and still have enough time leftover for mindless sessions in front of hte tv. as for what to pack, don't bring books with you, but do bring things like your favourite soap and deodorant (as choices of these products in dublin is QUITE limited). good rain/waterproof jacket, comfort foods like KD or peanut butter, and for some reason, contact lens solution is like gold in ireland. never seen it so expensive, so bring lots. like leorl said, check the threads, there's lots of info. you can PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[lsluke]

Thanks.

Just wanted to get a better feel of life in UCD. I have read the post but the majority of the newer post refer to UCC and RCSI.

BadKarma25 - did you stay in university housing the first year? and the 2nd?

What is the situation with the Earlsfort terrace and Belfield campus?

Looking forward to life in Dublin.

Luke

 

[Badkarma25]

hi luke,
yeah i lived in merville residence during 1st year. this past year (my 2nd) i lived in the national college of ireland residence right in the city center on the river near the international financial services center, then moved into a house this past january which i'm staying in til december. a few people in my class lived in residence again in 2nd year. the option is there, though i think you'll find living in (or closer to) the city center is more agreeable. belfied has it's advantages but when you're in town at the bars and the buses stop at 11:30pm or midnight, getting cabs back all the time gets expensive.

the commute from belfield to earslfort terrace isn't too bad. lots of buses going to and from, it's just dicey in the mornings, particularly when its raining out. just slwos everything down. worst case scenario i'd say is about 20 mins on the bus, usually less. 90% of your time will be septn at earlsfort terrace. in fact, the only thing you'll stay at belfied for (academically speaking) are biochem labs, but you only have 4-5 over the entire year. everything else is at earlsfort terrace. they are building a new medical building and planning to move the faculty out to belfield entirely, but i'm not sure when that's going to happen. it will likely be during your time in dublin, probalby in the next 2-3 years.

a good buddy of mine in my class is from texas, he went to UT. he'll love a fellow longhorn at ucd.

good luck, don't hesitate to get in touch if you have anymore questions.

 

[indiegirl]

1

 

[lsluke]

when are you leaving? did you figure out what to pack in 2 suitcases? are you flying aer lingus? did you receive housing information already? email me [email protected]. did you find anyone in SDN forum also doing the same thing?

Hi indiegirl,

I am leaving in a little over a week (late august). going to spend my time finding a place to live. decided to pass on the glenomena housing because i need somewhere for my couple to stay too.

also taking aer lingus, got a cheap one way ticket and probably coming back to the states the end of this year to early next year.

trying to meet other students too, but no luck yet. still finalizing the loans and stuff too. just going to pack sweaters and warm clothes for winter. will wait on the books till i get there.

a bit nervous but hopefully everything works out in the end.

Luke

 

[indiegirl]

1

 

[super]

Hi, I'll be joining the 5 yr class at UCD this fall and living in Glenomena. I actually visited Dublin earlier in the summer. Feel free to send me a private message if you're headed there in Sept!

 

[lsluke]

How do you guys prep for the usmle? I know that the Irish curriculum don't specially prepare toward the exam.
I plan on returning back to the states after my 5-year term in Dublin.
Will be I prepared for the clinical vignettes???

I want to get a headstart, so i can put myself above the average to land myself into a good residency program. Thanks for the help.

Luke