My college course... (A 3rd-level student's insight)

I've just started my first year in Galway, and to be honest, I love Galway. If you were unsure about Galway as a uni, it is fab.
Arts is great - don't believe those who tell you it's a piece of cake though. In first year you have 4 subjects, and whilst it's not the worst... there are assignments and exams.

I'm doing
History: My favourite.
English: Not at all like LC, much harder, but if your into english then you should be fine.
Geography: Some of the lecturers are very yawn and the material is too, but it's not the worst.
Soc and Pol: I chose this because I needed a 4th subject, but infact I really like it. A really interesting subject to chose, and not too tough (for this term anyway)

Each subject has 2 assignments each term (except geog which has field trips and such things instead) Oh and be ready to learn all about referencing and PLAGIRISM......


All in All, Galway and Arts is great. Your welcome to PM me about any questions if you like.

fluffyorganic1 wrote: »

Having completed 3 years of the undenominated science course in NUIG I would strongly disagree with the above statement.

Even myself an auld one of 37 has managed to make a stack of friends in the undenominated course. Yes, the classes are huge in 1st year (300+) but within a short time only about half actually attend classes. From what I've seen of my younger classmates they've had no problem making friends and have partied nonstop straight from 1st year:D, lucky buggers!!

The fact that there are soooooo many in the classes gives you even more of a pool of friends to choose from imo.........

I'll agree. Despite the small classes in biotech, most of my friends are outside it, in societies. Do not pick a course because you think you'll make friends or not. Seriously, that is one of the most stupid things I've ever heard.

If i had the choice again, I think I'd go down a pure biochemistry route rather than biotech. The course needs another couple years of tweaking to get it right. The advantages are that in biotech you get organised work experience but there are enough UREKA courses (and others abroad) that you can apply to if you are interested in getting experience (hint, it's vital to put you ahead of your class). The biochemistry class by final year is quite small too, around 20 or fewer I believe. They arent so tightly knit from what I can see as us biotechs, but don't let that put you off.

That being said, biotech is a great degree, lots of fun, but no flexibility compared to a undenom course.

Just gonna toss in my two cents, so when i finished school i thought i wanted to study music so i went and did a fetac course in it out in kylemore college in ballyfermot and it was a amazing year got new friends, got to play the academy with the band i was formed into and got to record a song or two.

But i decided that it was not for me. So now I am in ITTD in tallaght studying Creative Digital Media and to anyone who has a interest in media this course is for you. My week consists of, mondays--day off tuesdays 1 lecture from 1 till 4 wednesday tv production work shop 1 till 5 thursdays photography in the morning then tv and film studies in the afternoon, fridays av technology from 9 till 12 and then graphic design from 1 till 5. Now some of these classes you may look and think oh god their going on for ages but really the time flies, most classes give a break every hour for about 5 mins and all the lectrurers are cool and help you out with most stuff so anyone whos interested in media i'd reccomend this course. OH sorry my semester 2 is that there semester 1 was like monday 9-12 tuesday 12-2 wednesday 12-6 thursdays off friday 9-5

Riotguy wrote: »

Anyone doing English Lit. in TCD? Or Film Studies in TCD? Or both?

HI, I just finished first year in English Studies(it's the single honours course where you do pure english. The two subject moderatorship shares half our course. For example, if you did TSM with English and Film you would do 3 english modules and 3 film modules in one term. If you do a single honours degree you would do 6 modules of the same subject for one term.

I wish someone had given me the advice I am giving you before I decided to put it as my first choice. THERE IS NO CREATIVE WRITING. EVER. English in Trinity is very much based on literature and literary criticism. First year was not fun. I am looking forward to next year though as we are doing stuff I am far more interested in. First year is about giving you a good grounding, we had to do a module in Old English language which was the bane of my life. It was like Leaving cert all over again, learning off impossible grammatical rules etc. However, I really enjoyed some of the modules, 'The Novel', 'American Literature', 'Irish Writing', however, if you did TSM then you wouldn't get to do some of these more fun modules. We did SO much medieval and renaissance literature- Chaucer, Spencer, the Gawain-poet. We had to also do Old English poetry which turned out to be very interesting.

They work you hard, there is a lot of reading (which an English student shouldn't really find daunting) Secondary reading is a pain. Over the year you will have to do 6 essays (1500-2000) words and 6 exams in the summer (all two hours long) Your final mark will be 50% essay based, 50% exam based. Language classes for Old English are compulsory, two a week. You have tutorials in each module but only one a week, these are also compulsory. You are looking at a 12 hour week in college, but just because you're not in college doesn't mean you're not working- you will be spending a lot of your time trying to keep up with the reading (you could have 3 books in a week to read, and not always easy, reading middle english can be quite painful)

The lecturers and tutors are absolutely excellent, the lectures were always very interesting and the tutors genuinely care for you. The arts block is rotten though, which is where you will be spending most of your time. It feels like a train station and the toilets are dingy. You will find yourself applauding lecturers when the lecture is over though, a whole hall of people clapping because the lecture was that interesting!

If anyone has any questions please pm me as I will gladly give any advice I can.

Haven't seen my course mentioned so;

BA Th (Theology) St. Pat's Maynooth/NUIM
In first year you take two arts subjects alongside Theology which will be your main subject, in second year you drop one of the arts courses and continue until final year with your one arts subject and Theology. I took English and History in first year and dropped History in second year, continuing with English and Theology until I finshed the course.

Hours p/w (modules)
Theology was quite heavy going throughout the three years. In first year, I had four 'subjects' under Theology with different modules for each, they were Dogmatic Theology (kinda like the history of religion), Scripture (what it says on the tin really, we studied the some of the Gospels and the Old Testament), Moral Theology (this is actually really interesting, we studied loads of different things like sin & virtue, marriage etc etc basically the moral dilemmas facing Christians today) and the last is Liturgy which you only study in first year (as far as I can recall it was like the study of various Christian feasts etc). For Theology you will basically have 6 or 7 classes a week but you will have lots to do in between lectures. Tutorials are small and you're expected to hand up a summary of the topic every week. I'm kinda glad it was like that because it kept you on top of study etc etc.
English was similar but I found as much work wasn't required during the year just at exam/essay time. I'll not say too much about my English course because it's changed from when I did it!

My Opinion
I found Theology to be a really really tough going subject. I absolutely hated it in first year and contemplated dropping out lots of times but by the time second year came around I started to get more interested (moral theology is a lot better after first year) and by the time I finished I loved it! It's difficult but if you put in the effort you'll be grand!The lecturers are lovely and there's always postgrads knocking around Loftus halls if you really need help!
I always loved English and I'm teaching English so I may be a bit biased! I wasn't majorly excited by the course in first year but there were a good few modules I was interested in throughout the entire course. I loved the romanticism module and the Shakespeare module. Again, the lecturers in the English dept are lovely and will help you if you need it, so my golden advice for anyone, even if you're not doing this course is to ask for help if you need it!It will make college life a whole lot easier!
I'm not really sure what else to say, if anyone has any questions feel free to PM!:D

Course:
BArch, Architecture, DIT Bolton st. 5 years

Points:
2010: 580

You must sit a suitability test and if you pass you are invited to an interview. Both elements are marked out of 100, this is then added to your leaving cert results, basically you could get in on 380 leaving cert points if you receive full marks in test and interview although that would be very difficult to achieve. Basically you're safe with around 440.

Number of students:
Started off with a class list of 61 and about 55 now

Hours:
Lecture hours add up to about 10 a week, studio hours are 9 to 6 minimum every day with lectures in between. You can expect to stay in the studio until 9 coming up to deadlines and you'll be lucky if you can avoid the dreaded 'all-nighters'.

Course Content:
The first two to three weeks was all about improving our drawing skills. Although you don't have to fantastic at drawing in the beginning, it is expected that you improve your skills to communicate properly, drawing is seen as the language of architecture. You design with pencil and paper every day so if you work hard you'll see the improvements at the end of the year.

In DIT, modules consisted of History of Architecture, Physics, Mechanics & Structures, Structural Engineering, Architectural Technology, Theory of Architecture, Computer Applications, Graphics, Environment and Services. Every week we also had a guest lecturer delivering a presentation/lecture on content relevant to our studio work.

When you study Architecture anywhere, the studio is seen as the most important element of your education. It adds up to 70% of the years mark. Fail the studio and you fail the year. In the studio, projects are assigned by the year head. This year we had to design a small shelter in the first semester and a house and recycling centre in the second semester. Three weeks were also assigned to studying a well known house to accustom us to 'good' architecture.

In the studio, architects sit with each student two to four times a week to help them with their projects. At the end of each week there is usually a group crit (critique/review) or 'pin-up' crit. This is where architects force you to move on or rethink what you're doing. In the beginning crits are very scary and you just want to leave but as the year progresses you look forward to them and they are really helpful. Usually (in first year anyway) crits are very laid back, the odd time you can come across someone horrible.

Summary:
Architecture is a really great subject to study but if you don't think it through properly you could end up running away even before the first crit. As well as designing and drawing, architecture is a very philosophical subject at times, some people enjoy the theoretical aspects to it, others don't. You don't need to be good at maths, contrary to common belief as you're studying to be an architect, not an engineer. You should however, be able to handle ordinary level LC maths for Mechanics, Structural Engineering and Physics. In year 4 and 5, you will also study Law and Professional Studies so that you can run your own firm. Being able to use a computer isn't too important in first year but in the following years, Photoshop and CAD are very important for the presentation stage of a project. Also don't worry about buying a laptop/PC in first year as it is not a necessity. Photography is also something many people use, a good camera is handy, especcially for the yearly trips abroad, this year we went to Porto.

The course is also meant to be changing the a MArch, Masters in Architecture for incoming first years which means you would qualify with a Level 9. The final two years however, will probably be fee paying.

Be preapared to put a lot of work in but it is very rewarding and the studio has a great atmosphere. Bolton st. has a good reputation for architecture so I would recommend it to anyone interested in studying the subject.

I've completed my Bachelor of Commerce degree at NUI Galway this year, anyone need any info. just send me a PM and I will be more than glad to fill you in. Points for this course I would expect to remain at a similar level to recent years.

0987654321 wrote: »

Going out on a limb but does anybody do PE in UL?

I do Science Ed in UL and have friends doing PE, what to you wanna know?

0987654321 wrote: »

Excellent! What the course is like? Content? Timatable/hours per week?
Thanks so much!

Tough but if you enjoy it won't seem half as bad, very physics, the lads have gymnastics modules, swimming modules, all sorts of stuff! Pretty full timetable compared to business/arts, 30ish hours a week??
The education modules can be a bit boring but if you stick with it its really easy to get an A.

Check out here for all the details, click on the course structure to give you an idea of what modules you'll have. Have you picked your elective yet?

http://www.ul.ie/courses/PhysicalEducation.shtml

IM studying Maths in DIT if anyone has any questions feel free to pm mise!

icedtea wrote: »

Anyone done Science in Trinity/UCD? What are the hours/difficulty like and how would it be for someone who's only studied physics for LC?

I'm currently a JF in Science in TCD. Hours are a lot less than I expected. I'm doing Maths, Physics and Geography in the 1st Semester, and Geology in the 2nd Semester.

From now until January, I have 18 hours a week. We have yet to get our tutorials but they will only bump it up to 20-odd hours a week, which still is nowhere near what I was expecting.

Also, Science students typically have less writing "homework" than Arts students. We have lab reports once a week, essays rarely, and then assignments once or twice a week in some modules.

The course isn't too difficult yet. If you're worried about Maths, we technically do "Maths for Science" so most of our course will be used, especially in Physics. TCD also offers a Maths Helpdesk where you can drop in during certain hours and get help on anything you're stuck on from more experienced students and whoever else may be around.

You can start Biology or Chemistry from scratch if you want. TCD runs a preliminary Chemistry course the week before Fresher's Week to help anybody who hasn't studied it or was weak in it. But you do have to bear in mind, 60%+ of the year usually have studied Biology, and Chemistry is known to be challenging, so Geography is a good option if you plan on doing a Physics degree.

I only did Physics also, as did a few others in my year. You'll be grand

Any other questions PM me

Froebel student (Primary teaching). PM me if you want info Will reply as soon as I see it.

If anybody is considering doing Video Games Dev in Carlow IT shoot me a pm with any questions.

I'm only in first year, but I can probably answer most queries.

To follow on with the pharmacy post above, I can give an account of RCSI pharmacy, so people can compare them and see what the differences are in each course!

I'm currently in 2nd year. RCSI is the newest school of pharmacy in the country, the course is really interesting and I've really enjoyed my time in the college. (I'm gonna keep this post to info on the course, if you have any questions about the college itself PM me. I remember I was kinda nervous about coming to RCSI, it's a small college but I've loved it! Also it is not a private college )

The course is still undergoing some minor changes each year they bring in due to feedback on how the course can be improved, so I'm basing this on 2010. The year before us had a statistics module, but some of this was felt to be unnecessary for pharmacy students, so the important parts were condensed into our pharmaceutics module.

In first year you do:

Intro to General, Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry - Done with both foundation year med & physio students. As it is intended as only an introduction, this starts off being very similar to LC chemistry, but ends up being a step above that level. You have a general introduction, and then apply what you've learned to medicinal cases, e.g. lectures on the structure & bonding of anti-cancer drugs, learning about covalent bonding in physiologically important compounds. You finish with some in detail lectures on organic chemstry.

Pharmaceutics - You learn about factors affecting why drugs (the chemicals) are formulated into their dosage form (i.e. why they're a tablet or why they're a solution). It's quite introductory, but you learn some important things which help later on, like how you can increase solubility of certain compounds etc. 3-4 lectures are on pharmaceutical calculations, and some statistics which are thought to be useful, e.g. how to use median & standard deviation values in interpreting a group of patients blood results etc.

Anatomy - I think we're the only school of pharmacy that does this. I thought I'd hate it, but I ended up loving it! You learn about the different organs and blood & nerve supplies in certain parts of the body. The reasoning behind us doing this is if we are later working in a group with doctors/nurses in a hospital setting and anatomical structures are being discussed we'd have an idea of what they're on about....or so I think. (They emphasise teamwork between the different healthcare professionals a lot in college!).
This also involves 3-4 labs in the anatomy room! I thought I'd absolutely hate being in with the cadavers, but ended up thinking it was a great experience. You don't dissect anything, but rather have a demonstrator show you what you've learned in the lectures. You can still feel/inspect the organs if that what you'd like! (Not for the weak-stomached!)

Physiology I - Cellular physiology. You learn about differing cell structures and processes in the body linked to this. From a little bit about the immune system, to the different types of muscle cells, to electrolyte absorption in the gut.

Physiology II - More like Biophysics. You learn about how gases are exchanged in the body, the forces exerted by the heart in cardiac output and electrolyte + pH balance systems in the body.

Professional Skills - A module on an introduction to certain skills & various information you will need as a pharmacist. You learn about things like ethics, health & safety, and various information sources you will need about drugs & drug interactions. Involves a project you present to the class on something pharmacy-related.

Semester 2:

Chemical Processes Involved in Biological System, Metabolism & in Behaviour of Drugs - Mainly organic chemistry, you learn about different organic molecules, and focus on things like carbohydrate structure & metabolism. Also includes lectures on amino acids, hormones & neurotransmitters & a case on aspirin and how it works in the body.

Factors Controlling Biological Phenomena - They gave this module a misleadingly awesome name. It's mainly physical chemistry applied to systems in the body, such as rates of reactions & chemical kinetics! You learn about osmosis & others processes which occur in the body. There's also lectures on calorimetry and electrochemistry.

Microbiology Theory - This was a big module! You learn about the physiology of different microbes, moving on to antibiotic resistance, and learning about the different infections caused by microbes, CNS infections, UTIs, RTIs, and a delightfully graphic lecture on STIs :pac:
It also includes a group project on a Microbiology-related topic. (Mine was on HIV)

Microbiology Practice - The practical side, you have a lab each week & must type up a lab report. After the lecture-heavy theory side, it comes as a bit of a welcome break. You learn more about analytical assay techniques, and how important a sterile lab is, and ways of achieving sterility.

Disperse Systems - This is the follow on module from the first Pharmaceutics module. You learn about surface tension and how drugs are incorporated into systems with surfactants etc. You learn about suspensions & emulsions, and the reasons why these are made for different drugs. You finish learning about rheology, which is the physics behind how these systems flow.

Medicines from Concept to Patient - Follow on from Professional Skills. You get an introduction to drug discovery, and learn a bit about pharmacognosy, pharmacology & then finish with an introduction to pharmacist prescribing, and see examples of prescriptions and the legal requirements they must have to be valid. We also did a project with medical students on a cystic fibrosis case.

I can't remember the lab/exam marking breakdown, and I know some of it has changed for each module this year. A general guide is that the Chemistry-type modules have chemistry labs, i.e. getting % yields of chemicals etc., and the pharmaceutics modules have labs that involve making the dosage forms you learn about, including valid labels (Often the lab involves a prescription being presented to you, you fill the prescription and attach the label with the information a label needs to be valid).
For most modules there is some continuous assessment, generally the labs count for 10%, and most modules have an MCQ worth 10% a month or so before your exams. Christmas exams are after xmas, usually consisting of a 30 minute MCQ and then an hour and a half of written questions.
The projects count for between 20-40% I think. Exams must be passed independent of your continuous assessment grade. And the pass mark for pharmacy is 50% in every college I believe!

Second year has been even better I think! A lot of hours, and it was quite hard, but the course content was very interesting, particularly the "Professional Skills"-type module we've done. I'll just do a quick summary of it since 1st year would be more important to people looking at this (I think).
Biochemistry - Covered immunology, metabolism (Including the liver & drug metabolim) & clinical chemistry.
Pharmacology - Covered drug targets, receptor interactions & pharmacokinetics
Oral Solid Dose Forms - Pharmaceutics module, covers oral powders, tablets & capsules.
Topical, Transdermal & Suppository Formulations - Another pharmaceutics module, covers creams/pastes/lotions & transdermal patches + new technologies, & suppository + pessary formulations.
Analysis of Drugs - Analytical chemistry, covers IR spectra, UV-Vis spectra, NMR techniques and how they can be used to identify drugs.
Patient Care & Medicines Management - Professional module, covers what modern pharmacy is like & what the future holds for pharmacy. Learn about the various services pharmacies provide, such as contraception (Including morning after pill in quite some detail due to it being available without prescription now), the season flu vaccine, smoking cessation, blood glucose monitoring etc. We did one lab in this where I got my blood-glucose level taken, my blood cholesterol level taken, my blood pressure taken and did a glucose tolerance test. Thankfully I'm OK.

Think I've covered most of what the course is like so far (I'm currently on my break after xmas exams!) If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me!