Applying

PoppyG

Hey, Im from England and for my a levels im studying 4 subjects. I would like to do my degree in something related to Biology. I was just wondering what grades i would need and if Chemistry was a necessity for all biology fields. Also i was wondering what my fees would be considering im English (but my parents are Irish).

Any help would be really appreciated

thanks x x x

Blush_01

Sorry I can't give you much information, but your fees will probably be in the region of €4,000 (more conservatively, €3,600). Don't let that put you off though. Your Careers teacher should be able to help you with all the relevant information if they're worth their salt.

irlrobins

more info available here:

http://www.ucd.ie/horizons/

rainbow kirby

Blush_01 wrote:

Sorry I can't give you much information, but your fees will probably be in the region of €4,000 (more conservatively, €3,600). Don't let that put you off though. Your Careers teacher should be able to help you with all the relevant information if they're worth their salt.

Science is more like €5,800. I was paying half fees this year, and that still ended up being over €3,000 because of the way the registration is factored in. Though with the introduction of top-up fees in the UK, there's probably not that much of a difference.

arbeitsscheuer

Actually I reckon we're probably cheaper than the British tertiary level fees, but I could be wrong. (Not stinkin' likely - had 3 siblings go thru Cambridge, Liverpool, Bristol, and they paid more than any of the 4 who went to Trinity, Limerick, UCD)

Paul Tergat

Alright Poppy,

Im a second year Business and Legal Studies Student who came over to UCD from England, having done A-levels. Have you already applied for anything through UCAS? (UCD is class by the way)

Fees over here are dirt cheap, i pay hardly anything per year. Seemingly cheaper than in England neways!

singingstranger

If by "fees" you mean actual tuition fees, then if you've lived in England for three of the last five years (or any EU country for that matter) and you're under 23 then the Irish Government pays your fees for you. Naturally enough there's obviously rent and stuff that will need covering but that's to be expected. There's also the standard national €775 registration fee (basically it's a stealth way of charging for the tuition), which you're free from if you qualify for a grant, and the €63.50 Student Centre Levy which pays for the Union-owned Student Centre mortgage.

As regards grades - well, UCD's just after a pretty big restructure and some degree programmes have been changed / scrapped / replaced entirely so all of the following:
- Physics with Astronomy & Space Science
- Pharmacology
- Biochemistry / Chemical Biology
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical, Health and Life Sciences
...weren't on offer in 2005 so there's no A-Level grades that anyone can offer to compare what the standards. Regarding the actual subjects required, you'll have to check up the department to see if you'll need to have a particular subject. If you're not doing Irish for your A-Levels then you'll also have to claim an exemption from it, for which you will have to apply to The Registrar, National University of Ireland, 49 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

Hope this helps!

PoppyG

thanks so much for all your help! the guy from bradford, what grades did you get in your alevels! I so want to study in Ireland! I will apply via my ucas and see my careers adviser and see what comes of it! I dont mind the cost of living cause that will be the same as going to uni in london but its the fees im wondering about! Why would the irish government pay for me? i was pretty sure that would be the last thing theyd want to do

PoppyG

Do irish? not at all, i dont know anyone who does,. i think i can count to ten and say how are you, thats it

Paul Tergat

SingingStranger is right, all you have to pay per year is around 850 euro and thats that done, and the price of living would be pretty much the same in London (this where ur from?)

I got an A and 2 B's (not v good to be honest) and that equated to 510 points to get me onto the course that I'm doing.

My advice to you would be to definitely apply through CAO (the Irish equivalent of UCAS) but still apply to to English uni's through UCAS. I kinda put all my eggs in one basket and scrapped all my UCAS acceptances, which would have left me ****ed if i hadn't gotten into UCD!!

Any further questions just ask mate (Paul Larkin by the way)

Paul Tergat

and on the subject of studying Irish you can get an exemption from CAO easily enough!

arbeitsscheuer

I remember when I used to be the token London lad on the UCD forum. Now my "special" position has become ordinary. I feel so... forgotten.

*tear rolls down cheek

...

Ah well, what can ya do, eh? Welcome to Boards and the UCD forum! Watch out for boneless. He has sticky fingers...

singingstranger

PoppyG wrote:

Why would the irish government pay for me? i was pretty sure that would be the last thing theyd want to do

Hehe... it's just what they do; it's been that way for about ten years now. If you're an EU citizen or have lived in any EU state for three of the last five years, your fees are covered. It's just the €838.50 between your reg and the Centre Levy (which, I should warn you, might have gone up before you get here, we're probably due a referendum on it in a month. Next year the levy will be gone from €63.50 up to €75, then €100 and €150 in the years after, to build this massive and ultra-swanky new extension to the Student Centre.) The reg fee is also liable to go up a little bit but you shouldn't expect to have to shell out any more than €1000 (£686 in today's rates).

PoppyG

I now want to go to UCD...if only cause you all seem so helpful! Paul, ill pm you sometime after ive spoke to my parents about it! And is 510 point alot? im hopeing to get 2 As and a B. Would that be good enough? not sure what i want to study just yet, maybe something to do with biology (where a level chem is not a necessity) or maybe economics, not sure! Im studying maths physics (which ill drop next year) bio and english

Thanks again UCD

Economaniac!

awww this is nice

arbeitsscheuer

Irish leaving cert points equivalent of A-Levels:
A = 150 points
B = 130
C = 105

Um... I don't know the equivalent tallies after that tbh. There's something about "AS Points" but I can't remember/don't understand those scores.

singingstranger

PoppyG wrote:

is 510 point alot? im hopeing to get 2 As and a B. Would that be good enough?

Just to give you an idea about what 510 points is worth, in Ireland you do six or more subjects for your Leaving Cert and your best six grades are what count towards your points total.

Grade ...... Higher Level ........ Ordinary Level
A1 (90%+) 100 pts .............. 60 pts
A2 (85-90) 90 pts ............... 50 pts
B1 (80-85) 85 pts ............... 45 pts
B2 (75-80) 80 pts ............... 40 pts
B3 (70-75) 75 pts ............... 35 pts
C1 (65-70) 70 pts ............... 30 pts
C2 (60-65) 65 pts ............... 25 pts
C2 (55-60) 60 pts ............... 20 pts
D1 (50-55) 55 pts ............... 15 pts
D2 (45-50) 50 pts ............... 10 pts
D3 (40-45) 45 pts ............... 5 pts

So getting 510 points would mean, on average, six B1's at HL subjects. It's probably worth bearing in mind that obviously while in the A-Levels you do fewer subjects, you do them in greater detail than the Leaving Cert syllabus.

2 A's and a B will get you into almost everything, except some of the medical and paramedical courses, for which you'd probably need all three. http://www.ucd.ie/horizons/ni.htm has the list of the A-Level grades required for entry to all of the undergrad courses.

Paul Tergat

Getting 2 A's and a B will get u onto pretty much any course here. Just to let u know, go for the 3 A's as they give out scholarships here for those with the highest point on each course and 3 A's would be around 570 points (out of 600) and u may get like up to 1200 euro for it!

And don't let ur parents put u off coming over here saying its too far or anything. Ryanair's flights r dirt cheap so u can get home as much as u want (even if just for a weekend!)

Oh, and one final thing, if you do decide to apply to UCD then living on campus for the first yr was class for me, i advise you to do that too!

Paul

singingstranger

p_larkin99 wrote:

Oh, and one final thing, if you do decide to apply to UCD then living on campus for the first yr was class for me, i advise you to do that too!

As Paul's housemate last year on-campus, and this year down the road...

...better if I don't finish that sentence... :cool:

Paul Tergat

?

You trying to have a go at me? I made you son, I'm your role model....ah **** it i cant b arsed going on a rant!

panda100

p_larkin99 wrote:

SingingStranger is right, all you have to pay per year is around 850 euro and thats that done, and the price of living would be pretty much the same in London (this where ur from?)

I got an A and 2 B's (not v good to be honest) and that equated to 510 points to get me onto the course that I'm doing.

My advice to you would be to definitely apply through CAO (the Irish equivalent of UCAS) but still apply to to English uni's through UCAS. I kinda put all my eggs in one basket and scrapped all my UCAS acceptances, which would have left me ****ed if i hadn't gotten into UCD!!

Any further questions just ask mate (Paul Larkin by the way)

What?2B's and an A is great in A-level.
My brother came over from england and he didnt have to pay any fee's.He got four A's and so got into medicine over here.Definatly apply direct through the CAO and not through UCAS.The great thing about the Irish system is you dont have to bother doing any interviews or the likes.
When I was doing my leaving I went for an interview to cambridge and it was the toughest thing I've ever done in my life!!!They asked questions that not even a fourth year medical student would know and they got me to play the piano to make sure I wasnt lying about my Grade 7.I've never been more nervous in my life.
Also,another really good thing about coming over from England is the standard of work you've done in your a-levels is a lot higher than the leaving certificate.My brother got honours in all his pre-med exams cos he's done it all at a-level .Therfore if you want to do biology,1st year will be easier for you cos you will have covered a lot of the stuff before.
I lived in England till I was 15 and am still in touch with lots of my mates who are in nottingham,cardiff and manchester universities.Have to admit the student life over here is way better than over there I think so hope you make it to UCD!!

Paul Tergat

What annoyed me is that after coming here i found out that if i had have gotten 3 A's id have got a scholarship (which i could easily have done with any kinda effort).

The handy thing about the A-levels is that you get to specialise in certain fields, whereas in the leaving you have to study a broader range (which i wouldn't like).

Agree with you on the old interviews, was asked to do maths at Cambridge and you get a right grilling but over here u jus turn up and go, pretty sweet!

panda100

p_larkin99 wrote:

What annoyed me is that after coming here i found out that if i had have gotten 3 A's id have got a scholarship (which i could easily have done with any kinda effort).

The handy thing about the A-levels is that you get to specialise in certain fields, whereas in the leaving you have to study a broader range (which i wouldn't like).

Agree with you on the old interviews, was asked to do maths at Cambridge and you get a right grilling but over here u jus turn up and go, pretty sweet!

Cool-i never meet any brits in UCD.Seb is the only one i've met.Trinity is packed with them though

Paul Tergat

me neither, we're a rare breed

Trinity, feckin losers!

Student life is generally better over here but then again i have mates in like Leeds and Manchester and the night life their is class too, but still doesnt beat Dublin!

If you were around the Astra Hall yesterday i was there. You know Gav who i live with (SinginStranger)!

panda100

p_larkin99 wrote:

me neither, we're a rare breed

Trinity, feckin losers!

Student life is generally better over here but then again i have mates in like Leeds and Manchester and the night life their is class too, but still doesnt beat Dublin!

If you were around the Astra Hall yesterday i was there. You know Gav who i live with (SinginStranger)!

Was in the astra hall for about 10mins just to get the earlfsfortt terrace vote and to see that dan was doing ok.I was keeping myself sorta hidden in a blue cap cos I was seriously had too much 3euro fosters the night before!:o Decided not to stick around cos I know a lot of leftys and did feel sorry for them when Enda was loseing so didnt want to be around in that sorta akward environment. Cool now I know two brits-u should come to the boards meetup-even though seb definatly wont like it-he takes great pride in his only boards brit status.

Paul Tergat

What i don't understand is why the boards meetup isn't on campus, surely the student bar would be a decent place for it but neways. Could drink more of that 3 euro foster, even though its a crap beer...how i miss Carling!

Seb may have been the first Brit but I am the better one!!!:D

PoppyG

well i'll aim for the 3 A's but doubt very much if ill get the third one! No my parents are supportive of me studying in Dublin cause they themselves are from Ireland, but they were unsure of the costs and believe that i do everything in my power to cost them more money....but by the sounds of things on here, i'd be saving them money by going to dublin as oppose to one over here (mind thats fees only, i could live for free in london (but thats not the point))

So how hard is UCD to get into? Is it as competitive as oxbridge? I know its up there academically and with regards to status but does it have the same demand?

Yeah id say id give halls a try just to set me up socially and then maybe rent (uncle has me sorted there).

Im nervous to live in Dublin fulltime! But i always find the people in the country so friendly when im over so i hope ill find the same manner in the city! i think it will be brilliant to experience a new location and really widen my social group!

Thanks all

Kind regards

Oh btw, is there a rowing team???

PoppyG

Oh being British i know some of us are entitled to be slightly snobby! Is trinity known to be better (or maybe just older) and that is why there are more English people there? Or is there another reason? And is it true that Trinity only does humanities subjects?

rainbow kirby

Nah, Trinity does other stuff too, but if you're interested in life sciences then you're better off with us here in UCD.
And yes, there's a rowing team. A friend of mine is involved with men's rowing.

Vorsprung

PoppyG wrote:

Oh btw, is there a rowing team???

Yep there is a great ladies boat club, a good friend of mine is on the Senior 8s and they won the Henley regatta last year

Paul Tergat

Poppy UCD has everything you can want. 2 years ago i was in your position, and by the summer i was wondering whether i'd done the right thing moving to Dublin.....After a week my mind had totally changed and now i can't get enough of it.

Don't worry about moving away, there are people here to help you settle in....if you want to come here then do, amazing experience!