Dublin or Galway

siobhan1894

Hi all,

I'm currently in 5th year but am looking ahead to when I'll have to be choosing my courses to put down on my cao form in less than a year now. I really want to do Medicine and know that all my work in school from here on will be aimed towards getting a place in Medicine. However, I am debating whether to go to uni in Dublin (either UCD or Trinity) or to stay closer to home and go to NUI Galway. I know that a uni in Dublin carries prestige and may look better on my CV but I can't ignore the reputation of Galway as the 'student city' and the fact that in terms of cost it is the better choice. Also, going to Galway will allow me to keep in touch with my friends more as most of them will go there. I really don't know which is the better choice overall. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Also any extra comments are welcome eg. personal experiences. Thanks!

Ahoyhoy

It takes frigging ages to get out of Dublin on a Friday so if you wanted to go home for the weekend during a busy week it would be a real nightmare. Especially if you're working out in the hospitals. If going to NUIG means you'll at least have the option of travelling with some ease on the weekends you actually can go home then, if it was me, I'd pick NUIG.

If you're looking for more info I'd say contact the universities and ask to see a list of places you'll be sent on placement. Even Dublin med courses will send you all around the Leinster and beyond. I've a friend who was on placement in Waterford for three weeks. That might help you decide.

When it comes to medicine I think NUIG has a fairly good reputation. The only way the college you go to will affect what people will think of a medical degree will be if you decide to work abroad, and even then you'll have to do buttloads of conversion courses, the results of which will probably hold more sway than what college you go to. And in terms of that, Trinity is probably the one most people will have heard of. But it's possible that I'm biased...

andrew

I don't have a clue about the differing reputation of medical courses etc, but regarding staying near your friends; the whole point (well maybe not the whole point) of college is to do new different things, meet new people and all that. So staying near school friends isn't necessarily a good thing; it'll just be the same old people you were always used to, going to the same old pubs you always went to. You've got a rare chance to live away from home for a while and see what that's like (by all accounts AFAIK, it's awesome), so I'd say you should head to Dublin.

blubloblu

I'm not sure how much what school you went to matters for intern applications. It's pretty objective and not based on 'prestige'. Medicine courses are pretty tightly regulated, so there isn't a whole lot of difference between schools.The main one would be what hospital the school is affiliated with, as that's where you'll spend most of your course.

Also weigh the extra cost of living away from home against andrew's point.

siobhan1894

Thanks for all the replies. I definitely recognise now that the hospital placements and internship are much more important than the University you actually do your course in.

Dublin I think has better benefits overall, I think that by doing medicine in Dublin I will have more chance of receiving a placement in a Dublin or Leinster hospital, although I do realise that I could be placed anywhere in the country. I personally would rather be in a hospital in the East of the country as they have more money invested in them and hence, overtake the hospitals in the West in terms of equipment and advancement in surgical procedures.

Also, despite my reluctance to leave my friends behind, I do feel that being in Dublin would give me a chance to meet new people and to get away from 'small town life' that I currently living.

Either way, a degree in medicine is what it is, whether it's completed in NUIG or TCD. I suppose, my final decision will be reached when I put down my first choice on my CAO!