Question about 1st years

BellaVerita

How many days before orientation do first years usually move to Galway?

No.5

I can't speak for anyone else, but I had orientation on a Saturday and I moved down the Friday afternoon before

BhoscaCapall

Depends how far away you live really. Lots of people move their stuff down early (mainly girls who bring 40 suitcases of crap) and only move down 'properly' the night before. Most people in Corrib only move in the night before college starts.

It is well worth moving down early and doing a bit of exploring, especially if you don't know Galway. Most first-years in Ireland seem to lead quite a sheltered life though... most of the ones I knew didn't really know anywhere other than a few nightclubs, Charcoal Grill and anything that wasn't on the Corrib/Gort-College-Eyre Square route and most never even stayed in Galway for a full week until second or third year. Mammy culture ftl

ciano1

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

It is well worth moving down early and doing a bit of exploring, especially if you don't know Galway. Most first-years in Ireland seem to lead quite a sheltered life though... most of the ones I knew didn't really know anywhere other than a few nightclubs, Charcoal Grill and anything that wasn't on the Corrib/Gort-College-Eyre Square route and most never even stayed in Galway for a full week until second or third year. Mammy culture ftl

^This, so true!
I remember chatting to a girl a while back who said she had never actually been in the city centre for any other reason than nights out!!

I moved up a week before orientation before I started first year and explored Galway. Knew the city centre like the back of my hand within 2 weeks!
Some people seem astonished that I'm not from Galway yet I know most of the street names and some areas outside the 1km radius around college!

BellaVerita

I've a deposit down for Corrib so if I get my course I should be staying there. None of my close friends are going to Galway so would it be a better idea to go the night before or a bit earlier on? I'd like to get to know people before orientation.

jumpguy

BellaVerita wrote: »

I've a deposit down for Corrib so if I get my course I should be staying there. None of my close friends are going to Galway so would it be a better idea to go the night before or a bit earlier on? I'd like to get to know people before orientation.

Hey, I'd move up maybe on Thursday or Friday, as has been said, perhaps early enough just to get your bearings in the city - depending on how familiar you are with Galway. In my case (perhaps everyone isn't as needy as me :P ), I wouldn't move *too* early before most people move in, because I'd hate the idea of staying in the place alone in a city that's strange to me.

Starting college alone is very daunting, but also a very valuable experience, and in the long-run far better as you really have to get out of your shell and get to know as many people as possible. Corrib is a good place for it, although I was a bit weary of the non-stop partying going on around me by second semester (I'd settled into college by then and was returning my sleep-loving ways.)

If you need a hand during the year, feel free to give me a PM.

ciano1

BellaVerita wrote: »

None of my close friends are going to Galway so would it be a better idea to go the night before or a bit earlier on? I'd like to get to know people before orientation.

I was the same, except I was living in Gort. I knew nobody in Galway before I came up

BellaVerita

I'll probably move up a day or two before, thanks a lot for all the replies

Nailz

Being someone who lives 3 hours away from Galway, I've only ever visited about four times in my life up to the point that I found out I would be going to college there, me being 13 years old on the most recent occasion. Due to this, I felt that I should at least give myself a few days to settle in and get to know the place a little, so with orientation on the Saturday, I made tracks on Tuesday. I can say it was a great help, it was relatively easy to get to grips with the layout of the city, one could figure it out rather easy with enough time to take it in. And seeing as I was stuck with the task of having to endure other first year assholes staying with me in student accommodation it was nice to get the few quiet days in before having to put up with their post-Leaving Cert away-from-home giddiness.

Ficheall

It's not only first years that might need to get their bearings in September - there's been a hell of a lot of construction work going on over the summer. There'll be at least one massive new building and a new main Newcastle entrance by the time semester starts, I reckon.

Nailz

Is it the new building beside the library that you are referring to? Seen that a couple of weeks ago, great to see a fast build on the structure, seeing as it was a crater in March. What is the buildings' dedicated purpose by the way? And where is this new entrance from Newcastle?

Ficheall

That new building beside the library now also seems to extend to cover half of what was the chapel car park before the summer.
The new road will in come in from opposite Centra to the back of the gym - they tossed three of the houses between the petrol station and the AIB during the last fortnight. Personally, I suspect this new main entrance will cause fierce back-up problems coming off the Quinc, but I'm sure the planners know what they are at.
The research building up at the road entrance to Corrib Village is progressing a bit more slowly.

I remember when it was all fields

On a side note - I see that McNamara is doing some work in front of Aras Ui Chathail and on the roof of the Martin Ryan Institute. Can someone please tell me that this is a different McNamara?