CTYI Residential Courses Summer 2015

smiles_1998

I am a Transition Year student and am debating attending one of the CTYI residential courses in DCU this summer. I don't know anyone who has ever attended one of the courses and- as the courses are very expensive- I was just wondering if anyone could give me their opinion on the courses and if they are worthwhile. (I would be interested in either the Criminology course or the social Psychology course)

Thank you

emersyn

I've been going to CTYI for two summers and I can honestly tell you that they were two of the best experiences of my life. I was extremely nervous my first time but I warmed to it immediately, and this is coming from a person who avoids social situations as much as possible. Everyone who goes there is incredibly friendly and understanding, and the classes are extremely enjoyable as well as stimulating. I haven't done criminology or social psychology but I know people who have, and they loved them. There's so much more to the experience outside of classtime as well, especially if you're planning on staying residentially. I would definitely recommend going - it's expensive but I feel that it is worth the money.

smiles_1998

emersyn wrote: »

I've been going to CTYI for two summers and I can honestly tell you that they were two of the best experiences of my life. I was extremely nervous my first time but I warmed to it immediately, and this is coming from a person who avoids social situations as much as possible. Everyone who goes there is incredibly friendly and understanding, and the classes are extremely enjoyable as well as stimulating. I haven't done criminology or social psychology but I know people who have, and they loved them. There's so much more to the experience outside of classtime as well, especially if you're planning on staying residentially. I would definitely recommend going - it's expensive but I feel that it is worth the money.

Thanks so much for the reply. Just out of curiosity, what courses did you do?

emersyn

smiles_1998 wrote: »

Thanks so much for the reply. Just out of curiosity, what courses did you do?

No problem, I did War and Conflict Studies the first year and I did Film Studies last year

smiles_1998

emersyn wrote: »

No problem, I did War and Conflict Studies the first year and I did Film Studies last year

Oh okay I was going to do War and Conflict Studies this year if it was offered but it wasn't unfortunately. Are the classes more like lectures or typical secondary-school classes?

emersyn

smiles_1998 wrote: »

Oh okay I was going to do War and Conflict Studies this year if it was offered but it wasn't unfortunately. Are the classes more like lectures or typical secondary-school classes?

They're not at all like secondary school classes, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and I feel that there's far more mutual respect between the lecturer and the pupils in comparison to school where the teachers are often completely authoritarian and have no respect for students. Also the information taught in the courses is usually taken from the first year syllabus of university students so it's similar to lectures in an educational sense as well as the overall atmosphere

smiles_1998

emersyn wrote: »

They're not at all like secondary school classes, the atmosphere is much more relaxed and I feel that there's far more mutual respect between the lecturer and the pupils in comparison to school where the teachers are often completely authoritarian and have no respect for students. Also the information taught in the courses is usually taken from the first year syllabus of university students so it's similar to lectures in an educational sense as well as the overall atmosphere

Oh okay! that sounds way better than classes in school. Also just one more question (sorry about this!): it says in the brohure that you have study for two hours everyday- does the work you're assigned take ages to do or does it depend on the course?

emersyn

The type and length of work would definitely differ in each course, like when I did War and Conflict Studies we had two big projects that we had to complete and all of the study time went towards completing those two things, whereas in Film Studies we only spent the last half of the course on a project and were assigned smaller individual questions most other nights. But in both of the courses the workloads were very manageable, most people got everything finished with time to spare, and even if you do end up not getting something done there's lots of free time outside of classes and studying when you can finish stuff. (And no problem, I'm happy to help )

smiles_1998

emersyn wrote: »

The type and length of work would definitely differ in each course, like when I did War and Conflict Studies we had two big projects that we had to complete and all of the study time went towards completing those two things, whereas in Film Studies we only spent the last half of the course on a project and were assigned smaller individual questions most other nights. But in both of the courses the workloads were very manageable, most people got everything finished with time to spare, and even if you do end up not getting something done there's lots of free time outside of classes and studying when you can finish stuff. (And no problem, I'm happy to help )

Thanks so much for answering my questions. You've been a great help

emersyn

No problem, I hope you have a great time if you decide to go!:)