UCD vs TCD Computer Science

Ufc2016

I've been reshuffling my CAO options because of the leaving cert and I'm unsure whether I'd prefer UCD or TCD computer science. Does anyone have either down on their CAO too and what do you think of either course?

Corkalex

Not referring specifically to computer science but I have science down on my cao both in UCD and TCD. I spoke to a friend who's finished doing a master's degree in UCD and he said that the lecturers there are engaging and have a close relationship with every student. The drop out rate in UCD is very low compared to TCD. Apparently loads have dropped out of courses in their first year studying in TCD because their lecturers weren't interested in building a relationship with their students. So that made me put UCD (first choice) before TCD plus I liked the campus

randylonghorn

Ufc2016 wrote: »

I've been reshuffling my CAO options because of the leaving cert ...

Don't do too much reshuffling because of LC, especially if you're reshuffling because you think an exam or exams went badly. There is nothing more soul-destroying than to take a course you want off your list in a fit of depression because you think you won't get the points, only to find that you did get them after all.

It can be a good idea to look at the bottom of your list and perhaps make sure you have an option or two there which are usually lower in points, and which you would be happy enough doing if it came to that ... and perhaps ones which might lead to where you really wanted to go further along the line, if that was at all possible.

But ordering your CAO list by your projections of LC points is generally a bad idea, order it by what courses you want to do (assuming a little realism ofc, if you have been averaging 400 points all through the last two years, and were doing a bit of work all through, chances of you getting 625 in the LC may not be huge! )

Gahv

I have TCD CS as my 1
And UCD CS as my 2

I did a course in 4th year in TCD for computer science and loved it and then I shadowed a student during Easter.
I really liked the look of the course.. Haven't heard much about UCD, but id say it's just as good.

conzy

I studied Computer Science in TCD and it was a great course. It had a very academic bias though. i.e you planned to do further research or work in a theoretical computer science field.

If you are using computer science as a springboard into industry there are other courses that may be more suitable.

On my CAO I had Computer Science in:

TCD
UCD
DIT

I would have been happy with any of them, make sure you have a catch all course that guarantees you a space, but dont short change yourself either

DublinArnie

conzy wrote: »

I studied Computer Science in TCD and it was a great course. It had a very academic bias though. i.e you planned to do further research or work in a theoretical computer science field.

If you are using computer science as a springboard into industry there are other courses that may be more suitable.

On my CAO I had Computer Science in:

TCD
UCD
DIT

I would have been happy with any of them, make sure you have a catch all course that guarantees you a space, but dont short change yourself either

Would this academic bias apply to all the STEM courses at TCD?

TooMuchWork

TCD Computer Science and Language has a 50% drop out rate, with the pure computer science having a 28% drop out rate. I think that has something to do with every exam being in May and none during Christmas, so bare that in mind. The rate is 22% in UCD. Friend of mine is studying Medicine in TCD and he said the facilities available there are amazing, especially the 24/7 libraries with computer access! If you're like me (I want to do Comp Sci too) then that would be extremely appealing.

conzy

I cant speak for other courses but Computer Science in TCD seems to have that focus.

e.g

3rd year in TCD has Theoretical Computer Science, Compiler Design, Symbolic Programming, Functional Programming, AI

It is a beast of a year and tends to be the year with the biggest thinning of the herd

3rd year in DIT has a full semester industry placement and some more "practical" fields of computer science,

Cloud Computing, Databases, Client Server Programming, Mobile Software Development, Systems Security etc etc

The only "theoretical" module in 3rd year seems to be "Applied Intelligence"


Different strokes for different folks. If I had to do it all over again I would go to DIT or a course with a similar structure to DIT.

If you want to have a deeper understanding, develop compilers and programming languages then TCD is the way to go.

If you just want to get into the industry then DIT or similar is the way to go IMO