Prospective Students: Q&A and Information on courses

edibility

I'm hoping for trinity accomodation, having accepted computer science ( \o/ ) and was just wondering what exactly they look for from new applicants?

"Supporting Statement: (Plain text only. 1800 Chars Max.) Please indicate how you believe your application meets the advertised criteria for room allocation"

I presume this means to say why you feel you're suitable for trinity accomodation, but I'm not too sure whether to make myself seem incredibley sociable etc, or just explain why I want the accomodation? It's not that I'm not sociable, but when I write down that I am it seems very false and what not.

THE1NE

You've probably done it already but just say your not within commuting distance,put down any illness you have? (Asthma...whatever).
Other reasons why you need the accomodation and you should get it.
Thats what I done and I checked it just there and I got it so im dellllliighted!!

THE1NE

BTW im doing Science this year.
What I was planning was doing Maths,Biology and Physics or is that a bad idea.
Chemisty and Physics or Chemisty and Biology would probably be a better idea,right?
I've done Chemistry,Physics and Biology all for the leaving already though so would it make a distance.
Its just I don't want to **** up my options down the line in 2nd and 3rd year now.
Please help!!

cuckoo

THE1NE wrote:

BTW im doing Science this year.
What I was planning was doing Maths,Biology and Physics or is that a bad idea.
Chemisty and Physics or Chemisty and Biology would probably be a better idea,right?
I've done Chemistry,Physics and Biology all for the leaving already though so would it make a distance.
Its just I don't want to **** up my options down the line in 2nd and 3rd year now.
Please help!!

I'm doing science (maths, chemistry and physics for the first two years, i'll be going into physics in oct) and during the first week of first year the faculty do lots of 'taster' lectures in all the subjects, plus there are opportunities to talk to lecturers about what options you can take. From what i remember, we filled in a form in the 2nd or 3rd week of term, and had to have it signed by an advisor - the faculty set up an afternoon with lecturers sitting at tables in the hamilton and we could talk to them and get our forms signed then. They will bombard you with information about all this - there'll be stuff in the post, it'll all be run through in the orientation talks in Freshers Week and once you get your tcd email account (again, during Freshers Week) they'll send you reminder emails - the Sci Faculty use email a lot to tell us about deadlines.

So, you don't need to choose before you start college!

There's no right or wrong combination, it all depends on what degree you want to specialise in for third and fourth year - and what subjects you're interested in.

there's some info on the faculty page here:

http://www.tcd.ie/Science/tr071.php

the_rook

Maths, Physics and Biology is actually a really stupid combination.

I'll go into it in detail if you want at a later stage, but seriously, take it from me, do not do this combination.

the_rook

There are two things you need to decide. Whether you want to go the Physical Science way or the Biological Science way. You can do chemistry from either route. But you can't leave you're options open to do either Physics or Biology at the later stage. The reason is, the majority of Moderatorships you take in 3rd Year require JF Chemistry. THe exceptions are physiology, botany and Zoology. And ES if you're lucky.

but, if you're certain you want to take physics, you'll be much better complemented by studying Chemistry, rather than Biology. I'm not 100% on this, Apexaviour or SleepingB can clarify this, but if you take Bio and Physic in JF, you don't do the exact same physics course or something.

So in summary, if you plan on doing physics, imo, do Physics, Chemistry and Maths. If you plan on doing Chemistry, do the same, but, it isn't a problem if you Biology, Chemistry, Maths. If you're considering Biology subjectscfor JS, do Biology, Chemistry, Maths or Bio,chem,x,maths methods. You probably don't know what you want to do, so Bio,chem and maths leaves you the most options, but absolutely removes the opportunity to do phyiscs.

Decide if you want to do physics, a lot of people come in to the college with the intention of doing physic forever, so they don't have a problem with the subject choice. I'm rambling i'll stop.

sleepingbeauty

the_rook wrote:

but, if you're certain you want to take physics, you'll be much better complemented by studying Chemistry, rather than Biology. I'm not 100% on this, Apexaviour or SleepingB can clarify this, but if you take Bio and Physic in JF, you don't do the exact same physics course or something.

yep if you take physics and biology in first year then you do physics B, which is an easier course than what chemistry/geo people do (physics A). you dont go into as much detail and i dont think its very mathsy (cant really remember tbh). so youre at a slight disavantage if you do end up wanting to do physics in the next years.

also to add to the_rooks post above, if you want to do physics then geog/geol instead of chem is an okay choice too. there is prob more overlap with chem and phy courses but i know quite a few people who did geology in 2nd year and are gonna do physics or astrophysics next year. id say chemistry would be handy for biology courses though.

THE1NE do you know what you want to specialise in yet? i could ramble for ages about subject choices in science, but if i knew what you wanted to do i could tell you only what you want to know rather than any unecessary info! if you dont know yet then id say just go with what you enjoy doing, and also talk to lecturers etc in freshers week to get an idea of what the courses are like (you have to talk to them anyway to get forms signed so you might as well take advantage of their expertise!)

THE1NE

the_rook thanks a mil'.
Nah ya weren't rambling was v.helpful.
sleepingbeauty thanks too.

Trust me I will definetely take any chance to talk to the lecturers about it,I was going to take a phone no. off the site and ring one of them and ask but I'll just wait.
I don't know what I'll do yet.
Either Bio,Chem or Phys,Chem.
Biology and Physics were my favourite at LC.
Physiology sounds interesting but im staying away from Botany and Zoology because I know someone who went down that route,Got a PhD and couldn't find work with it.

I'll see how it goes anyway,Astro-Physics is interesting aswell and I really like Physics.But then on Biology front I find Genetics really interesting too.
Anyway thanks for the help and if you have anything else you think I should know lemme' know!

ApeXaviour

My guide to picking your subjects for JF science:

Ordered by priority.
1: Pick your subjects based on what you need to qualify for the moderatorship of your choice. ie do geog/geol if you want to do geography in JS/SS (3rd/4th year).

2: Don't do physics and biology together.

3: Do FULL maths if possible. If you were in any way half decent at LC maths (say C3 honours) you will not only find this very useful, but very handy. The exam-papers are very predictable and you have no labs.

THE1NE

Ok thanks again.
I'll talk it through with one of the lecturers I don't know wheter I want to go into Physics or Biology so it will either be Maths-Phys-Chem or Maths-Bio-Chem.
And im def doing full maths,Only got a B2 higher LC which was a total shock but theres no question fo me not doing full maths.

Scarinae

I'm going to be starting in Science this year, but I'm not sure whether to take Maths or Maths Methods. I'm pretty sure I'll be taking Biology and Chemistry anyway, but if I do Maths Methods I can also take Geography/Geology - is this a good or bad idea? Would my workload be much more if I did it this way? The prospectus isn't too clear on this. I wasn't sure if Maths Methods was meant only for students who did ordinary level Maths for Leaving Cert, or if anyone can take it - I did higher for my LC. I'm not sure what area I want to specialise in yet though, so I thought maybe doing Geography/Geology as well would be useful. Which third & fourth year courses are you prevented from doing if you don't do Geography/Geology? The prospectus lists all the courses you can do but it doesn't tell you which first & second year courses you have to take to get into each one

ApeXaviour

THE1NE wrote:

And im def doing full maths,Only got a B2 higher LC which was a total shock but theres no question fo me not doing full maths.

Glad to hear it. On a different day you woulda prob done better.

Fishie wrote:

but if I do Maths Methods I can also take Geography/Geology - is this a good or bad idea?

Depends.. Do you reckon you'll want to do geography? It's kind of a pseudo-science subject not like LC, closer to arts imo (it is an arts course in UCD btw).

Fishie wrote:

Would my workload be much more if I did it this way?

Yes. not a ridiculus amount more but more nevertheless. Also (IMO) if you keep up the maths you find difficult concepts in your other subjects come to you easier. It's like excercise for the abstract reasoning part of your brain.

Fishie wrote:

The prospectus isn't too clear on this. I wasn't sure if Maths Methods was meant only for students who did ordinary level Maths for Leaving Cert, or if anyone can take it

It's for anybody who chooses not to take full maths as a subject in the JF year

Fishie wrote:

I'm not sure what area I want to specialise in yet though, so I thought maybe doing Geography/Geology as well would be useful. Which third & fourth year courses are you prevented from doing if you don't do Geography/Geology?

Geography only. You can take up geology, with little difficulty I might add, in SF (2nd year) having not done it in JF. Trust me on this, many of my friends have done and passed it.

Fishie wrote:

The prospectus lists all the courses you can do but it doesn't tell you which first & second year courses you have to take to get into each one

I've attached a table of the prerequisite (which you will recieve a booklet on soon don't worry) subjects you need to get into each moderatorship.

THE1NE

Its kind of weird that you get a degree in the area you specialise in rather than a straight up Science degree,No other colleges do that.
Anyway im sure it makes little difference.

Think I'll do Chemistry and Biology.
Which will leave me open for Genetics and Neuroscience and a load of other stuff..
But not Physics/AstroPhysics which is Biaatch,But what can ya do!

cuckoo

THE1NE wrote:

Its kind of weird that you get a degree in the area you specialise in rather than a straight up Science degree,No other colleges do that.
Anyway im sure it makes little difference.

it's also a little weird that we'll be (fingers crossed, touch wood, etc) getting a BA rather than a BSc.

THE1NE

BA is Bachelors Arts and Bsc is Bachelors Science,right?
Thats messed up!!!

ApeXaviour

THE1NE wrote:

Its kind of weird that you get a degree in the area you specialise in rather than a straight up Science degree,No other colleges do that.
Anyway im sure it makes little difference.

No I'm pretty sure all colleges do that. I mean what is a "straight up science degree"?

However trinity (afaik) are the only ones who give a BA in any of the science moderatorships.

The entry into the natural science course just allows you to explore and specialise later than picking your career at 17. Lets you get a feel for what you want and gives you a bit of an all important grounding in other science areas.

What about degrees that are not taken through the natural science course like med-chem and phys&chem of advanced materials. You realise that you can jump say in third year between these and different other moderatorships

Crash

BA Mod is only issued by Trinners, Oxford and Cambridge i think, that right?

tis the exact same and seen as such as a BSc in the same subject like.

Comp Sci is a ba(mod) degree.

AndyWarhol

crash_000 wrote:

BA Mod is only issued by Trinners, Oxford and Cambridge i think, that right?

tis the exact same and seen as such as a BSc in the same subject like.

Comp Sci is a ba(mod) degree.

Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin actually.

Scarinae

ApeXaviour wrote:

Depends.. Do you reckon you'll want to do geography? It's kind of a pseudo-science subject not like LC, closer to arts imo (it is an arts course in UCD btw).

It's really more Geology that I find interesting, not that mad about Geography. I probably wouldn't go to finish in Geology but I would like to see what it's like

ApeXaviour wrote:

Yes. not a ridiculus amount more but more nevertheless. Also (IMO) if you keep up the maths you find difficult concepts in your other subjects come to you easier. It's like excercise for the abstract reasoning part of your brain. It's for anybody who chooses not to take full maths as a subject in the JF year

Would I be at a huge disadvantage if I took Maths Methods then? I think I would be able for Maths just I didn't think it'd be much of an advantage unless you were taking Physics, which I won't be

ApeXaviour wrote:

Geography only. You can take up geology, with little difficulty I might add, in SF (2nd year) having not done it in JF. Trust me on this, many of my friends have done and passed it.

Thing is though, half the reason I want to do Geology in JF is because I want to see if I like it, I've never studied it before. I don't think I'd just randomly take up Geology in SF if I hadn't done it in JF year

ApeXaviour wrote:

I've attached a table of the prerequisite (which you will recieve a booklet on soon don't worry) subjects you need to get into each moderatorship.

Thanks for that, it's really useful!

air_vent

crash_000 wrote:

BA Mod is only issued by Trinners, Oxford and Cambridge i think, that right?

tis the exact same and seen as such as a BSc in the same subject like.

Comp Sci is a ba(mod) degree.

Trinners YOU MAKE ME SICK. andyworhol has it in one DUBLIN,

Crash

air_vent - you being a ****ing idiot makes me sick, but i dont go spouting my mouth off every time you say something stupid. oh well. pot/kettle/black etc. :P

ok, so trinity college Dublin, trinity college Cambridge and (is it?) trinity college Oxford issue it. that better?

Time Magazine

I think he's referring to the fact that the degrees are issued by the University of Dublin, and not Trinity College.

But he's still a pedantic bastard.

P.S. is he not pointing out Oxford degrees are issued by Oxon??!

ApeXaviour

Fishie wrote:

It's really more Geology that I find interesting, not that mad about Geography.

Would I be at a huge disadvantage if I took Maths Methods then?...

Thing is though...

Sounds like you've got your mind made up to be honest. Go with your gut: chem, bio, geog/geol and maths methods. Will it be a huge disadvantage? No not really, more hours, a little more stress when you find the bit of maths cropping up in chemistry, especially in SF but it's all very doable.

Crash wrote:

BA Mod is only issued by Trinners, Oxford and Cambridge i think, that right?

Leaving the pedantic mess behind.. Yeah I've no idea. Trins the only one in Ireland anyway, as far as the rest of the world is it's hard to know.

Crash

Angry Banana wrote:

I think he's referring to the fact that the degrees are issued by the University of Dublin, and not Trinity College.

But he's still a pedantic bastard.

P.S. is he not pointing out Oxford degrees are issued by Oxon??!

Yeah, AndyWarhol was - Air_Vent was just being ceilingfan mk.2

Time Magazine

I hate people who are pedantically snobby like that. Especially people who are boring enough to do it online.

Nietzschean

uh well anyway he's banned for 24hrs for being a twat, andywarhol has a perm ban for being zigbee 1, 2 ,3 and some other loosers

fade

as far as i know he was refering to the fact that you refer to trinity college as "trinners"

which, in my opinion, is a little pretentious

Nietzschean

fade wrote:

as far as i know he was refering to the fact that you refer to trinity college as "trinners"

which, in my opinion, is a little pretentious

the ban was in refernce to most of his posts here not just that one. Anyway only a 24hr one.......

this place used to be so quiet in civilised.....i blame fade...

Pet

Fishie wrote:

I'm going to be starting in Science this year, but I'm not sure whether to take Maths or Maths Methods. I'm pretty sure I'll be taking Biology and Chemistry anyway, but if I do Maths Methods I can also take Geography/Geology - is this a good or bad idea? Would my workload be much more if I did it this way? The prospectus isn't too clear on this. I wasn't sure if Maths Methods was meant only for students who did ordinary level Maths for Leaving Cert, or if anyone can take it - I did higher for my LC. I'm not sure what area I want to specialise in yet though, so I thought maybe doing Geography/Geology as well would be useful. Which third & fourth year courses are you prevented from doing if you don't do Geography/Geology? The prospectus lists all the courses you can do but it doesn't tell you which first & second year courses you have to take to get into each one

I'm considering doing the same thing as you..I'm okay at Maths, but don't really have any great love for it..

The Geog/Geol, Bio, Chem, Maths Methods option does give you more hours per week than say Bio, Chem, Maths..both because you're taking 3 1/2 subjects as opposed to three, and also because Geog/Geol has more hours than normal (about 8 hours a week I think). But it's certainly doable, and Geog/Geol is meant to be a nice broad artsy course, so at least there's that.

Crash

fade: i do it to take the piss - if you read half my posts on here they're along a pisstaking vein :P