Did you enjoy college /3rd level Education Life?

Interesting to see the comments about people going through an awkward sort of time during their college years. I definitely felt as though I enjoyed college a helluva lot more than school, but college came with it's fair share of drama, among my peers, and at least for me, there was a lot of growing up to do.

Seems like an age ago now. But I enjoyed it overall.

I didn’t get people who started (or more likely were forced to start) college young. I know one guy started a 3 year Law degree at 17. He was still 6 months shy of his 21st and he was done and out working! I didn’t start til I was 19 and with hindsight 20 would have been a better age to start at. Still immature enough to have wanton fun but ‘old’ enough to be responsible for your study.

hated school, loved every minute of college made some great friends, it was great crack but if I had to any longer back then my liver would’ve given in

didn’t enjoy it. Without getting into specifics, the course was not as advertised. It was the first year of it we were like guinea pigs. the language lab we were supposed to have access to didn’t appear till year two. The language lab when it did appear was essentially a room full of desks with a tape player and headphones. So why it took that long or why it was determined to be a ‘lab’

the head honcho refused to take any responsibility for it and told us to take our problems and concerns to the department of education…not her. This despite at the beginning her lauding the course and state of the art facility 🤪…more like state of the facility.

Made friends and got to spend some time abroad working as part of the language element of the course, the sole enjoyable aspect…

I hear people talking about college days as the best of their lives and often wonder where it went wrong or didn't work out for me. I did four years in Carlow and one year in UCD and hated it, especially Carlow. I only made two or three real friends in my time in college and even then I haven't seen any of them in person since graduation. I'm glad I got the degrees but don't look back on that time with any nostalgia, it was mostly crap.

I would say absolutely yes - both times suited me down to the ground, to be honest. I learned much more than in secondary school that is for sure. Not sure I would have the energy for it now though.

Post grad I had even more appreciation for it all. I lived on campus then, so even handier. Loved having to do research (when research was proper research mostly done manually as the internet was in the more basic days), loved the buzz and energy of the places.

Obviously there was the drinking and parties etc. But from what I remember there was not too much of that. Because the courses were so time consuming. But the 'pubs' (plural) were all short distances from the colleges I was in. So there was always the chance of a couple of pints anyway.

Lost touch with the friends I made etc and those from the courses. But out of curiosity, I looked them up during lockdown to see what they were doing. Those that are still around are doing well. I think, I was very lucky to be in exceptionally good groups of people who sort of drove me on by their high standards, and they were always helpful.

Yep, if you're dealing with personal issues like that, it can a bit crippling to start out in college I found. You don't really have the confidence to start making friends and it can be incredibly lonely.

went to UCD in the early 90s, hated it, was like a factory, you were just another number. Now as I was a Dub I got the Dart there and back so probably would have had a better experience if I lived on campus or local digs. In later years I went back and did additional studies at smaller colleges which in my opinion were so much more personal and friendlier and made good friends there.

I was in Galway RTC in the late 90s.

I didn't attend about 90% of lectures,they rang my parents.

Even though it was midweek I just happened to be at home and answered the call.

Hated it, the place was full of tossers and I was broke for most of it, so couldnt afford to have the good time that everyone else was having.

Stuck it out and graduated & got my first job, then the party started…

Agree with this to a large extent. I went to UCD a decade after you (2000-2005). I’m from the country, so always lived in house shares, but never on campus. First year was pretty lonely. As you say, very anonymous and you feel like a unit on a conveyor belt. I did make friends in various house shares in subsequent years and left with a small set of individual friends, three or four of whom I still meet in person all these years later. It was just fortunate that our paths crossed though.

I did postgraduate study in Cork and abroad. It was infinitely easier to make friends compared to UCD. Having said that, those friendships haven’t stood the test of time, whereas the small number of UCD relationships remain intact to this day.

There’s something a bit ‘off’ about the atmosphere in Belfield. As somebody else said, if you’re not part of the South Dublin clique or fail to stumble into a sociable class, it can be an alienating experience. The huge class sizes in particular faculties also play a role in creating that sense of anonymity. If I was 17 again, I would give UCD a wide berth with the benefit of hindsight.

Yep. One of the friends I made through a house share did an arts degree in UCD. Lovely girl, but quite introverted until you get to know her. She had a torrid time for her first two years. She really fell through the cracks and scarcely knew anybody. She described weeks on end barely speaking to anybody on campus. She randomly moved into a house share with my buddy and I plus another girl who was also stranger initially. We all got along really well. She only really got some enjoyment from the place in her third and final year. I don’t think her experience is that uncommon in UCD.

Absolutely.

Get up and watch Home & Away. Into the canteen or bar meet a few people for a cup of tea. Lunch somewhere (maybe a roll from Wards). Into the bookies for a couple of hours. College bar for a couple of pints. Home and throw a frozen Pizza on. Start drinking. Into the pub, into the nightclub, Supermacs/Charcoal Grill. Do it all again the next day.