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What is the best University in Ireland?

Pride Fighter

Posting this on the UCD section it might be obvious but maybe some of you out there hate this place. I have not included the Northern Irish institutions such as Queens and the others refers to ITs in Ireland. What do you think?

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Stabshauptmann

Blut wrote:

Which 14 people voted for UCD? Have these 11 people not sat a single exam in their time here? Or tried to register for courses or have any dealings with admin? Surely any experience with the exams office or the administration would leave you with no doubt that UCD is not the best college in Ireland by a longshot.

It might if you had nothing to compare against...

Or if thats not a priority

humbert

It could be the "I didn't get the points for Trinity but I didn't want to go anyway because they're stuck up snobs" brigade.

snickerpuss

I wouldn't vote since i couldn't possibly know. I know nothing about any college outside Dublin since I didn't consider applying to any of them. UCD was the only place i could take my subject choice in Dublin. Thats why I went.

I think UCD admin is a mess but its unfair to say that the college is a disaster because I loved my two subjects and the staff were always fab and I know they get messed around by admin so it would be unfair to say its a rubbish college cos of admin, when most of the staff (that i know anyway) are brilliant.

Donald-Duck

Blut wrote:

Which 14 people voted for UCD? Have these 11 people not sat a single exam in their time here? Or tried to register for courses or have any dealings with admin? Surely any experience with the exams office or the administration would leave you with no doubt that UCD is not the best college in Ireland by a longshot.

I didnt vote but:
No problems with exams at christmas for me, and my timetable for exams is 2-3 days between every exam for this semesters exams.
Never had any problems with registering for a course
Never had to deal with admin

Granted I'm only in first year, but not everyone ends up having loads of problems.

Stepherunie

I haven't voted for any college because I'm not qualified to decide on this.

All I know is this: I chose UCD because I had no other choice in Ireland (UUJ wasn't an option for me) and I've never regretted my decision to come here. For all it's faults and failings I've enjoyed my time here thus far. There's a good atmosphere here and the lecturers I've studied under have been great with the exception of one. I've had a far share of problems since I've been here, luckily exams haven't been one of them but admin has been fairly useless - in saying that we lucky enough to have a good staff and programme manager who generally dealt with them for us.

Maybe I've just been lucky but that's my experience thus far.

Bartronilic

Academically, then it depends on what you're studying, for example arts is the whipping boy of UCD and the Quinn is Irelands best business schools, where as in TCD Bess is a joke and points for arts can be in the high 500s. But tbh, I think its always UCD/TCD in the top 2 spots (just my own 2c).

And you know "bess is a joke" how? Tons of degree options, subject choices, year abroads to Australia, Canada and Japan, good lecturers and being a 4 year degree is a joke is it? Bess and commerce are completely different aswell by the way.

Raphael

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

It is really really hard to say which campus accomadtion I liked the most (and Ive been to most in Ireland) but I think belgrove pips it.

Really? I'd have put the quality of UL accomodation way above that of Belgrove.

Anyways, I didn't vote because all I've got is 1 year in UCD to base my vote on. But I like UCD. My exam timetable's a bit shite, but at least I have study time for my hard subjects. It could be that every other college in the country is a million times better, but I don't know that. And UCD is grand for me.

Stepherunie

Raphael wrote:

Really? I'd have put the quality of UL accomodation way above that of Belgrove.

TBH I think a lot of colleges have as good if not better accomodation than UCD. UCCs oldest campus accomodation is of the same standard as Merville, if not nicer as all the bedrooms have there own sinks. LIT from what I hear from friends has absolutely gorgeous accomodation and well kitted out, TCDs isn't so shabby either. Now I don't know anyone in NUIG so can't comment on there i'm afraid.

Blush_01

The new accommodation in NUIM is lovely too. It's a bit like Roebuck crossed with Glen.

Stabshauptmann

Three posts in a row missing the point. Impressive. The context of my post was in relation to a universities social life, belgrove is one of may fav residences in Ireland.

Stabshauptmann

Bartronilic wrote:

And you know "bess is a joke" how? Tons of degree options, subject choices, year abroads to Australia, Canada and Japan, good lecturers and being a 4 year degree is a joke is it? Bess and commerce are completely different aswell by the way.

In ucd, rightly or wrongly arts gets a lot of stick, in TCD its been my experience that BESS bears the brunt of most of the jokes.

I know bess and commerce are completely different. Having compared the Bcomm in UCD to Bess there is no reasonable comparison; the course sucks. But if you are looking for a business course in TCD or UCD those are the two most comparable

[Deleted User]

Business in TCD is ****e.. simple as..

**** all maths taught, no real finance courses apart from one module in 3rd and one again in 5th.

If you want to learn business - do an undergrad in economics / maths / or something quantative and then do a postgrad in business.

Though from what I've heard, Quinn School aint much better.

Stabshauptmann

original_psycho wrote:

Though from what I've heard, Quinn School aint much better.

Then you've been given poor information

Anyway business isnt just quantitive stuff.

yevveh

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

It is really really hard to say which campus accomadtion I liked the most (and Ive been to most in Ireland) but I think belgrove pips it.

Roebuck accommodation is pretty damn nice, I'd prefer that to Belgrove. Belgrove ain't bad though imo (having never actually lived in on-campus accommodation)

I didn't vote as plenty of other colleges offer degrees in Economics so I could have gone to any of them. However I haven't had much of a problem, the worst is my exams this semester when I have 3 on one day and one the next. That's it. I haven't had to deal with admin much atall and I love the social life here so I can't say I'm not happy with it, and having never been to another uni that sets UCD as the best from what I know. I've heard good things about UCC and NUIG though.

singingstranger

I'd suggest that there's a thread on the TCD board telling people to vote here, but I'm far too lazy to check.

Sangre

Of course, they all have lovely bottoms!

humbert

na don't see one though they do have a sexy rant/bitch/moan thread. just one more way they're better than us

hullaballoo

singingstranger wrote:

I'd suggest that there's a thread on the TCD board telling people to vote here, but I'm far too lazy to check.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054984837&page=135#5368

This could well mean war.

Stepherunie

Or it could further propagate the myth that Trinity students are insular and unaware that there are other places outside TCD.

Ha - vote and don't leave comments.... brilliant, like we'd never think of that.

By the by Hulla, you're link brings you to page 135 for some odd reason.... well it did for me. The comment is actually on page 269 for those who want to view it....

EDIT: Myth?? What was i thinking?

Stabshauptmann

135 is in the link, hulla displays 40 posts per thread (as do I). Funny though, I did check the TCD board earler and was surprised there was no thread

Sangre

they rarely start new threads over there, just jam it into those 2 massive threads.

Stepherunie

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

135 is in the link, hulla displays 40 posts per thread (as do I). Funny though, I did check the TCD board earler and was surprised there was no thread

ah cool cool, well if you have the default settings like me its on 269. All good.

King.Penguin

You have to ask what credentials you judge the universities on. For me the important things, not in any particular order are:

1. The undergraduate courses

Teaching

what are the lecturers like? Are they good at getting information across? Are they approachable? Are they supported adequately by administrative officers, teaching assistants, lab technicians?

2. The postgraduate courses

Leadership

Are the department leaders respected in their respective fields? Are they good researchers? Do they get the most out of their PhD students?

3. Academic facilities

Adequacy

What are the lecture halls/rooms like? Too big? Too small? Can everyone hear and see the lecture being presented? Are there enough labs? What's the library like? Are there plenty of course books? Are there electronic journals, can they be accessed easily and efficiently?

4. Non-academic facilities - Sport, Societies, Social athmosphere

Does the university have a good gym? Are there plenty of active sports clubs? Are the clubs well ran and organised? Is there a good social atmosphere? Are there plenty of things to do on college for creative intelligent people? Is there a student centre? Are there regular gigs and discos, comedy nights, art shows?

5. Services - Food

Are there canteens on campus? What is the food like? Are there pubs on campus? Are they good craic? Is there a supermarket, off-license, pharmacy on campus?

6. Services - support

Are there any tutors? Are there people that students can come to that need support in terms of healthcare, counselling, advice? What happens to students that don't fit in, can't study for their exams etc.? Do they go by unnoticed?

7. History, Tradition, Reputation

Does the university have a good history and tradition of producing high calibre graduates? How are graduates of certain courses seen compared to students from different universities doing comparable courses? Are the degrees and other awards recognised through out Ireland, Europe and the rest of the world?

8. Preparation for employment

Do students from relevant courses go on work placement? Is it beneficial? Are students well prepared after graduation for employment? do they meet the demands of the work force over the long term and short term time frames?

9. Location, accessibility, accommodation

Where is the university situated? In a vibrant city or in the countryside? What are the local facilities like? Are students confined to the campus for socialising? is the university well served by public transport? Is there enough carparks? What are the college residences like? Are the rooms nice? single? shared? modern? dirty? clean? Community atmosphere? Split by gender? Age?

irishcrazyhorse

NCAD, well for the social aspect anyway

[Deleted User]

Stepherunie wrote:

Or it could further propagate the myth that Trinity students are insular and unaware that there are other places outside TCD.

EDIT: Myth?? What was i thinking?

I'm more curious as to what you mean.

Interestingly, when I voted earlier on (at around 2:30 or so) Trinity was at 21 while UCD was behind it at 16 or so. That was just after I saw Laika's post, so people have been voting for Trinity before that.

funky penguin

Lets get this thread on the fast track to where its heading.

I attend UCD and think all Trinner heads are tottering unwashed canker-blossoms.

And bummers.

hullaballoo

Apologies for the borked link.

The poll may have been skewed by zealous Trinity people defending the good name of their archaic institution, but if I went there, I'd probably suffer from the same Napoleonic deficits, and vote in polls on discussion boards to prove how much of a big man I am. That's just me though.

Aside from that, I have to say I'd prefer if people avoided the Trinity vs UCD thing to be honest. It just isn't cricket (excuse).

panda100

Stepherunie wrote:

I haven't voted for any college because I'm not qualified to decide on this.
I've never regretted my decision to come here.

Well I can only speak for the medicine course but without a doubt doing in med in UCD completely beats trinners and rcsi hands (and stethoscopes down!)! We get the two best hospitals The mater and vincents for a start along with most of the top profs in the biz!
Saying that I hear the craic and academia in UCD med is pretty much on par with UCG and UCC.

Stepherunie

Myth wrote:

I'm more curious as to what you mean.

In keeping with the general theme: it isn't a myth, it's a belief.

And Panda with you on many of your points - RCSI doesn't even have an SU (though some will argue that's actually a good thing)

Only thing I like about RCSI over UCD is that they have Beaumont but that's cause I love the place.

Health Sci in general has a great social life, and next year roll on intercourse fun :rolleyes:

TheVan

Hmmm well the word on the street is that Trinity Law is slipping and the rankings for law schools look something like this:

UCD
Trinity and UCC
NUIG

Each college has its strengths and weaknesses.

Although I have noticed that EVERYONE (even insular, stay-at-home-type, country hicks) comes out of Trinity a wannabe - pretentious git

Just sayin