What are the 5 best and worst things about TCD?

straight_As · 27-07-2008 09:33PM #1

Ok, as the title would suggest, I'm wondering what are the 5 best and worst aspects of TCD IN GENERAL? I'm not looking for course specifics.

Epic Tissue · 27-07-2008 10:56PM

+ Nice campus
+ Not too large so walking around it isn't a pain
+ Nice lecture theatres
+ Good facilities (guess this depends on your course though)
+ Exams, timetables etc were organised well

- Exams

(lol) It's not modularised. So main exam at the end of the year. This could be different in different courses, I'm not sure. I think it's changing in 09/10
- If it's lashing rain there is no overhead cover if you're walking to polar ends of the campus.
- Wifi can be crap sometimes but was never a real problem
- If you don't have a laptop it could be hard getting a pc during busy periods (exam times)
- Libraries are full during busy times

Awayindahils · 28-07-2008 10:15AM

Epic Tissue wrote: »

- Exams (lol) It's not modularised. So main exam at the end of the year. This could be different in different courses, I'm not sure. I think it's changing in 09/10

Nope the main exams will still be at the end of the year.

Heffo · 28-07-2008 11:06AM

Good:
- excellent lecturers (though depends on the course)
- a surprisingly fantastic international reputation
- nice campus in a great city-centre location
- more of a 'university' atmosphere than other Irish universities (UCD Dublin)
- the Pav

Bad:
- administration is quite retarded
- sports facilities aren't the best (Santry)
- generally old-fashioned in many respects (this is good and bad, though mostly bad. For example: no online exam schedules)
- the printers in the arts block
- can be quite cliquey, with annoying groups such as Team England at large

28-07-2008 11:46AM

Heffo wrote: »

Bad:
- administration is quite retarded
- sports facilities aren't the best (Santry)
- generally old-fashioned in many respects (this is good and bad, though mostly bad. For example: no online exam schedules)
- the printers in the arts block
- can be quite cliquey, with annoying groups such as Team England at large

- its excellent in comparison to a lot of colleges
- fair point
- www.tcd.ie/local , has the scheds for annual exams and your department will post the term exams. If you aren't able to copy down 7 lines from a board, then college is not the place for you
- they are rubbish!
- totally over blown point

Heffo · 28-07-2008 02:10PM

Deleted User wrote: »

- its excellent in comparison to a lot of colleges
- fair point
- www.tcd.ie/local , has the scheds for annual exams and your department will post the term exams. If you aren't able to copy down 7 lines from a board, then college is not the place for you
- they are rubbish!
- totally over blown point

Well, this must be a recent development. I've been on Erasmus this year, and last year we (i.e., from Law) definitely had to take down our schedules by hand.

Anyway, it was just given as an example for some of the small ineptitudes at College. How could they have never have just put the PDF schedules online?

Running Bing · 28-07-2008 05:23PM

+International reputation is excellent
+Real old world university feel. In general the atmosphere of Trinity is really nice and I love the quaint tradition that goes with a lot of things.
+Renowned lecturers in many subjects
+Stunning Campus and having town on your doorstep is great. So convenient for everything.
+New Gym facilities are fantastic

-Can be cliquey at times. I do think the point is overblown a bit but it is there.
-Have to go to Santry for Football and certain other sports which is a pain.
-Can be hard to find a computer during busy times
-Computer facilities we're on the blink quite a lot in the second half of last year...lots not working and printers acting up. Have to say it was not a huge problem during my time there but it was quite annoying this term.
-One big exam at the end of the year can be a killer........never as bad as you think though (a whole year of college work to revise can seem daunting)

On the whole I loved my time at Trinity. I really believe it is the best University in the country and its pretty unique here. Add in the location and its reputation and I really would not have gone anywhere else. Looking at that the negatives are quite niggly as well.....Id definately recommend it.

wesclark · 28-07-2008 06:28PM

-location
-beauty
-best academics
-best students
-the pav (UCD student bar encourages normal people to act like US cretins)

-college PCs (I could understand having few, but that 30% of them don't work is enfuriating)
-library opening hours
-I'd prefer if term started 2 weeks earlier and finished 2 weeks earlier
-failure to buck the international trend of treating undergrads as a necessary evil. Every student needs exposure to at least one Sean Barrett lecture (I'm sure there are similar characters in other departments) and not just lecturers reading from a script. Also real broad curriculum stuff should be introduced (ie not "Basic history for economists" as I took, but something synergetic like "Psychological research methods for social scientists")

Epic Tissue · 28-07-2008 07:13PM

Awayindahils wrote: »

Nope the main exams will still be at the end of the year.

Oh really? So what's changing then?

Heffo wrote: »

- generally old-fashioned in many respects (this is good and bad, though mostly bad. For example: no online exam schedules)

My exam timetables were online :cool:

Oh yeah, can't believe I forgot location as a positive!:rolleyes::)

28-07-2008 07:22PM

Heffo wrote: »

Well, this must be a recent development. I've been on Erasmus this year, and last year we (i.e., from Law) definitely had to take down our schedules by hand.

Anyway, it was just given as an example for some of the small ineptitudes at College. How could they have never have just put the PDF schedules online?

Changed last year due to pressure from the SU.

Flamed Diving · 28-07-2008 09:39PM

Whats the talent like? I'm starting in Sept and I'm free and available! Woo hoo!

28-07-2008 10:10PM

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Whats the talent like? I'm starting in Sept and I'm free and available! Woo hoo!

Excellent

wesclark · 29-07-2008 12:24AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Excellent

Well, if you're in the Hamilton choice will be limited. In the Arts block stocks are more plentiful but BESS boys seem to have very limited success overall pulling BESS girls (they are on a Sex in the City, Destiny's Child buzz that doesn't lend itself to sleeping around)

Your best chance is a girl from outside the Pale if you are looking to score on a night out. Or being "emotionally available" and working towards getting a girlfriend over a number of weeks with the possible "friend zone" trap.

29-07-2008 08:37AM

wesclark wrote: »

Well, if you're in the Hamilton choice will be limited. In the Arts block stocks are more plentiful but BESS boys seem to have very limited success overall pulling BESS girls (they are on a Sex in the City, Destiny's Child buzz that doesn't lend itself to sleeping around)

Your best chance is a girl from outside the Pale if you are looking to score on a night out. Or being "emotionally available" and working towards getting a girlfriend over a number of weeks with the possible "friend zone" trap.

Flamed Diving will be an Arts Blocker, and there are more courses then BESS wesclark!

Awayindahils · 29-07-2008 08:51AM

Epic Tissue wrote: »

Oh really? So what's changing then?

Trinity is Semesterising. There will be two long terms. One starting in mid September, the other in January and there will be a study break for some of what was Trinity term.

During each Semester students will take 30ects worth of credits or there abouts to make the 60 credits needed to complete and undergraduate year. However while Trinity is modularising in the sense that a course should be covered in a semster or one half of a course, there will be no major set of exams at the end of the term. It was felt that S&M would be less popular if there were going to be more exams. Also exams are quite expensive to run. So Trinity is only half modularising as such.

Jonathan · 29-07-2008 09:49AM

+ Well kept grounds + campus
+ Muesum Building
+ City Centre location
+ Brand new sports centre
+ Excellent computer facilities - if you know how to fully use them - External proxies, Remote file access etc..
+ Library
+ Starting college in October

- TCDwifi
- Arts Block Girls
- Computer room pcs are loaded with junk. Eg iTunes.
- People assume you are loaded/snobby cause you go to TCD

dreamr · 29-07-2008 09:55AM

+ Su shop (cheap chocolate!!)
+ Pav
+ societies
+ location
+ one of the top colleges in world

- arts block apple computers
- girls toliets
- library policy about borrowing books (Super fine.. )
- cobbles are v slippy when wet
- no enterance on north side, only at front arch and now gym. v annoying. :mad:

kowloon · 29-07-2008 10:04AM

jmccrohan wrote: »

+ Well kept grounds + campus
+ Muesum Building
+ City Centre location
+ Brand new sports centre
+ Excellent computer facilities - if you know how to fully use them - External proxies, Remote file access etc..
+ Library
+ Starting college in October

- TCDwifi
- Arts Block Girls
- Computer room pcs are loaded with junk. Eg iTunes.
- People assume you are loaded/snobby cause you go to TCD

Kind of invalidates the rest.
What's wrong with the girls?

Jonathan · 29-07-2008 10:34AM

kowloon wrote: »

Kind of invalidates the rest.

How so?

ApeXaviour · 29-07-2008 12:30PM

dreamr wrote: »

+ Su shop (cheap chocolate!!)
- no enterance on north side, only at front arch and now gym. v annoying. :mad:

There are actually 3 separate entrances that students can access on Pearse st (5 in total). There's the main one, the CRANN entrance. Then there's a swipe gate opposite O'Neill's, lets you in behind engineering buildings, beside the college health service, it swipes green most of the time. Also there's the car entrance opposite the garda station that's open between (I think) 8am-10am, and 16:30-18-30. The other two are a staff door and a delivery entrance (technically on College st).

Also for any smart alecs, I'm aware there are also numerous uninteresting doors some can exit via.

29-07-2008 12:51PM

Also the gate across the road from Doyles is often open as well

Flamed Diving · 29-07-2008 12:53PM

yay! I cant wait to get up there!

ApeXaviour · 29-07-2008 01:09PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Also the gate across the road from Doyles is often open as well

That's the delivery entrance on college st

Degsy · 29-07-2008 01:30PM

Pros:The best Librarian in the universe.

Cons:See above.

ilovemybrick · 29-07-2008 01:33PM

Flamed Diving wrote: »

yay! I cant wait to get up there!

I cant wait to get back.

The Campus - to include location,tunnels and the pav
Societies (ducomedy.com)
The Prestige of being in the best University in the country
The people you will meet - both lecturers, students and those people who are just around all the time
Campus living

The inability/disinclination of administration to help any sort of student activity on campus
The loss of the buttery
Some of the people you will meet
The apathy and lack of understanding of the majority of the student body when it comes to representation in the University
The fact that other colleges seem to think that we assume our own superiority.

Économiste Monétaire · 29-07-2008 02:03PM

ilovemybrick wrote: »

3.The Prestige of being in the best University in the country

5.The fact that other colleges seem to think that we assume our own superiority.

Just thought I'd point out the amusing irony of those two.

ApeXaviour · 29-07-2008 02:18PM

All I can say to that is the ever so trite: lol

ilovemybrick · 29-07-2008 03:30PM

UCD_Econ wrote: »

Just thought I'd point out the amusing irony of those two.

There is a difference between the university being the best university in the country link and the assumptions people make about us.

ApeXaviour · 29-07-2008 04:12PM

The assumption that we assume our own authority?

ilovemybrick · 29-07-2008 04:18PM

ApeXaviour wrote: »

The assumption that we assume our own authority?

yeah. why not? we couldnt have anyone assuming anything else could we now.

My point is just based on when the society im involved in went to the national society awards we were subject to a whole load of semi-serious abuse because of the college we were representing and in the end were judged on a different scale to other colleges/universities.

Jonathan · 29-07-2008 04:31PM

ilovemybrick wrote: »

My point is just based on when the society im involved in went to the national society awards we were subject to a whole load of semi-serious abuse because of the college we were representing and in the end were judged on a different scale to other colleges/universities.

Maybe it was just for the laugh*

*assuming you are talking about the soc in your sig

What are the 5 best and worst things about TCD?

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