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DCU in Dublin

Hiya,
does anyone attend DCU in Dublin? I'm hoping to do Global Business there next year. I'm from England and never actually been to Ireland, but the course is like a dream for me!
Just wondering if anyone that goes there or has been could tell me what it's like? Is the surrounding area nice? Close to town? Expensive living costs?

Also one last thing, if anyone has been granted a sports scholarship or the elite sportsman programme thing... Is it worth applying?

Cheers, Meg :smile:

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Reply 1

gutenberg

I didn't attend DCU myself but I know plenty of people that did, and I also grew up in Dublin, so I'll try help.

The university campus itself is nice, mostly redbrick buildings and many new buildings as well; most of it was built between the late 1980s and the 2000s, it's a very young university. Within Ireland it has a reputation for science & technology (it used to be a technological institute), but you'd struggle to find many people outside of Ireland who have heard of it.

The campus is situated in a residential area; parts of it are nice, other parts really not. On one side you are close to some of Dublin's historically worst neighbourhoods of Ballymun and (arguably) Whitehall, but if you could find accommodation in Glasnevin or Drumcondra it wouldn't be too bad. Living in Dublin is expensive, and there is currently a rental market crisis so finding inexpensive-but-inhabitable accommodation could be a challenge, though as the north side of Dublin is seen as less desirable you might have an easier time than someone trying to find something more central.

To get to Dublin city centre, you would have to take a bus more than likely; it takes anywhere between 20-40 minutes to get in depending on traffic. You probably could walk at a push but it'd take over an hour.

As regards the sports scholarships, my impression of them is that they tend to go a lot to Gaelic sports and other more 'mainstream' sports in Ireland, but if you felt you were at a high-enough level in your sport it would be worth a shot I suppose.

Reply 2

whittakerm

Thank you!
That's helped a lot :smile:

I don't like how far away it is from the centre... Don't like that at all!
I'd be staying on campus for the first year, hopefully by the start of my 2nd the rental market crisis will ease up? Haha, fingers crossed.

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Reply 3

gutenberg

Does DCU provide guaranteed accommodation for first-years?

Reply 4

whittakerm

Oh I don't know... I presumed you apply and get it like we do in England?

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Reply 5

gutenberg

Reading DCU's prospectus, it seems that any students who get over 500 CAO points (or the equivalent) are guaranteed a place in on-campus accommodation in first year. 500 CAO points is the equivalent of A*A*A* at A2 level plus at least a C in a separate subject at AS level subject; if you do Maths or Further Maths you can get an extra 25 points added on to your CAO score (see the CAO chart here). Otherwise places are allocated randomly, and it seems that there is a chance you won't get a room; you may qualify as an 'international' student, but I doubt it as usually international students are classed are those who pay the non-EU rate of fees, with everyone else being classified as Home/EU students.

So unless you get the grades I mentioned, be prepared for the possibility that you may not get campus accommodation. Certainly my own university (TCD) allocated rooms in first-year halls randomly, with no weighting being given for distance from home.

Reply 6

whittakerm

Oh my! I will never get 3 A*s...
I'll have to look in to this. I'll give them an e-mail or something! Thank you very much for taking the time to look at it! :smile:

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Reply 7

gutenberg

No worries. I actually don't know if any of the Irish universities have guaranteed first-year accommodation. I know that some, like Maynooth (and now DCU, possibly a few more) have schemes for high-scoring students, but I think a significant proportion of freshers each year live privately. Accommodation is not something the Irish universities invested heavily in, because a significant chunk of the Irish student population live at home during university, so they probably didn't need to.

Reply 8

whittakerm

That's so disheartening :frown:

had my heart set on this course and if I can't get on site accommodation I probably won't be able to go!

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Reply 9

gutenberg

As DCU is surrounded by residential areas, I would say you are probably in a better position than students at a lot of other universities for finding something privately. Or is there some particular reason you have to be on-campus?

Reply 10

whittakerm

I suppose you're right! No not at all, I just figured it would be cheaper and just easier in general? A way to meet more people too :smile:

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Reply 11

gutenberg

Well it's hard to argue with easier, certainly, although it might be worth investigating whether it's actually cheaper. A few years ago, TCD had problems filling their halls, because their prices were so much higher than what you could get privately. Now, I'm not sure with the present crisis whether that is the case any more, but it's worth investigating. Universities can take advantage of the fact that people want to be close to things, and for the general ease & sociability of university halls, especially for freshers.

Reply 12

whittakerm

Yeah, you have a good point with Universities charging more... Do you know how close Glasnevin and Drumcondra are?

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Reply 13

gutenberg

Both are within an easy cycling distance of DCU, I'd say, though naturally it depends which part of the area you end up in; some parts of Drumcondra are not too far from the city centre, for instance, and you may want a bus from that far away.

For better advice about accommodation etc., try the Irish website boards.ie . There is a section for all the universities, and each one has its own forum then; I'm sure there are lots of threads about accommodation etc., and you can ask some current students some more specific questions then :smile:

Reply 14

whittakerm

Awesome!
Okay, I shall do just that :smile:

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Reply 15

amicableocean

omg i totally go to this college :smile:

campus is nice, social life is good. i know this is really late but eh :tongue:

alot of people get the sports scholarshihp so defo apply, u even get subsidised accommodation which is awesome. dcu leads ireland in athletics and soccer apparantely . so its a pretty sporty college ( apparantely)

Reply 16

mitsubishi13

Hi! I'm from India and have received an offer to study the MA Journalism at Dublin Institute of Technology. Does DIT have a good reputation compared to DCU or NUI? Also, if I wish to work in Ireland for a year after graduation..would I be eligible..especially since the issuance of work permits only to those in skilled professiona. Is journalism applicable under that scheme?