Stranmillis 2021 help (Northern Ireland)

Have you applied to St. Mary's Belfast?

Havent really thought i would click in there as I feel it might be super like one sided for religious purposes and I'm deadon but I just feel I might not be able to make friends easily there thus have a hard time.

OMG no. It's not one sided at all. They are really inclusive and go out of their way to make that point.

On the Open Day when I was being shown around ( my son couldn't make it so I went on his behalf), everyone was so nice and welcoming and friendly. The students who showed us around after the talk were just lovely too and nothing was too much trouble for them. I have an English accent and people didn't bat an eyelid.

My advice if you are either phoning or emailing St. Mary's would be to have a bit of patience. St. Mary's doesn't get as much funding as Stran ( you can tell by the difference in the two buildings for a start) and I think their secretary only works PT. But someone will lift the phone/answer the email eventually !!

Oh and explain to your parents that the College often and regularly host evening talks /discussions open to the public to attend. In most instances one of the guest speakers is nearly always from the Protestant/Loyalist community, and people turn up to hear all the speakers speak. There is never any issue/animosity towards the Protestant speakers.

Well the very best of luck to you anyway !

Thank you! <3

No worries. Can I just add that their online Prospectus goes on about "Catholic Education" a fair number of times. But on their website they also state they welcome students from all faiths and students who have no faith. My son is an Atheist and if he thought for one nano-second they would be shoving Catholicism or indeed any religion down his throat, he would never have considered it.

Hi there! Im literally in exactly the same position! I have applied to Stranmillis and am interested in specialising is SEN/D as well!I am also applying to St Marys as a back up, despite not being from the typical background as I am very keen to stay in the country as I have many allergies which would make it difficult to live on my own abroad at the moment. Let me know what you end up deciding to do, who knows we might end up on the same course ahaha xx

Hi there! I unfortunately have decided to postpone university for a few years just to see if it is defo something I would be able to do if I was on better meds for pain etc also Stranmillis emailed me few weeks and said that they wouldn't have accepted me due to my course (Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Children's Care, Learning and Development). So my plan now is to hopefully progress in SEN trainings and see what comes up after a few years of being a regular classroom assistant x

Hi,
Just thought I'd update you. I've got a response from Stanmillis who said that with my course I could be able to apply for Early Childhood studies which includes SEN Modules and SEN Placements which gives me hope of being able to study at home like in Northern Ireland rather than in England.