Aishwarya Jha, our Indian Ambassador, shares her three reasons for choosing Ireland and Trinity College Dublin from the quality of the education here to Ireland’s economic potential…
June 2012. New Delhi. Home. Moment of absolute mental chaos
My Board Examination results were out, and as it turned out, they were alright enough to meet my conditional offers from universities across the UK, Ireland, Singapore, Canada and Australia. What followed was serious grappling with unending questions and possibilities of “where”, “why” and “how”. After three months of debate, deliberation and drama, my family and I factored down to Trinity College Dublin. And I haven’t looked back since.
“Ireland is ranked amongst the top 5 countries for business opportunities in the world. It is an ultra-modern, international-trade focussed economy with loose tax residency that attracts leading international companies to its doorstep.”
Come autumn, I was walking through the front arch of this over-four-hundred-years old university campus. It dawned on me then that for the following four years, this shall be my home. And that brings me to the point of this blog – four years is a lot, especially at this formative stage of our adulthoods. Where you choose to spend your 20s will have life-changing implications, whether the choice was well-informed or not. While I may not have the golden list, here are the top 3 factors which shaped my decision.
Quality of education
I am often asked why I did not study in the top universities in India, given that India has some phenomenal institutions. Is it that I did not get into the good ones? No, I did. Then why? Simply: acquiring knowledge is great but I wanted to enhance my capabilities too. Predominantly, I relied on Trinity’s sterling reputation as an educational institution, and partly, I relied on its environment of holistic learning which provides scope for growing beyond the classroom. Its almost coercive insistence on engaging with the college community with a shocking number of student societies and other platforms pushed me to find new skills and passions. Turns out, I am good at archery and jumping off heights makes me cry (but at least I can say that for sure now); who would have thought!
Feasibility
While I do believe that emotional intelligence develops in challenging environments, if you are going to cry for your mom for the duration of your university-life, reconsider. In terms of financial feasibility, scholarships > heavy student loans. Top Irish universities do award scholarships for undergraduate courses, and the same was a huge factor that brought me to Dublin. While arranging my finances for the next four years in 2012, I took fluctuations in the exchange rate into account, and that has kept me from pulling my hair out in the years that have followed.
Economic potential
Ireland is ranked amongst the top 5 countries for business opportunities in the world. It is an ultra-modern, international-trade focussed economy with loose tax residency that attracts leading international companies to its doorstep. Personally, I have been in awe of the dexterity of Irish law firms and I do see a very productive future for myself here.
Two other factors that truly affected my decision were reliable law & order (generally and towards aliens in specific, both) and tolerance towards multiculturalism.
January 2016. Dublin. Home. Moment of surprising clarity.
With a few months left of my university-life, I can surely claim that the past few years have changed my perceptions, preferences, insecurities and ideologies. And for this, I am eternally grateful. From law to life – I have had ample lessons. By the time I graduate, I would have a very valuable degree, invaluable friends, vast opportunities for my future, and a source of contentment that should last me a lifetime.
Do you have any master course in tourism or photography. If you have then please tell me the details of that like fees, minimum marks, etc.
I wanna take admission in your college can you tell me the criteria of admission and if you provide any scholarship program then please tell me about that also.
Thank you…
Hoping for your response….
Wonderful..:)
Hi Vishal,
There is a full list of courses available on the Education in Ireland website. Visit http://www.educationinireland.com/en/What-can-I-study-/ and enter your search terms.
A couple of options that come to mid include:
MA in International Tourism at the University of Limerick: http://www.ul.ie/graduateschool/course/international-tourism-ma
MsC Tourism Management at DIT: http://www.dit.ie/hospitalitymanagementtourism/findacourse/postgraduatecourses/coursename,84603,en.html
In terms of photography and media, try NCAD http://www.ncad.ie/
Hope that helps answer your query. If you have any more questions around specific colleges, just ask!
Thanks, Claire
Education in Ireland Student Ambassador Coordinator
Thanks a lot…
This information is very useful….. thanks for sharing…….
Thanks a lot for the info!! Really helpful !!
I also wanted to know what the requirements are for students from India to join tcd.
I would be really greatful if you could help me there .
Thanks a ton, because you have really helped me in narrowing down my college options.
Thanks again
Hoping to hear back from you..
How is there law program? I heard Bar exam is tough. Only really good law students can pass it. Did you pass the Bar?
HI Abraham
Thanks for reading. The Law programme is great – the Law School at TCD is well respected and the potential to learn and grow is significant (but dependent on your own calibre and initiative since Universities here do not have a spoon-feeding attitude).
So, here, you will have to take the Bar to train as a Barrister or the Law Society exam to train as a Solicitor. It might be useful to read up on the distinction between the two and research on the respective markets focussing on the employment scene especially from the POV of a non-EU citizen.
In my opinion, the Bar exams are not too difficult. If you studied law at the undergrad level with an average amount of sincerity, you would be fine. However, sitting the Law Society exam is hard(er). I wouldn’t say that the exams themselves are too hard to pass but they take up a lot of time, energy and money. You will have to set aside a year after graduating to sit these exams – and in this year, give it your all (time, effort, resources). And indeed, luck wouldn’t help you, you have to be a good student to pass these exams – which makes sense because only good candidates should sieve through to enter the profession.
I am half-way there w.r.t. the exam-sitting process. Hopefully, I would be done with these exams this year. However, I will not recommend aiming to qualify as a Solicitor or Barrister here if your heart is not hell-bent on it. Why? The one year after graduating feels like one long battle. Reminds me of that quote from Rocky – “…it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
All the best with your future endeavours – I hope it brings you success and happiness.
Aishwarya
what was your score? all my relatives are saying that if i dont get a 95 or more then dont bother applying
Hi
I would like to know if I could find a part time job during my studies.