Source: https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2017/0315/859841-gender-equality/
When you think about survival in UCD the first thing that comes to mind is getting a parking space in UCD. What if I were to tell you that there are six more important factors that you should be aware of.
UCD is Irelands largest college home to over 30,000 students so it can appear quite daunting at first. These six steps will help to let students feel more at ease and relaxed.
Source: https://www.ucd.ie/ucard/ucard-services/studentucardorientation2017/
The question is do you really need to go to orientation week. The answer is most certainly yes and even if it is just for the free breakfast. One thing that will benefit you from your orientation week is the campus tour. I remember on the first day of college wanting to go and get lunch in centra and I ended up on the complete other end of campus nowhere near Centra, if only I had payed attention in my campus tour! Lesson one learned.
It can also prove exceedingly beneficial in helping you become more familiar with your degree such as explaining GPA’s, registration and progression within your course.
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/ways-to-make-friends-in-college-793431
There’s nothing better than making friends in college. Not only will it make it more enjoyable but actually easier. In first year we were given an assignment on our third week and to be honest I really didn’t have a clue about what we were supposed to do and it only became clearer when I asked a friend that I made from week one.
My main piece of advice is to talk too as many people as possible in the first few weeks. This may appear daunting at first but if you were to talk to someone new every lecture you’d be surprised by how many people you may know after a couple of weeks.
UCD offer a wide range of activities and events that cater for all types of students. I myself am a member of the UCD investors and entrepreneur’s society they run a wide range of events such as the speaker series, women in business and poker night which takes every Wednesday night.
I also play for UCD AFC which I couldn’t recommended enough. There are currently over 70 student societies ranging from law society to the food society and yes, they do give away lots of free food. There are over 60 sports teams ranging from football, rugby, American football and even sepak takraw. I have included a link below so you can explore the vast number of UCD sports and societies for yourself.
Source: http://www.ucdie.com
Source: https://www.ucd.ie/sport/clubs/clublist/sepaktakraw/
Source: http://www.ucdsoccer.com
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2LIlu7_-xc
Source: http://www.ucd.ie/conferences/venues/classroom-and-theatres/
This point cannot be stressed enough. Skipping your 9am can become a real habit in college and not something that you want to follow into your work life after graduation. Lecturers often expand on their slides with stories or real-life examples which is something you won’t know unless you have attended the class! Not only this but lecturers will often talk about what to expect on the exam, due dates for assignments and yes these can change from time to time.
Lectures slides are often brief with little clarification offered. For example, in marketing the lecturer might talk about the message behind an ad or what the ad is trying to portray towards its target market. By not being in the class you could probably get through the slides in 30 to 40 minutes but what may appear as a simple advertisement to a student who did not attend the lecture, could result in misinterpretation and the wrong message possibly being taken away.
Source: https://libguides.ucd.ie/newstudents/howto
This is arguably the most important point as it will determine your success within your course. My first bit of advice would be to find a place that works for you with no distractions. Examples of places where you could study include a café, library or even your room at home. With five libraries available in UCD there is really no excuse to not be studying. I personally study in the James Joyce library which is open till 11pm Monday to Friday. In this case we should all be getting a first!
Don’t be the student who leaves all the revision until the week before the exam not only is this not good for your health but you probably won’t get the grades that you want. My advice is to keep on top of your readings and revision weekly, so that it doesn’t accumulate and become overwhelming.
Source: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/hundreds-academics-give-advice-their-younger-selves
It is crucial from day one that you learn who your program adviser is as this will be your first point of contact for certain situations such as dropping modules, timetable clashes and extenuating circumstances. This person will be of immense value in your time at UCD and should be the person you contact regarding any queries or problems that may arise during your time here.
There are student advisers for every programme area. They can be found on the UCD website, and provided beside their profiles are their phone numbers and emails. Below I have attached the profiles of all the student advisers in UCD.
Source: https://www.ucd.ie/studentadvisers/about/staffprofiles/
By now you should not only know how to survive at UCD but how to flourish in your degree if you follow these six steps accordingly. These six steps are to be used collectively in order to achieve the most out of your time here at UCD, either by using one of the six or taking a mix of the six without a doubt this will help you to survive campus life and third level education!
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