anyone hear from Ireland??

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Ok I am confused- the irish dude at AB tells me that the deadline was Feb 15 for everybody and that is when he sends out all our applications to Ireland. But then I read this post and find that we all have different deadlines and that some people even had interviews for RCSI already. This is all rather fishy! Does anyone know what is going on.....
 
hey isabella,
i'm in the same boat as you...the deadline i had to adhere to was february 15th but i've heard some people say their's was november 15 and that they've already had interviews at RCSI....just have to wait and see I guess. I"m dying to just call up AB and ask when I might hear but I don't want to pis them off. From reading the posts though, it seems that a lot of people call....i'm starting to consider it!
 
hey,

i was just wondering ... anyone out there hear from ireland,,, more specifically from rcsi,,,,is so,,, when did u apply?
 
hey everyone,\
did anyone out there hear from ireland,,, ? rcsi ? when did u apply?
 
hey,, sorry i know i posted a cpl already,,,
but anyone out there of good carribean skools that will take students with just highschool
 
My deadline was Nov. 15. I have up-dated my file this month and have no word from Irland. AB tells me I should hear something Mid. March---any day now! I am nearly sick with anticipation. I want to got to Irland so bad I can taste it! AB has informed me that there are may interview dates for RCS.

I have a 3.2, a 25 MCAT, 2 YEARS CLINICAL, 4 years research, a publication, 3 months ER, OR nad psy. exp. shadowing, several honers including International Whos who and a BS in biology and psychology. Does anyone have a clue as to where this will place me in the eyes of the admissions board?

Please over-look the spelling. I am in a rush---+pissed+
 
I obviously can't say for certain, as I'm not very sure of their criteria. While your scores are a little low (GPA okay), your research experience and shadowing experience will definitely raise eyebrows in your favor. Do you have anything non-medical (i.e. sports) that you participated in as well? They like research, but place heavy emphasis on well-roundedness too, and really like sportsmen 🙂
 
😛 Yea, I play some sports, but am more of an outdoorsman. I fence, rock climb, white water raft, hike, camp, ski, hunt and fish. No soccer or rugby--LOL.
 
The more I wait to hear from AB about my application, the more research I do on Ireland and the more I am falling in love with the idea of going there! I am scarred to get bad news and then its all over.... Dublin seems beautiful and the idea of studying there is great!
Good luck to everyone else that is waiting to hear- the man at AB said sometime around nextweek-poor man , I keep on calling him and asking "Any news yet?"
 
have you people really been told that we could hear as early as next week from these irish schools?
 
fyi,
i called AB today, and they said they are expecting trinity decisions by the end of march. don't know if they're expecting all decisions at that time or just trinity's
 
Lola,
what are the chances of you going to Ireland if you get in? I know you have interviewed at a bunch of U.S. schools, but are you still giving Ireland much consideration?

As for me, Trinity is the only Irish School I am going to consider (also applied to UCD and UCC). I have narrowed it down to SUNY Buffalo (in state=cheap), Pitt, and Trinity...only problem is that I have not heard from Pitt or Trinity yet, so there is a good chance my choices will be narrowed down for me.

I would just like to hear from these places so I can start making decisions, it's going to be tough.

😎
 
Hey all. I just received an acceptance to UCD. I called AB and they said that they will have decisions for Trinity early next week. I can feel myself being torn already...Ireland vs. US. I know my last post indicated that I was only going to consider Trinity, but now that I have a UCD acceptance, I feel like this could also be quite a possibility. I must say that I was more excited opening this acceptance than I was when I got US ones. The only thing that sucks is these huge deposits ($3400) that they want pretty much immediately.

To all current Irelanders, I am thinking of just grabbing myself a plane ticket and coming over at the end of this week/this weekend, for like 4 days, to check out UCD and Trinity. That is the only way I will be able to make a sound decision. My excitement about Ireland has totally just been resparked. All of my original reasons are just flooding back, no longer drowned out by all the bulls$#t of the U.S. app. process.

Alright, gotta go check on airfare. I will post again if I am coming, maybe I can meet up with some of you for a few drinks... 😀
 
hey JMD,
congrats on the UCD acceptance...was it a big fat envelope or a skinny one? i just want to know so i can prepare myself when the mail comes...also, did have your application materials in for november or jan/february? and where are you located? i'm in ontario, canada, so i'm just wondering when acceptances might hit my region. thanks, and congrats again.
 
hey, congrats jmd!!! that's great news 🙂
sorry i didn't answer before. i guess i'm just not sure what my answer is! trinity would be awesome, but i feel the situation is complicated for me b/c my boyfriend will be there. in some ways that makes it much easier to justify going. then i start freaking and and thinking about getting stuck in ireland forever??!!! AAAAAAAAAAAH. not that it's all that bad of a place to get "stuck" in, but i would really miss california. in addition, the residency issues and 5 year program make me lean toward the US.
anyway, i will probably not go to trinity if i get into both trinity and a US school -- hee hee, right now i'm not into any schools. i have liked most of the schools i've visted, and the only one i didn't like i've been rejected from post-interview. in addition, it seems likely that if i get into trinity i will have to commit relatively soon, and it seems like i'll be on a lot of US waitlists. hmmm..
i think it's a great idea for you to check out the irish schools. i've been to trinity a couple of times before, and it's beautiful! don't know much about ucd.
i'm waiting on pitt too. supposedly they will review my app april 2nd.
 
Badkarma,
it was a big, old fat envelope...barely fit in the mailbox. I am in Buffalo, NY, so it should not take too much longer to get to Ontario.

Lola, I want to end up in Cali eventually (residency and beyond), so that does sway me toward US schools. If I break it down by the actual school (curriculum, opportunities, etc), then Pitt is where I want to be, but then I have visions of spending 5 yrs. in Ireland/Europe and I think "I have to go." Maybe I'll just flip a coin.

April 2 is what Pitt told you...I interviewed on Feb 4, so I'd imagine it is the same situation for me. They just told me "April" when I called.
 
hey jmd,
two more small questions
first, did you pay the extra for the courier or just have it mailed (sounds like just regular mail)?

two, what was the application deadline that you had your stuff in by? thanks a million. you lucky bugger.
 
Hey JMD,

Congrats 🙂 If you decide to come over, lemme know if you need any help. This might not exactly be the best time as we're still in easter holidays (Trinity anyway) until next week so you wouldn't be able to sit in any classes unless you stay until Tuesday or Wednesday. I don't know if UCD is on holiday as well, but you could visit both campuses 🙂.

And...I don't think either of you really would have to worry about being stuck in Ireland forever 🙂. Of course, Cali places are quite hard to get, but eh, you could go to say...oregon eheh 🙂.
 
Can someone let me know where most of the US students from Irland find places as residents? Is there a web site that lits this information?

Congradulations to all who have been accepted! I am in SC and had my things in by Nov. 15. As of yet I have no answers. The waite is getting to me. Has anyone out there in the south had word, as of yet?

Also, I know there is a student from College of Charleston in Dublin. Any Ideas as to how one would go about contacting her? I too am a C of C grad. and a grad of "Sewanee" the University of the South.
 
hey valmont,
e-mail the respective medical faculty at the school your friend is at and give them your e-mail address and tell them the name of the student you want to get in touch with. they won't relesae that student's e-mail address to you but they will contact the student and give them your e-mail address so that they can get in touch with you.
 
Much thanks---should I get in to a Dublin school I will want to be in contact with her.
 
Hey guys,

Hope everyone is doing well...and congrats to everyone who has gotten into Ireland thus far :clap:

So, some bad news: found out a little while ago that, after my big giant road trip to Boston for interview, I didn't get into RCSI. Meh, what are ya gonna do?

And then the good news: just got my acceptance to UCD! Yay! They even bumped me from the 6-year to the 5-year program...which I think my bank account will really like 😉 Still waiting to hear from Trinity (like the rest of you, I take it), but hopefully that news will come soon.

So good luck to everyone --- and any of you who have gotten into UCD, feel free to let me know your thoughts on choosing (I mean, if Trinity comes through, which will you decide on and what's influencing that decision most?)

K, time to go have a celebratory drink with the housemates...cheers everyone!!

M.
 
To Badkarma25 (i think that was the name...):

I don't know if you're still waiting, as I think you posted a few days ago, but I'm in Kingston (ON), if that helps to know at all 🙂 I did sign up for the courier option, so the pkg arrived by FedEx.
 
hey meese,
thanks for the info...when did you apply to AB? did you apply in the late fall or in january/february?
thanks again.
 
Congrats Meese! :clap:
But now you're in the same shoes as I am 🙁
Don't expect the Ontario Ministry of Health to welcome you back with open arms, but hopefully over the next couple of years, all of us in Eire/Aus can do something to change things. 😕
 
yay for meese!! clap: :clap: :clap:
 
Are there any current UCD med. students out there? Leorl or any others, do you know of anyone I can get in contact with regarding the school? There is alot of Trinity info on here thanks to all of you helpful folks, but not much on UCD. I am just curious because I like the idea of an organ based curriclulum, and would like to get a subjective view of the school as a whole. Are people happy there??? I wish we had more time to make decisions....AAAHHHH!!!
 
I'd like to give a warm CONGRATS to Meese and JMD for UCD. That's wonderful news you guys! :clap:
Sorry I've been missing in action...I'm on Spring Break and have been computer deprived the entire week...

Here's some answers to previous posts....the deadline for my apps were Dec 15. Got the interview for RCSI in Janurary, interviewed in Feb, then found out the good news late in Feb, accepted their offer in March.

I haven't heard from UCD, Trinity, or UCC. I already paid the deposit for RCSI so I'm pretty much going there, I already have my dorm all ready to go. The other schools would be nice too...I wish they had sent out acceptances at around the same time, so that we could decide on schools. I wonder why they do it that way?

Anyhow, I'm really excited about Ireland. Does anyone know anything about bringing a snowboard? Would that count as one of my check-ins at the airport? I would dearly miss my board if I couldn't bring it....

Alrighty, CONGRATS again on a job well done!
 
I'd like to give a warm CONGRATS to Meese and JMD for UCD. That's wonderful news you guys!
Sorry I've been missing in action...I'm on Spring Break and have been computer deprived the entire week...

Here's some answers to previous posts....the deadline for my apps were Dec 15. Got the interview for RCSI in Janurary, interviewed in Feb, then found out the good news late in Feb, accepted their offer in March.

I haven't heard from UCD, Trinity, or UCC. I already paid the deposit for RCSI so I'm pretty much going there, I already have my dorm all ready to go. The other schools would be nice too...I wish they had sent out acceptances at around the same time, so that we could decide on schools. I wonder why they do it that way?

Anyhow, I'm really excited about Ireland. Does anyone know anything about bringing a snowboard? Would that count as one of my check-ins at the airport? I would dearly miss my board if I couldn't bring it....

Alrighty, CONGRATS again on a job well done!
 
Thanks berkeleygirl!

Good on you for having everything in order for RCSI --- a place to stay and everything! In my spectacular procrastination these past few days (big term paper due next week), I've been looking up Dublin flats online...trying to find pictures and ballpark rent costs etc. I'm getting so excited!! Unfortunately, I'm also getting a bit ahead of myself...the most immediate step is to go and haggle with my banks for money...once that's out of the way, I think it will really start to sink in 😀

Yeah, I've wondered myself why the Irish schools wouldn't try to coordinate their offers so applicants could choose with all the info possible, but I guess they haven't gotten to that point yet 🙁 Maybe it can be suggested to AB?

I forgot to add before that I handed in my app for the November 15th deadline (for whoever was inquiring about that...)

Cheers and continued good luck,

M.
 
Heheh. Berkeleygirl, I dunno about your snowboard, but why don't you wait on that a bit until the 2nd time you go home? In all honesty, a snowboard will be absolutely useless in Ireland - you might as well bring all the stuff you need first, be practical cuz that weight limit for your two suitcases on flights is a damn pain in the arse.

For those looking for housing: try www.daft.ie around mid-late August, or else plan to get here at least a month early to find a suitable place. Dublin housing can get pretty hairy.

and HAHA about Irish schools coordinating their offers. Yeah RIGHT, that's never going to happen. One of the main reason the Irish schools like us is that we have to pay full fees. So if they coordinated their efforts, it'd be possible that they'd lose out on a potential student's $$$ if that student chose another school. Another reason why they give such a short time to pay the deposit. Also, because each school has a very limited number of North American spots, it'd be very hard to control if they suddenly had an influx of students accepting than they had planned for.

There used to be a few UCD students who perused this site, but the ones I know of are upper years and probably don't have time to visit SDN often since they're always on placement or have exams. The only reason there's so much Trinity info. is cuz I happen to mod so have to check the boards fairly often. I'll see what I can do about getting more UCD and RCSI info. on here.

Congrats to all those who have been accepted so far 🙂.
 
Well I suppose I may have to part with my snowboard for one semester...it does make sense though Leorl that I should hold off on bringing it over...plus, I can always snowboard at home when I come back for Christmas break. I guess I just got carried away cuz I saw there that there is a Ski Club, and I thought about drifting along as the lonely snowboarder. Oh wells. I guess the slopes will have to wait.

It does suck that the schools will probably never coordinate the offers. It's their way of controlling the situation I guess.

Alright, Thanks Leorl for the sound advice. A few more questions if you don't mind my asking....Does Trinity also have a 3 week break in March? Are we supposed to study during this time or is it safe to take a vacation? Do we have finals in December so that we can just chill over Christmas? I'm somewhat confused because past posts have said that people have slacked during the semester and so they are using Christmas break to catch up....that only seems possible if the term doesn't end in December.

Also Best of luck to all those waiting for decisions : )
 
Meese---It does a while for everything to sink in. I was more surprised than anything when I heard from RCSI---wasn't able to fully relax and enjoy my acceptance as a reality until about 2 weeks later...when the deposit was ready and my housing was finally settled. Now there's no way out---Ireland here we come! UCD sounds lovely! Where in Dublin is it located? I know that Trinity and RCSI are like 2 blocks from each other.
 
RCSI is at the top of Grafton St. (the most prominent shopping pedestrian street in the city), adjacent to St. Stephens Green (park thing). Essentially, Trinity is at the bottom of Grafton St.

Yes, we do get a 3 week spring holiday in March. However, being med students, we will not always get that full break as sometimes, that period is used for exams. 2nd-year (or direct entrants' first year) is the only time you'll get that full three weeks. First years, 3rd-years, 4th years, etc. have at least one exam, if not more, during that time.

We also do have some exams at Christmas. However, after those exams there will be a good 2 weeks for break. Here, classes don't end when term ends. Classes are year-round. So if you're a direct entrant, you'll have Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry all year, with assessments happening at Christmas or in March, even though the year is broken into trimesters. It's quite different from the US semester system where a class ends at the end of term with finals. Not to confuse you, but people in other courses (arts courses or stuff like psychology) will have classes that end with each term.
 
Hi Guys, I just heard word of my acceptance to Trinity....now I am having trouble deciding between RCSI and Trinity. I would lose in my deposit but I figured that it would be for the good of medicine. And in the long run, I'd be saving $60,000, so it seems worth it. It's just hard to decide. They both sound so appealing in different ways. Please help! Sway me some way....awww man...

Thank you leorl for the info! I appreciate it : )
 
It really depends what kind of school you're most comfortable in. RCSI is a smaller university because it's only a health science school - you only have med students, physiotherapy and I think other science students there. Trinity is a much bigger school because it incorporates other courses. It'd be sort of like comparing University of Michigan to NEOUCOM. Each has its set of pros and cons.

If you went to RCSI, you'd lose out on your deposit, and your pre-arranged housing. RCSI is also full of international students and not very many Irish.

If you went to Trinity, you'd pay less, but you'd have to find your own accomodation unless you got offered college rooms (which is a good possibility). But it offers the opportunity to partcipate in a large number of clubs and meet tons of people who aren't studying medicine - a bit more diverse.

It just really depends what you want or like 😉.

Congrats!
 
Thanks leorl, actually if I went to Trinity I would lose out on the deposit for RCSI, and I was hoping that the housing people would give me a refund if did decide on going to Trinity instead. This is a real toughie...leorl, do the students from Trinity have no problems arranging their clinical electives in the US, even in a state such as California? I know RCSI has connections with Columbia in NY, but not CA, so maybe I would be in the same boat anyhow. Well I am mighty confused, it's a tough decision. Is the housing cost for Trinity and RCSI comparable?
 
Meese,
Are you definitely going to go with UCD? If so, are you going to live at Belfield. I told myself I will make a final decision by this weekend. If we both go, we will have to give each other some support and guidance as the fall approaches. Whereabouts in Ontario are you from? I was in Toronto this past weekend. Let me know 😎 .
 
i got into to trinity's 5 year program. yay 🙂!
too bad they make you decide so soon & the deposit's non-refundable -- HMPH! i keep on thinking it looks so fun but really doubt i will accept the offer. i will be in ireland this summer for 6 weeks, though, which will hopefully be almost as fun as going to med school there.

berkeleygirl, i think you should go to trinity unless there is something about rcsi's program that seems way more appealing to you. it's just not worth all that extra money (in my opinion), which is one reason i didn't apply there.
 
Lola,
Congrats, that is great. When do you have to let them know by??? I wanted to ask you, if you don't think it is too personal, why is your S.O. in Ireland? Is he from there? The reason I ask is that I have a S.O. who is definitely playing a role in my decision. She will be applying to Psych. PhD programs next year, and if I go to Ireland and things are working out, she will apply to schools there. Having someone so important in the states really makes this decision process a lot harder. I am just kind of wondering what your situation is so that maybe I can relate a bit. Hope all turns out well for ya.

Also, what is your top choice (pending an acceptance)? I know you have interviewed at a bunch of places, where would you like to end up?
P.S.- Pardon my ignorance. what the heck is "HMPH?"
 
Hello everyone
i have found out that i didn't make it into Trinity or UCD. Once you receive a rejection letter is there any chance of getting in on 'second round offers'? i have no idea where i went wrong or why i wasn't considered competitive..........i was on scholarship to Trinity from the University of Toronto, while i was at Trinity i was in quite a few second and third year med classes and i came away with an A average. Not to mention piles of research and departmental presentations. I feel quite sick about the whole thing.......any advice from anyone????
 
Originally posted by red_bull
Hello everyone
i have found out that i didn't make it into Trinity or UCD. Once you receive a rejection letter is there any chance of getting in on 'second round offers'? i have no idea where i went wrong or why i wasn't considered competitive..........i was on scholarship to Trinity from the University of Toronto, while i was at Trinity i was in quite a few second and third year med classes and i came away with an A average. Not to mention piles of research and departmental presentations. I feel quite sick about the whole thing.......any advice from anyone????
Click to expand...

Red bull... call up Atlantic Bridge... they are very helpful... and might be able to tell you why you were rejected, or at least find out for you...

A friend of mine that applied 2 years ago received a rejection letter by mistake... and when he called to get some info on how he could improve his app for next year, the guys there said it was odd that he was rejected and decided to look into it for him.... turned out there was a mix-up, and he was suppose to receive an acceptance letter...

good luck... hope it works out.
 
Red Bull,

Sorry to hear about your bad news. I called up AB after being rejected at Trinity (the only school I applied to). They told me that a rejection is final. I was also a bit surprised that I didn't even make the waiting list. I also graduated from the Univ of Toronto with over a 3.5 cumulative (and over 3.8 during my latter years). On the Canadian medical student forum other students got rejeced with cumulative GPA that were >3.7 but one individual did get in with a 3.36 (but had good EC's and references). I'm still surprised you didn't get in. It must have been a really competitive year this year.
 
Originally posted by JMD
Lola,
Congrats, that is great. When do you have to let them know by??? I wanted to ask you, if you don't think it is too personal, why is your S.O. in Ireland? Is he from there? The reason I ask is that I have a S.O. who is definitely playing a role in my decision. She will be applying to Psych. PhD programs next year, and if I go to Ireland and things are working out, she will apply to schools there. Having someone so important in the states really makes this decision process a lot harder. I am just kind of wondering what your situation is so that maybe I can relate a bit. Hope all turns out well for ya.

Also, what is your top choice (pending an acceptance)? I know you have interviewed at a bunch of places, where would you like to end up?
P.S.- Pardon my ignorance. what the heck is "HMPH?"
Click to expand...

jmd, i have to let them know by april 22nd, 6 days after my interview at my top choice school (uc davis). aaah! my S.O. is irish and his work visa for the U.S. has just expired. he is moving back to ireland at the end of this month. so in some ways, my acceptance is perfect, because we would not have to be apart. he will most likely be living in dublin (and would for sure if i went to trinity). however, the 5 year thing, being away from my family, the fmg issue, and the young class at trinity definitely bother me. thus, i will probably not go 🙁. the thing is, i can't turn it down b/c i'm not in anywhere and would probably go if i don't get into any U.S. schools. $3,400 is quite a hefty non-refundable deposit.

hmph = frustration = grrr = +pissed+

-lola 🙂

p.s. let me know when you hear from pitt!
 
These deadlines suck.

That's all I have to say about that. 😉
 
Hey Lola- I was also kinda apprensive about the age difference at Trinity but as it turns out it's not an issue at all.

Yes, there are a few immature kids in the class but with 130 people in the class its easy enough to avoid them. There's loads of older North Americans so you won't be on your own!
 
The deposit thing does kind of suck. When I applied and was accepted, my family just decided to bite the bullet and pay the deposit, even though it was a little unsure whether I'd end up at Trinity. At the time, I was holding out for some of the Aussie schools (which ended up being a completely frustrating experience, so much so that I withdrew my applications) so it's a good thing that I actually did wind up in Trinity. However, I would have been prepared to lose that 3 grand. It sucks, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and sometimes you can't let money be a huge constraint - there's always other options - especially if nothing is clear for you yet.

Oh, and the age difference doesn't really make a difference at all. You might notice things now and again, but for the most part you're all in the same boat. And Trinners isn't the oldest in our class 🙂.
 
hey trinners & leorl,
thanks for the info about the age. i think i've asked before but can't remember. are most of the u.s./canadian students around 22 or 23? i've taken 6 years off after college, so i'm sorta old 😉. it's not that big of a deal i guess cause i will always have my bf and his friends.
before getting the acceptance i wasn't really thinking about it/considering it, but lately it is sounding much more appealing. i'm so sick and tired of these u.s. schools jerking me around. i mean, 9 interviews and no acceptances?! i've spent so much money on this process it is ridiculous! what's another wasted $3,4000? at least it will be going to a school that has treated me with respect.
does anyone knw if the tuition is likely to increase a lot? i noticed it went up a lot recently!
one more question: what exactly happens when you start during the second year if you're in the 5 year program? do you end up missing all those classes from the 1st year? i tried to find out about it on trinity's website but found nothing. on AB's site i think it said something like you would skip some of the basic bio/chem/phys but that some of the other classes would be incorporated into the 3rd year. when do you start clinical training? the end of the 3rd year? does any training start before then?
thanks a lot for your help.
 
A message to BRIDGIE, LOLA, JMD, MEESE and other members of this board who have offers to the Irish medical schools.

If you are not going to accept your offers then PLEASE notify the schools or AB immediately so that other students, such as ISABELLA, VALMONT, REB-BULL and my sister who are desperately waiting for a place can have a shot at getting one.

It's pretty selfish of you to be sitting on places when none of you seem to be committed to actually going to Ireland. Give those who actually DO want to go to Ireland a chance will ya? So many people are sitting around waiting on you guys to make up your minds. It's ridiculous. If you didn't want to go to Ireland why did you apply?

Des
 
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