Ireland School Competition

[Mike MacKinnon]

OK

I am bored and hate waiting so i figured id ask an impossible question.

Does anyone have ANY idea what sortof numbers of people apply yearly to Trinity and UCD? What are the typical acceptance rates and what are the typical students accepted?

It seems not many people have any idea. Even the ABP isnt sure of the overall picture since they are an intermediary.


Ah well.

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[ronin13]

I've heard people say that there's about a 10% acceptance rate via Atlantic Bridge. So if they take 140 people, there must be something like 1400 applicants. But this is for Atlantic Bridge as a whole (and it's also anecdotal), so the breakdown for each school is a mystery to me.

 

[Unch]

I've also heard the approx. 10:1 ratio repeatedly from ABP and elsewhere. For UCC (and yeah, it's clear that no one wants to go here-- Dublin is so much better yadda yadda), I was told that there were 300+ apps for the 18 NAmerican spots. Unless many or most of the NAmerican ABP applicants are checking all the school boxes EXCEPT Cork (and like me, why wouldn't you tick all the boxes, just in case), then I would expect the overall ABP numbers are along those lines. Maybe Trinity or UCD are harder yet to get into but my suspicion is that it's roughly the same ratio. That said, who knows how many really lame applicants are lurking in the bowels of the ABP applicant pool so maybe your real competition isn't that bad. BTW, I visited Dublin two weeks ago and am quite happy I'm in school in Cork, thank you very much!

 

[Arb]

I don't know why people would bypass Cork. One should bear in mind that a lot of applicants turn down Irish schools when they get accepted to those in U.S. and Canada. The ratio is probably not as daunting as it seems. Good luck to me and everyone!

 

[ronin13]

I visited Dublin two weeks ago and am quite happy I'm in school in Cork, thank you very much!

What did you dislike about Dublin (at least compared to Cork)?

I applied to all the schools, minus RCSI (no interest in a private, health-sciences only school), and have to admit that Trinity is probably my first choice, but moreso due to reputation (not of the med school, but of the school as a whole) as opposed to the geography.

I know nothing about Cork, but have heard great things about the school. I'd love to go!

 

[Unch]

Didn't dislike anything about Dublin but prefer to be in Cork. More manageable city, can walk everywhere, don't need a car, plenty of culture and events to stay interesting but lacking the full-on city press of Dublin, very culturally Irish (where Dublin can feel a bit more pan-European)-- just preferences really. Definitely liking the program here. i was a bit surprised to learn in Dublin that the schools are big (RCSI 240 in a class, UCD 200 or 220?). My class in Cork has 132 which feels pretty good. Feel like I'm getting to know faculty already and it's a prideful and tight little community.

BTW, someone mentioned the Ireland to get back into NAmerica route. I was good to go here but then was surprised with an interview invitation at a top US school last week (application I'd finished before getting accepted here). So I couldn't resist and booked a flight and then they told me today that I don't get an interview after all because they have a rule that excludes anyone currently enrolled in a med school.#$%$^%#@^#%$ What's the reasoning on that-- I thought i'd make an even better candidate now?! I'm really happy here but that was an unnecessary distraction.