<p>Any thoughts on spending your junior year at either Trinity College Dublin or University College London? Information on academics, student life, housing, or anything else you think is helpful would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>D is interested in spending her junior year abroad, starting next fall, at one of these colleges. She plans to take political science and history courses. </p>
<p>Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>PS: This will also be posted on the parents forum</p>
<p>UCL</p>
<p>London > Dublin</p>
<p>Hi -
I’ve looked at both these universities, and I’d go with Trinity, by a long shot.<br>
Academically, UCL probably has the edge, but I’d say that Dublin would provide a much better student experience. Obviously, visiting both would be ideal, but I get that this might not be possible.</p>
<p>If you’re from the US, UCL has a very similar vibe to Columbia (in my ill-informed opinion): it’s interesting, but a bit anaemic. Dublin is a lot friendlier and quirkier (as long as you don’t have naiive expectations of Ireland).</p>
<p>Wrt. housing, I really have no idea, so pass. Incidentally, Dublin’s a bit more expensive at the moment (mostly because the euro’s so expensive).</p>
<p>rorschachman i couldn’t disagree more. UCL is a very student friendly place, its student union is one of the best in the UK. Dublin is suburb, but accommodation is hard to find and in my opinion London offers the international student much more.</p>
<p>If you apply for Study Abroad to Trinity, they provide accommodation. I agree that London is more metropolitian than Dublin and you have easier access to Europe via the Chunnel, but I would never turn down the opportunity to attend Trinity. It’s a fanastic school.</p>
<p>Both are excellent schools, but UCL has the edge academically speaking. On the other hand, London is obviously one of the top 3 cities in the world in terms of cultural and economic influence. Dublin is also a vibrant city, but somewhat more low key in comparison.</p>
<p>UCL definitely. It has the superior academic reputation, no doubt. London is a much bigger city. If D is spending her entire junior year abroad - that’s a very extended period of time! Dublin will be nice, as a novelty, for a while. But after a couple of months - it will become very familiar and plain and lose its novelty. Especially since D is an exchange student - going to UCL in London will be a much better and much more rewarding experience for her throughout the entire length of the year. She will find something new every day.</p>
<p>At UCL - she will probably live in the University of London’s International Student House in Marylebone right under Regent’s Park. It will be expensive, probably upwards of £5000 (or around £125 per week) but it’s a great location with easy access to everything. Lovely Royal open green space to her north, Paddington Station to her west, Bloomsbuy and Camden to her east, and London’s bustling West End to her south. She’ll feel as if she’s the center of the universe, all while being able to have quiet nights and big parks to retreat to when some calming down is needed.</p>
<p>UCL most definitely. Take it from a foreign student who’s been in the UK for several years now. Unless she has a specific inclination towards Ireland in which case let your D decide. Trinity has a solid reputation in Ireland, but for UCL it’s in the whole of United Kingdom and globally. They are also very friendly.</p>