<p>I graduated college in December and have decided I'd like to go back to school. I've recently taken a strong interest in colleges abroad, mainly in Ireland and England. However I have no idea what sort of complexities arise from applying abroad with tuition, scholarships, application deadlines, academic requirements etc. Using University College of Dublin as an example, I'm really lost.</p>
<p>The requirements simply say "a good gpa from a good school" essentially and the program I want to get into just says they want a 3.2 minimum. I have a 3.85 and went to Northern Kentucky University. However the deadlines for Fall 2011 seem to be open ended and the program I want to get into is even open now which I find unbelievable. There also doesn't seem to be letters of recommendation requirements, GRE test scores (not surprising abroad), letter of intent, research proposals etc. Am I not finding this or do they just want an official transcript from me? I emailed both the program I want to get into and the international center but received no responses so I've come to an independent forum for help.</p>
<p>I am not surprised. Application deadlines in Europe are usually much later than in the US and admission decisions are solely based on your previous academic record rather than external tests or letters of recommendation. </p>
<p>I don’t know anything about University College of Dublin, but I just wanted to say that the observations you shared are nothing to be concerned about.</p>
<p>Really? That’s interesting. I was unaware that’s how they did things over there. I’m really flying blind on this, wish someone at the school or at my alma mater would help me but really not much in the way of resources. Not sure why no one at the college has emailed me back yet pretty sure I need to register for some special email or something.</p>
<p>You should contact the Education Officer at the closest Irish consulate, and ask for advice on this. He or she will be able to help you find the information you need about higher education in Ireland.</p>
<p>They have a central application center. So you make one application and pick five colleges you want to send them to. And I think you need to take their assessment tests as well (UKCAT?).</p>
<p>A few universities use UCAS for graduate admissions, but many have their own process. And the OP would not take the UKCAT unless he was interested in medical school. The UK has no equivalent to the American GRE.</p>
<p>The requirements seem pretty simple. Undergrad transcript, one letter of rec and that’s basically it. I emailed the Irish consulate in Chicago and they gave me a list of things I need to do and it’s extremely simple. Now the big question is scholarships. Do you guys know if international students can obtain scholarships?</p>
<p>From what I’m reading they don’t have the same philosophies on funding in Europe because most programs say “most students self-funded”. That’s the only roadblock I see for me. It’s about 20k yearly and it takes a year to complete a MA there, so I guess that’s really not too bad, but it’s definitely something I’m going to have to consider before I pull the trigger on this.</p>
<p>Just as it’s hard for international students to get scholarships in the US, it’s also hard for Americans to get aid/scholarships to study in Europe.</p>
<p>You don’t apply through UCAS for PG study in the UK and Ireland. You apply directly to the Universities in question.</p>
<p>You need to send them two things:</p>
<p>Two letters of recommendation from two academic referees.
Your official transcripts.</p>
<p>You have till about the end of July. After that, it’s too late for you to apply
for housing. If you don’t care about housing, you can potentially apply in August,
but I would not risk waiting that long. Classes this year start Sept. 26th</p>
<p>Well I suppose I’ll just go ahead in ask for letters of recommendation then. The program in question only requires one letter of recommendation so I guess I’ll go ahead and apply. I am receiving no answers from the emails I sent about scholarships, so I guess I’ll just wash my hands of it and begin the application process.</p>
<p>On a side note, I’d like to get some estimate on what my chances are. here is what the UCD website says.</p>
<p>“Holders of Bachelors, and Masters degrees with good grades from competitive and well ranked universities and colleges in North America may be considered for entry to graduate degrees at UCD.”</p>
<p>I have a 3.85 GPA from Northern Kentucky University. I don’t think anyone would consider it well-ranked but it’s a real college about on par with University of Kentucky and is ranked similarly in Forbes. Would my class rank help? I was 33rd out of 750.</p>