Trinity College Dublin - do I even have a shot in heck?

[YankGirl02]

I have a BA from an American university and I've been looking at Trinity College in Dublin, but right now I'm feeling more like it's a pipe dream than anything else!

The requirements for the program I'm looking at is a 3.2 GPA minimum, I only had a 3.4 so I'm not really that great..I've heard the school is very prestigious and competitive so I'm feeling a little discouraged!!

Does anybody know of Americans who have successfully applied to the school? I emailed one of the program directors but he hasn't responded yet.

[Jimmy McNulty]

I'm from Ireland and a graduate of Trinity College. What program are you applying for? Maybe I know someone there, or can help in other ways. You can PM me if you prefer.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[YankGirl02]

I'm thinking of applying to the social work program. I know my GPA isn't stellar, but I do have two clinical internships under my belt working in social service settings and I'm a certified rape counselor so I'm really praying that means something! The program itself looks to be very competitive so I don't have a lot of hope!

[Jimmy McNulty]

I'm thinking of applying to the social work program. I know my GPA isn't stellar, but I do have two clinical internships under my belt working in social service settings and I'm a certified rape counselor so I'm really praying that means something! The program itself looks to be very competitive so I don't have a lot of hope!

The school of Social Policy seems to have a good reputation (I was actually in contact with a Professor there recently, but it was to do with social policy rather than social work).

Have you tried to contact a member of the faculty there?

I'm no expert, but I would say that the GPA is a minimum cut-off, and that your work experience will really help your application. You shouldn't worry; international students also bring in extra revenue and prestige for universities, so you may even have a slight advantage over similarly qualified EU students.

[antecedent]

I have a Canadian BA and I got into a prestigious UK school which is a top 10 school in my field. Masters degrees (like M.Scs/MAs) in the UK are less selective than you might think for international applicants because they/we bring in the big bucks as far as fees are concerned. As long as you meet all of the requirements and surpass them in an area or two (which your GPA already does it seems) you should be fine. They definitely aren't more selective than American Master's degrees.

[psych77]

Did you end up getting n? I just applied to the Trinity College- Dublin PhD program for counseling psychology...and I bounce between blinding optimism and futility. 

[hustlebunny]

If its masters DEFINITELY,PhD not sure...I know so cause a school rep came to a local agency and I pretty much got it in without applying. The only prob was doing a pre-masters for 6 months I think...and its quite pricey.

[Tupamaros]

Psych, Irish person here and I've had family at Trinity at UG and Postgrad, though in different fields. My knowledge would be general, so may be of limited use to you. For what it's worth, Trinity isn't hard to get into at UG, and less competitive than say US top 25-30 for masters. PhD is always a special case, as so many other factors come into the mix, especially fit and the presence of a willing superviser. I considered Trinity for my PhD. I emailed the Dept. head in my field and he gave me some useful info, though it took some time to get a reply. I would think at Irish uni's emailing the Dept. or a POI is quite important. Irish departments are very small compared to some in the US, so a suitable willing superviser is vital. If it doesn't work out this time, I'd consider that (if you haven't already).

 

Generally speaking, if your credentials are decent, you've good LORs and there's a good POI for you, you have every chance of admission. Less of a crapshoot than the US appears to be.