<p>I have been accepted to both TCD and Amherst, but I have no idea which I would prefer. Here are some specifics:</p>
<p>Financial Decision: TCD is going to be more expensive because they give me as much need-based aid as Amherst. However, this isn’t all that I am weighing.</p>
<p>Culture: Trinity is by far more culturally diverse, and has much more history throughout the campus. I am very drawn to this cultural experiment of sorts. Yet Amherst will also be a new experience for a Wyomingite like myself, so it will still be endlessly fun. </p>
<p>Education: Amherst and TCD are never ranked in the same list, but TCD is 61st in the world for universities and Amherst is 2nd for liberal arts colleges. I know these rankings aren’t a tell-all indicator of the education, though. The class size at TCD varies in my intended major (English Lit. & Philosophy) between 12 and 50 students, whereas nearly all Amherst classes have less than 20 students. I do not know much about Amherst’s english program either. TCD also has a library with way more volumes than Amherst, which will probably be useful for my major. I think they both have pros and cons in this area but I don’t know what to weigh specifically.</p>
<p>Experience: I want college to be invigorating, fun, and something I will look back to for the rest of my life. I want to learn and develop as a unique and valuable individual, and I want to get the most out of these next four years. One will be more academically oriented (Amherst), and one will be more culturally oriented (TCD). </p>
<p>Can anybody offer me additional insight or advice?</p>
<p>a friend had this experience at Trinity College. The American 18yos who went there were enamored of the pubs and the drinking. She didn’t drink. She had no American friends. Shy and introverted, she had a hard time making friends among the Irish kids. She came home after a semester and didn’t go back. Could have been the student but she didn’t enjoy being so far away from home with countrymen so different from her. “Louts” is what she called them. Just a heads up.</p>
<p>I am a little worried about an experience like that, but I really have no interest in drinking and I am pretty outgoing. I am making sure they have a good orientation program before I decide, since my counselor said this usually helps a great deal with building friendships and support groups.</p>
<p>There will be a drinking culture wherever you go, be it Amherst or Trinity.</p>
<p>As for Americans struggling to make friends… I am currently studying abroad on a program with many Americans,and I have to say American kids who go to Europe and fail to make friends very often simply don’t do enough to make friends. They are intimidated by the local students, thinking they must be very different culturally, and give up on trying to talk to them a couple of weeks in. After that, they latch onto other Americans and cease to attend any cultural events or social gatherings without their American friends.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is that if you truly are outgoing, you will approach the people you meet with an open mind and with persistence. Under those circumstances you shouldn’t have any more trouble making friends at Trinity than at Amherst, especially given that you’ll be a regular student and you’ll be thrust into social situations with lots of other regular students (as opposed to the way American study abroad programs are structured, which facilitates the social isolation I described above).</p>
<p>Colleges often advertise the number of volumes in the library, but in my opinion this isn’t that important in the narrow scheme of things. You need the college to have volumes in your area. For example, I was a psychology major, and volumes were mostly unnecessary for me - we don’t really cite books, we read scientific journal articles. I’m fairly certain that Amherst students can probably also access the libraries at the other Five Colleges, and with their combined strength - especially a research university like UMass-Amherst in the mix - you probably won’t have problems accessing the books you need. Plus Amherst has inter-library loan like most universities. I use ILL as a grad student (pretty infrequently; Columbia’s libraries are amazing, but every now and then there’s something we or our partner schools don’t have) and it’s pretty quick and easy. Amherst also takes purchase requests from students; if you think your library should have something, you can ask the librarian and they might buy it for the library. Then you can borrow it.</p>
<p>Experience: I want college to be invigorating, fun, and something I will look back to for the rest of my life. I want to learn and develop as a unique and valuable individual, and I want to get the most out of these next four years. One will be more academically oriented (Amherst), and one will be more culturally oriented (TCD).</p>
<p>This will happen regardless of where you go. I also don’t think Trinity College’s experience will be less academically-oriented, as it’s a pretty well-reputed school internationally. I do agree with the observation that you could always study abroad at TCD for a semester or year in college. Amherst says that 35-40% of their junior class studies abroad, and they actually have an established exchange problem with TCD.</p>
<p>Honestly, “you could always study abroad there” is a very disingenuous thing to say. The experience of studying abroad at Trinity would be extremely different–and far inferior–to being a degree-seeking student there.</p>
<p>Seriously. Make your choice based on where you’d prefer to spend four years, but don’t give yourself the false consolation of “eh, I could have it both ways if I study abroad” because it’s not true.</p>
<p>Trinity really is totally different from what you know about college - for instance, your idea of an “orientation”… There’s one but there’s nothing like PlayFair or all the activities planned for American students here. It may consist in giving you a map of the town rather than actually taking you on a tour, for instance. Students in Europe (in general) are supposed to be self-sufficient and organize things themselves. American colleges are seen as providing a lot of “hand holding” by British students - ie., there just isn’t the same expectation of support services and organizations devoted to the students. Not that they don’t exist, but education and what it means just isn’t expected to be the way Americans expect it. (Try to buy “Culture Shock” books and “Speak the culture” books beforehand, if only out of interest.)
While there’s drinking everywhere, the difference is that 1° beer is part of the culture in Ireland (you can have hard cider, but it’s just not the same) and thus “sharing a pint” is part of normal socializing 2° going to the pub is normal for youth. If you don’t like beer and going to the pub as a novelty is likely to wear off after a few weeks, you’ll be a third wheel everywhere.
Attending college abroad on your own at 18 in a big city like Dublin wouldn’t really be my advice to you unless you’re very well travelled already.
Coming from Wyoming, yes New England would be a culture shock too. I think living in a region where many things are 100, 150, 200 years old, will provide you with enough of a sense of history to start with. There will be tons of places to discover.
As for study abroad: Yes preparing a degree is not the same as spending a year abroad, but a year abroad does provide the cultural experience OP is seeking. It’s hard to beat the cultural immersion that a full year provides.
In addition, you said that Amherst is cheaper: go there, save money, and decide to study abroad for a full year junior year. You’ll enjoy it much more, have a degree you can use to find a job in the US, and if you feel like going back to Ireland after your year abroad (which you most likely will, being a bit older and not alone) you can always try to do your Master’s degree there. If you really ache to visit Ireland, start by going for a month backpacking in Europe this summer. Go with friends and read history and culture books before you go. Another idea: see if there’s an exchange program for you to attend 1 year of high school in Ireland, prepare your Highers (I think Nacel organizes this.) Ask to be deferred from Amherst to do the year abroad, spend a year in a more structured situation with a host family and a built-in class of friends, so not totally on your own, immerse yourself in the culture, then start at Amherst in Fall 2015.
But going to attend college on your own at age 18 (and losing your scholarship to Amherst in the process - because if you attend university anywhere you lose your rights to freshman entrance, and thus financial aid… and for a school like Amherst, it’s basically impossible to transfer) isn’t a good idea if you haven’t already lived abroad.</p>
<p>After talking with my counselor and family, I do believe I will attend Amherst. The cost is the main factor. Additionally, I think the transition into college will probably be easier if I’m not experiencing a simultaneous culture shock like others have said, and I think the small student population and heavy involvement of the faculty will eliminate a lot of the stress I was initially expecting. I plan on studying abroad for a full year rather than taking a gap year, though. Thanks for all of the helpful comments!</p>
I think living in a region where many things are 100, 150, 200 years old, will provide you with enough of a sense of history to start with. There will be tons of places to discover.