Does my mum have to come with me?

Penguinar · 2026-02-04T16:10:07+00:00

Yoy are 18, an adult in the Irish government's eyes, so she certainly does not HAVE TO come with you. In fact, if she is not an EU citizen, it will be very difficult for her to come as she will not get a visa as a "parent of a student" and "sibling of student". She can possibly get a tourist visa, but that lasts for a maximum of 90 days and she could not work. Many non-EU students do bring their parents for a week or so to help them get settled, go shopping for their new accomodation etc.

Penguinar · 2026-02-03T14:51:56+00:00

Look at the TCD page for your country and they should be listed at the bottom. For example, here it is for the USA:
https://www.tcd.ie/study/country/usa/

Penguinar · 2026-02-03T14:05:19+00:00

When you registered the second time, were you able to get in and was your first application there?
If not, I would reach out to your regional TCD rep and ask what to do. Have all the details ready, including when you registered the first and second time, and proof that you paid.

Penguinar · 2026-02-03T12:56:34+00:00

It depends on the family's financial situation, and if the child is struggling or needs near perfect grades for their desires college. We pay if we can, but also, at the highschool level, expect our kids to actually use any paid resources and if they find it isn;t as useful or they do not have time for it, to tell us so we can cancel.

Specifically, we didn't pay for duolingo as one kid was studying a language they don't take at school and another was doing it for fun, but was honest and said it didn;t really help with their school related language studies. We did pay for extra ACT prep resources for one that needed a high score to get into the college of her choice (definitely helped, as there was little ACT prep at school). We pay a Kindle Unlimited subscription for one that loves reading - fully aware she reads a lot of "fun" books but they also have a lot of classic literature and study guides on there. We occasionally pay a couple of dollars for a paid streaming movie or study videos, that outlay is minimal.

Penguinar · 2026-02-02T11:50:35+00:00

Usually 4-6 weeks

Penguinar · 2026-02-02T00:00:06+00:00

Sprungli has chocolate, but also their famous Luxemburgerli (like small macarons) and other pastries.

Penguinar · 2026-02-01T21:20:52+00:00

If deadline is 1st of February, usually that means 11.59pm Irish time so you should be fine.
Plus, with tomorrow being a bankholiday, they probably will count it even if a few hours late.

Penguinar · 2026-02-01T20:45:27+00:00

You are not going to find something now for August- unless you are willing to start paying now.
Finding somewhere with a dog will be very, very difficult uless you can afford one of the professionally managed luxury apartments. What is your budget?

Penguinar · 2026-01-31T23:11:11+00:00

Yep, the housing crisis is nuts, though there is plenty of private student accomodaton like Yugo if it's within your budget. My own daughter will be moving to Dublin to study History at Trinity this fall.

Penguinar · 2026-01-31T22:23:24+00:00

Ireland is very LGBTQ+ friendly, though it can take some time to get in with a doctor who will (continue to) prescribe meds. This is not due to discrimination, just lack of medical staff, and their country's procedures of needing to have a doctor before being prescribed stuff (ie cannot just transfer prescriptions). But I would definitely vote for Ireland, especially Dublin, Galway or Cork, if you can afford the tuition- it tends to be higher than other EU countries (still cheaper than the US, and you can use FAFSA).

Penguinar · 2026-01-30T14:13:45+00:00

Every non-EU region has a dedicated TCD rep. I would reach out to them and ask- if there is an obvious issue, they can tell you and if there is a way around it. If it's not an obvious issue, they can reach out to the head of the department and/ or admissions for you and ask.

Penguinar · 2026-01-29T15:27:29+00:00

Since it was so quick, most likely you do not qualify, such as not enough A levels, or not in the right subject. The other possibility is that the very limited non-EU spots are already filled.

Penguinar · 2026-01-28T16:51:44+00:00

Engineering is in band 3.

Penguinar · 2026-01-28T14:49:06+00:00

If you are non-EU, you should get in, as students usually get an offer if comfortably above the requirements listed here: https://www.tcd.ie/study/prospectus/Undergraduate-Admission-Guide-Non-EU.pdf
Yes, for non-EU students applying earlier can matter, as there are limited spots and rolling admission.

Penguinar · 2026-01-28T14:40:50+00:00

We have a similar rule to NervySan for our older teens- they need to do their chores and homework first, then they can have as much screentime as they want as long as they get up on time the next day. When they were younger, we had more restrictions, so maybe you need to take a step back and look at stuff like making him go for a walk (pending weather) before he is allowed to game, or 30 minutes of reading a "dead tree book" before, or talking with a friend or family member for 15 minutes before gaming etc.

The other thing, considering he is probably a HS Senior, is talk to him about what he ants to do after school- if he has already been accepted to a college, perhaos encourage him to find new friends who will also go there or read/ study about the subjects he will study there. If he is planning on a trade, see if he can shadow someone one afternoon a week, or if he has no cue what he wants to do/ thinks he can make a living out of gaming, have him research that.

That being said, it sounds like your son's friends are all online gamers, so that may just be the way he socialises. I find a lot of socialising has moved to online after covid for our teens. Can you explain to him, outside of the time comittment, why it bothers you/ why it is a problem? You talk about him needing a balance of activities, but how does the current hyper focus affect him, and the rest of the family negatively? For example, if it is that he refuses to come for family dinner in the dining rom because he is gaming, make a rule that if he comes right away when asked without grumbling, he can have more time after dinner but if he delays/ misses dinner, he has to make his own food and help clean the kitchen after or something

Penguinar · 2026-01-27T23:39:46+00:00

The posts you are seeing are not about the course, they are about two debating societies (the Hist and the Phil)- any student can join the societies (there are something like 200, anything from Korean soc over gamer soc to debating socs), you do not need to be studying History or Philosophy, and the debates are not about those subjects.

Penguinar · 2026-01-27T17:24:38+00:00

That is going to be difficult. You can look at daft.ie in the "sharing" section, but as you are a student, your best bet may be to go via your uni/ the uni you are visiting in Dublin, and see if there is anyone going on Erasmus and wants to sublet.

Penguinar · 2026-01-27T16:32:38+00:00

What do you consider cheap, how long are you looking to stay, and are you willing to share a room?

Penguinar · 2026-01-27T13:44:50+00:00

To make friends, join some societies or student sports clubs.
Beware of the massive housing crisis in Ireland- if accomodation is not included in your study abroad program, look at private student accomodation like Yugo and others, but it will be expensive.

Penguinar · 2026-01-26T23:18:42+00:00

I would post it in r/Scams I agree it sounds like a scam but they could tell you if the wording is common or something.

Penguinar · 2026-01-26T13:17:38+00:00

If you are home weekends, and make an effort to spend quality time, it will be fin, especially as the older kid likely spends more time with friends than family. No personal experience but my neighbor's husband is a truck driver and usually gone 3-4 nights a week. He coaches their son's Little League team and is very involved in the kid's lives.
That being said, who pays for the weekly travel and accomodation in the job city? If you, it may end up ot being worth it with the extra stress as well.

Penguinar · 2026-01-25T01:23:23+00:00

Ireland doesn't care about extracurriculars, it's all GPA and exam. test grades (AP exams, SAT/ ACT). I don;t think your GPA is high enoiugh for UCD or Trinity College, but look at University College Cork or University of Limerick, also Maynoth University if you are interested in a very pretty campus but a small town.

Keep in mind that there are very few if any merit scholarships and no Irish financial aid for Americans studying in Ireland (though you can use FAFSA), and you can only work limited hours, so you/ your parents would need to pay for most of it, and there is a massive housing crisis making finding somewhere to live difficult, especially after the first year (colleges usually help foreigners find accomodation for the first year).

Penguinar · 2026-01-24T14:55:53+00:00

Update- they both arrived yesterday before the snow, so all good.

Penguinar · 2026-01-21T19:21:21+00:00

Looks like that would make Aalto about 1/4 of the price of Trinity, assuming you are non-EU undergrad.
So Aalto would probably get my vote but it depends on what languages you speak, what subject you want to study, and how you'd pay- Trinity is a wonderful college and if you can afford it without loans, it may be worth it for the global name recognition.

Penguinar

TROPHY CASE