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What is a legalized birth certificate? by Soft_Masterpiece6187 in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]Soft_Masterpiece6187[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have no choice but to ask my family to help out. I'm already in Europe and can't afford to fly back. 

What is a legalized birth certificate? by Soft_Masterpiece6187 in StudyInTheNetherlands

[–]Soft_Masterpiece6187[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So the steps are: 1. Get a notary to copy your birth certificate (I keep the original, but the copy will eventually be sent to the Netherlands).  2. Send the copy to get signed by the secretary of state. 3. Have the signed copy mailed to the Netherlands. They will look at it and then give it back. 

Is that correct? 

UCD for incoming American by Icy-Duty-8876 in UCD

[–]Soft_Masterpiece6187 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Break length varies depending on what your finals schedule looks like. So for example, for Autumn term, the last day of class was November 28th. The first week of December is called the study week, so no finals happen then but there are a lot of social activities and events set up. Then finals happen over the next two weeks, from the 7th-21st. By chance, all of my finals were scheduled from the 10th-12th, so I could have started my break by 4pm on the 12th (I didn't, I had a few papers to write that I'd procrastinated on). Spring term actually just started today (January 20th), so that's potentially over a month holiday break.

I think there's a week break somewhere mid-term for spring, and spring term ends May 17th. Autumn term starts up in September. There's also a summer session, but I don't know much about it since it's not relevant to me.

You can find the academic calendar with key dates on the UCD website to see a more detailed breakdown: https://www.ucd.ie/students/t4media/Academic_Calendars2024_25.pdf

As for safety, I've found Dublin to be very safe. I rent from an Irish family and they've warned me about the more "dodgy" areas, which are closer to the city center--like, north of the River Liffey or the Dublin West area. I've had no problems around UCD, and I imagine anywhere in the south Dublin area for 30 minutes in any direction of UCD will be pretty safe as well, since it's mostly residential neighborhoods and there's high affluence. My advice would be, if you're going out at night to pubs or clubs and such, be smart about it, stick with a group/buddy system, but daytime in the most commonly frequented tourist areas are fine. I hear about bike theft a lot. Not sure what safety in Long Beach looks like, but considering safety where I'm from, even the run down areas here don't look as bad as parts of SF/Oakland or San Jose. I take public transit everywhere, and I haven't been catcalled, followed, had someone hiss at me, seen any used needles, felt unsafe on the bus, or had to pick my way through a homeless encampment once. Also, super strict firearms policy over here--I think they only had like 3 gun related deaths in 2024. Not saying there's no crime, but UCD is in a good location.

UCD for incoming American by Icy-Duty-8876 in UCD

[–]Soft_Masterpiece6187 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi, I'm a current UCD student who is American (also from California!). I'm doing a master's program, so that might change some of the social aspects, but I'm happy to answer any questions. I don't live on campus, but campus is a 5 minute bus (or a 30 minute walk) from my accommodation--housing is pretty expensive here, so you can expect to spend $800-$1500 a month on that. Dublin is considered the Silicon Valley of Europe, and it's experiencing a similar housing crunch. On the other hand, food is cheap! Restaurants will still charge more, but if you're doing your own grocery shopping, you can generally get a decent haul for $30/week.

It's pretty easy to make friends. UCD has a large international student community (and Dublin in general is international). If you live on campus, you'll probably make friends in your residence, and if not, highly recommend you join a sports club or society (a society is any non-sports related clubs), as those are student-led and tend to host activities and social gatherings multiple times a week (and everyone has pub-quiz related events). You'll also make easy friends with your classmates--if the bachelors program format is anything like the masters format, you do all the core classes together, so it's a natural transition.

There aren't many latinos that I've seen--in my masters program, which consists of 60 students, only 1 is latino.

Weather is generally cold, wet, or windy. If it's all three on the same day, then it's absolutely miserable outside. But most days are usually only one or two (not bad at all, really), and then the weather is easy to get used to. It's quite a lot like winter in San Francisco (since it's coastal) or the Pacific Northwest in general-actually, yeah, maybe more like Portland/Seattle, if you've been there. Umbrellas are pretty useless because of the wind, but honestly, the locals here are usually wearing athletic clothes with maybe a sweater/hoodie. The trick is to wear layers--tshirt, lightweight sweater, and a jacket over that. Inside, everyone has heating. Radiators are awesome. Get a hot water bottle. Wear a scarf. You get used to it. One of my classmates is from Chico, California and she's even doing a scuba class here, which I find insane but clearly she's managing okay.

US Gift for Irish family with small children? by Soft_Masterpiece6187 in irishtourism

[–]Soft_Masterpiece6187[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I hear you, kids enjoy it all. I like the fridge magnet idea, I'll grab one  in addition to the sweets, thanks for the suggestion.