trinity college dublin personal statements

5 things admissions officers at Trinity College Dublin look for in an application

Considering studying in Ireland ? If so, it’s likely that Trinity College Dublin has caught your eye as one of the most popular destinations for international students.

With its vast array of courses, incredible facilities and stunning historical campus, the university has an impressive amount to offer. But with real competition for places, what is it that admissions officers are looking for in prospective students’ applications.

I caught up with Trinity College Dublin to find out what they’re on the lookout for in their applicants at the moment. Here’s the top five things to keep in mind.

Table of Contents

• English Language proficiency is essential
• Your personal statement is important
• Take into account additional assessment criteria
• You must meet the minimum requirements for admission
• Undergraduate module grades are important for postgraduate applicants

1. English Language proficiency is essential

English Language testing forms an important part of the application process for international students. It’s important that the university knows that you will be comfortable and confident studying and being assessed in a different language.

Standardised English Language Proficiency Tests, either IELTS or TOEFL , and two academic letters of recognition are mandatory for both undergraduate and postgraduate applications at Trinity.

2. Your personal statement is important

Your personal statement is an integral part of your application as it adds character to your academic qualifications. 

Trinity College Dublin assesses students’ motivation through the statement to make sure they have put in the required level of research to make an informed decision when applying.

Brushing up on your knowledge of the subject, on the things that interest and fascinate you about the course you’re applying for and the academics you’d most like to learn from are great places to start with this.  Taking the time to make sure your personal statement is perfect is an important part of the process too.

3. Take into account additional assessment criteria

Some courses will require you to complete and excel in additional assessments, especially at postgraduate level.

At Trinity, this can include the GMAT, an online programming test for some MSc programmes and interviews either by video or phone. 

Preparing for these additional assessments are an integral part of your application, and are used to determine your suitability for the programme.

4. You must meet the minimum requirements for admission

Unfortunately this is one of the most important parts of applying at a competitive university or for an in-demand course. Meeting the specific requirements for the programme of your choice is an essential part of your application.

Working hard and securing those grades, to match your passion for your course, is an important stepping stone to studying at Trinity College Dublin.

5. Undergraduate module grades are important for postgraduate applicants

Postgraduate applications are reviewed far more rigorously due to the competition for places. The standing of your undergraduate institution is taken into account when applying, using a range of rankings both domestically and internationally.

But performance in individual modules that are relevant to the programme you’re applying to are considered too. Your bachelor degree also needs to be equivalent to a 2:1 in Ireland.

Interested in studying abroad? Find out more about Dublin as a study abroad destination , and explore Trinity College Dublin’s courses on our website.

Guest Author | Study Abroad Expert

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared in this site solely belong to the individual authors and do not necessarily represent t ...Read More

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Ll.m. applications: the personal statement.

The personal statement can be a daunting part of the LL.M. application process—what to write, and how to write it? Here are some tips from admissions officials to help guide you through the process.

While it’s only one of many elements going into an LL.M. application, the personal statement can be a tricky one to master. 

Many law schools are not very specific about the requirements for the personal statement, aside from word count. Georgetown University Law Center, for instance, asks applicants to describe their background, goals, and reasons for applying to the program; Stanford is looking for information about the applicant’s experience in legal practice, interest in graduate study, and professional goals.

“To be honest we are purposefully broad in our description because we want applicants to have the freedom to express themselves in whatever way they see fit,” says Justin Swinsick, director of graduate admissions at Georgetown. 

“However, applicants should think about what they would say to the admissions committee if they were sat in front of them and had the chance to highlight the very best things about themselves and how the program and school will take them where they want to go.”  

Other law schools are more explicit; Northwestern asks applicants to answer two essay questions, while Harvard requires a two-part statement—one addressing a theoretical framework or analysis to a current legal problem, and another that says something about the applicant’s motivations for the LL.M. and how it relates to his/her future plans.

This year, University of Pennsylvania also updated its personal statement requirement to include a bit more guidance, calling for a statement of no more than two pages, and specifically recommending that the applicant avoid repeating his/her CV. 

For some schools, like Trinity College Dublin, the personal statement is optional; around 10 to 15 percent of each year’s pool of applicants sends one as part of their applications, according to Kelley McCabe, senior executive officer of the School of Law at Trinity.

“We’re looking for further insight into the applicant's current research interests and their career plans and goals for the future,” she says. “But we focus mostly on academic transcripts, the two academic references and the applicant's CV.”

“These documents give us a holistic picture of the applicant.” 

Tackling the LL.M. personal statement

One of the cornerstone pieces of advice is: be specific. Admissions officers read many personal statements, and you want yours to stand out in their memories. 

“Spend some time really thinking about why you want to get an LL.M.” and why that specific program fits this reason, says Elise Kraemer, director of graduate programs at UPenn.

Be honest and open about yourself; you could be moved to write about an inspirational figure in your life, an important event, or even about the school itself—which is fine, as long as you direct the statement back to you, Georgetown’s Swinsick recommends. 

Kraemer agrees: “Although a personal and/or family stories can be moving, if you use one, be sure that it directly supports your application.”

Sometimes, a well-justified directness can pay off. Swinsick says one applicant start her statement by writing that she wanted to pursue an LL.M. in order to make as much money as possible. “This was certainly an unusual way to start and played into negative stereotypes of why one pursues legal education,” Swinsick recalls. But she went on to tie this into how she planned to leverage her legal studies, career and financial success into bringing help and visibility to problems plaguing her community in a developing country.  

“It was very well written, highlighted her best qualities, and tied together why she wanted to pursue the program and why Georgetown’s program in particular would help her achieve her goals.” 

Mistakes to avoid in your personal statement

While it’s a good thing to be personal, don’t overdo it either. “Some of the more colorful statements I have read entail very personal details that usually would only be shared with clergy, partners or close personal friends,” Swinsick says.

And polish is key: proofread, check your word limit, and make sure it looks as professional as possible. For Kraemer, a minor typographical or grammatical error—especially from non-native speakers—is not a deal-breaker, but a statement that is “poorly written or contains unprofessional content” can be. 

“Take some time to work on it,” Kraemer says. “Don’t leave it to the last minute.”

And the resounding consensus from every law school is: always, always check the name of the school at the top of the page. Every year, every admission committee receives personal statements addressed to the wrong school. “I tend to be relatively forgiving on this one, but it never looks good,” Kraemer says. 

How much does your personal statement matter?

The value of the personal statement can vary from school to school, but in general, a strong one can significantly bolster the merit of an application. 

“It’s the only communication that we receive in the applicant’s own voice and is one of the best ways for the committee to ‘get to know’ the person applying,” says Kraemer. “It is not uncommon for a personal statement to have a significant impact on how we evaluate a candidate—a particularly strong or weak statement can be determinative.”

It can also afford an opportunity for the applicant to explain or put in context to the admissions committee a negative element of their application—a poor grade or language score, for instance. And this effort will show; an applicant that puts time and thought into their personal statement shows that they are serious about pursuing graduate legal education, Swinsick says.

“A personal statement is just that—personal,” says McCabe. “It gives the admissions committee a sense of who the applicant is so, when writing it, they should be true to themselves.”

LL.M. personal statement quick tips

• Be specific. Address why you want to get an LL.M. and your career goals.
• Be honest, about your background and the reasons for applying for an LL.M.
• Address any negative elements of your application, such as a low TOEFL or ITELTS score.
• Make sure to proofread your personal statement and check your word count.
• Make sure that you've addressed the statement to the right law school.

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Trinity College Dublin: What it's really like

Find out more about trinity college dublin.

Want to study at one of the oldest universities in the English-speaking world… in a cosmopolitan city? Trinity College Dublin could be the place for you!

Trinity College Dublin at a glance:

Antonio, who works in Trinity College Dublin’s global engagement department, tells us what it’s like to study there.

What is Trinity College Dublin?

Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, was founded in 1592 and is the oldest university in Ireland. We’re also ranked as the top university in the country according to the Times Higher Education Rankings 2023.

Trinity is one of the seven ‘ancient’ universities of the English-speaking world – alongside universities like Cambridge, Oxford, and St Andrews – but it’s the only one in the European Union.

We’re a medium-sized university with around 18,000 students, 12,000 of which are undergraduates. When you study here, you’ll likely have that feeling of being connected to history, but also of helping to shape the world we live in today.

Why apply to Trinity College Dublin?

A great reason to apply to Trinity is its academic reputation: you’ll be studying at one of the best universities in the world, so you can expect to achieve an excellent degree that is highly valued by employers. 

Another reason is that Ireland is considered the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’. Some of the world’s biggest IT companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, and pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, have their headquarters in Ireland — so you’ll be on the doorstep of some amazing employment opportunities.

If you come to Trinity as an international student, you’ll of course have that typically ‘Irish’ experience – Irish people being considered some of the friendliest people in the world  – but Trinity is actually the 12th most international university in the world too. 120 different nationalities are represented on campus, with 27% of our students from outside of Ireland, so you’ll likely meet someone from where you’re from. 40% of our lecturers are also international, so we have the most international academic body of any university in Europe.  

Who isn’t the right fit for Trinity College Dublin?

If you’re looking for a really big city and a commute, Trinity might not be the place for you. Whilst Dublin is a very cosmopolitan city, there are only 800,000 people living in the city itself, so it’s a very manageable size. If you’re also looking for a more isolated, self-contained campus, Trinity might not be for you, as it’s so closely connected to the city centre.

Any application tips? 

You can apply to Trinity with your predicted grades and get a conditional offer. If you’re a non-native English speaker, you may need a certificate to prove your English proficiency as well. We also ask for two references, and for a 500-word Personal Statement, where you can show us why you’re a good fit for Trinity and for the programme of your choice.

I would say your transcript or predicted grades are most important, because Trinity is a very academic university. But otherwise, remember to apply as early as possible. Applications for most of our programmes open in November and close in June, but we assess applications on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the better your chances of getting in. Offers are made on a first-come, first-served basis.

What’s the location like?

The location of Trinity College Dublin is unusual, in that it’s an entirely historic campus but set in a capital city centre.

As soon as you leave the campus, you’ll find yourself in the heart of the city. So you can enjoy the exciting restaurants, bars, night clubs, museums, galleries, and festivals that Dublin has to offer – all within a short walk. Dublin’s airport is just a 30-40-minute drive away, which is particularly useful if you’re an international student.

We are partnered with Columbia University, so we also offer twelve degrees where you can spend two years studying in New York! What facilities does Trinity College Dublin have to offer?

Whilst it might look historical at a glance, Trinity offers state-of-the-art facilities designed for conducting research. For example, one of our newest buildings, due to open in September 23/24, will be a purpose-built research building to support students as part of our E3 project: those studying environmental science, engineering, and emerging technologies.

When it comes to facilities you can enjoy in your free time, we have the biggest gym in Dublin, as well as theatres and galleries you can visit on the campus itself.

We’re also renowned for our careers service, and ranked top in the world for producing entrepreneurs. Our Innovation Centre, where you can put forward an idea for a business, is open to all students regardless of the subject they’re studying. Here you’ll be supported to develop your idea, and if it’s considered especially strong, you could be given a place in our incubator, where you’ll get funding to start your own company.

What is the accommodation like?

When it comes to accommodation, Trinity gives priority to international students, particularly those on foundation courses or on their first year of undergraduate programmes.

There is university accommodation both on-campus and nearby in the city, around a 15-minute bike ride away. Typically, you’ll live in flats of around five students, which have either ensuite or shared bathroom facilities. You’ll also share a living space and a kitchen.

In their second year, because the university is so centrally located, students tend to look for their own accommodation nearby and share houses or flats with their friends.

How does Trinity College Dublin meet the needs of students with different accessibility requirements?

Inclusivity is and always has been very important at Trinity; in fact, the first woman to get a degree from one of the ‘ancient’ universities of the English-speaking world studied here, and female students represent the majority at Trinity.

If you have a disability or any learning differences, we encourage you to contact our disability support team before even applying. The team will be happy to chat to you about meeting your accommodation, study, and examination needs.

Once you’re here, the team also offers confidential daily drop-in sessions so you can pop in any time if you have any worries or questions.

Want to explore more Irish universities? Remember, Unifrog’s Shortlisting tool can help you put together a list of great potential courses.

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University Supporting Documents in Ireland

Supporting documents are an essential part of your eligibility to study in Ireland . Admissions officers carefully review academic transcripts, language proficiency test results, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and other required documents to evaluate the qualifications, achievements, and potential of applicants.

Accurate and complete documentation is vital to ensure that the admissions committee is able to make a decision on your application smoothly. If you are visiting SI-Ireland for your free consultation , use this checklist to ensure you bring along all your documents so we can make the most of your appointment.

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A personal statement is required when applying to Irish universities. In it, students are tasked with writing about what they hope to do on the course, what they hope to do after the course and why they are applying.

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*SI-Ireland takes great pleasure in announcing the opening of its new branch office at Nehru Place. This will enable us to deliver prompt and speedy services to the students in the vicinity who want to apply to Irish universities and colleges…

TCD Personal Statement?

Hi all, I’m well aware that the Republic of Ireland is not a member of the United Kingdom, but I couldn’t find anywhere better to post this. I’m applying to Trinity College, Dublin as an American and am struggling a little bit with writing my Personal Statement. I’ve never really had to write a Personal Statement before, and so I’m struggling with how exactly to write it. Is it supposed to be formal? Do I mention my qualifications at all? Is it supposed to be anything like the Why St. Andrews essay on the Common App? Any tips for writing the PS and tips for applying would be appreciated please! Have a nice day!

You might find this helpful:

https://www.tcd.ie/Careers/assets/pdf/student-pdf/personal-statement-guidelines.pdf

It is for students applying to grad programs, but you won’t go wrong following the basic outline. Be sure to fit in elements that would show why you are looking to go Ireland, and that demonstrate some maturity (ie, “I’ve always loved Ireland and all things green and my mothers maiden name is O’Kelly and I can’t wait to…” will not make you look like a student who is making a serious academic choice, and who is ready to do the real work of moving to a new country and new educational system as an adult)

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Personal Statement Guidelines

To complete your application you are required to submit a personal statement detailing your experience and interest in the course.  Your personal statement should be unique and tailored to the course for which you are applying.

What is a personal statement?

The personal statement offers you the opportunity to shed more light on your personality, character and suitability for the course. The information we are looking for should add clarity, richness and meaning to the information you have already provided in your application and in your Curriculum Vitae.  Your personal statement will help us to assess your application and to make a decision on your suitability for the course.

What your personal statement should cover  

• Why you are applying for the course and why you think you are suitable for it.
• How your academic abilities, relevant skills and knowledge will fit with the course and help you succeed.
• Your interest in the subject matter of the course, perhaps including some academic references or readings.
• What you know about DCU’s expertise in the subject matter of the course and why you want to study at DCU.
• The impact which you expect the course to have on your goals and aspirations and how the course will help you achieve them.

How to write a personal statement

 There is no fixed structure or formula you should follow but here are some tips to help you:

• Start early: and think about what you would like to write, and how you would like to come across
• Write a draft, and give yourself enough time to make revisions
• Structure your personal statement to contain:
• a general introduction to yourself;
• body text to reflect your experiences, skills, interests and qualities;
• and a conclusion to reinforce your commitment to your chosen course and your enthusiasm about studying at DCU
• Present your ideas in a structured and meaningful manner
• Proofread and edit until you are happy that the structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct.
• Stick to the word count and use double line spacing throughout.

How the dung queen of Dublin was swept from history

AI to be used by researchers to scour documents for information on women omitted from chronicles written by men about men

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Four centuries ago Dublin had an official city “scavenger” who was tasked with running sanitation teams to clear streets of human and animal waste. In return, the scavenger earned tolls from shopkeepers and traders.

It could have worked well, except the contractor decided to cut costs and maximise profits by deploying just two carts rather than six. Dung piled up and the city stank.

This upset everyone save the scavenger, who pocketed enough cash to set herself up as a moneylender. Her name was Catherine Strong.

In 1635, the city fired her, ending an intriguing if inglorious career in public service. And then, like so many women of her era, Strong vanished into history, her entrepreneurship – creditable or otherwise – barely scraping a footnote in Irish chronicles written by men about men.

Trinity College Dublin aims to remedy that with an ambitious research project launched this week that will use artificial intelligence and other digital technologies to uncover women’s experiences in Ireland from 1500 to 1700.

Jane Ohlmeyer, a history professor who is leading the project, titled Voices , said: “Women are largely absent from historical narratives, with the historical record privileging the perspectives of elites and elite men in particular.

“But ordinary women are not absent from the story of early modern Ireland; they are hiding in plain sight in fragments and passing mentions across a multitude of historic records – wills, maps, surveys, records of debt and legal depositions.”

Historians, literary scholars, data analysts and computer scientists would collaborate in a groundbreaking effort to recover marginalised voices and – it is hoped – set an example for other overlooked narratives, such as the experience of women in colonial-era Latin America, said Ohlmeyer. “Our approach is transferable and applicable to other countries.”

The five-year project, funded by a €2.5m (£2.1m) European Research Council grant, will document the roles women played during social and political upheavals that included massacres, sexual violence and extreme trauma.

AI and other tools will harvest names from sources such as legal records, inquisitions, censuses and statute staple records of lending and borrowing, amassing material that will be organised in a “knowledge graph”, an online resource that will be available to researchers and the public for free.

“The documents will talk to each other so we can start to connect people. We’re able to develop these profiles of people that previously were just a name,” said Ohlmeyer.

GPT-4 from OpenAI and the AI-driven text recognition tool Transkribus will help search and summarise material, albeit with human oversight of the technology. “Everything still has to be checked; we don’t trust it,” said Ohlmeyer.

Declan O’Sullivan, a professor at Trinity’s school of computer science, expressed confidence his department could turn the data into knowledge that was easily accessible to the public and researchers.

The 1500-1700 period represented a transition from the medieval to the modern and coincided with the English empire expanding, said Ohlmeyer, the author of Making Empire: Ireland, Imperialism and the Early Modern World .

“From the late 16th century, colonialism really ramps up and gets tremendous momentum, especially in plantations. That’s when we see Ireland becoming English through language, law and socioeconomic infrastructure.”

Civil wars created opportunities for women who, in the absence of men, found themselves becoming breadwinners and running businesses as brewers, moneylenders, tanners and tavern keepers.

Catherine Strong, after being accused of presiding over “foulness of the streets”, appeared as a creditor on the Dublin statute staple.

However, conflicts also wreaked horrors. Depositions taken after a 1641 Catholic uprising showed widespread robbery, assault and rape that was often euphemised as “stripping”, said Ohlmeyer.

In one statement, Amy Manfin, a Protestant settler, said she was forced to stand in the blood of her murdered husband before being stripped and dragged by the hair through thorns. English government forces were just as brutal.

Other documents show women pursuing legal cases. In a battle with a debtor over a contested will, Joan Flynn in 1599 allegedly tricked Dublin’s probate court into granting her power over her late husband’s estate.

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Elektrostal (Q198419)

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Elektrostal'

Elektrostal' Travel Guide

Experience elektrostal'.

The Moscow Kremlin

Krasnaya ploshchad'

State Historical Museum

St. Basil's Cathedral

Great Moscow State Circus

Moscow State University

Moscow Metro

Moskva River

Arbat Street

Where to stay, gostinyi dvor hotel, house in pushkino, hotel pioner, recreation center dubki, yakhontovy les apartments, sloboda na klyazme, what to eat.

Cafe Vostochny Express

Kroshka Kartoshka

Fabrika Obedov

Coffee Shop Usy Teodora Glagoleva

Beer Club Tolsty Medved

Cafe Antresole

Quest-Cafe 4 Komnaty

Prima Bolshogo

Other recommended cities.

Popular Types of Attractions in Elektrostal'

Popular attractions in elektrostal', popular restaurants in elektrostal', popular destinations, recommended attractions at popular destinations, more things to do in elektrostal'.

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