Jacob Richards | Spring 2024
Hello again, from the largest university in Ireland. With the first month of the semester down, I have been able to experience many of the unique aspects that student life here has to offer.
With the first month of the semester finished, the academic structure has become a glaring difference from what I’m used to. The final exam makes up at least 50% of the final grade with labs making up the remainder and there is no homework. Students refer to the professors by their first names and the course material is composed purely of their personal lecture notes, so textbooks are a loose recommendation. Without regular practice problems, staying current on my studies has been tricky. Fortunately, their grading scale is far more forgiving. Ds are considered passing, similar to our Cs. On top of that, 40% in the majority of classes is a D. It makes passing easier, but from what I’ve heard about the exam format and student performance, achieving a higher GPA is a lot more difficult here.