University of Wisconsin–Madison

Ireland: Ava Cook

A long hallway with an arched, wooden ceiling has a glowing globe of Earth hanging at the end.
This is a photo of the Trinity Long Room, which is in the same building that holds the Book of Kells. The library is currently under restoration, and consequently the shelves are empty.

Program: Trinity College Dublin Exchange, Semester

Ava’s Major: History and Economics

What challenges or barriers did you face as you prepared to go abroad and/or during your time abroad? How did you work through them?

Studying abroad as a senior presents unique challenges. I had to balance academics and job applications while also enjoying my time abroad. Thankfully I was able to take a light course load, which gave me additional time to work on job applications. Also, I highly recommend making use of the UW Madison career advice services, even while abroad! My career advisors were very happy to meet over Zoom, and they helped me make my job search more efficient.

I highly recommend taking the Semester Start-Up Program if your schedule allows!

 How were your program academics similar or different from taking classes at UW-Madison?

The grading system at Trinity is very different. At Madison, you can generally get a high grade in humanities courses if you put adequate effort into research and writing. Plus, I suspect that students studying abroad at Trinity are used to high grades, given the GPA requirements for this program. In contrast, Trinity rarely awards high grades. A professor explained it this way: for a paper to receive a 100%, it would need to be a perfect encapsulation of every human experience relevant to the topic. Consequently, most papers score somewhere in the 60% range. This can feel daunting, especially if you’re used to all A’s! Thankfully, UW-Madison takes this into account when transferring your grades back.

Ava smiles next to a bronze, metal orb which reflects the building behind it in an outdoor courtyard.
First day of class selfie outside the college’s library! The sculpture is called Sfera con Sfera. Versions of the same sculpture can be found around the world, including in the Vatican.

What is your advice for someone considering your program?

I highly recommend taking the Semester Start-Up Program if your schedule allows! This three week class immerses you into Irish history, from the Viking settlement of Dublin to the Good Friday Agreement in the 1990s. Plus, they organize field trips around Ireland and it counts for three UW-Madison credits. All of your classmates will be fellow exchange students. This is really convenient, because they’re also interested in exploring Dublin and Ireland. I met some of my best travel buddies and closest friends in this class.