Hey future students and parents of future students of UL!

My name is Nishita and I’m studying International Tourism (yes, it is a legitimate topic, no does not mean I’m a tour guide) at UL. Now if you’re anything like me or like my family, I know you’re probably here doing research. Trying to find if UL is the right fit? What does it offer? And most importantly, WHAT DO I GET FROM UL?

I’ve been there, and I know how important this decision is and how incredibly difficult it is as well. After all, we’re talking about something that has a significant impact on your future. Before I decided on UL, I had applied to at lot of different universities (and received my acceptance letters), in a lot of different countries. However, the minute I read about and saw the UL website, I think my heart was set. But that’s not enough to decide, is it? There are a lot of other factors as well that you must think of, especially when you’re pursuing your degree on a subject as vast and as relevant as Tourism.

So here are my top reasons for choosing UL:

Student support

It’s no surprise that Irish people are super human nice, especially when you look like Bambi when you’re lost or confused, but as UL welcomes more than 11,000 students and over 2000 International students, so it suffices to say that they have a good support system set for the students.  You have UL First Seven Weeks which helps students away from home transition to life in UL. They have different themes for every week and FREEBIES!!! (word of advice: never say no to freebies!).

We also have Counselling Services, student advisors and the UL Chaplaincy who help you out. To be fair though, you can pretty much talk to anyone when the going gets tough or because you feel like talking. Everybody listens because everyone cares.

And some courses even organise a dinner for the whole class, so you can get to know your classmates better!! We went to Castletroy Park for our class dinner and it was fantastic to see students and professors letting their hair down a little and just getting to know each other!

The Campus

Okay. So, let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter if I shout from the mountains about how beautiful the campus is, you’re not gonna believe me until you see it.

I have looked at all of these treasures all around me and have never wondered what they’re worth! (if you got that reference, good for you; if you didn’t I’m sorry)
Just look at the beautiful scenery that UL offers, and not just UL but Limerick in general. It’s not crowded but it’s not empty either. It’s perfect!

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The People

Like any time you start a new phase of your life, you’re nervous about a lot of things but one of the main things you could be looking forward to or be nervous about (take your pick) is making new friends. There are so many people here and it’s pretty easy to make friends, even if you’re socially awkward or introverted. You don’t have to go out every night but just talk to a few people or your flatmates if you have any. The best people I’ve met are my flatmates and I absolutely ADORE them! They understand that I’m not into the party scene as much, but I do enjoy spending time with them, so they don’t push me to go out with them to parties.

That’s us celebrating MY FIRST HALLOWEEN together along with other friends!!

Facilities

What do you call a place that has a gym, a superstore, multiple restaurants and cafes? A city? Well UL is a mini city! You have everything here!! There is a gym which has world class facilities! It has a swimming pool and classes throughout the day, which include Zumba and yoga classes. Also, if you live on campus like I do, gym membership is free!!! There are also the arena or sports ground on campus where they sometimes have special events wherein they teach you about traditional Irish Sports like Hurling!

There is also SPAR on campus, so you don’t really have to go far to buy groceries. Which is very useful if you ask me.

The food you get at the cafés and restaurants here is to die for and let’s not forget our on-campus bar, Stables, where you will find students throughout the day enjoying a pint (or two) after a particularly long day of classes or just to celebrate the fact that their assignments are done!

The Wildlife

My favourite part of this whole blog. Now I’ve already explained how big UL is and the fact that Ireland is so green (my pictures make it quite obvious I guess), open and just plain beautiful- you will see a lot of animals around. People who live nearby walk their dogs around the scenic route and lets us not forget the abundance of my feathered friends who wake me up early in the morning.  And if you love animals as much as I do (I cried after I got to pet a dog and a cat!), you will make lots of fur friends here!!

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Events!!!!

There is always something going on here!! Every Friday is the International Night at Stables which is essentially a party with a different theme every week organised in association with the International Society (who are amazing! Just saying). Pub quizzes or table quizzes are organised by different societies and clubs. Just last month we had the UL Soul Arts Fest!! Which was crazy fun because you had all the societies do something for the whole week! We had an Irish dance lesson and storytelling! The UL greyhound societies got some retired greyhounds to do a stroll through the campus (YAY!!) and so much MORE!!

We celebrated Diwali (a festival from India) with candles and Rangoli painting!

The UL Clubs and Societies Recruitment Drive happens at the start of the semester where all the societies represent what they stand for and you can choose which one to join!! 😊

There’s the Farmer’s Market every Tuesday where local vendors sell things- from Bagels to Pies and salads to Sushi!! It’s tasty and absolutely worth spending your lunch money on!

Any questions?

I hope this helps all of you searching right now. And just in case you need to ask me more about UL, on campus accommodation, my course or just UL and Ireland in general, just ask why, hit me up on social media or comment below. I’ll try to answer your queries the best that I can or put you in touch with someone who can.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nishita.dimri
Instagram: @nishita_night
Twitter: @nishta_night

  So, when are you coming to UL??

Thank you to Nishita for sharing her story with us! Find out more about Nishita. If you have any questions about studying at UL, contact Nishita, or fill out this form and we will get back to you.

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