Dublin Business School Student Review

Application process

I had your website support me in all application questions. The application to one of their partner universities is made using an official application form from the respective university – in my case the Dublin Business School (DBS). At no time does the applicant enter into a contractual relationship with your website. So you can trust the company and save yourself the often annoying research and search.

The requirements for a place at the DBS are less of a hurdle. You should have a solid command of English with a minimum number of points in a standardized language test (e.g. TOEFL (Internet-based): 65; IELTS: 5.5; DAAD test etc.). You should apply approx. 6-9 months before the planned start of your studies. The complete application should ideally be submitted by the following deadlines:
Spring semester January – April / May): October 31st
Fall semester September – December): June 30th

Your website provides many useful documents and the necessary forms (application form, contact form, etc.). The forms must be filled out in full with the other required documents (by e-mail) to be forwarded to your contact person so that he can in turn send the documents to the DBS. So there are no postage or shipping costs for you. If you have any questions while filling out the forms, you can always contact your advisor. After a short time, the DBS will contact you by email and confirm the approval. Important information is provided in the appendix. In this email I also received the payment request for the tuition fees (€ 2500). The money should (if possible) be in the university’s bank account upon arrival in Dublin.

I can only recommend your website to anyone. It is 100% free and you can turn to your advisor about anything. Nothing can go wrong with your application, as the consultants are well informed and give you valuable tips. I found the entire application process to be very pleasant. As soon as you had a question, it was answered immediately. Furthermore, all processes were very quick and straightforward. I have seldom experienced such a service. Even during the current semester, the team asked us students whether everything was going well and wished us a lot of fun. Thanks again to your website.

As already mentioned, you will also get in contact with the DBS itself regarding the enrollment. The exchange with the admissions team took place via email and was always unbureaucratic and fast. The application process was therefore stress-free and all the necessary information about studying at DBS was available before arriving.

In addition to the application forms, the DBS asks for a course wish list so that the university can plan better. All information about the individual courses can be found on their homepage. They also send more detailed course descriptions by email on request. You can usually choose five courses, but you should choose at least four alternative courses. Thus, if necessary, you have alternative courses in case there should be time overlaps on site.

Compared to Germany, Dublin is considerably more expensive. The increased prices can be found in almost all areas of life.
In addition to the tuition fees (€ 2500) for the semester abroad, you will have to pay the following costs.

• Cost of living
• rental fee
• flight
• Foreign health insurance
• possibly hotel / hostel
• mobile

You get flights between € 200-300 and you should also take out international health insurance. I paid around € 90 for mine. Since we were only looking for an apartment on site, we had to pay for a hostel. The Avalon House (http://www.avalon-house.ie) has decent rooms at reasonable prices. In addition, everything can be reached quickly from there (DBS, city, pubs, etc.). As soon as you arrive in town, you should get yourself an Irish cell phone card. I paid € 20 a month for it.

Depending on your lifestyle, you can expect costs of € 7000-9000 for the entire semester. Since you will almost certainly visit the numerous pubs and student parties, calculate your costs more generously. The money is gone faster than you think.

Rents are very high in Dublin. I was told you can expect € 100 to € 150 a week. In our apartment everyone came to around € 600 a month. Of course, it can also be cheaper. However, you have to make even more compromises when it comes to location, equipment, etc.

You can apply for BAföG abroad for the semester abroad. Even if you do not receive BAföG in Germany, you have the chance of government support. The best thing is, the state will give you up to € 4600. That means you don’t have to pay a cent back.

Studied at the Dublin Business School

I completed my studies at DBS in the winter semester. At the DBS, the so-called Academic Year is divided into two semesters. Each subject is therefore read for a whole year. The advantage is that the DBS awards ECTS for the courses. In the Bachelor’s area, you usually need five courses and in the Master’s area, as a rule, four courses to get 30 ECTS. Since I only studied there for one semester, I only received half of the 12 ECTS for the respective course. In all of my courses, this corresponded to 6 ECTS per subject.

Actually, three courses would have been enough for the requirements of my home university. However, if something should go wrong, I also took another course. I could have saved myself the additional course, because believe me: nothing will go wrong!
My courses at a glance:

• Business strategy
• Global Business Environment
• Project Planning Techniques
• Project Management & Evaluation

Each subject was read twice a week. Each subject took 180 minutes of lectures per week. Preparation and follow-up is not necessary. Compared to the conditions or the level at German universities, you can hardly make a comparison. The lecture was more like school. The lecturer gave his lectures or enthusiastically showed YouTube videos. There was definitely no great challenge. Many of the issues raised were nothing new either. In the project management subjects there were now and then interesting aspects that were not known before. The other two courses, on the other hand, were very general and not very academic. Of course, it also depends on how much previous knowledge you have. So if you want to work highly scientifically.

The most important thing for me was to improve my English skills. The lectures are ideal for this. Surprisingly, one could understand the lecturers very well and thus follow the lecture. I expected that I would hardly understand anything because of the Irish accent. However, since there are many international students at DBS, the lecturers will certainly make a little more effort so that everyone can really understand something. In any case, my vocabulary has expanded through the lectures alone. So always try to go to the lectures – linguistically it is worth it! You will also get to know students from all over the world.

Regarding the exams: In Business Strategy and Global Business Environment we had to write a group assignment each. In addition to a group assignment, we also had to give a presentation in the subjects of Project Management & Evaluation and Project Planning Techniques. These chores were very easy to do and were also rated very highly. So-called “First Class Degrees” could be achieved without much effort.

Living in Dublin

The time in Dublin was absolutely exciting. The stay was clearly going too fast. At this point I would like to give you a few more impressions and tips.

The search for an apartment should not be underestimated. We tried to find an apartment from Germany. But we canceled this project again and decided to look for a place to stay on site. The first few days we stayed in a hostel. The prices are moderate and everything can be reached quickly thanks to the central location. Since we wanted to live in the city and not so far outside, the search for an (affordable) apartment has proven to be extremely difficult. We lived in a shared apartment in Docklands for almost three weeks. Here we made direct contact with people who have been living in Dublin for a long time. The mix of flat shares was also very interesting. The roommates worked for example on Facebook or Google. We got in touch with new people straight away and were able to learn a lot about the city and life in Dublin. For the rest of the time, the four of us moved into a new apartment. This was very close to all important locations. Supermarkets like Aldi, Lidl or Tesco were practically on the doorstep. The university was reached in less than 15 minutes. Clubs, pubs, restaurants and shopping opportunities were all just a few minutes away. The rental costs in Dublin are comparatively very high. I paid around € 600 per month. There was no contract or deposit. Rent is of course a big expense in Dublin. There were also students who paid less. However, they often lived outside the city. I have also met many who paid far more than our € 600.

On the subject of looking for an apartment, it should be said that as a student it is quite difficult to find an apartment for a short period of time. Many either did not want students or required a minimum of 12 months. Our apartment is usually rented for a short period of time, as these apartments are usually occupied by business travelers. We were still able to have the apartment for a longer period of time and thus negotiate a slightly cheaper rent. The apartment was fully furnished and secure.

Finally, I would like to tell you about the people and the numerous leisure activities in Dublin and the surrounding area. The Irish are a very warm, open and friendly people. People help you if you don’t even ask. You’re never alone in the pubs, because the Irish immediately engage you in a conversation. This is of course ideal for improving your English. In addition, the city is very international, so that you can meet a wide variety of people from all over the world. So you can hear different languages ​​on the streets.

In general, you can go out every day and move around the houses. You either go to the traditional pubs, more modern bars or the many clubs. For students there are regular parties or discounted admission prices with special drink prices. If you do something in the evening, you have to pocket a few euros more than in Germany. A pint costs between € 5 and € 6.

If you want to eat out and don’t cook yourself, you sometimes get prices like in Germany. As a rule, however, the food in restaurants is more expensive. By the way, the best burger is available at Jo’Burger. Everyone who was there spoke of the “best burger of his life”. The traditional Irish stew is also recommended. We ate it in Dublin’s oldest pub.

If you want to get out of the city, you should take advantage of the short trips that DBS offers. These are free of charge and you don’t have to worry about anything.

Otherwise you should get to know the country and travel around. Ireland is not very big and that has the advantage that you can get to the desired destinations relatively quickly. When traveling, you quickly realize that Dublin is a small metropolis. The island is much more contemplative and quieter than Dublin. Many of us rented a car and just drove off. Others have made short trips through a tour operator (at fair prices). The island is gorgeous and there are many sights.

The whole suburbs of Dublin can also be recommended. The places can be reached quickly and cheaply by train.

Conclusion

I don’t want to miss the time in Dublin. I learned a lot and met a lot of new people. A semester abroad is really recommended to everyone for personal development. You get to know a new country and its culture. In addition, you improve your language skills and come into contact with many interesting people. The fun factor was extremely high, because there was really something going on every day. Boredom never came up here. Of course you have to be open to everything and take advantage of the many offers in order to get to know the country and its people.

Dublin Business School is ideal for a semester abroad. You may be challenged, but there is still enough time for many other activities.

So if you want to improve your English skills, want to get to know a new country intensively and can live with the rather modest weather, Dublin is warmly recommended.