UCD’s Efforts Show a Dangerous Crusade to Attract Students at Any Cost | Opinion

Numbers seem to be everywhere these days. Be it the latest dosage of discovered coronavirus cases, the oft-repeated 2 metre mantra of social distancing or whatever that ‘R number’ claims to be (search me – I was a veteran of the back row in maths). But there is one number I do understand and if you’re a UCD student or just someone who cares about their physical wellbeing – you should too. That number is €100,000,000. Those six figures represent the financial blackhole faced by UCD for the upcoming year because of COVID-19 and what students will pay for not just from their pockets, but from their physical and mental wellbeing. 

The Highs and Lows of International Students at UCD

University College Dublin (UCD) is considered Ireland’s largest international university. It is home to over 6,000 international students that make up 29% of the student population, according to then most recent registration figures. Each International student that decides to attend UCD has unique experiences throughout their college career as they navigate not only trying to receive a degree from a highly competitive university, but deal with moving to an entirely different country, most often completely by themselves.