I got into UCC dental school back in 2020 (via IIEC) and is in my third year of dental school right now.
Having been in Cork for some years, I’ll say Cork is rather a small city when you compare it to Hong Kong. It’s actually convenient that you can walk to shopping malls, supermarkets and school within half an hour. There are quite a lot of student accommodations around the main campus and near the university hospital as well. So, get one closer to the school if you can!
Speaking of the dentistry course, I’ll say it’s challenging and yet rewarding. For the first two years of the course, we mostly have lectures in Brookfield and Western Gateway Building, covering basic aspects of anatomy, dentistry, biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, physiology and some more. Starting from the third year we spend most of our time in university hospital to train up our practical skills in simulation lab, prosthetic lab, and on real patients once we complete certain competency exams. These might be challenging for some students as we’ll need some more art sense and manual dexterity besides just being simply hard working. We have around 60 students in a class from different parts of the world. I’ll say it’s a really good chance to work in an environment with such a wide diversity. Form little communities with friends inside/outside hospital and join in clubs and societies events together (There are loads of them and students can join in for free.) It’s gonna be great fun!
It’s been three years since I got into UCC. Special thanks to IIEC for being helpful throughout the application process and pre-departure preparation. Other than giving me plenty of useful advice, their strong connection with the school made everything much easier for a student who’s new to the city.
