The process of studying in Ireland as a Canadian student

My past three years at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) have given me some of the best memories and experiences I could have asked for. But the process of choosing my university and moving to a whole new country was a daunting experience.

I’m from London, Ontario, which is about two hours by car from Toronto. When choosing which university I wanted to attend, I had a plethora of options near my home town or within Canada. However, when I heard about the RCSI through a friend, I was immediately enticed by the Direct Entry Medicine (DEM) programme. I always knew that I wanted to work in healthcare, and after a few co-ops and volunteering experiences in high school, I had it solidified in my mind that I wanted to practise medicine with the hopes of being a surgeon.

RCSI’s DEM programme offered the chance to start focusing my education on medicine right from the start and bypass the undergraduate route that Canada offers. It also gave me the chance to indulge in my other passion, which is travelling and exploring the world outside Canada. 

I started working on my application, drafting and constantly editing my personal statement, asking mentors for reference letters and researching everything about the programme to make sure it was what I wanted to do. I also had to figure out the finances because this was a massive undertaking as an international student. It took two to three months of planning, with my parents’ help and support, before I finally submitted my application and nervously waited for a response.  

Even after I got my interview and subsequent acceptance to RCSI, the journey didn’t stop there. The hardest part of starting RCSI was the first week in Dublin. I was extremely homesick, confused about everything, didn’t understand the visa or banking system and couldn’t figure out how to get a phone plan; all amid the pandemic. 

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What made this easier was having other students who were just as confused as me, so we could figure it out together. We went to the bank together and helped each other with phone plans, and the strong support network that RCSI offered made that first week manageable. 

RCSI helped us set up appointments for our visas and explained what documents we needed through virtual sessions that were added to our class schedules. Having a Canadian passport was an advantage as I was allowed to enter the country and stay for 90 days; the only stipulation was that I had to apply for my Irish residence permit (IRP) within those 90 days.

RCSI helped me organise the necessary documents (proof of enrolment, proof of tuition, proof of residence etc) via the Student, Academic and Regulatory Affairs office and made sure we knew how and when to renew the IRP because it expires after 365 days. On top of that, we received support from upper-year students who served as peer mentors to help us navigate this challenging time. The strong support I felt from my university, friends, peers and faculty created a foundation that allowed me to prosper in Dublin and at RCSI. 

I’ve been at RCSI for three years now and there I am always facing new challenges and setbacks, but I’ve learned that it’s your response to these obstacles that defines you. At RCSI, one of the biggest challenges is balancing the gruelling course load, while also engaging in extracurriculars and maintaining a healthy social life outside school. 

It’s easy to get sucked into your studies and making academics your sole focus but in doing so, you lose out on the chance to develop your leadership and social skills, which are pertinent to someone in the healthcare field. For me, finding the right balance between academic and non-academic interests has been and continues to be the biggest challenge. But by learning the essential skills of time management, delegation and prioritising what’s most important to me, I’ve seen myself grow, not only as a student but as a person, which is an invaluable experience.  

For any student planning to study abroad, I would give them the same advice I heard when I first started studying at RCSI: never miss an opportunity to meet someone new. At RCSI, I have met people from all over the world, which I would never have had the chance to do had I not moved abroad. These experiences shape you and open you up to different perspectives, which is an invaluable experience, especially in a discipline such as medicine. Join the students’ union, societies and research projects and grow in a professional capacity as well. Putting yourself outside your comfort zone can be scary, but if it doesn’t scare you, it won’t challenge you, and how you react to those challenges will inevitably shape your life abroad.