Sir, – John McAvoy (May 18th) takes issue with a pilot admissions programme that looks at alternative entry requirements for just 25 students every year.
This programme requires a personal statement from students but it is wrong to suggest that this is the only requirement. Students entering Trinity College Dublin via this alternative entry route do so on the basis of their performance in the Leaving Certificate and their performance relative to other students in their school in that examination.
Trinity asks for a personal statement because it has found that potential students benefit from the opportunity to articulate what they want to study and why.
Mr McAvoy’s claim that a student with 600 points could not be admitted to study law if their statement were not suitable is simply wrong because each applicant is also part of the standard CAO system. If they get the points for law, they get into law in the normal way.
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Mr McAvoy also claims that Trinity does not share the Minister of Education’s concern about cheating and the use of “essay mills”. Trinity does indeed share the Minister’s concern and has publicly welcomed his attempts to clamp down on essay mills.
Regardless of Mr McAvoy’s views, Trinity will continue to engage in a very limited fashion with alternative admissions processes. Such programmes contribute to a national understanding of one of the most controversial parts of our educational system. – Yours, etc,
GILLIAN MARTIN,
Dean of
Undergraduate Studies,
Trinity College Dublin,
Dublin 2.