Amy Worrall | Guest Writer
Sadly no, as a Scholar you don’t get to wield a sword. Nor do you get to demand bread and ale during exams or graze your sheep on College grounds. And finally, you certainly don’t get access to the catacombs under Front Square or to the College cellars! But we allow the legends to prevail.
So, what is the Foundation Scholarship? It’s always good to start at the beginning. When Trinity College, Dublin was founded in 1592 the Foundation Charter cited the Body Corporate as consisting of the Provost, the Fellows and the Scholars. Since then, the Scholars have always been part of the College although numbers have fluctuated. Up until 1609 there were approximately 51 Scholars and later this was fixed at 70 Scholars.
Those seventy Scholars were to be elected on Trinity Monday, alongside the newly elected Fellows of the College. Eventually, these 70 Scholars would be deemed the Foundation Scholars (who are members of the Body Corporate) and any Scholars elected above and beyond the required 70 were known as Non-Foundation Scholars. Both Foundation and Non-
Foundation Scholars enjoy the same privileges and rights, but only the Foundation Scholars are officially considered part of the Body Corporate.
What are the privileges? That is often the most pertinent question and usually the deciding factor for those considering sitting the scholarship examinations. First, Scholars have their College fees paid for (this refers to the tuition fee, not the USI, Sports Centre and commencement fees). A non-EU student will have their fees reduced appropriately to the fee level of an EU student. Second, Scholars have the privilege of a room in College free of charge (though they still pay charges on utilities) for 9 months of the year. Third, Scholars can attend Commons, an evening meal, each weekday in the Dining Hall free of charge. Fourth, Scholars received an annual stipend of €253.95 and fifth, Scholars may use the post-nominal letters “Sch”. If a Scholar is unable or unlikely to avail of either Rooms or Commons they may request cash in lieu for these privileges. Finally, all of these privileges are available for a potential total of 5 years.
What happens if I get the Scholarship? Scholarship is one of the most highly valued traditions in College and we are often reminded of the more successful and distinguished Scholars alumni, such as Edmund Burke, Samuel Beckett, Senator David Norris and Chancellor Mary Robinson. The celebration of the tradition is most felt on Trinity Monday; following the announcements newly elected Scholars attend the Provost’s garden party, play marbles against the Fellows and return in the evening for the Scholars and Fellows of the Decade Dinner. Here newly elected Scholars sit with Fellows and previous Scholars of the Decade of similar disciplines. Why on earth would Trinity College be so generous? There is absolutely no doubt that the Foundation Scholarship of Trinity College is the most prestigious and generous scholarship available in the country. A principal aim of the College has always been the pursuit of academic excellence and one of the most tangible demonstrations of this is the institution of Scholarship. Due to the longevity of the scholarship it is also a fantastic stepping-stone for postgraduate education, which the College values greatly.
Okay, I’m in: What do I have to do to get the Scholarship? There have been some changes in the exam format since its inception (it used to be completely confined to the study of Classics, it also used to grant exemptions for annual exams to anyone who got a 2.1 or higher etc.) but over time the exam and the application process has been tweaked. It is now available only to Senior Freshmen students. Examinations usually consist of between 7-9 hours of exams across 3-4 different papers. The examination is described as a “searching examination”, testing your ability to critique, analyse and provide a little extra than the average regurgitation of what was on the slides. Many subjects include case studies, special reading or specific topics that require personal research ahead of the exams.
That said, each department to their own once those basic requirements are met. Check in with your department or course website and see if they have details about the scholarship exam online. If not, contact the course office to find out who sets the papers and what’s needed. Past papers are available online and are possibly the most useful asset available to you, as they will give you the most concrete representation of the searching standard which the scholarship exam will demand of you.
What are the important dates? Application opens on November 1 and closes at 5pm on November 15, 2013. Application forms will be available online and must be submitted to the Academic Registry. The final date for withdrawal from the Scholarship examination is November 29 2013. The examinations take place from Monday, January 6 until Friday, January 10 2014. Although often some exams are scheduled in the previous week!
What can the Scholars help you with? The Scholars’ Committee have set up an initiative for current Scholars to provide one free tutoring sessions or a group tutorial to scholarship examination candidates. The service will be subject to supply and demand (considering the number of Scholars versus those wishing to sit the examination) and it is hoped that current Scholars wishing to volunteer their services will liaise with departments in order to contact those who have applied to sit the scholarship examinations.
Exam Success and Support
All exams are pretty stressful, make sure to have sources for advice and support on hand; your Tutor, the Senior Tutor, the College Health Service, the Student Disability Service, the Chaplaincy and the Students’ Union Education and Welfare Officers are all on hand and happy to help. This year the Education Officer will be running the Exam Success campaign and will be serving tea and coffee around the Scholarship examinations to keep everyone on their toes!
Helpful Links
Importants Dates and Information:
https://www.tcd.ie/vpcao/
administration/examinations/assets/pdf/scholarship-important-dates.pdf
Application Form:
https://www.tcd.ie/vpcao/administration/examinations/
assets/pdf/scholarship-application-form.pdf
Past Exam Papers: http://www.tcd.ie/Local/Exam_Papers/
