The Big Pond Start Abroad Program

1 in 4

first years won’t return to college for their second year.

1 in 10

first years will transfer to another college.

Offer an exciting First Year Abroad program in Ireland. Create a cohort of committed students, ready to continue onto your home campus.

Academics

Build a program that fits your college's goals

Our courses provide a fascinating entry point for your students' first experience in a higher education environment.

All are first year courses. They are designed to map comfortably against your own curriculum. Or, consider using our School of Record services, with Marist College, NY.

The core course boasts weekend study tours to the west of Ireland and Northern Ireland, plus a number of community-based inclusions.

Build your unique program around our optional courses. They span disciplines such as business, humanities, liberal arts and computing.

As part of customizing your program, you may want to send faculty to teach at least one of your own courses. Our model is designed to accommodate that, and we work closely with your visiting staff to support the pastoral needs of your students, as well as the staff themselves.

Core Course

Recommended 4 credits

Exploring Contemporary Ireland

Mandatory Course

Recommended 3 credits

College Writing

Sample list of optional courses

All recommended 3 credits

‍War & Peace in the Twentieth Century
Drama & Theater: Page and Stage
The Sociological Imagination
Introduction to Psychology
Economic Perspectives
Introduction to Philosophy
Literature in the Modern World
Digital Content & Media Tools
A Journey Through Time (non lab science)
Studio Recording Principles & Techniques

Enhance your admissions model

'Start Abroad' programming as a pathway

21.3%

Increase in annual applications to the higher education sector through March 2022.

Source: commonapp.org

Revamp your enrollment management strategy. Offer a semester 2 enrollment point to a select group of your applicants, on condition they complete your alternative start in Ireland program.

Even for colleges & universities with a better than average first-year retention rate, there are too many empty seats beyond the first semester.

Meanwhile, the total number of applications across Higher Education grows.

Many applicants choose elsewhere because they have either been rejected or don't have a compelling reason to commit to your college.

Partnering with Big Pond allows you to:

Make the most of your applicant pool. Offer an alternative start in Dublin for a select group, who become your college's committed transfer students.
Reduce the financial impact of others dropping out or moving elsewhere during their first year.

'Start Abroad' programming as a differentiator

8.9%

The enrollment drop across Higher Ed. 2017-2022

Source: nscresearchcenter.org

Setting your institution's offering apart is more vital now than ever.

The 2020s are being shaped by the demands of demographic change, technological progress and an increasingly values-driven student.

Consider offering an alternative start option in Dublin for your incoming, matriculating students to provide you with an additional differentiator in your Admission and Recruitment teams' toolkit.

Partnering with Big Pond allows you to:

Build a 'start abroad' program that allows students to use financial aid, as they would on your home campus.
Make Dublin an option to your Admitted student pool.
Broaden your appeal to prospective applicants.

Your college's program, your college's identity.

A partnership with Big Pond will provide a seamless experience for your Start Abroad participants, from the consideration stage through pre-departure to arrival.

We are proud to work with colleges that trust us to be as dedicated to their students’ well being and academic achievement as they are.

What’s more, we work with you to customize your Start Abroad Program so it truly reflects your institution’s ethos, academic and non-academic goals.

Our team has experience of working with schools who have incorporated the following in their program:

Academic completion requirements, which maintain GPA consistency with the home campus.

Site staff with a pastoral role.

Pre departure and Admit day sessions with Big Pond presenting on the semester ahead.

Academic site staff teaching their university’s course in lieu of a Big Pond course.

Specific excursions to sites in Ireland and beyond reflecting their university’s identity.

An online component, supported by our IT infrastructure.

Residence life

Sustainable living

Our residence halls, Highfield House, are the only student accommodation in Dublin committed to Ireland’s Green Hospitality Programme and built to NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) standards.

Home away from home

Big Pond staff live in the same halls as your students. Our team are Dublin locals and their primary function is to build a sense of student community. They conduct regular check-ins and actively encourage engagement with the city of Dublin.

Our residences are based in a centrally-located, bustling, student neighborhood. All rooms are ensuite and single occupancy.