The RDS is where all Trinity students sit for their exams and it is a once in a lifetime experience. I at first thought maybe it would be comparable to sitting an exam in Carleton Auditorium or the New Physics Building, but it is far from that. The RDS is a large warehouse that can hold thousands of students at once being examined on subjects ranging from law and philosophy to engineering and maths at the same time….. and they all end at different times. There’s a large waiting room where students are at tables, sitting along walls, and crowding on the floors studying last minute for their finals that then leads into the 1st and 2nd examination halls as pictured in my amazing artistic rendition of the RDS. For some context on just how many students are sat, I was in the first room for my biomechanics exam and was sat just around where the green star is. That seat number was 760.
The RDS is also BALTIC. On the Monday when I tool my first exam it was a stark reminder on why layering clothing is so important in Ireland. It was around -4C outside when I headed to my exam which meant that it felt like -4C in the RDS so to prepare I was wearing multiple layers. I had on long underwear, jeans, a t-shirt, a jumper, my puffer coat, two pairs of socks, a scarf, a hat, and gloves on and was STILL COLD (I didn’t wear gloves for the exam but used them to warm my hands just before the papers were passed out). For my next exam later in the week it had been announced that Trinity was going to be heating the RDS prior to the examination periods, however, on Wednesday there still wasn’t much of a difference from the outside to inside temperature.
Another amazing thing that you experience in the RDS during exams is the Intercom. There is a loud intercom making announcements intermittently for the entirety of the testing period and this year for my friend’s exam trap music started playing randomly over the intercom for everyone to hear. If you have sensory issues or need complete silence for exams I would recommend talking to the Disability office about exam accommodations during the duration of your study at Trinity.
I hope this gave some insight into the crazy world that is exam season at Trinity. Enjoy a fun selfie I took bundled in layers prior to my first exam and a beautiful sky at the RDS the morning of my second exam.
The Global Gator 