By her own admission, Honey Morris, a final year student majoring in English at Trinity College Dublin, would not be at the university were it not for its peer-to-peer mentoring scheme.
“I debated leaving and giving up how hard I worked to get into this school,” she says. “But it was because of how easily and wholeheartedly I was able to get involved after engaging with the scheme that I felt confident enough to live and thrive and study abroad.”
Her story will sound familiar to thousands of third-level students all over the State who have benefited – and continue to benefit – from peer-to-peer mentoring, which is basically a system whereby students from second year and above help new students settle into university life.
A spokesman for the Trinity College team that oversees its Student 2 Student (S2S) Mentoring and Peer Support Programme says it helps students access information and support, find a friendly face to have a chat, talk things through, or just ask a few questions when they’re not sure who to approach.
Every incoming undergraduate student is included in a mentor group, and their first “mentor meetup” is part of their orientation timetable. Groups consist of 10-20 students from the same course and are led by trained mentors.
Mentors give their groups campus and library tours and an “icebreaker session” to help students get to know some of their new classmates, and to make sure they have space to ask about anything they’re not sure of.
“After orientation, mentors send weekly emails to their group members to remind them of information that might have slipped their minds since orientation, to give some timely tips and tricks about Trinity and their course,” says the spokesman.
“They also organise around five social meetups in each term, some of which will be with other mentor groups so that students keep getting opportunities to meet people and to connect.”
S2S also offers a one-on-one peer support service to every student in the university, on request. Peer supporters are trained intensively in holding “non-judgmental, non-directive confidential space for their fellow students”.
Over at UCD, incoming first year undergraduate students are matched to a peer mentor along with a group of five to 12 classmates from the same programme.
This year UCD has more than 700 peer mentors for more than 5,000 first year students. The scheme follows largely the same structure as that of Trinity College, with mentors providing guidance, advice and support on all aspects of settling into college life.
“Peer mentors are older year students and have a lot of insider knowledge about how to make the best out of college both academically and socially,” says Nadia Clarke, who works with the programme.
Elsewhere, the access office of the University of Limerick (UL) supports students under the age of 23 who enter the university through either the Higher Education Access Route or its Access to University Course.
Both schemes are aimed at students whose economic or social backgrounds are underrepresented in higher education, while the Access to University Course includes a full-time 13-week pre-entry course that leads to a place on a student’s chosen undergraduate programme at UL.
UL access officer Deirdre O’Connor says the university’s peer-to-peer mentoring programme “builds on the recognition that role models are an important feature of any person’s life”.
The university has developed a two-strand volunteering approach: pre- and post-entry, she says.
For pre-entry, access volunteers work with community groups, as well as primary and secondary schools to “inspire” young people to pursue higher education.
“They serve as relatable role models, showing that higher education is attainable regardless of background,” says O’Connor. “During these visits, volunteers aim to motivate and encourage pupils to realise their full potential.”
Students who volunteer with UL’s post-entry volunteering programme aim to help incoming students settle into life as a student by “offering guidance and direction”. Mentors will answer questions not just about a course but all aspects of university life.
“It is essentially like a big brother or sister approach to help students from non-traditional backgrounds make the transition into an unfamiliar culture,” says O’Connor.
“Some faculties and departments also have their own peer mentoring programmes and it is all part of the tapestry of assisting students coming to university for the first time and making that adjustment to a new environment.”
Travelling north, the University of Galway has a plethora of peer-to-peer mentoring schemes.
John Hannon, director of student services at the university, says the schemes are particularly useful to students who may not have friends or siblings or previous connections to a higher education institution.
“It levels the playing field for everyone,” he says. “At the end of the day it’s about equality and access for everyone, regardless of background, income or experience.
“It demystifies the systems and processes associated with a higher education institution and supports belonging, which is one of the key factors in supporting student retention.
“Peer-to-peer mentoring puts students in contact with others, so they can clearly see they are not the only one experiencing certain challenges, reducing the feeling of impostor syndrome.
“Where students are mentored by their peers from higher years, it provides real-life examples of someone who has survived and thrived in a university – this can be really motivating. It’s also about figuring out things together, as opposed to being told what to do and how to do it.
“Peer-to-peer mentoring is also about learning valuable skills that are needed in life and the workplace – how to work with others, how to listen, how to get your point of view across, how to problem solve – and it helps foster self-awareness and empathy.”
University of Galway’s Céim peer learning programme was established by the students’ union in partnership with the university in 2013 and is available to more than 2,000 first time students.
Timetabled sessions run for nine to 10 weeks in semesters one and two, and focus on small group discussions to support students to build connections with their peers, develop study skills, share their experience and give advice or ask questions.
Also at the University of Galway is the Pobal system, which was set up by the students’ union coordinator for the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.
The volunteer-based system is aimed at medical students and connects those from different year groups for support, guidance, and encouragement. It was piloted in 2023 for first years and will be rolled out to all first year medical students in the upcoming academic year.
The programme allows more senior students to help new students navigate college life and to share their experience or give advice on college life, such as transitioning from school to college, student supports, placements, labs, and exams.
Senior students undergo two hours of preparation and awareness training and meetings with junior students are normally held monthly, with additional meetings arranged at the discretion of the students.
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