Best Scottish University?
I realise there's is probably not a definitive answers as it depends on course etc but St Andrews is generally rated the best but i don't know if that's partly because it's the oldest and because Prince William and Catherine studied there.. Uni of Edinburgh is supposed to be a good all rounder and a great location..
So which is the best all rounder or for specific degress?
First Thread
So which is the best all rounder or for specific degress?
First Thread
(edited 12 years ago)
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Why do you want to know? I'd say you've generally summed it up but it depends why you want to know.
It bugs me when people restrict their uni choices based on location too much. I only considered unis as far north as manchester but that's 5/6 hours away and most of my choices were 3 or less hour away but that covers a lot. Then you get people who only consider London or Scottish unis which is rarely a good policy as either you've got to be incredibly smart or incredibly dumb. You're either lucky enough to go to an excellent uni or end up at one that isnt worth your money. To me what this really means is you're playing a dangerous game which may blow up in your face.
It bugs me when people restrict their uni choices based on location too much. I only considered unis as far north as manchester but that's 5/6 hours away and most of my choices were 3 or less hour away but that covers a lot. Then you get people who only consider London or Scottish unis which is rarely a good policy as either you've got to be incredibly smart or incredibly dumb. You're either lucky enough to go to an excellent uni or end up at one that isnt worth your money. To me what this really means is you're playing a dangerous game which may blow up in your face.
Original post by alexs2602
Why do you want to know? I'd say you've generally summed it up but it depends why you want to know.
It bugs me when people restrict their uni choices based on location too much. I only considered unis as far north as manchester but that's 5/6 hours away and most of my choices were 3 or less hour away but that covers a lot. Then you get people who only consider London or Scottish unis which is rarely a good policy as either you've got to be incredibly smart or incredibly dumb. You're either lucky enough to go to an excellent uni or end up at one that isnt worth your money. To me what this really means is you're playing a dangerous game which may blow up in your face.
It bugs me when people restrict their uni choices based on location too much. I only considered unis as far north as manchester but that's 5/6 hours away and most of my choices were 3 or less hour away but that covers a lot. Then you get people who only consider London or Scottish unis which is rarely a good policy as either you've got to be incredibly smart or incredibly dumb. You're either lucky enough to go to an excellent uni or end up at one that isnt worth your money. To me what this really means is you're playing a dangerous game which may blow up in your face.
what to do you consider the best ones in london? KCL, LSE, UCL?
Original post by JodiePeepShow
I realise there's is probably not a definitive answers as it depends on course etc but St Andrews is generally rated the best but i don't know if that's partly because it's the oldest and because Prince William and Catherine studied there.. Uni of Edinburgh is supposed to be a good all rounder and a great location..
So which is the best all rounder or for specific degress?
First Thread
So which is the best all rounder or for specific degress?
First Thread
Obviously it depends on what you want to do.
Strathclyde is world renown for business, but things like History or English, not so much.
Glasgow Caledonian is in the top ten of the UK for Allied Health Professions
Obviously St Andrews is an excellent uni for something like Medicine
Edinburgh and Glasgow are great for the Arts
Original post by JodiePeepShow
i am planning on doing psychology.
I don't know much about where's good for Psychology, cos I'm doing engineering,
but somewhere like Glasgow or Edinburgh would probably be good.
According to "The Complete University Guide" the unis with the best job prospects for Psychology are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Strathclyde and Stirling, which I personally think is one of the most important factors, along with them providing an enjoyable course.
Also you'll have to think about where you would like to study in terms of a big city, and old city, or maybe a campus style uni, or somewhere more remote?
St. Andrews and Edinburgh.
I heard St. Andrews is in a really desolate area so I'd probably pick Edinburgh.
I heard St. Andrews is in a really desolate area so I'd probably pick Edinburgh.
Original post by maxcartwright
what to do you consider the best ones in london? KCL, LSE, UCL?
Yeah. Though for my subject in order of quality - Imperial, UCL, LSE, KCL. I would hope to go to nothing worse than those but RHUL, QMUL, City and to some degree SOAS are worth a punt. Not that I would consider the latter 4 except for RH, which was my backup via clearing had I needed it.
Original post by JodiePeepShow
i would prefer a more lively atmosphere but i know it's not the most important thing
If you want lively, go to Edinburgh. One of the most amazing cities I've been to. St Andrews is the most highly rated out of Scottish universities (partly helped by the Royal Romance in recent years), but it's a bit in the middle of nowhere. Good location if you're into golf though according to one of my friends because there's a massive golf course nearby.
Well personally I love living in Glasgow, and Strathclyde uni is right in the center.
Of course I'm completely biased but I really really love being at Strathclyde.
The student village is lovely, the uni buildings are nicely laid out around various beautiful gardens, including a stream, which makes walks between lectures much nicer.
The uni assigned every student their own "Personal Development Assistant", basically someone you can go to with any question or problem. The union is great, the clubs and bars are also very close if you're into that.
The uni is very organised so it's easy to find out what you need to know.
The online resources are brilliant.
We even have our own university fox who wanders around campus!
Definitely head to the open day at least!
Of course I'm completely biased but I really really love being at Strathclyde.
The student village is lovely, the uni buildings are nicely laid out around various beautiful gardens, including a stream, which makes walks between lectures much nicer.
The uni assigned every student their own "Personal Development Assistant", basically someone you can go to with any question or problem. The union is great, the clubs and bars are also very close if you're into that.
The uni is very organised so it's easy to find out what you need to know.
The online resources are brilliant.
We even have our own university fox who wanders around campus!
Definitely head to the open day at least!
Original post by JodiePeepShow
i want to know because i want to go to one of them.. you get five options i think and i want to know which ones i will pick as options but yeah i do generally think of Scottish Uni's first as it's where i live .. there are fourteen or something so how will it blow up in my face? 
It depends on your intelligence - generally speaking there are a few good Scottish unis then it goes downhill. What this really means is you ignore a lot of unis that academically would be great for you so should you get rejected by one or more of the better ones or God forbid miss your offer by a whisker you'll be left to go to a uni which isn't as good as you deserve whereas you could have got offers from a number of unis throughout the UK that are just as good as StAndrews or Edinburgh due to selection criteria or leniency.
What I really hope is you don't apply to only Scottish unis based on money.
ST ANDREWSSSSS......not that I'm biased or anything
But it not only has a great rep, it consistently achieves one of the highest student satisfaction rates in the UK. Yes it maybe a small town...but its a small town packed with over 7000 students so it still has a good social scene
Edinburgh is also a very good university (but St Andrews is just spectacular)
But it not only has a great rep, it consistently achieves one of the highest student satisfaction rates in the UK. Yes it maybe a small town...but its a small town packed with over 7000 students so it still has a good social scene
Edinburgh is also a very good university (but St Andrews is just spectacular
)Original post by alexs2602
It depends on your intelligence - generally speaking there are a few good Scottish unis then it goes downhill. What this really means is you ignore a lot of unis that academically would be great for you so should you get rejected by one or more of the better ones or God forbid miss your offer by a whisker you'll be left to go to a uni which isn't as good as you deserve whereas you could have got offers from a number of unis throughout the UK that are just as good as StAndrews or Edinburgh due to selection criteria or leniency.
What I really hope is you don't apply to only Scottish unis based on money.
What I really hope is you don't apply to only Scottish unis based on money.
I honestly only know one Scottish person who applied to a non Scottish uni, and that was Oxford.
There are definately more than 5 good scottish unis though.
Original post by Popppppy
I honestly only know one Scottish person who applied to a non Scottish uni, and that was Oxford.
There are definately more than 5 good scottish unis though.
There are definately more than 5 good scottish unis though.
That's disgraceful quite frankly.
And that's subjective. I don't believe that any Scottish uni makes an appearance in the maths top 10, for example. So someone who's v intelligent but perhaps not Oxbridge intelligent will miss out on the likes of Warwick, Imp, Bristol, Bath, UCL, Durham etc because of stubbornness?
As I'm sure quite a few other people have replied (Edit: I see only a few have mentioned it; disgraceful), it depends on what you want to study.
Heriot-Watt for instance generally has fairly low entry requirements, but is highly regarded for it's engineering courses (which come with higher requirements of course).
For pure prestige, St. Andrews has it in the bag and Edinburgh has some as well. Not that prestige should matter, but for some it does (stupid people in my opinion
). Being a student at St. Andrews, all I can say is that the prestige means nothing to me and makes no difference to how good it is as a uni. I do get the "O, you go to St. Andrews! Pr..." (at this point I usually cut them off and tell them to talk about something else 
).
I still don't understand how St. Andrews gets so high student satisfaction. It really isn't that lively compared to other unis (not to say it isn't lively). In fact it can seem positively dead sometimes. Must be all those golf lovers (sooooo, many golf courses and rabbits) and city folk who aren't used to being in the countryside all the time =)).
Yes, but Scottish students get their education for free at Scottish unis. For many it simply isn't worth the extra money to possibly get a better degree when they can get a decent one for free. After all, it is pretty much the same things that are being taught.
Heriot-Watt for instance generally has fairly low entry requirements, but is highly regarded for it's engineering courses (which come with higher requirements of course).
For pure prestige, St. Andrews has it in the bag and Edinburgh has some as well. Not that prestige should matter, but for some it does (stupid people in my opinion
). Being a student at St. Andrews, all I can say is that the prestige means nothing to me and makes no difference to how good it is as a uni. I do get the "O, you go to St. Andrews! Pr..." (at this point I usually cut them off and tell them to talk about something else ).I still don't understand how St. Andrews gets so high student satisfaction. It really isn't that lively compared to other unis (not to say it isn't lively). In fact it can seem positively dead sometimes. Must be all those golf lovers (sooooo, many golf courses and rabbits) and city folk who aren't used to being in the countryside all the time =)).
Original post by alexs2602
That's disgraceful quite frankly.
And that's subjective. I don't believe that any Scottish uni makes an appearance in the maths top 10, for example. So someone who's v intelligent but perhaps not Oxbridge intelligent will miss out on the likes of Warwick, Imp, Bristol, Bath, UCL, Durham etc because of stubbornness?
And that's subjective. I don't believe that any Scottish uni makes an appearance in the maths top 10, for example. So someone who's v intelligent but perhaps not Oxbridge intelligent will miss out on the likes of Warwick, Imp, Bristol, Bath, UCL, Durham etc because of stubbornness?
Yes, but Scottish students get their education for free at Scottish unis. For many it simply isn't worth the extra money to possibly get a better degree when they can get a decent one for free. After all, it is pretty much the same things that are being taught.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Popppppy
Well personally I love living in Glasgow, and Strathclyde uni is right in the center.
Of course I'm completely biased but I really really love being at Strathclyde.
The student village is lovely, the uni buildings are nicely laid out around various beautiful gardens, including a stream, which makes walks between lectures much nicer.
The uni assigned every student their own "Personal Development Assistant", basically someone you can go to with any question or problem. The union is great, the clubs and bars are also very close if you're into that.
The uni is very organised so it's easy to find out what you need to know.
The online resources are brilliant.
We even have our own university fox who wanders around campus!
Definitely head to the open day at least!
Of course I'm completely biased but I really really love being at Strathclyde.
The student village is lovely, the uni buildings are nicely laid out around various beautiful gardens, including a stream, which makes walks between lectures much nicer.
The uni assigned every student their own "Personal Development Assistant", basically someone you can go to with any question or problem. The union is great, the clubs and bars are also very close if you're into that.
The uni is very organised so it's easy to find out what you need to know.
The online resources are brilliant.
We even have our own university fox who wanders around campus!
Definitely head to the open day at least!
The number of drunk people who tried to catch that fox was hilarious
_
Within Scotland: Glasgow and Edinburgh I'd say are the best in reputation and all round. St Andrews trades a lot on reputation and is in an awkward place.
Subject specific, Strathclyde is very well know for business (the only triple accredited business school in the UK IIRC) and engineering (biggest engineering dept in Scotland, also IIRC). Heriot-Watt is also well thought of for engineering.
Aberdeen is an ancient university too with good facilities. It suffers from its location, however, which make its entry requirements seem deceptively low but is a very good uni still, especially with the oil industry on its doorstep for engineers and lawyers.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Tams80
Yes, but Scottish students get their education for free at Scottish unis. For many it simply isn't worth the extra money to possibly get a better degree when they can get a decent one for free. After all, it is pretty much the same things that are being taught.
Yes, but Scottish students get their education for free at Scottish unis. For many it simply isn't worth the extra money to possibly get a better degree when they can get a decent one for free. After all, it is pretty much the same things that are being taught.
This. Why start off with £36,000 of debt when you can get a degree for nothing?
It was certainly the reason I never looked at any English universities, as I knew as much as I would have liked a shot at some, it made little sense.
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