Must decide! Please help: Edin, Glas, St A?
I have always been bad at decisions, but I'm finding this one especially difficult. I'd be glad of some advice, personal experience or anything really. 
Basic summation:
St Andrews - everyone seems to think I should go there. It is a brilliant university, and in some ways it suits me really well. But I'd really, really like to be in a city - have lived in a small town by the sea for years.
Glasgow: Has just about everything I want, brilliantly flexible courses, friendly lecturers. I can see myself being happy there.
Edinburgh: Has so many bad points for me! Yet I'm ridiculously drawn to it. It scores very highly for English, I love the city, and I kind of see it as being somewhere in between the other two.
Also, would be interested to hear your opinons on the social aspect of life at these universities. I'm sociable but not really into drinking, so I would be apprehensive about my ability to cope with a social life that literally revolves around getting drunk.
Thank you.
EDIT: Background: subjects are Eng lit & Art History, I love pretty architecture and I'm not remotely posh
Basic summation:
St Andrews - everyone seems to think I should go there. It is a brilliant university, and in some ways it suits me really well. But I'd really, really like to be in a city - have lived in a small town by the sea for years.
Glasgow: Has just about everything I want, brilliantly flexible courses, friendly lecturers. I can see myself being happy there.
Edinburgh: Has so many bad points for me! Yet I'm ridiculously drawn to it. It scores very highly for English, I love the city, and I kind of see it as being somewhere in between the other two.
Also, would be interested to hear your opinons on the social aspect of life at these universities. I'm sociable but not really into drinking, so I would be apprehensive about my ability to cope with a social life that literally revolves around getting drunk.
Thank you.
EDIT: Background: subjects are Eng lit & Art History, I love pretty architecture and I'm not remotely posh
(edited 13 years ago)
What do you think the bad points are for you at Edinburgh?
I'm at Edinburgh, and I love it. I wouldn't say the social life revolves around getting drunk, at all. Sure, a lot of people go out to pubs/clubs/etc in the evening, and many societies have events at pubs, but it's not necessarily about the drink - I don't drink very much when I do drink alcohol, and often when I go out with people I stick to the non-alcoholic stuff - it's definitely not all about being drunk.
I'm at Edinburgh, and I love it. I wouldn't say the social life revolves around getting drunk, at all. Sure, a lot of people go out to pubs/clubs/etc in the evening, and many societies have events at pubs, but it's not necessarily about the drink - I don't drink very much when I do drink alcohol, and often when I go out with people I stick to the non-alcoholic stuff - it's definitely not all about being drunk.
For me, choosing between my offers came down to:-
1 - The cost of living at my chosen Universities
2 - The city atmosphere
I can only advice going to see the unis/cities to see what you prefer. Edinburgh does have stunning architecture, (which you love) but I didn't think it was 'for me'. I come from a crappy village so wanted to go to a big city like yourself, with some good nightlife. Glasgow ftw!
But again, I'd just advice maybe spending a day at each uni/city. I'm sure you'll find deciding easier then
1 - The cost of living at my chosen Universities
2 - The city atmosphere
Original post by Eccle1993
But I'd really, really like to be in a city - have lived in a small town by the sea for years.
I'm sociable but not really into drinking, so I would be apprehensive about my ability to cope with a social life that literally revolves around getting drunk.
EDIT: Background: subjects are Eng lit & Art History, I love pretty architecture and I'm not remotely posh
I'm sociable but not really into drinking, so I would be apprehensive about my ability to cope with a social life that literally revolves around getting drunk.
EDIT: Background: subjects are Eng lit & Art History, I love pretty architecture and I'm not remotely posh
I can only advice going to see the unis/cities to see what you prefer. Edinburgh does have stunning architecture, (which you love) but I didn't think it was 'for me'. I come from a crappy village so wanted to go to a big city like yourself, with some good nightlife. Glasgow ftw!
But again, I'd just advice maybe spending a day at each uni/city. I'm sure you'll find deciding easier then
Thanks everyone, it's good to read the replies. *reps*
The bad points for me weren't really about the social life - I kind of thought Edinburgh might be better for me, as it seemed - just seemed, I may be wrong - to be less about drinking than Glasgow, and had more non-drinking things to do than St Andrews. I'm relieved by your post, though! Certainly it sounds good in terms of nightlife.
The bad points about Edinburgh were more about the structure of the course. (I apologise for the following wall of text). Glasgow and St Andrews are more flexible about which subjects can combine with which and whether your honours subjects can be changed. I'd quite like to do politics/international relations as a third subject, and this would be possible at those universities, but unlikely at Edinburgh. Glasgow & St Andrews don't really mind what you combine - I can do, say, International Relations with Art History. Edinburgh is more rigid, which makes me wary. Also, I suppose I prefer English slightly, and because English at Edinburgh is so popular, it's not easy to change from a joint degree to a single honours in English. Otherwise, the Art History course at St Andrews seems a bit more interesting than the one at Edinburgh. But I love Edinburgh, oh, I don't know . . .
Glasgow is brilliant. Even if I don't go there I hope to live there when I'm older. Yep cost is a factor, and Glasgow does pretty well on that front - although coming from a small town I may go a bit nuts at having all the shops. To be honest, the time I've spent at these places has made everything a bit harder to decide, I wish I could be in three places at once! Edinburgh open day I found very standoffish, though when I went back everyone was nice. St Andrews was rather idyllic. Glasgow was so welcoming and it smelt lovely in the rain (TSR doesn't have a rain smiley? Madness.)
I felt I needed to ask, but you're right, the way I phrased the bit about Glasgow, the question sounded rather stupid. I suppose there are (highly superficial) things that bother me - just about ratings. I know that shouldn't matter though, they're all great. I'll mull everything over for a day or two, hope my head clears a bit. Thank you again, I appreciate it
*reps*Original post by daeonica
What do you think the bad points are for you at Edinburgh?
I'm at Edinburgh, and I love it. I wouldn't say the social life revolves around getting drunk, at all. Sure, a lot of people go out to pubs/clubs/etc in the evening, and many societies have events at pubs, but it's not necessarily about the drink - I don't drink very much when I do drink alcohol, and often when I go out with people I stick to the non-alcoholic stuff - it's definitely not all about being drunk.
I'm at Edinburgh, and I love it. I wouldn't say the social life revolves around getting drunk, at all. Sure, a lot of people go out to pubs/clubs/etc in the evening, and many societies have events at pubs, but it's not necessarily about the drink - I don't drink very much when I do drink alcohol, and often when I go out with people I stick to the non-alcoholic stuff - it's definitely not all about being drunk.
The bad points for me weren't really about the social life - I kind of thought Edinburgh might be better for me, as it seemed - just seemed, I may be wrong - to be less about drinking than Glasgow, and had more non-drinking things to do than St Andrews. I'm relieved by your post, though!
Certainly it sounds good in terms of nightlife.The bad points about Edinburgh were more about the structure of the course. (I apologise for the following wall of text). Glasgow and St Andrews are more flexible about which subjects can combine with which and whether your honours subjects can be changed. I'd quite like to do politics/international relations as a third subject, and this would be possible at those universities, but unlikely at Edinburgh. Glasgow & St Andrews don't really mind what you combine - I can do, say, International Relations with Art History. Edinburgh is more rigid, which makes me wary. Also, I suppose I prefer English slightly, and because English at Edinburgh is so popular, it's not easy to change from a joint degree to a single honours in English. Otherwise, the Art History course at St Andrews seems a bit more interesting than the one at Edinburgh. But I love Edinburgh, oh, I don't know . . .
Original post by ~ Dude :)
For me, choosing between my offers came down to:-
1 - The cost of living at my chosen Universities
2 - The city atmosphere
I can only advice going to see the unis/cities to see what you prefer. Edinburgh does have stunning architecture, (which you love) but I didn't think it was 'for me'. I come from a crappy village so wanted to go to a big city like yourself, with some good nightlife. Glasgow ftw!
But again, I'd just advice maybe spending a day at each uni/city. I'm sure you'll find deciding easier then
1 - The cost of living at my chosen Universities
2 - The city atmosphere
I can only advice going to see the unis/cities to see what you prefer. Edinburgh does have stunning architecture, (which you love) but I didn't think it was 'for me'. I come from a crappy village so wanted to go to a big city like yourself, with some good nightlife. Glasgow ftw!
But again, I'd just advice maybe spending a day at each uni/city. I'm sure you'll find deciding easier then
Glasgow is brilliant. Even if I don't go there I hope to live there when I'm older.
Yep cost is a factor, and Glasgow does pretty well on that front - although coming from a small town I may go a bit nuts at having all the shops. To be honest, the time I've spent at these places has made everything a bit harder to decide, I wish I could be in three places at once! Edinburgh open day I found very standoffish, though when I went back everyone was nice. St Andrews was rather idyllic. Glasgow was so welcoming and it smelt lovely in the rain (TSR doesn't have a rain smiley? Madness.)Original post by Pn94
Glasgow, seeing as it has everything you want. Is it even worth asking?
I felt I needed to ask, but you're right, the way I phrased the bit about Glasgow, the question sounded rather stupid. I suppose there are (highly superficial) things that bother me - just about ratings. I know that shouldn't matter though, they're all great. I'll mull everything over for a day or two, hope my head clears a bit. Thank you again, I appreciate it
I chose Glasgow out of all the universitites I looked at in the UK...and now I'm moving 6000km to study there. It would take a lot of space to explain my reasoning so I won't really go into it--if you're really curious you can pm me.
I'm not much of a drinker myself (what? an American college student who isn't into drinking?
). Anyway, I'm sure you'll find plenty to do (non-drinking) regardless of which school you go to.
I'm not much of a drinker myself (what? an American college student who isn't into drinking?
). Anyway, I'm sure you'll find plenty to do (non-drinking) regardless of which school you go to.I know nothing about Edinburgh or St Andrews but I do go to Glasgow and I would highly recommend it. I'm just finishing my junior honours year of history and politics and it has been really good. I feel like the education I've had has been really good. The students/staff have been friendly in general too. I live about 10 miles from Glasgow and get the train in so I can't comment much on the social life aspect of it but I've only had positive experiences of the GU and the QMU. The city centre has loads of places too. They are very flexible regarding what subjects you pick (Should say there is no IR department but half of 2nd year politics is IR and there is plenty of module options in that area for honours). The library is huge, really has some selection. The buildings on university avenue and the main building itself are really pretty classy looking places (not that I'm usually much of a fan of those sorts of things).
I'm sure Edinburgh and St Andrews are great too so I wouldn't want to run them down without seeing them but I can honestly say I've enjoyed my education at Glasgow (which is more than I can say for school!) and no matter how good or bad a degree I come away from here with I'm really glad I ended up coming here.
I'm sure Edinburgh and St Andrews are great too so I wouldn't want to run them down without seeing them but I can honestly say I've enjoyed my education at Glasgow (which is more than I can say for school!) and no matter how good or bad a degree I come away from here with I'm really glad I ended up coming here.
(edited 12 years ago)
the social life is ace. glasgow is a friendly place and the course flexibility is really good if you want to leave your options open a bit longer.
Original post by Eccle1993
I have always been bad at decisions, but I'm finding this one especially difficult. I'd be glad of some advice, personal experience or anything really.
Basic summation:
St Andrews - everyone seems to think I should go there. It is a brilliant university, and in some ways it suits me really well. But I'd really, really like to be in a city - have lived in a small town by the sea for years.
Glasgow: Has just about everything I want, brilliantly flexible courses, friendly lecturers. I can see myself being happy there.
Edinburgh: Has so many bad points for me! Yet I'm ridiculously drawn to it. It scores very highly for English, I love the city, and I kind of see it as being somewhere in between the other two.
Also, would be interested to hear your opinons on the social aspect of life at these universities. I'm sociable but not really into drinking, so I would be apprehensive about my ability to cope with a social life that literally revolves around getting drunk.
Thank you.
EDIT: Background: subjects are Eng lit & Art History, I love pretty architecture and I'm not remotely posh
Basic summation:
St Andrews - everyone seems to think I should go there. It is a brilliant university, and in some ways it suits me really well. But I'd really, really like to be in a city - have lived in a small town by the sea for years.
Glasgow: Has just about everything I want, brilliantly flexible courses, friendly lecturers. I can see myself being happy there.
Edinburgh: Has so many bad points for me! Yet I'm ridiculously drawn to it. It scores very highly for English, I love the city, and I kind of see it as being somewhere in between the other two.
Also, would be interested to hear your opinons on the social aspect of life at these universities. I'm sociable but not really into drinking, so I would be apprehensive about my ability to cope with a social life that literally revolves around getting drunk.
Thank you.
EDIT: Background: subjects are Eng lit & Art History, I love pretty architecture and I'm not remotely posh
Don't think about the rankings too much. Glasgow is a very respected uni, I'll admit StA is more so and Edinburgh slightly too but they are all very well respected, especially if you plan to stay in Scotland, and Glasgow as a matter of fact! You won't be at a disadvantage choosing any of these universities as they are all very, very good! If you think you'd prefer Glasgow then go for it! It isn't going to hold you back later in life and I know a few people who study english lit there and absolutely love it! The lecturers were very nice I was told. I don't know much about the other uni's but i'm pretty sure they'll be the same.
I firmed Glasgow 2 week ago to study Comp sci, but I'm very interested in Maths so having the option to essentially change degree is a good peace of mind.
I can't stress enough that you should pick where you feel you prefer to live/study for 4 years, it's a big commitment and shouldn't be taken lightly. Pick it on where your heart lies, not where the league tables say is better. (Sounded rather cheesy... :P)
Good luck whatever you pick though! And if you pick Glasgow hopefully might see you around!
(edited 12 years ago)
Here is a post of my general advice when it comes to choosing between universities.
I would only go where other people think you should go if their recommendation is based on significant personal experiences and respects who you are as an individual - if someone says you should go to university X because, when they went to an open day, they saw it has great sports facilities and they really like playing cricket and squash, then they don't have any great insight and they're not making a recommendation for you, so it's not very relevant.
The universities you're considering are, in my opinion, fairly similar in terms of reputation, so choosing the one you like most is the wisest move. I don't think any sensible employer would say, 'Oh, you went to Glasgow? Ergh, if you'd gone to Edinburgh I'd have been interested, but sorry, no, you went to Glasgow instead'
In terms of drinking and social life, living in halls in first year can put you on the doorstep (literally) of rather boozy pastimes, but I'm almost certain that, with a bit of effort, there will be plenty of alternatives at any university. Even if you end up in a corridor which permanently smells like a brewery, freshers week will have lots of events beyond the scope of that corridor, so getting involved at that stage will probably address any concerns you have. I am not aware of any of the universities you're considering being especially booze-centric.
I think it might be useful to think more about life in the city versus life in a town by the sea. Why does a city appeal, and how would moving there impact your life longer term? (I lived in the country while I was growing up, so St Andrews was, for me, a good way to break away from that, and when I was 18 the idea of moving to a city by myself was a bit intimidating. I might have really enjoyed living in a city and it might make me keener to live in a city now, but there was also a risk that it would be too drastic a change.)
Also bear in mind that universities like to put the pretty building in the public eye, and keep the ugly concrete monstrosities as much of a secret as they can. Had I gone to St Andrews hoping to live and study in beautiful buildings for 4 years, I would probably have been disappointed by how many modern buildings there are.
I would only go where other people think you should go if their recommendation is based on significant personal experiences and respects who you are as an individual - if someone says you should go to university X because, when they went to an open day, they saw it has great sports facilities and they really like playing cricket and squash, then they don't have any great insight and they're not making a recommendation for you, so it's not very relevant.
The universities you're considering are, in my opinion, fairly similar in terms of reputation, so choosing the one you like most is the wisest move. I don't think any sensible employer would say, 'Oh, you went to Glasgow? Ergh, if you'd gone to Edinburgh I'd have been interested, but sorry, no, you went to Glasgow instead'
In terms of drinking and social life, living in halls in first year can put you on the doorstep (literally) of rather boozy pastimes, but I'm almost certain that, with a bit of effort, there will be plenty of alternatives at any university. Even if you end up in a corridor which permanently smells like a brewery, freshers week will have lots of events beyond the scope of that corridor, so getting involved at that stage will probably address any concerns you have. I am not aware of any of the universities you're considering being especially booze-centric.
I think it might be useful to think more about life in the city versus life in a town by the sea. Why does a city appeal, and how would moving there impact your life longer term? (I lived in the country while I was growing up, so St Andrews was, for me, a good way to break away from that, and when I was 18 the idea of moving to a city by myself was a bit intimidating. I might have really enjoyed living in a city and it might make me keener to live in a city now, but there was also a risk that it would be too drastic a change.)
Also bear in mind that universities like to put the pretty building in the public eye, and keep the ugly concrete monstrosities as much of a secret as they can. Had I gone to St Andrews hoping to live and study in beautiful buildings for 4 years, I would probably have been disappointed by how many modern buildings there are.
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