University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh Accommodation Thread for Entry 2012/13
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Hi guys...just got an interview for ECA in March, so naturally I'm fast forwarding to thinking about accommodation possibilities come august/september. Im in the 'mature student' bracket (25) but tend to come across as 19/20 (albeit a mature 19/20). Whats life like in halls for those who aren't straight out of the school/home environment? Also any recommendations for any particular halls?
University of Edinburgh
Portsburgh Court is literally across the road. It's expensive (Unite, I'm afraid) but it's very, very convenient and no transport costs, of course.
I'm an Irish prospective postgraduate student. Going to study on the LLM programme.
Looking at rounding up another few postgrads for private accommodation in the city centre. Ideally for around 400 a month. Preferably those who work hard but also play hard with a good balance between both. Outgoing and personable would be great.
PM if interested in getting involved... can link up via FB to see if all suits.
Pref non-smokers and with a tendency to keep tidy.
Both male and female would be ideal and I'm sure it couldnt hurt to have a nice international mix.
If this sounds appealing let me know.
Cheers
Looking at rounding up another few postgrads for private accommodation in the city centre. Ideally for around 400 a month. Preferably those who work hard but also play hard with a good balance between both. Outgoing and personable would be great.
PM if interested in getting involved... can link up via FB to see if all suits.
Pref non-smokers and with a tendency to keep tidy.
Both male and female would be ideal and I'm sure it couldnt hurt to have a nice international mix.
If this sounds appealing let me know.
Cheers
Original post by ohirome
Hi guys...just got an interview for ECA in March, so naturally I'm fast forwarding to thinking about accommodation possibilities come august/september. Im in the 'mature student' bracket (25) but tend to come across as 19/20 (albeit a mature 19/20). Whats life like in halls for those who aren't straight out of the school/home environment? Also any recommendations for any particular halls?
I am also 25 and will turn 26 in September but I look about 16, so I am interested in this as well. I have kind of been looking at Richmond Place, it's close to the main campus (bit of a walk to King's Buildings) and is self catered. I noticed university accommodations are really expensive, but its probably worth it when you haven't had a chance to look around, plus its hard to beat convenience. I saw Morgan Court was super nice and has washer/dryer in the kitchen area for each flat (I'm going to a laundromat at the moment and it's driving me mad), but it looks like they had freshers living there a year ago and I thought it was supposed to be for postgrads. I am doing my best to convince some friends to study in Edinburgh as well so we can all share a flat off-campus for 2013/14.
Original post by xanzibar1986
I am doing my best to convince some friends to study in Edinburgh as well so we can all share a flat off-campus for 2013/14.
The first thing to understand about Edinburgh is that it is NOT a campus university
None of the university accommodation is "on campus". Richmond Place pricing isn't too bad - Edinburgh is not the cheapest city to live in.Original post by xanzibar1986
I am also 25 and will turn 26 in September but I look about 16, so I am interested in this as well. I have kind of been looking at Richmond Place, it's close to the main campus (bit of a walk to King's Buildings) and is self catered. I noticed university accommodations are really expensive, but its probably worth it when you haven't had a chance to look around, plus its hard to beat convenience. I saw Morgan Court was super nice and has washer/dryer in the kitchen area for each flat (I'm going to a laundromat at the moment and it's driving me mad), but it looks like they had freshers living there a year ago and I thought it was supposed to be for postgrads. I am doing my best to convince some friends to study in Edinburgh as well so we can all share a flat off-campus for 2013/14.
That does sound like it may work out best for you. Im pretty keen on portsburgh court since its directly across from ECA, but a flatshare is still at the back of my mind. I know literally nobody up in Edinburgh, so I like the idea of halls for the first year and hopefully a flat after that. Ah, decisions decisions.
Original post by gilbo55
Right then guys, from a selfish viewpoint but also possibly for everyone else's benefits, can we get a definitive Top Five Edinburgh Self-Catered Halls List tm?
From what I've heard Darroch Court seems to be up there, but not sure about any others.
Cheers crew!
From what I've heard Darroch Court seems to be up there, but not sure about any others.
Cheers crew!
There isn't really a list, which is why there isn't one.
Most of the accommodation is pretty much the same on the inside (including Darroch - the only benefit ever being that you got a washing machine in your flat but it seems they have now been uninstalled) in terms of what you get meaning it's only the location which differs. Even then most accommodation is really close to each other - for example, Darroch is opposite New Arthur Place and then 1/2 mins walk from Hermits Croft and that's only one example, you've then also got all of the ones on Cowgate which are basically the same location wise, then the South Clerk Street/Sciennes grouping, then the Warrender Park grouping. Oh and then the group towards KB.
Neither group is better than any of the other group and it completely depends on what you're priorities are anyway. For example, I would consider living on Cowgate to be a really negative thing because then you've got the problem that you're living directly above the main clubbing area of Edinburgh so it can be very noisy. Other people might think Cowgate is great however due to this reason, and they might also love the fact it's the closest accommodation to George Square.
Essentially, they're all basically the same thing inside and locations are marginally different depending on your personal priorities. Making a list of any accommodation at Edinburgh (Pollock or s/c) would be pointless as they're all far too similar. Certainly with s/c there isn't anywhere which is really bad or awful and there isn't anywhere which is miles better than anywhere else either. The only arguable point here is the "better" newer en suite residences at Pollock but then given the sheer cost of them in comparison to other residences you'd expect something slightly nicer for the fee you're paying although that said it depends on what you want as I wouldn't have given up living where I lived in first year to live in a room at Chancellors even if it cost the same amount of money.
Original post by oxymoronic
Certainly with s/c there isn't anywhere which is really bad or awful and there isn't anywhere which is miles better than anywhere else either.
Ascham Court is head and shoulders above all other self-catered residences. However, it is postgraduate-only
Original post by nearlyheadlessian
Ascham Court is head and shoulders above all other self-catered residences. However, it is postgraduate-only
Well that's not very helpful to the average person then is it
That said, for all I know some of the residences could have had a major uplift and now be abstemiously fantastic. However, I don't really think that will have happened recently! My building all got newly refitted kitchens during our first year. It was really annoying though as they decided to bring in the builders during normal teaching time and each kitchen was out of order for a week as they took up the floors, repainted everywhere and installed new cabinets and equipment so all we had to cook with was a microwave (newly purchased by accommodation services due to the maintenance work) and a kettle shoved in the hall way. Then they re carpeted all of the hall ways in the flats and stopped you from either entering the flat or leaving your room for a morning. I hope you appreciated these kitchens the following year!!
Arianto
Where's the best self-catered place in or around the cowgate/highstreet?
Original post by oxymoronic
Essentially, they're all basically the same thing inside and locations are marginally different depending on your personal priorities. Making a list of any accommodation at Edinburgh (Pollock or s/c) would be pointless as they're all far too similar. Certainly with s/c there isn't anywhere which is really bad or awful and there isn't anywhere which is miles better than anywhere else either.
Written just 3 posts before you asked...
Please excuse my American terminology including the ideas of on-campus/off-campus. My friends and I would ideally like to live in the city center. My best friend is looking into applying at Napier, so she thought it would be good to live in the Tollcross area, while I've always been most interested in Old Town, New Town, or Leith. We like the idea of having shops, pubs, cafes, etc on the ground floor of the buildings because you don't see that much in most of the United States and we feel that it adds a lot of character. We also won't have cars, which is somewhat exciting because it is nearly impossible to get around without a car at home, and our rail system is a joke in the majority of the country.
I agree though that living in university accommodation for my first year in Edinburgh would be the best idea. Especially since flying in just to apartment shop would cost around $1000 for round-trip airfare. My friends won't be applying until 2013/14 so hopefully they will have me to look around and find us a place.
It's good to know that the different university accommodations aren't all that different. I like what I have seen online. So my main priority is being close to the buildings I will frequent most as I am not a morning person!
I agree though that living in university accommodation for my first year in Edinburgh would be the best idea. Especially since flying in just to apartment shop would cost around $1000 for round-trip airfare. My friends won't be applying until 2013/14 so hopefully they will have me to look around and find us a place.
It's good to know that the different university accommodations aren't all that different. I like what I have seen online. So my main priority is being close to the buildings I will frequent most as I am not a morning person!
Original post by xanzibar1986
That's a pretty big area (in so far as the typical Edinburgh University student block goes) as if you lived in Leith then you'd be further from New Town than if you lived in Old Town and your friend lived in Tollcross.
In terms of living with your friend, if they won't be starting until 2014 then you'll be a 3rd year by that point anyway. Would they not also prefer to live in university owned accommodation in their first year from a purely friendship perspective? They will already know you. They don't need to live with you to know you and you will also presumably have friends they can meet too. However, surely they will also want to make friends with people at their actual university too? They'd really benefit from living in university accommodation in that respect as otherwise they might end up in your Edinburgh Uni bubble without actually being a student at that university, then not really having made friends with people at their uni either. Obviously people get on perfectly fine without living in university accommodation but if I were moving to the other side of the world then I'd want to expand on my existing social network once I arrived in the city. Also, we're talking 2 and a half years here, a lot might happen between now and then so you need to make your decisions for you now and your life now. If your friends do come to Edinburgh then in 3 or 4 years time then yeah, consider living with them, but there's so many reasons why they might not meaning you need to make decisions for you right now rather than focusing on what might happen with your friends in the future.
Original post by oxymoronic
That's a pretty big area (in so far as the typical Edinburgh University student block goes) as if you lived in Leith then you'd be further from New Town than if you lived in Old Town and your friend lived in Tollcross.
In terms of living with your friend, if they won't be starting until 2014 then you'll be a 3rd year by that point anyway. Would they not also prefer to live in university owned accommodation in their first year from a purely friendship perspective? They will already know you. They don't need to live with you to know you and you will also presumably have friends they can meet too. However, surely they will also want to make friends with people at their actual university too? They'd really benefit from living in university accommodation in that respect as otherwise they might end up in your Edinburgh Uni bubble without actually being a student at that university, then not really having made friends with people at their uni either.
In terms of living with your friend, if they won't be starting until 2014 then you'll be a 3rd year by that point anyway. Would they not also prefer to live in university owned accommodation in their first year from a purely friendship perspective? They will already know you. They don't need to live with you to know you and you will also presumably have friends they can meet too. However, surely they will also want to make friends with people at their actual university too? They'd really benefit from living in university accommodation in that respect as otherwise they might end up in your Edinburgh Uni bubble without actually being a student at that university, then not really having made friends with people at their uni either.
She would be starting in the Fall of 2013, but that is a really good point. I think she was thinking Tollcross area because she thought it would be good for us to be between the two universities. Now, that I think about it, we were in undergrad together and she never lived in university accommodation, while I lived in university accommodation for three and a half years. I will have to ask her if the idea doesn't appeal to her, or why she never lived in university accommodation. Our university didn't require first years to live in their accommodations but I know other universities in the United States do make that a requirement. It is a really good way to meet people, and it wouldn't be much fun if she didn't have friends from Napier. Our subjects are so completely different that we don't even really talk about them to each other.
As for making plans for myself, I plan to live in university accommodations for my first year. I have only ever been to Edinburgh once, and while I completely loved it, I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough to find a good place to live. I would have to pay pretty steep airfare just to come over for a bit and go flat shopping, the convenience is definitely worth it for more than one reason.
Thanks for your input, it helped me think about things I hadn't before.
Original post by nearlyheadlessian
Written just 3 posts before you asked...
AAAAH I see, the problem with longish threads is that I can't be bothered searching for stuff thats already been said
Another question then about s/c (I'm sure this hasnt been asked); (and I assume you get a choice of room size?) if most people were to choose a small sized room, then would it be more likely that I get one of my 3 choices of s/c if I chose large room sizes? Going on the assumption that many more people will be choosing small/normal sized.
The choice of location is more important than anything else for me, so just whatever it takes to maximise the probability that I get what I want in that respect.
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Arianto
AAAAH I see, the problem with longish threads is that I can't be bothered searching for stuff thats already been said
Well why do you think people can be bothered to type out the same thing again and again and again if you can't be bothered searching for stuff that they've already written? It'll take us a lot longer to write you a reply than it would do for you to search out something that was already written.
We don't mind answering questions but its a two way thing - you need to read what's already been said first and do your own research as we're not really replying to these things out of pure entertainment for ourselves.
Another question then about s/c (I'm sure this hasnt been asked); (and I assume you get a choice of room size?) if most people were to choose a small sized room, then would it be more likely that I get one of my 3 choices of s/c if I chose large room sizes? Going on the assumption that many more people will be choosing small/normal sized.
No. Room size is arbitrary, as is everything else you put on your application.
Original post by oxymoronic
Well why do you think people can be bothered to type out the same thing again and again and again if you can't be bothered searching for stuff that they've already written? It'll take us a lot longer to write you a reply than it would do for you to search out something that was already written.
We don't mind answering questions but its a two way thing - you need to read what's already been said first and do your own research as we're not really replying to these things out of pure entertainment for ourselves.
No. Room size is arbitrary, as is everything else you put on your application.
We don't mind answering questions but its a two way thing - you need to read what's already been said first and do your own research as we're not really replying to these things out of pure entertainment for ourselves.
No. Room size is arbitrary, as is everything else you put on your application.
Ok cool, thanks for all the inter-thread help anyway, will be sure to check everything first in future.
Does anyone else think that the Edinburgh accommodation is, well, a bit grim?
From what I gather, the catered accommodation - Pollock Halls - is the main one, and it's kind of a lottery as to what you'll end up with...
Also I heard that if you end up self-catered you'll be in a flat, but it's like all girls/ all boys?
If anyone could help, I'd really appreciate it!
From what I gather, the catered accommodation - Pollock Halls - is the main one, and it's kind of a lottery as to what you'll end up with...
Also I heard that if you end up self-catered you'll be in a flat, but it's like all girls/ all boys?
If anyone could help, I'd really appreciate it!
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