The Student Room Group
Student at University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh next year or Glasgow?

Hi all,

I am currently in my final year of secondary school and am applying for 2015 entry. I am interested in studying at either Uni of Edinburgh or Uni of Glasgow. Hopefully my grades turn out okay, but if I was to get an offer from both, which would you folks say is better? I am hoping to do a science based course (Mathematical Physics at Edin and the equivalent at Glas). These are the areas that I would like some insight on:

1: Accommodation
2: Societies
3: Help provided by the uni staff
4: Cost of living
5: International reputation
6: Facilities (eg sports equipment, library etc)

For me personally, Edinburgh would be my first choice. I grew up loving the city and found that they people there were extremely accommodating and friendly.

Any advice at all would be much appreciated.:smile:
Reply 1
Original post by theship555
Hi all,

I am currently in my final year of secondary school and am applying for 2015 entry. I am interested in studying at either Uni of Edinburgh or Uni of Glasgow. Hopefully my grades turn out okay, but if I was to get an offer from both, which would you folks say is better? I am hoping to do a science based course (Mathematical Physics at Edin and the equivalent at Glas). These are the areas that I would like some insight on:

1: Accommodation
2: Societies
3: Help provided by the uni staff
4: Cost of living
5: International reputation
6: Facilities (eg sports equipment, library etc)

For me personally, Edinburgh would be my first choice. I grew up loving the city and found that they people there were extremely accommodating and friendly.

Any advice at all would be much appreciated.:smile:


Hey, I will be going to Edinburgh University in September to study law. I applied for Edinburgh and Glasgow, and ultimately chose Edinburgh for a lot of reasons.

I visited both campuses and just fell in love with Edinburgh. The city is lovely, very lively and it felt a lot more international than Glasgow. I think both have quite good accommodation, but I went for Edinburgh so I could move away from home. I loved all of the options you could choose, there is something for everyone (whether you want something a bit cheap, something more luxurious, something near the uni or something further out).

Edinburgh has over 200 societies, for anything you could imagine! Check this out if you want to see what you could do - http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/getinvolved/societies/findasociety/ . This doesn't include most of the sport societies and teams, so there is even more things you could get involved in.

Cost of living is pretty similar to be honest. A lot of people will tell you Edinburgh is more pricey, but after looking at a few flats and visiting both cities very often I honestly don't think they are that much more expensive than the other. I would say as a city Glasgow has a bigger music scene and feels more like a regular city. It is beautiful, it is quite unique and has a lot of character. I prefer Edinburgh to live in though - it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it has so much culture and history. Edinburgh is also a relatively compact city, so it is easy to travel just by walking or cycling which can cut down costs quite a lot.

In terms of reputation, I think in Scotland the unis might be regarded equally. However, on an international level, Edinburgh certainly has the edge. You can see from the variety of students that come to Edinburgh uni (in the freshers group right now, I think atleast half are international students) which shows that it has the power to attract students from all over the world. Glasgow tends to attract mostly Scottish students for some reason, especially people living near the uni. Edinburgh is regarded as one of the most prestigious and renowned universities in the world. This has a massive advantage for employment, especially abroad. If people hear you have an Edinburgh degree or are attending the university, they are impressed.

As far as facilities go, both universities have good facilities. Glasgow has a very comprehensive, massive main library that you can see from anywhere on campus. It has museums and other libraries that are interesting. Glasgow also has a lot of stunning buildings in the uni, so probably looks more impressive than Ed. It is campus based so everything is near. I can speak more for Edinburgh since I'll be attending - Edinburgh has a lot of different libraries, it has two main campuses (one for humanities, one for science). It has a really good gym that is quite cheap, and it has a lot of lovely buildings like Old College and McEwan Hall. Even though not everything is on the same campus, everything in Edinburgh is pretty easy to reach by walking alone. There are cafes, advice services, meeting areas, everything you could need.

I think you need to visit each uni and see which one you prefer :biggrin: My comments will be biased towards Edinburgh because that is the uni I chose and it is the one I know most about.
Student at University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Reply 2
Original post by Ambry
Hey, I will be going to Edinburgh University in September to study law. I applied for Edinburgh and Glasgow, and ultimately chose Edinburgh for a lot of reasons.

I visited both campuses and just fell in love with Edinburgh. The city is lovely, very lively and it felt a lot more international than Glasgow. I think both have quite good accommodation, but I went for Edinburgh so I could move away from home. I loved all of the options you could choose, there is something for everyone (whether you want something a bit cheap, something more luxurious, something near the uni or something further out).

Edinburgh has over 200 societies, for anything you could imagine! Check this out if you want to see what you could do - http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/getinvolved/societies/findasociety/ . This doesn't include most of the sport societies and teams, so there is even more things you could get involved in.

Cost of living is pretty similar to be honest. A lot of people will tell you Edinburgh is more pricey, but after looking at a few flats and visiting both cities very often I honestly don't think they are that much more expensive than the other. I would say as a city Glasgow has a bigger music scene and feels more like a regular city. It is beautiful, it is quite unique and has a lot of character. I prefer Edinburgh to live in though - it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it has so much culture and history. Edinburgh is also a relatively compact city, so it is easy to travel just by walking or cycling which can cut down costs quite a lot.

In terms of reputation, I think in Scotland the unis might be regarded equally. However, on an international level, Edinburgh certainly has the edge. You can see from the variety of students that come to Edinburgh uni (in the freshers group right now, I think atleast half are international students) which shows that it has the power to attract students from all over the world. Glasgow tends to attract mostly Scottish students for some reason, especially people living near the uni. Edinburgh is regarded as one of the most prestigious and renowned universities in the world. This has a massive advantage for employment, especially abroad. If people hear you have an Edinburgh degree or are attending the university, they are impressed.

As far as facilities go, both universities have good facilities. Glasgow has a very comprehensive, massive main library that you can see from anywhere on campus. It has museums and other libraries that are interesting. Glasgow also has a lot of stunning buildings in the uni, so probably looks more impressive than Ed. It is campus based so everything is near. I can speak more for Edinburgh since I'll be attending - Edinburgh has a lot of different libraries, it has two main campuses (one for humanities, one for science). It has a really good gym that is quite cheap, and it has a lot of lovely buildings like Old College and McEwan Hall. Even though not everything is on the same campus, everything in Edinburgh is pretty easy to reach by walking alone. There are cafes, advice services, meeting areas, everything you could need.

I think you need to visit each uni and see which one you prefer :biggrin: My comments will be biased towards Edinburgh because that is the uni I chose and it is the one I know most about.



Hi, thanks for your advice.
I guess I feel pretty much they same way you do about Edinburgh. I used to go there with my grandad all the time and I just find the place more engaging than both Aberdeen (my hometown) and Glasgow. I'm going to open days at both so this will possibly help me also.

Pretty much made up my mind that I want to go to Edinburgh but best not to put all my eggs in one basket:biggrin:
Hey, both are great choices and I had to make a similar decision this year. Ultimately I choose Glasgow over Edinburgh. My brother and sister both went to Edinburgh so I have some knowledge about the university and I come from Edinburgh so know the city like the back of my hand!!

I can't speak about university accomodation having not experienced Glasgows yet. But with regards to flats Edinburgh is more expensive on the whole but flat prices around the main student areas of both (Marchmont - Edinburgh, West End - Glasgow) are similar with Glasgow having the edge. Edinburgh is a nicer looking city than Glasgow in my opinion but Glasgow has it's own charms - the west end is lovely. Us Edinburgers have a reputation for being grumpy and stuck up which is true to some extent haha but don't worry you will soon fit it. Glaswegians are friendlier in my opinion.

The nightlife in Edinburgh is good but not amazing. There is not a huge selection of clubs and some pubs are gimmicky and quite touristy. The nightlife in Glasgow is amazing, huge amount of clubs to choose from to fit all tastes. Edinburgh is awfully expensive too. But I guess you could travel if you wanted to go for a night out.

With regards to rankings both are highly regarded with lots of famous alumni. In Scotland they are more or less held in the same regard. Internationally/ RUK Edinburgh has the edge. Reflected by its student body as stated above Edinburgh Uni is far more diverse than Glasgow. My brother and his friend only started talking to each other because they were the only Scots in their tutorial. Large proportion are from England USA and China. Glasgow is, from what I have seen, predominantly scottish. I don't know if this is a bad or good thing. I guess it's easier to meet up with friends who live in scotland outside term time.

Ultimately I am a firm believer that people should move away to attend university in order to experience life away from parents. obviously some can't due to family commitments. Hence, the reason why I choose glasgow was that in my opinion they are equally matched reputation wise and I wanted to move out experience a change of scenery and live the university lifestyle halls and all. If you end up at one or the other next year I think you will have a good time. Good luck getting those As to get in!!!

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