Robert Gordon uni, Scotland

Requirements are lower than english unis because Scottish students can go with Highers not A-levels.

It's not a bad uni and as far as I can see Pharmacy is one of its better courses. But in saying that, I applied there this year and went up for an open day, and in comparison to Strathclyde it just didn't seem as good. I didn't look at any english unis for the same reason as Danielle though so I can't compare RGU to them.

I'm starting at Strathclyde in September, and when I visited there it just seemed... I don't know, it's hard to explain. Your best bet is to go to a few open days but if you're looking at Scottish unis I'd recommend a visit to Strathclyde.

Actually, I never bothered going to an open day at Strathclyde as it's further from home and I prefer Aberdeen as a city also. Im not going to plug RGU any more, because Im sure the OP will make a good decision whatever
I do know someone who went to Strathclyde but Im not in contact with him anymore.

Actually, I never bothered going to an open day at Strathclyde as it's further from home and I prefer Aberdeen as a city also. Im not going to plug RGU any more, because Im sure the OP will make a good decision whatever
I do know someone who went to Strathclyde but Im not in contact with him anymore.

Yeah I live just outside Glasgow so Strathclyde is the easiest option for me. There's still a part of me wishing I was going to RGU just for the experience of living in halls cos I'll be commuting, but it was just too much money that I didn't need to spend.

And I'll stop going on about Strathclyde, just thought the OP should know that although entry requirements are lower up here, our unis are generally just as good. The best way to choose is to visit though, because I was all set on moving up to Aberdeen but I just didn't like the feel of the place. And the way the building is in the grounds of a school is a wee bit odd too.

Yeah, I worried about that as well to start with, and it's still a bit annoying if you want to get to a 1pm lecture and they're all getting back from lunch lol, but it's worth it for being 5 minutes away from halls.

One thing i love about the uni is compared to other courses, pharmacy students are made to feel really important - we have a great committee so whenever any minor event comes up there's a club floor/room reserved lol. I know social life isn't everything, but it's a large part, and there's lots of support available for students.

Out of interest - are there are a lot of post-grad Irish students studying pharmacy at strath?

Aww I liked the way Woolmanhill was so close. It's a 45 minute journey for me. I'm going to have to get up so early next year haha.

I got that feeling when I was there for the applicants' day. Pharmacy's probably the best and most respected course RGU has (correct me if I'm wrong) and it did seem like you had a lot of parties etc. It was just the reputation of the uni as a whole that put me off a bit. I don't mean to insult you or anything but in comparison, Strathclyde has been a university for a longer time and does have a better reputation. For the OP's sake though, especially with a course like Pharmacy, uni reputation doesn't really matter because you will probably get a job regardless.

And I have absolutely no idea. I'm not there yet. I noticed a lot of Irish students at RGU when I was up, why is that? Are the entry requirements in Ireland a lot higher?

Yeah, apparently in Ireland you need as many points in the leaving cert to get into pharmacy in ireland as you need to get into medicine! Which I can understand, because tbh, after doing first year, it ain't an easy degree!

I know what you mean about reputation, though as you say, for pharmacy since there's only 2 pharmacy schools in scotland, it doesn't make much difference.

Im pretty sure Pharmacy is RGU's best degree (not bragging obviously) - we get a lot of funding and such, and it's also got the largest number of students taking it compared to other students, hence the social events are a bigger hit with those from our degree (and hence why some of my non-pharmacy friends buy tickets for pharmacy parties lol).

We've got a full 3-storey building dedicated to pharmacy, each student is allocated a tutor/guidance person shared between about 4 students or something.

Ooh is it quite hard then? Is there a lot about the body in first year? Or is it quite a lot of drugs and chemistry? The only thing that's annoying me about Pharmacy is when you tell people what you're studying they assume you're a medical reject.

Well anyway, to make this in any way useful to the OP, RGU sounds good. The only criticism I'd have of Strathclyde (that I can see so far) is that it was quite impersonal. RGU seemed a lot more friendly, but Strathclyde came across as more... intellectual? That's the wrong word and it's not what I mean really, it was more academic maybe?

I only know 1 medical reject on pharmacy at rgu and he quit cos it wasnt as easy a ride as he expected.

It is quite difficult if you dont put the work in. First semester was fine for me because it was mostly background chemistry and biology, as well as background physics (I'd never taken that but got a good lecturer). Second semester I didn't step up to the challenge and put in more work for the most part until about 2 months before the summer exams, so i failed my physiology exam which is a 2nd year subject taken in 1st year here.

I'd say the reason strath seems more intellectual, is because it's got a bigger research profile, but as a student that doesn't seem to matter, not yet anyway