University Choice

Which degree would you like to do?

I got an offer for Edinburgh University, which i pretty like but because of the course I cant do a 2nd year entry, meaning its one year longer than other universities in England,so one more year of tuition fee and living fee, i need some opinions

What are your other options?

Bath and Loughborough

I would go with Bath since it has one of the highest reputations. No kidding, Edinburgh probably has an even higher reputation, it's known worldwide for a lot of its research and world class teaching. Although, I will say, Scottish universities do seem to edge a little (the smallest part of little, even) into the arts against the sciences. Like Glasgow, St. Andrews and Edinburgh are all very good but I think they're known a little more for their proficiency in languages and history than biology, although they're still very good (I know a graduate in microbiology from Glasgow, and he's very good at his job!) However, Bath may offer you a better standing since it, too, is old and is known for all of its subjects, especially English, History and the sciences. And the year extra also makes sense not to do in Ed. But Bath may offer a Master's, too, so if you're interested in that you could spend the same time getting a master's as a bsc from ed. But the most important thing to remember is that Scottish unis have the extra year for generalisation. This is so you can explore your subjects! If you find that maths degrees aren't for you then you can swap to a computer science and engineering or whatever degree. This is because they let you take three subjects in your first year- all Scottish unis do this. And then in your second or third year, they cut you down to a single or joint honours. So remember, that extra year can also contribute to future wages since you can say you did an extra module or two in electronics or whatnot. So really it depends on how you feel. Also, I actually think that all degrees offered by Scottish unis are masters degrees unless you specify to do a bsc- which you probably have?

Thanks for the information, yeah it is a bsc for 4 years. But although the uk ranking for bath and edin are very similar, edin is much better ranking wise in a worldwide scale, why is that the case

Is it not true that students in Scotland go to university one year younger, and hence the undergraduate courses are 4 years long? If so, there is really no need for students outside of Scotland to take these 4 year courses at all.

I would also choose Bath.

It's sort of true. In theory, you can go once you've done your highers at age 17, but most people choose to do advanced highers for another year and go when thy are 18. That's not the reason that they're a year longer tho. They are a year longer in Scotland because the first year is like a slightly more intense, built in foundation year that you would take in England. It also allows for students to take some modules from outside of their chosen course. It isn't necessary to take 1st year, but it can be a much more enjoyable start to university. If you are thinking solely about the university experience, I would recommend Edinburgh, but if it's more to do with money then Bath would be the smart choice.

Bath and Loughborough