The Student Room Group

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Reply 20
aivilo
Hahah i can't believe u took the time to check the rainfalls?! yes it's getting off topic and so but never mind.. :biggrin: uhm yes manchester is kinda rainy.


Yes, it's got little to do with how far north a city is or how close it is to the coast. The west of the country is warmer but wetter, east drier but cooler. Largely down to the Gulf stream in the atlantic plus some of the major cities in the east being in rain shadows (due to mountain ranges like the Pennines).

Even Edinburgh isn't right on the coast (in fact is it any closer than Manchester. Newcastle's probably the closest to the coast but it's one of the driest cities in the country.
Reply 21
thanks for "enlightening".. Yes I did pass my Geo grad exam and got an A, but that was two years ago so allow me my mistake :wink:
Reply 22
aivilo
Hahah i can't believe u took the time to check the rainfalls?! yes it's getting off topic and so but never mind.. :biggrin: uhm yes manchester is kinda rainy. tho i must say i sort of like the rain, and if it's paired with some nice heat then i'd call it paradise! but how's it with tsunamis, do you get a lot of warnings in singapore? i find berkeley a highly luring university in the US but the thought of being hit by a huge tsunami (that is predicted in california, just don't know when) is a bit frightening! have u considered any other countries than the UK? i had many but it narrowed down to the US n the UK. however i definitely want to do my masters in the US, if nothing else!


I don't think Singapore and California are in danger of being hit by a tsunami at all.. Singapore is geographically sheltered by the larger countries around it, while California is much more likely to suffer an earthquake than any oceanic disaster. In addition UC Berkeley's campus is not actually along the coast-its on the inside area of San Francisco Bay and I'm sure even ginormous waves don't reach that far in.
I would go for Edinburgh because the city's excellent and the people are really great.
Reply 24
ycang
If I want to study Economics & Politics, which would be the better choice overall, Edinburgh or Manchester?

I'm considering many factors:

1. Academic standard
2. Reputation/Prestige
3. Cost of living
4. Location
5. Safety
6. Social scene (shopping, partying, sports, etc.)
7. Career opportunities + Recruiting

Would love to hear from all you guys with advice or opinions to share :smile:

Thanks!


ok so i went for the open day at manchester and spent a day in edinburgh, did a self-guided tour and talked with officials.
first of all both unis were great, seriously. for the location, manchester is in the city, like u can almost walk there, but there are tons of buses that all go there and they’re extremely cheap, some of them way less than a pound or even free for studs. the city accommodation is very much as the name says, in the city, you just walk 5 mins to be on the busy streets, (also piccadilly station)..the famous fallowfield was quite out of there, or it felt like it. the manch campus is on both sides of a wide busy street and its quite spread, but in a good way. the buildings are modern, n for ex econ lectures take place in this very fine huge theatre with great acoustics. the econ head of dep (apparently) was young man, seemed very "on the same level with students" so not cocky etc, he was super friendly. almost nobody came from manchester, people were from around the country. didn’t see international ones, they probably don’t come to open days.
the manch city is great, it’s like little london with its china town n gay village, museums and shopping malls. beautiful, even if there were some run down buildings, u really dont care at all cuz u’re just living the atmosphere.

ok edinburgh, what a beautiful city, very historic, pictoresque, with hills and the sea, just beautiful. it’s old, manch is modern. edi university, u have to walk up some kinda hill, but oh its pretty. quite touristic as well. manch just had foreign people, but they didn’t look like tourists, maybe they come more when manU is playing. the edi uni buildings are around this green park (manch didnt have green areas right in the city) and all of them are decent. but apparently there is some kinda problem with not having enough money for some facilities? cuz their student newspaper was all about this, that they’re renovating the library, but kinda ran out of money lol. (somebody correct me if I’m wrong)
anyways, the econ building of edi is very nice, too. but the politics building wasn’t that new.. though i didn’t go in, so who knows. i only went to see the social science office in a very tall tower that hosts that department, and it looked nice inside. also i went into all kinda students union buildings, n hang-out cafes.. debate hall.. for ex.the students union n the debate hall are in this gothic style building, pretty. but i was able to go anywhere there, but in manchester there were many places where u had to have codes or stud IDs so that u couldn’t get in. more secure, i guess.
the social science office at edi was great, i talked with a young woman there and all the people there seemed very helpful, n didn’t speak some scottish accent. (then again in manchester the admissions tutor spoke in a way that i had a hard time understanding! but the prof was great)

security in manchester is great at night as well, i went there alone but made many friends and we went out there at nights and the streets were always full of people, so u really shouldn’t worry.. but we were told that there are of course areas where u get punched when u get talking with drunk people (ok, that’s everywhere, no?)
social scene in manhcester seemed better i think, many many clubs (there’s a covered area with like hard rock cafe n nice posh clubs) plus u’ve tons of bars, n get flyers everywhere to help u make up ur mind.. : ) i dont know how is edi's nightlife, but the studs union was giving away flyers a lot.. oh yeah n edi had great shopping as well, but its much more touristic there! all these scottish things.. u could get fed up a bit. in manchester u just immediately feel like a mancunian. in this way, i think edi is also more expensive!

about careers, manchester had 5 times in a row the best careers service in the country so u’re sure to get a job after u graduate! if the recession wont be at its worst in 3-4 years, let’s add that. i don’t know about edi career service, but of course as it’s an appreciated uni, u will have your chances.
both unis have great flexibility, if u start a poli and econ degree in manch, u can end up having a pure econ degree, or say, criminology. in edi, since it’s 4 years, u will have the opportunity to switch or transfer and so on, they say they are prepared for students changing their minds.

that’s a little intro, but i don't know, perhaps you have made your choice already!

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