The Student Room Group

Medicine: Aberdeen or Glasgow?

I've seen loads of threads about this but they're all pretty old and both of the courses have changed since then.
I've got offers for both and have no idea where to go, I love them both!
I like Glasgow cause it's so big so there's always gonna be loads going on, and I know there isn't as much PBL but it's still more than Aberdeen and PBL appeals to me a lot cause I come from a school where it's pretty much teaching yourself everything so I'm used to that. People have said it's pretty disorganised and stuff like that though?
But Aberdeen's got the Suttie centre and all the hospitals up at Foresterhill and it looks really good for teaching, seems to have a good focus on clinical skills. Also seems as if the staff are really helpful with any problems etc. Don't know if I'm that keen on the whole rural thing they have and I don't want to have to spend time in Inverness cause I come from around there and really don't like it! Although I guess cause it's so small it'd be good for teaching.
Basically I think I prefer Aberdeen's course but prefer Glasgow as a city- I like going out and stuff like that, and come from a really small place and I hate it.
If any current students could tell me a bit about what they like/dislike about their course and the city that'd help me a lot with my decision. Or just anyone who has an opinion about the medical schools ha.
Thanks!
Hi

View on Glasgow... I'm from Glasgow originally but don't live in the city now as I'm an oldie and have a young son so prefer a quieter life. Certainly, Glasgow has all you need fora vibrant nightlife, entertainment, pubs, clubs, eateries, free museums/art galleries. Good transport links etc. Very friendly city and the West End is lovely. The uni offers plenty of clubs and societies should you wish to join some.

MedChir run plenty of events for med students and there are lots of societies if you want to find out more about different specialties.

The course... I love it and PBL does suit me (oldie) as was used to independent study having done a research masters. Most of the school leavers in my cohort love it and are happy that they chose Glasgow and have said them saying thank goodness not sitting in lectures all day. There are 2 sessions per week supplemented by lectures and some labs. Anatomy starts off in semester 1, 1st year being prosection then dissection after Xmas. Year 2 it is all dissection. We get clinical skills sessions from year 1 and you have VS where you get attached to a GP surgery and have visits there. You also have hospital visits which can be in the city or further out e.g. Ayr. Visits are my fav thing.

The course is more integrated now than a few years ago due to feedback from students. The med school does listen to the moans and are good at changing things that student are not happy with. It can seem to be a bit disorganised at times but overall, it is fine.

hth
Original post by HD.x3
Thanks!


I posted this a while back. Still relevant though. I started in 2010 on Aberdeen's 'new' course.

When I applied to university I didn't really have a clear idea where I wanted to go. Having visited each of the universities which offer medicine, I began to notice a difference between the larger institutions (Edinburgh and Glasgow) and the smaller ones (Dundee and Aberdeen). The latter group were trying a lot harder to encourage me to study there.

My interview experience merely concreted this impression. At Glasgow I felt extremely intimidated by the staff and the whole environment, whereas Aberdeen was welcoming and friendly even when asking difficult questions (This was pre-MMI). In the end the friendliness of the staff and the fact that Aberdeen felt more homely was the reason I turned down my Glasgow offer.

If you look at the University of Aberdeen as a whole, it is not as big or shiny as Edinburgh or Glasgow. The city is nowhere near as cosmopolitan. You have to remember that Aberdeen is playing catch up; It has relied on oil and financial services for so long that it hasn’t needed to invest in tourism or retail but this is beginning to change. There are several major developments going on which will hopefully make Aberdeen as pretty as the rest in the next 5 to 10 years. The quality of teaching and the medical school's reputation within the profession are both excellent. I have listed below a few observations about the course in the past three years:

Pros

Aberdeen boasts a proud history in the medical field including having the oldest medicine department in the world (1495). More recent discoveries include Alexander Ogston’s discovery of MRSA and the co-invention of MRI scanning.

All students are allocated a Regent when they start. This is either a Consultant Clinician or Senior Academic who acts not only as an impartial academic advisor but also as emotional support and careers guide throughout your time at medical school.

Students are taught in systems. We do anatomy and physiology of each system (e.g cardiovascular, respiratory) and then pathology, clinical treatment and pharmacology.

Clinical skills are taught from the first year, starting from the basics of history taking and examination. All the time interacting with volunteer and then real patients on weekly ward sessions.

Staff and students are all fantastically friendly. We are a slightly smaller medical school with around 185 students in each year group. As such you get to know people quite quickly and develop your own group of mates.

Though the medical school is a trek away, once you get there the facilities at the Suttie Centre (completed in 2009) are extremely modern and functional.

Access to 1000+ patient beds directly across the road. The Aberdeen Royal Infirmary+Royal Aberdeen Childrens'+Aberdeen Maternity Hospital site at Foresterhill offers every specialty and clinical procedure under the sun.

Nearly all your tutorials involve clinicians teaching you or supervising you. This makes the whole thing more real and I find easier to learn.

The MedSoc organize great social events such as beerienteering which are always well attended and rather epic fun.

Cons

Anatomy sessions can be difficult to follow. Prosection is an effective method of teaching, it is simply the structure of the sessions which could be improved. NOTE Anatomy has changed since I was in first year I believe. There is a new head of anatomy and there are now far more structured small group sessions with tutor led cadaveric demos :smile:

Throughout the first three years of the course, the Community Course runs. Here we learn about Primary Care and public health. Though the content is very interesting, the assessment method means that it is nigh impossible to fail and as such many students cannot be bothered making an effort.

First year can seem rather disjointed at times. Course is still very new and is being tweaked every year. They add in seemingly random seminars and lectures which, though interesting, don't really flow well into the course.

The medical school is at least 30 minutes walk away from all student halls in the city.


I do not regret coming to Aberdeen for one minute. The course is respected, the university is held in high regard by the profession, the community links are great. I hope that was of some use to you :smile:

P.S Students have the option of going to Inverness for the whole of 4th year but there are only around 18 places to do this. The majority of students do one 10 week block at Raigmore. 10 weeks out of 5 years really isn't that long.
(edited 11 years ago)
Since the two sides seem to be covered pretty well already, I'll just add to the Inverness bit - you are supposed to do 10 weeks, but you can do 5. In final year you must do at least 8 weeks outside Aberdeen, but that can be at Elgin, Fort William, Shetland, Orkney, Stornoway etc if you didn't want to be at Inverness. However, the Raigmore site is so self contained that I don't really feel like I live in Inverness as such, the only reason to go into town is for nights out and the train to Aberdeen is quick enough for you to go back there at weekends if you wanted. The teaching is really really good at Inverness though.
Reply 4
Original post by Becca-Sarah
Since the two sides seem to be covered pretty well already, I'll just add to the Inverness bit - you are supposed to do 10 weeks, but you can do 5. In final year you must do at least 8 weeks outside Aberdeen, but that can be at Elgin, Fort William, Shetland, Orkney, Stornoway etc if you didn't want to be at Inverness. However, the Raigmore site is so self contained that I don't really feel like I live in Inverness as such, the only reason to go into town is for nights out and the train to Aberdeen is quick enough for you to go back there at weekends if you wanted. The teaching is really really good at Inverness though.


Aw man I hate all of those places hahaha. I'm sure I can handle 10 weeks though, especially after being in a city for five years!
At Aberdeen, is there a kind of student-y area like the West End in Glasgow?
And do medics usually move up to near Foresterhill after 1st year, and live with just medics/spend most of their time up there?
I'm probably wrong but I kind of got the impression that aside from Old Aberdeen (where I'm pretty sure medics don't get taught anyway?), Aberdeen didn't really seem to have many places predominantly for students. I'm not saying this in a bad way, I do think Aberdeen looks really good, and I'm probably wrong anyway!
Thanks for your help :smile:
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by HD.x3
Aw man I hate all of those places hahaha. I'm sure I can handle 10 weeks though, especially after being in a city for five years!
At Aberdeen, is there a kind of student-y area like the West End in Glasgow?
And do medics usually move up to near Foresterhill after 1st year, and live with just medics/spend all their time up there?
I'm probably wrong but I kind of got the impression that aside from Old Aberdeen (where I'm pretty sure medics don't get taught anyway?), Aberdeen didn't really seem to have many places predominantly for students. I'm not saying this in a bad way, I do think Aberdeen looks really good, and I'm probably wrong anyway!
Thanks for your help :smile:


You are correct that there isn't really a studenty part of the city apart from Old Aberdeen or maybe Rosemount but that is because Aberdeen is a far smaller city than Glasgow. In a way the whole of Aberdeen is studenty. There are fewer students in Aberdeen than in Glasgow but they make up a huge percentage of the population; In the summer when Aberdeen, RGU and the College are away the city centre is dead past midnight.

Most medics after first year will live near Foresterhill because all of their teaching/medic societies are there. But I wouldn't say you are isolated. Foresterhill is out of the city centre in relative terms but is really only 30mins away from Union Street and there are loads of buses. Most students (in my experience) live either between Foresterhill and Old Aberdeen or between Foresterhill and the city centre.

I am sensing concern that you will only ever see medical students and never any other students. If you let that be the case then you would be right. Yet many students either live with non-medics and/or are actively involved in societies and clubs with other students.
Reply 6
Original post by sweetchilli
Hi

View on Glasgow... I'm from Glasgow originally but don't live in the city now as I'm an oldie and have a young son so prefer a quieter life. Certainly, Glasgow has all you need fora vibrant nightlife, entertainment, pubs, clubs, eateries, free museums/art galleries. Good transport links etc. Very friendly city and the West End is lovely. The uni offers plenty of clubs and societies should you wish to join some.

MedChir run plenty of events for med students and there are lots of societies if you want to find out more about different specialties.

The course... I love it and PBL does suit me (oldie) as was used to independent study having done a research masters. Most of the school leavers in my cohort love it and are happy that they chose Glasgow and have said them saying thank goodness not sitting in lectures all day. There are 2 sessions per week supplemented by lectures and some labs. Anatomy starts off in semester 1, 1st year being prosection then dissection after Xmas. Year 2 it is all dissection. We get clinical skills sessions from year 1 and you have VS where you get attached to a GP surgery and have visits there. You also have hospital visits which can be in the city or further out e.g. Ayr. Visits are my fav thing.

The course is more integrated now than a few years ago due to feedback from students. The med school does listen to the moans and are good at changing things that student are not happy with. It can seem to be a bit disorganised at times but overall, it is fine.

hth


Firmed Glasgow yesterday!
Thanks for your advice :smile:

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