manchester vs edinburgh

Original post by StarLinyx

Not academically speaking, or financially. But it is far older, and more beautiful. Employers will not distinguish between the two.

Apparently edi is harder to get into; I’d say that adds to the prestige (save the student website).
Edi is much higher in the guardian league table and a little less drastically but still higher in the complete uni guide’s league table.
I’d agree that Edinburgh looks nicer and should also note that although most things are averagely priced, rent prices are known to be pretty high.

Student satisfaction rates are low at Edinburgh, not sure about Manchester.

Reply 4

OP

Original post by Ben2021uni

For what? Edi is more prestigious

everything: prestige, employability, student satisfaction, workload, teaching, the city (i haven't been to either and won't be able to during covid), study abroad opportunites, extracurricular activities, accomodation

as a sidenote I will probably apply for biology, but i read that at edinburgh you can take more than one subject, like the american system. do you know anything about this?

Reply 5

StarLinyx

21

Original post by Ben2021uni

Apparently edi is harder to get into; I’d say that adds to the prestige (save the student website).
Edi is much higher in the guardian league table and a little less drastically but still higher in the complete uni guide’s league table.
I’d agree that Edinburgh looks nicer and should also note that although most things are averagely priced, rent prices are known to be pretty high.

Student satisfaction rates are low at Edinburgh, not sure about Manchester.

You are aware that the Guardian ranking is worth less than toilet paper when measuring prestige? The domestic league tables as a whole are not a good measure of prestige, as some unis take them much more seriously (Durham, Exeter, Loughborough, Lancaster) than others (Manchester, Notttingham, KCL, UCL). All unis take the international rankings very seriously.

Edinburgh is harder to get into for some courses, not others. I believe that is more to do with the city itself and the old uni buildings, as opposed to being academically superior.

Reply 6

Original post by StarLinyx

You are aware that the Guardian ranking is worth less than toilet paper when measuring prestige? The domestic league tables as a whole are not a good measure of prestige, as some unis take them much more seriously (Durham, Exeter, Loughborough, Lancaster) than others (Manchester, Notttingham, KCL, UCL). All unis take the international rankings very seriously.

Edinburgh is harder to get into for some courses, not others. I believe that is more to do with the city itself and the old uni buildings, as opposed to being academically superior.

Edinburgh is also MUCH higher in international rankings

Reply 7

StarLinyx

21

Original post by Ben2021uni

Edinburgh is also MUCH higher in international rankings

Much higher is like 50 places higher, which it isn't. As I said, academics and employers will see both Manchester and Edinburgh as equals, so the choice will come down to other factors.

Reply 8

Original post by StarLinyx

Much higher is like 50 places higher, which it isn't. As I said, academics and employers will see both Manchester and Edinburgh as equals, so the choice will come down to other factors.

21 places higher when Edinburgh is only 30 is much higher. 51 is still high

Reply 9

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Anonymous

everything: prestige, employability, student satisfaction, workload, teaching, the city (i haven't been to either and won't be able to during covid), study abroad opportunites, extracurricular activities, accomodation

as a sidenote I will probably apply for biology, but i read that at edinburgh you can take more than one subject, like the american system. do you know anything about this?

In Scotland u can take extra classes from out-with your chosen course and then u can decide what u want to keep in 2nd year. I’d assume workload is the same at both unis. Both cities are nice but Edinburgh is smaller and quite a bit busier (normally), Edinburgh also hosts the fringe festival which u may find of interest.
Brexit has impacted the Europe exchange stuff so who knows what will happen with that but I’d assume again that both unis will have pretty similar things.
And again because Edinburgh is not a massive city, the renting market (2nd year onwards) is quite competitive but that’s probably not important

Re: the most influential factor may be the Scottish uni system allows u to take more modules in first year and is more flexible.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 10

Quick-use

20

Prestige matters for nothing.

OP I went to Edinburgh. Everybody and anybody calls it the perfect city for living and studying. Absolutely beautiful.

Both Manchester and Edinburgh struggle with student satisfaction due to how big both are. If I were you, I'd look at the student satisfaction ratings etc for Biology at both universities. I'd also look at which location you'd prefer. Absolutely everything is at a walking distance in Edinburgh, by the way. Crime in the centre is next to non-existent. There are some dodgy areas but they're so far removed that you'd have to be purposefully going out of your way to find them.

Reply 11

mnot

20

Original post by Anonymous

everything: prestige, employability, student satisfaction, workload, teaching, the city (i haven't been to either and won't be able to during covid), study abroad opportunites, extracurricular activities, accomodation

as a sidenote I will probably apply for biology, but i read that at edinburgh you can take more than one subject, like the american system. do you know anything about this?

Pretty similar id say. Both have excellent reputations and employability.

I doubt their is a great deal of difference workload wise. Course wise you can always check the specific modules. The more notable differences are probably the cities they are in.

Reply 12

Also if you haven’t, you should check out St. Andrews uni. They have a v good rep, super high satisfaction rates and are known to be one of the best for bio subjects. It’s not a city though.

Reply 13

OP

Original post by Quick-use

Prestige matters for nothing.

OP I went to Edinburgh. Everybody and anybody calls it the perfect city for living and studying. Absolutely beautiful.

Both Manchester and Edinburgh struggle with student satisfaction due to how big both are. If I were you, I'd look at the student satisfaction ratings etc for Biology at both universities. I'd also look at which location you'd prefer. Absolutely everything is at a walking distance in Edinburgh, by the way. Crime in the centre is next to non-existent. There are some dodgy areas but they're so far removed that you'd have to be purposefully going out of your way to find them.

whats the campus like? is everything in one place or is it all split up. another thing, i'm from London, do you think if i went somewhere as far as edinburgh would it be possible to visit home sometimes for the weekend or would it be super expensive and inconvenient.

Reply 14

ThiagoBrigido

17

Original post by Anonymous

whats the campus like? is everything in one place or is it all split up. another thing, i'm from London, do you think if i went somewhere as far as edinburgh would it be possible to visit home sometimes for the weekend or would it be super expensive and inconvenient.

You can find flights as cheap as £35 each way Edi-Stanstead and it might takes as little as 1h.

Reply 15

Quick-use

20

Original post by Anonymous

whats the campus like? is everything in one place or is it all split up. another thing, i'm from London, do you think if i went somewhere as far as edinburgh would it be possible to visit home sometimes for the weekend or would it be super expensive and inconvenient.

Edinburgh isn't necessarily a campus uni. The entire city centre is considered part of the campus. The sciences faculty buildings are a little split off from the main area but there's a free shuttle bus that takes you from one place to the other and that takes like 5-10 mins. The main area is super central and everything is next to each other.

Edinburgh to London can be a little pricey... If you wanted to visit, I'd recommend only going during Christmas (end of semester 1) and then in May (end of semester 2). University will keep you crazy busy and most students try not to go back home too often initially, because it becomes harder to settle into their new home at the university city. Everyone is usually extremely homesick at first, so if you go back home again and again, it just makes it tougher to settle in.

Please, please do not underestimate homesickness.

Reply 16

OP

Original post by Quick-use

Edinburgh isn't necessarily a campus uni. The entire city centre is considered part of the campus. The sciences faculty buildings are a little split off from the main area but there's a free shuttle bus that takes you from one place to the other and that takes like 5-10 mins. The main area is super central and everything is next to each other.

Edinburgh to London can be a little pricey... If you wanted to visit, I'd recommend only going during Christmas (end of semester 1) and then in May (end of semester 2). University will keep you crazy busy and most students try not to go back home too often initially, because it becomes harder to settle into their new home at the university city. Everyone is usually extremely homesick at first, so if you go back home again and again, it just makes it tougher to settle in.

Please, please do not underestimate homesickness.

yeah this is what i'm worried about. idk why, but i feel like the further away i go the more homesick i will feel, even though realistically i will spend the same amount of time at uni wherever i go. but i guess if i'm closer to home i still have the option to visit home whenever it gets too bad

Reply 17