The Student Room Group

Glasgow vs Edinburgh

Hi everyone :smile:

I applied to Edinburgh and Glasgow as an international student and I'm living in Hong Kong, so I really have no idea what the two places are like. I'm considering both of them seriously for university study, and I was wondering if you guys could tell me some stuff about them? I think I have sufficient knowledge of what the schools are like, but could you compare the two places both as cities, so basic social environments, internationalism, cost of living, student services, and the like.

Thanks in advance! :biggrin:

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Reply 1
I applied to both Glasgow and Edinburugh as well. Since i visited both at open days i got an overall idea..sort of... I believe that Edinburugh is a much prettier city. it is gorgeous actually...seriously..BUT the uni. isnt that great...i mean the structure. as far as i know the study is better at Ed. Im applying for law and politics and i loved the speeches there, very straighfoward if you know what i mean. The structure of the university at Glasgow is very very nice. think Hogwarts, harry potter setting in a way. I had less contact with the student life in Glasgow so i cant really say but i liked the city less. But i dont know really...they are both really good uni's. i just know that Glasgow is more picky about international students. Im an italian living in Amsterdam doing IB so you really do not get more international than me i believe..on a final note...i prefer Ed. but maybe im not the best person to pass this judgement. im actually as perplexed....help us!
Reply 2
I agree with Georgia. Personally, I am considering Edinburgh or St. Andrews as first choices (if they accept me) but I'd be able to accept circumstances if it meant I was to take up my offer at Glasgow.

Glasgow is a vibrant city, fully of commerce and well...busyness. Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities of Scotland - its rustic and historic and it really fits in with my love of all things old (I'm going to do history at Uni - What do you expect).
Due to Edinburgh's beauty and background it is a greater tourist attraction than Glasgow - something you can grow very tired of after your a millionth visit to the city. However, Glasgow is pretty modern looking (unless you take into account the university which is neo-gothic).

Anyhow, I didn't really base my decision on how the place looks and its environment. You have to take into account your course choice. (What have you applied for?) I really want to go to Edinburgh right now because it appears to have such flexibility in what you can study with history and there seems to be so many wonderful subjects I could take on the side (social anthropology, archaelogy, sociology, psychology!!!!). Glasgow has less choice.

Edinburgh does have a bit more of a snobby, stuffy vibe in comparison to Glasgow which only really bothered me slightly.
Reply 3
thanks a lot for the advice!

Renza

Anyhow, I didn't really base my decision on how the place looks and its environment. You have to take into account your course choice. (What have you applied for?)


i've applied for veterinary medicine, and as far as i can tell, both schools offer excellent courses, they're both approved of by the AVMA (american vet association thingy) and both have international reputations with regards to research and teaching quality and the like.. so im really trying to make a decision based on the cities and the quality of student life and other factors.

how's the weather in the two places?

Georgia

Im an italian living in Amsterdam doing IB so you really do not get more international than me i believe


woww im a korean living in hong kong doing the IB! hahaa :biggrin:
Reply 4
well yes, i do agree that you need to take in account the courses as well but if you are looking only at the social apsect of uni....then i would go for Edinburugh. i personally felt more confortable in the city...but that is just me. They are both really good universities anyways, ill feel very lucky if i get an offer from any of the two.

on a different note...
congratulations for the uncoditional offers!!! juicy...
Reply 5
As for weather, Glasgow gets more rain than Edinburgh I'm led to believe. Edinburgh is a little less temperamental I think.
I'm in first year at Glasgow.

Since your doing Vet Medicine you won't be on the main campus. You'll be about 20 minutes drive away from the main campus. The Vet bit is at the Garscube Estate in Bearsden which is on the outskirts of the city and is a really respectable area in Glasgow.

I stay at home but you'd probably be living at Wolfson Halls which are at Garscube. These are catered halls and I was at them on Freshers Week and are 'okish' but you'd be best asking Marychrist about them because she stays there. However, I think the social life is good at Wolfson because your a bit off campus and everyone is meeting together etc etc. Plus all the vet students staying in halls tend to go there.

Glasgow is a great uni. When your on campus i.e. in the West End there is so much to do. There are two unions the GU and QMU: people tend to go to Lollipop in the Hive (the nightclub) in the GU on a Thursday and then to Cheesey Pop in the QMU on Friday. I think you can get a night bus run by the SRC (Student Representative Council - deal with clubs/societities, acadmeic and personal problems) from Wolfson to the Unions although marychrist will be able to clear it up. There are also a lot of pubs on Byres Road and the Viper (a popular student night club) is on Great Western Town. In the city centre, there are so many pubs and clubs your spoilt for choice.

If you want anymore infomation, PM me for my MSN.
Reply 7
thanks a lot for all the replies!! they are greatly appreciated :smile:

do any of u guys know anything about relative costs of living? also, for those in catered accomodation - what's the food like? whats on a typical menu in catered halls? i don't want to apply for it and end up not liking the food, or something like that.
Reply 8
ha_mint
thanks a lot for all the replies!! they are greatly appreciated :smile:

do any of u guys know anything about relative costs of living? also, for those in catered accomodation - what's the food like? whats on a typical menu in catered halls? i don't want to apply for it and end up not liking the food, or something like that.


I should imagine that Glasgow would be the cheapest City to live in (when compared with Edinburgh)...

Edinburgh has a more prestigous reputation than Glasgow but the people in Glasgow are warmer I think and Glasgow has great bookshops! I don't know, I just think that Glasgow is more down to earth, although the uni does have some nasty 1960s buildings and the people in your classes at Edinburgh are likely to have achieved better grades as Edinburgh can afford to be very picky about who they let in. Glasgow has a wonderful Chinese shopping centre (selling imported food, stationary, Cantonese fiction ect...), but I'm not sure about Edinburgh. Edinburgh definitely has more tourists though, although their accent is more 'English', so it might be easier for you to understand people in Edinburgh...

:smile:

Goodluck with your choice anyway.
I disagree with Edinburgh having people who have achieved better grades.

Glasgow's enterance requirements are higher than Edinburgh's for most subjects. Although your point about Glasgow students being more warmer/friendlier is probably true. My mate is up at St Andrews and he hates how a lot of people 'look down' on him.

You should choose where you feel most comfortable. Although if you go to Glasgow you'll get to go to DAFT FRIDAY. Its a Black Tie event held at the end of Semester 1 at the GU. I was there last night and it was unreal!
Davie_Moyes
I disagree with Edinburgh having people who have achieved better grades.

Glasgow's enterance requirements are higher than Edinburgh's for most subjects. Although your point about Glasgow students being more warmer/friendlier is probably true. My mate is up at St Andrews and he hates how a lot of people 'look down' on him.

You should choose where you feel most comfortable. Although if you go to Glasgow you'll get to go to DAFT FRIDAY. Its a Black Tie event held at the end of Semester 1 at the GU. I was there last night and it was unreal!


Humm... I was under the impression that Edinburgh got alot of English Applicants with high grade predictions ect who used it as their insurance offer... But then I attend a state school where we get practically no advice so I'm out of the loop alot :frown: .

Why do people 'look down' on your friend a St. Andrew's? I've applied for Mediaeval History there so I'd like to know. (Maybe you could PM me sometime? :smile: )

Maybe you could help the thread-starter out by telling them why you chose Glasgow? (If I'd found a course I liked there it would have been because of the bookshops :blushing: .)
Reply 11
a few more questions -

1. which city is more 'international'? and which has more asians (koreans in particular)?

2. i'm planning to apply for catered accomodation - could someone tell me what the food is like, and how many meals a day they serve?

thanks so much u guys! :biggrin: u've been a ton of help
Think I might be of some help to you. I'm in my 2nd yr at Glasgow vet school and stayed in Wolfson catered Halls last year.

At Wolfson, they feed you breakfast and dinner. (Breakfast between 7:30 and 9am ; dinner between 5:30 and 7pm). At weekends they do "brunch" and dinner instead. (Brunch is from 11:30 - 1pm, to reflect the fact that most students don't surface till late at weekends...!). The food is average. It's edible but it's gets vvvvvvvvvvvvv samey.
Wolfson is where a huge number of 1st year vets stay and so you meet tons of people on your course very quickly. That was the best bit about staying there. It's about a 10 min walk to the vet school, but everyone walks together which is nice and it's a lovely walk (the one thing I miss about living there). However you are a little cut off, so you don't tend to meet very many people from other courses. But this can be solved by going out loads! Glasgow is full of great places to go out, someone has already described some places for you. And it's soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cheap.

2 years ago I was lucky enough to get offers from both Edinburgh and Glasgow vet schools - they were both my top choices. However Glasgow easily won me over, the people at my interview were so friendly and relaxed, whereas at Edin they were much more focused on getting as much out of me as possible regarding my vet related knowledge. I just prefered that Glasgow seemed more interested in getting to know me as a person.

There is quite a unique aspect of Glasgow vet school - at all the others you spend the 1st 2/3 years in the city centres and attend lectures at the main veterinary medicine department buildings and get bused out to the main vet school (which is miles out from the city) when you are required to go there (increases with each year usually). At Glasgow - the vet school is MUCH, MUCH closer to the city centre, but still in a lovely beautiful setting. There is no main veterinary medicine department buildings at the main uni, instead in the 1st 2 years you have lectures in the main uni but spend MOST of your time up at the vet school (lectures, farm visits, dissections all happen here instead). Because of it's location, it is possible to do this. The wonderful thing about this, is that you get intergrated into the vet school life from day one, you mix with other years frequently and the vet school doesn't seem so "foreign". This may seem like an odd point to have made, but it played a huge part in my decision to come here over any of the other vet schools.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, it's much prettier than Glasgow. It would be handy for someone from Edinburgh vet school could give their view point for you. One isn't better than the other, it's just everyone has their own different preferences.

Hope I have helped!
Reply 13
Thanks so much, SlipperyWhenWet!! :smile: Really appreciate it.
Reply 14
egyptiancat
Humm... I was under the impression that Edinburgh got alot of English Applicants with high grade predictions ect who used it as their insurance offer...

That's true, actually. They even have a nickname - the "Yahs". :p:

Edinburgh is an absolutely gorgeous city, one of the most pictureque in the world, in my opinion. Glasgow can't really rival it in looks, although the university main building is very nice (it also reminds me of Hogwarts!) However, accommodation in Glasgow is much cheaper and Glasgow is less touristy and better for shopping. Remember that whichever you choose, it's only an hour on the train from one to the other, so I'd go by your feelings about the course and the accommodation available.
Reply 15
As gorgeous as Edinburgh is, it is an unbeliveably expensive place to live. As most students move into a flat at some point while they are a uni it can cause problems as the flat prices in the city are awfully expensive. also if u r thinking of commuting from a cheaper area then be aware that it is a split campus and check where ure course is based. not all bad though, edinburgh is fantastic for eating out with a wide variety of take-aways as well as restaraunts if u can afford them.
Reply 16
hahaa. i'm in the same dilemma as ha_mint.

so i was wondering, can anyone post up images of accom in edinburgh, cos i can't find any on the ed webby.

and just wondering, what's the living cost difference? any estimates?
Reply 17
Ha_mint, I'm the person to answer your question!!!! I spent 3 weeks in Scotland (in Edinburgh and Glasgow) during Christmas holiday since my bf goes to Glasgow. And I've lived in Hong Kong for several years so I def understand your situation. Well I can't give you advice on the unis, but I can def tell you about what I thought of the 2 cities. I loved Edinburgh and hated Glasgow. I thought Glasgow was really boring in comparison to Edinburgh and Glasgow is def not as pretty. It's true Glasgow is a lot less touristy and has better shopping. And oh if you like to hang around with Asians, def pick Edinburgh, I don't know if they're tourists or not, but at least you see them on the streets. Glasgow is a really "white" city. I'm half asian so when I was there, I def noticed the lack of asians in Glasgow. Feel free to PM me if you want more info. I know my opinions might seem quite one-sided, but I do feel quite strongly about the cities. I think the best city for you to go to is London, cos it's so much like Hong Kong (since it's 24/7 and stuff).
Edinburgh = pleasant
Glasgow = nightime stabbing
Reply 19
latentcorpse
Edinburgh = pleasant
Glasgow = nightime stabbing


Sooooooo true!!!

Stick to Edinburgh people!!!! I could list all the problems with glasgow but it would take an hour and I already have in another thread.