Why would someone from England want to apply to Edinburgh/St Andrews?

I can only speak for Edinburgh here, but from what I've learned...

If you do a full year abroad at a European institution you don't pay fees that year (either to host or Edinburgh), so subtract 9k. I'd have wanted to do a year abroad whether studying in England or Scotland, but this way it helps account for that "extra" year in the four year programme.

Edinburgh also offers a bloody good financial aid package (up to 7K depending on your background). This meant that even without applying for a maintenance loan I'd still have more money that I would at an English Uni (and that's including their respective bursaries). So yeah, there's a risk of more debt, but for the next four years at least life is going to be very easy to sustain for me. (I'd be interested to find out how much Scottish students get in loans and bursaries, as less debt doesn't necessarily equal "more money", at least in the short-term).

Anyway, I chose Edinburgh because I love the city and because I liked the course (with all its flexibility). I also get to explore another country (which I haven't seen nearly enough of), and the fact that it's prestigious and historic without being situated in a small town was a bonus. The issues you've raised have never once crossed my mind, and I don't see why you need to establish some kind of Us Vs Them situation simply because Scottish students don't pay fees or might try to out-gun you.

You want to study at whichever institution floats your boat, you apply, and you either get accepted or rejected. The rest is gravy.

No it shouldn't. It should be the same system everywhere. Granted, the current Scottish system is better than the current English one, but if the 2 sets of students are both applying through UCAS etc. in the same applcant pool then there should be none of this BS about he Unis getting more money per English student than per Scottish student - that makes it easier for English students to get in! ot to mention the extra debt English students would get into.
FREE EDUCATION EVERYWHERE AND NO BIAS IN ADMISSIONS!

Edinburgh also offers a bloody good financial aid package (up to 7K depending on your background). This meant that even without applying for a maintenance loan I'd still have more money that I would at an English Uni (and that's including their respective bursaries). So yeah, there's a risk of more debt, but for the next four years at least life is going to be very easy to sustain for me. (I'd be interested to find out how much Scottish students get in loans and bursaries, as less debt doesn't necessarily equal "more money", at least in the short-term).

The general impression I get is that they are super hard to get into, despite not being that good compared to unis in England that are easier to get into.
For English students, it costs 9k per year, so immediately you would leave at a disadvantage compared to your coursemates (also, during the course, maybe you would have less money spare, so would have to work more hours, have less money to spend on luxuries etc.) who wouldn't pay fees.
I can see how they would be attractive to Scottish students due to the zero tuition fees, but why would someone apply there from England? These unis already get the best students from Scotland to choose from (because to a clever Scottish student, it would be more attractive to study at Edinburgh for free than at Cambridge for 27k, therefore these unis attract a lot of people who would otherwise prefer Oxbridge if not for the fees situation), making them more competetive than Unis of a similar quality in England.

For English students, it costs 9k per year, so immediately you would leave at a disadvantage compared to your coursemates (also, during the course, maybe you would have less money spare, so would have to work more hours, have less money to spend on luxuries etc.) who wouldn't pay fees.

Yes, but are they not more competetive in relation to universities of similar quality in England?

Any explanation for the negs?