University Decision

Hi. I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm American and I grew up in middle-of-nowhere suburbia. I go to college in the middle of nowhere and it's boring. I want to study abroad, preferably in a city. My choices are the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. Pro's and Con's please? What is there to do?

Reply 1

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Tree_Hugger95

Hi. I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm American and I grew up in middle-of-nowhere suburbia. I go to college in the middle of nowhere and it's boring. I want to study abroad, preferably in a city. My choices are the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. Pro's and Con's please? What is there to do?

There's plenty to do in either city, but Edinburgh is prettier and more obviously geared towards tourists as well as being a capital city.

Reply 2

BKS

19

Edinburgh is possibly the most beautiful city in the world. Glasgow is more rough around the edges, though ignoring one or two areas you won't be in it doesn't live up to it's reputation.

The population of Edinburgh is 500k, Glasgow is 600k with a bigger population in surrounding areas so it feels like a significantly bigger city. After 5 years in Edinburgh I felt like I couldn't walk around the city centre without bumping into someone I know. I think people who live in the Edinburgh suburbs and nearby towns are less inclined to go into the city centre than those in Glasgow so when you minus tourists central Edinburgh feels quieter than other city's it's size do. I think a lot of it is to do with the Glasgow area having a better train system into the city centre. Not that transport in Edinburgh is bad, the buses will get you everywhere you cant walk.

Both are proper sized cities so have everything you'd expect of a city, there's just a bit more of everything in Glasgow. Like both have a music scene and venues but Glasgow's has that bit more to it. They are only 50mins on the train apart.

Both are reasonable big unis plenty going on in terms of unions/societies. Glasgow has two unions which are a bit competitive, you join one and you stick with it. On one hand the competition is good and brings variety but on the other hand it means you don't have access to everything. Edinburgh just has one union (though it has several buildings).

Edinburgh uni feels much more part of the city centre. The uni is in the middle of the old town (Old Town and New are the too halves of the city centre) and all students tend to live on the edges of the Old Town. Glasgow uni is in the west end but a few stops on the underground from the city centre. The West end feels a bit like a student suburb, a but more bohemian.

I'm not sure what else to say off the top of my head but I'd be happy to answer any more specific questions- I lived in Edinburgh but I'm from in between the two and have spent a fair bit of time in Glasgow. Based on what you did say I think your main consideration is city size. Glasgow feels more big city, Edinburgh feels like a small city. If you want as much stuff to do as possible then go Glasgow. If you want stuff to do without feeling like you're in a big city then go Edinburgh.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

JustThisTeenager

6

Original post by Tree_Hugger95

Hi. I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm American and I grew up in middle-of-nowhere suburbia. I go to college in the middle of nowhere and it's boring. I want to study abroad, preferably in a city. My choices are the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. Pro's and Con's please? What is there to do?

It depends on what you want to study as well, as each university will have it's stronger and weaker points. When is as applying last year I visited both open days and ended up only applying to edinburgh, which I'm now going to attend, as I disliked glasgow. It felt new, with less history (although I now it's an oldish university), the applications were stressed on your academic achievements rather than other as well, and I prefer edinburgh as a city

Reply 4

BKS

19

Original post by JustThisTeenager

It felt new, with less history (although I now it's an oldish university)

You sure you mean the University of Glasgow and not another uni in Glasgow?

Glasgow uni was founded in 1451, Edinburgh was founded in 1582. Glasgow has been in it's current location since 1870. It's the 4th oldest in the UK (Oxford and Cambridge are a fair bit older, St Andrew's is by a few decades) and in the 30 oldest in the world. It's more than oldish.

Reply 5

JustThisTeenager

6

Original post by BKS

You sure you mean the University of Glasgow and not another uni in Glasgow?

Glasgow uni was founded in 1451, Edinburgh was founded in 1582. Glasgow has been in it's current location since 1870. It's the 4th oldest in the UK (Oxford and Cambridge are a fair bit older, St Andrew's is by a few decades) and in the 30 oldest in the world. It's more than oldish.

yes i mean Glasgow. And i said it wasn't that it isn't old but that if doesn't feel old. It was a personal feeling. I felt glasgo was trying hard to be modern whereas at edinburgh i felt it was embracing its history. Personal feeling. It didn't help thya the Glasgow open day was held at the union (Margaret's) building which is a really ugly building. Anyway i felt Glasgow was trying too hard to update itself whereas Edinburgh was embracing its a

Reply 6

BKS

19

Original post by JustThisTeenager

yes i mean Glasgow. And i said it wasn't that it isn't old but that if doesn't feel old. It was a personal feeling. I felt glasgo was trying hard to be modern whereas at edinburgh i felt it was embracing its history. Personal feeling. It didn't help thya the Glasgow open day was held at the union (Margaret's) building which is a really ugly building. Anyway i felt Glasgow was trying too hard to update itself whereas Edinburgh was embracing its a

That makes more sense though I'm not sure I'd agree. On unions, totally if you compare Teviot (it's the oldest purpose built student union in the world) or Pleasance to QMU but then KB House and Potterow (or did it actually get renamed the Dome?) not so much. In terms of buildings, Edinburgh destroyed George Square in the 60s and KB is generic as hell. More generally, I'm not sure I ever got either vibe of of either uni.

Though in terms of the cities I would agree. Glasgow does much more want to be the modern city, it needs to market itself as vibrant, cultured and buzzing to overcome it's stereotypes and have something to offer. Edinburgh is the tourist city, it has an attractive past, big chunks of the city (all of the city centre) is World Heritage listed so it has something to gain by being historic and there's more at stake in loosing things that are historic.

Reply 7

JustThisTeenager

6

Original post by BKS

That makes more sense though I'm not sure I'd agree. On unions, totally if you compare Teviot (it's the oldest purpose built student union in the world) or Pleasance to QMU but then KB House and Potterow (or did it actually get renamed the Dome?) not so much. In terms of buildings, Edinburgh destroyed George Square in the 60s and KB is generic as hell. More generally, I'm not sure I ever got either vibe of of either uni.

Though in terms of the cities I would agree. Glasgow does much more want to be the modern city, it needs to market itself as vibrant, cultured and buzzing to overcome it's stereotypes and have something to offer. Edinburgh is the tourist city, it has an attractive past, big chunks of the city (all of the city centre) is World Heritage listed so it has something to gain by being historic and there's more at stake in loosing things that are historic.

I do quite like glasgow as a city I just got a better vibe of Edinburgh, though your points about glasgow are totally spot on, it has finally got something to offer.

Reply 8

Dylankj96

11

As a Glaswegian who hopes to go to the University of Edinburgh this year, I feel qualified to answer. Glasgow as a city is very big in comparison to Edinburgh and feels much more modern and liberal in a way; whereas Edinburgh is much more... focused on its history shall I say :tongue:

and conservative. Glasgow is much more industrial, in appearance, and diverse with some tough areas but nothing like its reputation seems to suggest. I would personally choose Edinburgh because the city is beautiful and there are a lot more international students at the university so it may be easier for you in that way (and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT). I really couldn't imagine a city which could rival Edinburgh in beauty (except perhaps Paris or London). The University of Edinburgh itself is generally higher regarded and thought of as more "prestigious" but the University of Glasgow is a top uni too! If you want to experience the 'big city' thing, mix with a whole load of people from different backgrounds and get a more lively, for lack of a better word, student experience then I would go for Glasgow as sometimes Edinburgh, especially the university, can seem like a nice, quiet, little middle-class bubble which may not be the kind of experience you want (just my view of things being familiar with both cities). Edinburgh can be exciting and really fun though and I'm sure the student experience there is fantastic (or at least I hope it is). Good luck with your choice! :smile:

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