RGU v.s Aberdeen Uni

For sure Aberdeen. :wink:

Depends what type of course you are doing. RGU is a more practical college, which is fine until exam time. Aberdeen is a more academic uni, which is fine until you go to the workplace.

Aberdeen is rated higher in the league tables overall, but RGU have higher employment rates (except computer science [and I heard {possibly not true} that RGU include any type of employment into that results where Aberdeen only include employment related to the course]).

Which course are you looking at and I may be able to give you more advice. I did look into both unis in great depth before deciding on Aberdeen and am really happy that I made the choice of Aberdeen.

EDIT: and if you are into sports Aberdeen has a huge number of sports clubs, beats RGU in the granite city every year and is more competitive, Aberdeen also has a lot of societies (over 100 including both).

Reply 2

fat_hobbit

SmilerNuts

i had my heart set on Aberdeen uni for ages but now i've done a bit of reading and heard a presentation RGU seems really good. Does anyone know which is the best uni?

:dito:

It's like trying to compare Sussex to Brighton, Oxford to Oxford-Brookes, Bristol to the Uni of West England etc etc. One is an ex polytechnic (RGU) and is primarily very good for more 'vocational courses' such as nursing etc; whereas for more traditional subjects Aberdeen is better. If your looking to do a masters at a top 10 uni afterwards, I recommend that you come to Aberdeen instead; as this will give you broader options providing that you get a 2:1 in your degree.

Reply 3

OP

well i'm actually hoping to join the police when i leave uni so the actual degree doesn't matter but main 1's i've looked at are Zoology or Legal studies at Abderdeen and Applied social sciences at RGU. how do you know what RGU is like at exam time? Yeah i want a uni that has good sports facilities etc but surely thats just an added bonus if you're doing well on the course that you want. not planning on a masters so thats not so important. Does anyone actually go to RGU or is it just hearsay that you're going on?

Reply 4

richard_05

Have you considered criminology if your going to join the police?

Reply 5

SmilerNuts

how do you know what RGU is like at exam time? Yeah i want a uni that has good sports facilities etc but surely thats just an added bonus if you're doing well on the course that you want. not planning on a masters so thats not so important. Does anyone actually go to RGU or is it just hearsay that you're going on?

Was the bold bit directed at my point earlier? If so then the answer is, I don't know. IMO though if you have done more academic work as opposed to more practical work then it will put you in a better situation when it comes to exams (no good knowing how to do it if you can't put it on paper). I am sure that a lot of people will disagree with that though, it's just my opinion.

Yeah, you are right about sports and stuff being an added bonus once you have found the right course, but it is still a consideration. If you were = on the two unis then it could be the thing that tilts the scales one way for you.

As for hearsay, as I said earlier I did look into both unis quite well, but no, don't go to RGU so I cannot be sure what it is like there.

Reply 6

speedstacker

3

Nessyfencer

Was the bold bit directed at my point earlier? If so then the answer is, I don't know. IMO though if you have done more academic work as opposed to more practical work then it will put you in a better situation when it comes to exams (no good knowing how to do it if you can't put it on paper). I am sure that a lot of people will disagree with that though, it's just my opinion.

As for hearsay, as I said earlier I did look into both unis quite well, but no, don't go to RGU so I cannot be sure what it is like there.

I'm quite agree with the bold bit actually. At the end of the day exams is all about writing out what you've learned on the paper, and ,of course, pluss some project work that you did practically, so i see theory is more important anyway.

Although I'm going to RGU but that is because i want to do Pharmacy (as Aberdeen Uni ain't having that course); i would go to aberdeen Uni if i were the OP. Before i decline my offer from other Unis my first choice was Aberdeen Uni - to do Pharmacology. So I'll say go to Abdn - it's got better reputation!!

Reply 7

OP

isn't criminology part of the legal studies course? thats something i looked at but then i heard applied social sceinces covered that so i stopped looking

Reply 8

OP

hey no the bold bit wasn't aimed at you, just wanting to make sure that you're not just bullsh*ting,. Sorry for any offence caused. doesn't rgu have good sports facilities, the complex down at Garthdee?

Reply 9

SmilerNuts

hey no the bold bit wasn't aimed at you, just wanting to make sure that you're not just bullsh*ting,. Sorry for any offence caused. doesn't rgu have good sports facilities, the complex down at Garthdee?

Yeah, fantastic. They are run as a seperate business though, so anyone can use it, although RGU students do get better prices. It would be better if it was somewhere exclusive to the students.

Reply 10

OP

Aberdeen doesnt have any exclusive student sports facilities either though so really thats not a good argeument for going there

Reply 11

Yeah, it does. Have a look through this http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sportandrec/

It wasn't really an argument for going there, it was just a comment on RGU's sport facilities.

Reply 12

OP

ok fair point, Aberdeen does seem to have fairly good facilities and prices aint abd. So if we ignore reputation for a minute can anyone actually say why aberdeen is the best uni?

Reply 13

OP

so no1 knows why aberdeen is actually the best? thats so typical of you lot lol. but yeah after finally getting the course leaflets from the uni's i've sadly decided aberdeen sounds better which menas you lot were right! aah the horror! lol. oh and before i forget, anyone who likes funny music should check out www.myspace.com/thebananabrothers cause they're a really ace band!

Reply 14

SmilerNuts

but yeah after finally getting the course leaflets from the uni's i've sadly decided aberdeen sounds better which menas you lot were right! aah the horror!

Wohoo!

Reply 15

OP

anybody doing legal studies at aberdeen? cause i think it looks ace but just want some insider knowledge

Reply 16

PharmGU

SmilerNuts

i had my heart set on Aberdeen uni for ages but now i've done a bit of reading and heard a presentation RGU seems really good. Does anyone know which is the best uni?

ok answer me 1 q?...what is it u personally want out of a university? and what coursese are u looking to go into?

im a 1st year pharmacy student at RGU and all i can say is tht im soo glad i chose the right uni cus i dnt thnk i wulda been happy at aberdeen...
i also when iw as leaveing school has my heart set on going to aberdeen maily becuase of it being more of a traditional university than RGU...i applied to both and at the time i didnt even want to go to RGU. However Aberdeen dissapointed me cus when i got replys back from them to get into the courses i had applied for their they set me conditionals to get advacned higher grades even when i had already met the requirements to get into those courses :eek:

so i basically declined all their offeres and did some more readin and found tht RGU was the better university, not just cus i got unconditonals from them hehe but also the majority of RGU's courses have been accredited by national organisations, aberdeen uni's courses are not...

Aberdeen uni is only really good for 2 things Medicine and Law but the rest of their courses arent up to tht much. As as for exams i dunno about but plenty people must be able to put the stuff that they have learned from RGU on papaer cus as far as im aware loads of people pass their exams and have graduated etc...and RGU being the more "professional" university are more geard towards the practicle side of things...mainly cus when u graduate and go for a job ...theory isnt actually goint to be much use to u if u dnt know exactly wht ure doin..anyways RGU place great emphasis on learning the theory of the practicle stuff ...

yes we do have tonnes of sporting facilities and a modern sport complex sited on Garthdee which contains all ure sporting needs....ok Aberdeen has a huge playing field...big woop but their soo called sports complex isnt impressive ...infact i think it ruins the picturesque view of Kings college..our sporting facilities are not only used by students but they are also used by the aberdonian community as well so we're also providing a service to the area

oh nd "Speedstacker" dnt do pharmacology...their are about 5 mature students on my pharmacy course and one of them did a pharmacology course and he said " was the biggest waste of 4 years of his life and he wish he had chosen smthn like pharmacy in the frst place" so yeah come do pharmacy cus a) its a fantastic course where ure garenteed to meet tonnes of new ppl plus get a masters degree as well as garenteed job afterwards. b) we're the only course at RGU which has its own social comittie and organise things such as the Pharmacy Panto - comming up soon :p:

the pharmacy skool ball and tonnes of partys throught the year :biggrin:

especially the Aoption Party which is the RGU party of the year cus everyone raves about it :p:

i was at it on tues night an d was the best night out ive had in aberdeen ever...i was baby missionary hehe :p:

and c) we are the most established school of pharmacy in the UK as are accredited by the Royal Pharmaceuticle society of GB :smile:

so in conclusion each university has its advantages and disadvantages just thought id come on and support RGU since nuthn has been said in its defense :biggrin:

but in general if u want an education go to Aberdeen...if u want a job at the end of things go to RGU

also answer this q, at the end of everything do u want a just a degree...ir a degree and a good job?

Morto

Reply 17

Scotsman1988

1

I'm studying at RGU just now and it is realy good University. It gets treated like a second class university, but it manages to strike the correct balance between practical and academic. The skills you learn at RGU will stay with you for the rest of your working life. The Times ranked it number one in the UK for graduate employment prospsctes this year. In my opinion it is this that counts.

Most of its degrees are accredited or recognised by proffesional bodies and associations. The main advantage of Aberdeen is that it is older and more widley known. It's reputation comes from its age (like Glasgow and Edinburgh), but its downfall is that it is in reality gettin govertaken by newer universities who need to work harder at thier reputation (the older unis think they can get by on thier name alone).

As said above RGU has a brilliant £11m sporting complex that caters for all of your sporting needs from climbing and absailing to football and netbll to swimming and so on.

Reply 18

88 Morto

Aberdeen uni is only really good for 2 things Medicine and Law but the rest of their courses arent up to tht much.

Where did you find this fact, on the winning RGU granite city challenge trophy? Oh, that's right, you guys have not managed to win it yet. If you were to check your point here anyway you would find that Aberdeen are good for a lot more than those two courses, including being number 2 in the country for Anatomy and physiology - beaten only by Oxford. They are also the highest rated university in the UK for chemistry, are a lot higher up than RGU for computing subjects and the same for any subject that both RGU and Aberdeen teach.

Source:Guardian 2006 university guide.

Reply 19

OP