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RVC or Edinburgh

hey, ive got an offer from RVC and Edinburgh (on hold for Bristol) and was just wondering if people could give their opinions on the vet med. course at these places and what it is like being at these unis. Just i like both places a lot and not really sure where to go and just thought some people could give their advice, thank you

Reply 1

xxnikkixx

Im not a student at either but Id say a big thing to consider is cost. London would be very expensive to live in. Id love to go to the RVC but the cost of it is a big thing that counts against it! Im on hold for bristol too! We should start hearing from them in a few weeks! :smile:

Reply 2

e_s_emsie

OP

yeah we should here from bristol at the end of the month! i definitly agree that cost is a big issue, but i was looking at price of Edinburgh halls and they are quite expensive aswell...ah well we'll see what bristol have to say

Reply 3

xxnikkixx

hhm......what about prices for nights out and food costs etc? It probably comes down to your personal preference cos most unis are much the same! Least your in a good position with 2 offers well done! Yep hope I get an offer is was lovely there! :smile:

Reply 4

lucyrobyn

6

I love Edinburgh, just as a city. its beautiful, and when i saw the vet school i thot the facilities were really really good. have you been to see both of the schools?? if u havent, it might be a decision maker for u!

also, edinburgh halls arent gr8 (the food is meant 2 b bad and they dont do self catering) but the student flats (well, south clerk street) are self catered, alot cheaper (i fink it was £80 per week, compared to £120 in halls)- dont quote me on that. and the flats are v nice. the one i was in, had high cielings and big windows, 7 bedroom, 2 bathroom, big kitchen, big sittingroom. . . .and dish washer!! woo!

also edinburgh, 3 n 4, n 5th yr u are outside of the city. . .a good few miles away! but in 1st n 2nd yr, the flats are really close to summerhall.
(plz bear-in-mind i have only been in 2 of these flats)

Reply 5

sarahbeth

regarding halls at Edinburgh, I haven't lived in them this time around (this is a second degree for me) but friends are, the food is meant to be terrible in those that are catered but people living in the uni flats seem very happy, they get electric/gas/internet etc included in the price (and i think cleaning as well). The flats are generally all very close (5 min walk or so) from Summerhall and can be lived in for the full 5 years of your course if that is what you want. Self catered flats are in the region of £80/week, the student houses are the same though you can have twin rooms, which work out at £50/week. Pollock which is the catered halls is about £95-£150 dependant upon which block you live in and also if you share a room but £120 gets you a good sized double room, with a shared bathroom (but only shared between a couple of rooms or so).

To rent a room in a flat in Edinburgh, it depends on the size of the flat and where it is. I live a 5 min walk from Summerhall, on a quiet street right by Arthurs Seat, I have off road car parking and the flat is HUGE, there are 2 of us in a 3 bed (3rd bedroom is a study) and we pay £350/month each (oh and I am allowed pets). Some friends are in places that are about £280/month they are 10/15 mins walk away and the rooms are smaller etc etc.

As for the having to go out to Bush from 3rd year onwards, nearly all the vet schools have a campus outside of the city for these years (I know for certain that London, Liverpool, Bristol and Edinburgh do). what I can say about Edinburgh, is that it has a great public transport system, you can get ANYWHERE on a bus. Bush is very accessable and currently has at least 2 bus services to it (which I know they are planning on increasing). Most students stay in the city for these years as well, we are so close to countryside anyway and by staying you can continue to socilise etc. with other friends who may not be at the vet school.

Anyways, I hope at least some of this waffle has helped?!!

Beth

ps come to Edinburgh it is great :smile:

Reply 6

SlipperyWhenWet

1

It's a difficult choice! I would have immediately said Edinburgh (cos it's pretty lol) a few weeks ago but having followed my very sick cat's progress at the RVC small animal hospital recently - I can say I am completely overwhelmed by them, my cat was treated like he was the most important animal in the country!! So now I will say no more bad things about that place!! However I will say, the first 2 yrs are in Camden which isn't the nicest place in London and London is the most expensive place to study! Good luck choosing!

Reply 7

your.angel

1

Camden's not so bad. Lots of cool shops, pubs with student discount and plenty of..um, interesting people! I've always preferred the country, but I think it's a good experience to live in London for a bit - you definately can't get bored here!

And it doesn't have to be that expensive either. Granted you can't get away from very scary rent prices (although the place I'm living is almost worth it), but otherwise you can live pretty frugally. I eat for about the same as I did in Nottingham (around £15 / week), and we've developed a great strategy for going out cheaply at the weekend (drink at home, then at 10:55pm run over the road to the pub / club which is free entry before 11pm). Living is as cheap as you make it basically..

Reply 8

Hel' in Heaven

your.angel

(although the place I'm living is almost worth it

ohh i'm interested.. where do you live?!!

There are probably nicer places to be in London, but Camden is really not bad! It's really close to everything you need, and a bus ride away from everything else!

good luck with choosing!
Helen

Reply 9

sarahbeth

I forgot to say I did my first degree at the RVC and I loved it, I choose not to stay in London for vet med as I had spent 6 years there and fancied a change. London is expensive rent wise, Edinburgh isnt much cheaper these days though. I love Edinburgh and can see myself here for many years to come, I couldn't in London...just to confuse you further!

Beth

Reply 10

e_s_emsie

OP

haha yeh completly confused now lol.....

Reply 11

sarahbeth

Personally now I will shout Edinburgh to anyone hehe!

Reply 12

your.angel

1

Hel' in Heaven

ohh i'm interested.. where do you live?!!

There are probably nicer places to be in London, but Camden is really not bad! It's really close to everything you need, and a bus ride away from everything else!

good luck with choosing!
Helen

Holloway - about 30 mins walk or 10 min cycle to RVC.

If anyone is looking for a place just over the summer, or from around July onwards for the next academic year as well, there'll be a room going! Just let me know...

I wouldn't live in London forever either, although I think being here is a good experience for a year (2 on the normal vetmed course). Hawkshead is quite nice, has more of a country feel, while being smack in between the A1 and M25, so it's easy to get away! Though saying that, my favourite campus was probably Langford.

Reply 13

Floob

1

If it comes down to it I would personally go to Edinburgh. This is because its closer to where I live and the train fares are not too bad. Also being a student from Scotland I'll have course fees paid with a graduate endowment to pay at the end (equivalent to about 1 1/2 years course fees in the case of vet medicine). Buut then I do like Edinburgh as a city and Im not a huge fan of cities in general.

Reply 14

messy

8

sarahbeth

what I can say about Edinburgh, is that it has a great public transport system, you can get ANYWHERE on a bus. Bush is very accessable and currently has at least 2 bus services to it (which I know they are planning on increasing).

Er which bus transport system do you use?! From what i know it is nearly impossible to get to bush by bus - if you use the uni provided bus it either forgets to come and pick you up or arrives too early/late so you miss it and public transport goes past bush once every hour...if you are lucky!
It is for this reason that people either have a car or share lifts.

Despite this edinburgh is fantastic and i would DEFINITELY recommend it - i am loving being here. At the time of choosing where i wanted to go i also was torn between the RVC and the RDVC and i chose Edinburgh for a mixture of reasons - pure gut instinct mainly and also the fact that i didnt think i could bear to live in london for 5 years - i love the country too much and enjoy nothing better than gouing out exploring the hills and coastlines round edinburgh. I certainly dont regret choosing Edinburgh and would choose it all over agin if i could!

Reply 15

batty_hatty

7

your.angel

Holloway - about 30 mins walk or 10 min cycle to RVC.

If anyone is looking for a place just over the summer, or from around July onwards for the next academic year as well, there'll be a room going! Just let me know...

QUOTE]

Are you trying to sell our house my dear?

Correction for anyone who is interested, there wil be two rooms available from september and im sure if you wanted to come earlier we would be able to arrange something for over the summer while the rest of us are away.

Reply 16

sarahbeth

messy

Er which bus transport system do you use?! From what i know it is nearly impossible to get to bush by bus - if you use the uni provided bus it either forgets to come and pick you up or arrives too early/late so you miss it and public transport goes past bush once every hour...if you are lucky!
It is for this reason that people either have a car or share lifts.

well we never had a problem with using Lothian buses to get to and from this summer (but I'm guessing you have tried to use it more often than me so are more likely to right! :smile:

), but I know the vet school are in talks with them about increasing the number passing. Edinburgh in general has a great public transport system as far as I am concerned, beats London hands down :smile:

Reply 17

messy

8

i do agree that in general public transport in edinburgh is very good (if only the council would stop digging up all the damn roads) and hopefully if the uni do increase transport to bush as proposed along with the move out to bush it should all be wonderful.

Reply 18

sarahbeth

I know! what is it with all the damn roadworks at the moment? cant go anywhere without at least two hold ups- grr most annoying!

Reply 19

messy

8

And if they'd only fill in the bl**dy potholes whilst they're at it!!!;rant;

RVC or Edinburgh

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