Edinburgh or Glasgow Uni for French/Modern Languages?

Hey,
I have offers from both Edinburgh and Glasgow Uni, to study Chinese/French and Spanish/French respectively. I love both cities and spend a lot of time in both, but I really can't decide which to go to.
For Glasgow I love the nightlife, the people, the uni campus and the music scene, but I find the city grey and sad, the buses are awful, and I feel less safe walking around on my own at night (I'm a woman). In Edinburgh I feel super safe walking around, but also the buses are great, the city layout is nice and it's easier to live closer to the campus, but I worry about making friends because of the stereotypical rich Edinburgh students and I worry that I would have a better time in Glasgow. Cost of living seems to be the same/similar in both, around 550-650/month for flats ://

I've read through the degree programmes and structures for both courses though I find it hard to make sense of since I haven't been to uni before. I'd like to hear from anyone who has done my specific courses or anyone who's done a language at either. I have an A at higher French so I'd be in the non-beginners class but I would be starting Chinese or Spanish at beginner level, if that helps. I really appreciate any feedback as I have NO idea what to do, thank you !

Reply 1

z44yn4b

Original post by searobin

Hey,
I have offers from both Edinburgh and Glasgow Uni, to study Chinese/French and Spanish/French respectively. I love both cities and spend a lot of time in both, but I really can't decide which to go to.
For Glasgow I love the nightlife, the people, the uni campus and the music scene, but I find the city grey and sad, the buses are awful, and I feel less safe walking around on my own at night (I'm a woman). In Edinburgh I feel super safe walking around, but also the buses are great, the city layout is nice and it's easier to live closer to the campus, but I worry about making friends because of the stereotypical rich Edinburgh students and I worry that I would have a better time in Glasgow. Cost of living seems to be the same/similar in both, around 550-650/month for flats ://
I've read through the degree programmes and structures for both courses though I find it hard to make sense of since I haven't been to uni before. I'd like to hear from anyone who has done my specific courses or anyone who's done a language at either. I have an A at higher French so I'd be in the non-beginners class but I would be starting Chinese or Spanish at beginner level, if that helps. I really appreciate any feedback as I have NO idea what to do, thank you !

Hi, im in the exact same boat as you rn, what dud you end up doing and how is it going?

Reply 2

friendlymonkey

Original post by z44yn4b

Hi, im in the exact same boat as you rn, what dud you end up doing and how is it going?

Hey! So I ended up choosing Edinburgh and I'm just finishing up first year of Chinese and French (I'm in Chinese 1 and French 1A). I love the teaching here - the foreign langauge teachers at Edinburgh are incredible and really want you to do well. French inparticular gets a bad rap because of how much harder the language is once you get past very beginner stage, especially for people who are not putting in much effort since it's just their optional. I also didn't enjoy French in the first semester, but it really is what you make of it and once I started putting more effort in I understood and therefore enjoyed it a lot more! For Chinese, I started as a complete beginner and am loving the course so far. Because you start off on complete beginner level, it is currently signifcantly easier than French and more enjoyable because of that lol. Everyone in my Chinese class loves it for this reason, and also because our teachers are fantastic and so helpful. I have friends who study both Chinese and French separately at Glasgow, the reviews for French are much the same that it is less enjoyable and more work because of the higher level. Chinese at Glasgow (though I have only heard from 1 person) seems to be on a much lower level than at Edinburgh, so if you're really wanting to study Chinese I would recommend Edinburgh 100%. Unforunately I didn't take Spanish but I have friends who study it at Edinburgh and it seems to get similar reviews to French. Both cities are great but I love the safety of Edinburgh and how most things are pretty close together so its really easy to get around. The uni is huge and there's so many great people as well as clubs and societies and I think its a really incredible place to study. Also, it rains less here and we rank higher in the QS world rankings, if those things matter to you. A con of Edinburgh is the cost of living (renting is a bit more expensive but tbh everything else is much the same), but imo that's about it. Wherever you choose to go you'll have an amazing time but I hope this has given you some insight and been helpful!

(edited 2 weeks ago)

Reply 3

z44yn4b

thanks so much, that was really helpful! do you have any advice for how to find cheaper accommodation cuz when i check edinburgh’s website the accommodation price is crazy

Reply 4

friendlymonkey

Original post by z44yn4b

thanks so much, that was really helpful! do you have any advice for how to find cheaper accommodation cuz when i check edinburgh’s website the accommodation price is crazy

So I currently live in the 2nd cheapest uni accomodation and I pay around £540/month. Unfortunately, rent in Edinburgh is just ridiculously expensive so if that's a dealbreaker for you then I would advise living in a smaller/different city because it only goes up from here (I will be paying £710 next year before bills). To make it cheaper you could live in a twin room, live in a private rented flat far out from the city centre or possibly find a room share on a facebook group or similar. I'm from Scotland so my student loan covers my rent, I get £600/month which will go up to £840/month next year to help students with the cost of living crisis. However this loan increase indicates that things are only going to get even more expensive in the future :frown: