Life at University of Edinburgh in 2024

I am currently deciding between Biotechnology BSc at either Uni of Edinburgh or Uni of Manchester. My gut says to pick Edinburgh because it’s such a cool uni and the prestige factor definitely helps, but the student experience at Manchester is just so highly praised. What is it like to study at Edinburgh? Is the student experience that bad?

Reply 1

valqq

Original post by Anonymous

hi! im also a prospective student but i’ve done extensive research and know a few people studying there in a variety of courses ( vet, music, econ ), and the general consensus seems to be that the staff just dont therapise students when they have issues, meaning that sometimes it can feel like theres not great emotional support. the main part of this seems to come from pollock halls, an accommodation building/ centre, which is said to be extremely uncomfortable for many students just because alot of disrespectful people seem to centre there, breeding a lot of, from what ive heard, ‘r*pe culture’. however, it is still a tremendously good university and has a bountiful selection of accommodation to choose from aside from this, as well as great lectures, professors, and general buzz from the city itself. as with anywhere, unis generally what you make it, so i’m sure as long as you pick your friends wisely and keep your wits about you it will live up to its prestigious and brilliant status! good luck choosing, theyre both great unis!
hope this helps in any way :smile:

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

I went to Edinburgh and had a generally good experience on a different STEM course. I’d say if you are pretty independent, and are able to find things out (reading emails/the website, asking questions etc.) and advocate for yourself, then you will be able to navigate things fine at Edinburgh. There were a few bits of late feedback/admin issues, but generally nothing that had a significant impact on the course (most of these happened in COVID). They are also actively trying to address student satisfaction, so hopefully that will start to have some impact soon.

The expectation is that you do a lot of independent work (although STEM subjects have a lot of contact hours too) and the onus is very much on you to show up to class and be prepared and engaged. I think this lowers the student satisfaction, but is also a useful skill in itself (recommend reflecting on how you work best), and I think is quite typical for Russell Group unis. I had one rough semester where I had to go through the special circumstances procedure, and I found I was well supported on that along with student counselling etc., but again, it’s up to you to access this support (unless you are a major red flag they are unlikely to reach out to you). It’s worth noting that Edinburgh is a very politically active uni, so people are generally quite vocal when things dip slightly below par.

Clubs and societies at Edinburgh are great, and I made so many good friends through these. Edinburgh is also a lovely city in itself - although I don’t know much about Manchester!

Hope this helps.