Edinburgh or Durham for Biological Sciences?

I recieved an offer from both Edinburgh and Durham for Biological sciences. I am very torn between which university to select as my firm choice. In international rankings Edinburgh generally ranks much higher than Durham, but in english rankings Durham ranks higher.
For biology rankings it really depends on what website you use and I got the impression they are both just as good.
I get the same fees in both universities, although at Edinburgh the university accomodation is cheaper. I know its also a much bigger city than Durham, but I dont mind living in a small or big city really.
I think they both also have big student bodies.

The conditional offer I recieved from Edinburgh included slightly higher conditions for my total IB diploma score, and my score for HLs. I dont know if that means the Biology course would be better? But it also makes me more tempted to pick Durham as it will be slightly easier to get in, in case my exams dont go great.

I know in Edinburgh the course is 4 years, but I dont mind. And I know Durham is far away from everything so transport and travelling out of the UK is more difficult, but I'm okay with that too.

If anyone could tell me their opinions on which university is better for Biology I would be really grateful!

Reply 1

miffy876

hey!! sorry this may be a bit wishywashy as i dont do bio and dont quite know anything about bio but i do know quite a bit on edin and uni as i debated between the two for my firm recently hahah

durham is actually not as far from things as u think!! Newcastle is super nearby (10min bus i believe), buildings are beautiful, and its a very nice city with a good group of students. i havent heard toooo much about durham for bio as i believe durham may be more wellknown for humanities subjects (i may be incorrect)

however, i ended up firming edinburgh! mainly because its such a beautiful city and (huge bias as i studied there during my gcses LOL) the food is amaze! Also people there are lovely and scotland has honestly the best transport systems out of anywhere in the uk. also if night life is a factor for you, its definitely better in edinburgh.
For bio, edinburgh is definitely known for their chem/bio department, more than durham at least... i know their requirements are defo higher because bio courses are typically much more competitive in edinburgh than durham!!

At the end of the day, if u get the chance to visit both cities, do it!!! the two cities are very different and maybe youll find yourself enjoying one over the other. also look at the job prospects and course modules on the uni websites- one thing i prefer about scottish unis is the additional modules and the flexibility with changing courses.

also if edinburghs offer is higher, perhaps firm edinburgh and insure durham? but if the margin isnt too big then i guess you should research a bit more and also sit on your decision for a bit (but not too long because it took me 3 months to firm) i was too indecisive...

either way, whatever choice u make will be the right choice! no right or wrong and ur uni life is going to be amazing whether you choose edinburgh or durham :smile:

Reply 2

Hannah_Heart

Hi thank you so much! And yes I plan on visiting both Durham and Edinburgh before making my firm choice. But currently I’m also leaning more towards Edinburgh 🙂.

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