Edinburgh, Aberdeen or St. Andrews???

Scroll to see replies

Beanybob

I've heard people say that Edinburgh has much less of a community feel than St. Andrews or Aberdeen, that it can seem quite cold and lonely. Any idea about that? Cos I'm liking the sound of the magic harry potter thing.... :p:

Just go with what you feel is right for you.
I chose Stirling over Edinburgh & I'm sure some people will think that's mad but it suited me.
I like the idea of the Harry Potter thing too! :wink:

lol

Reply 21

kat2pult

Beanybob

Well I've heard lots of good things about the St Andrews community, and about how it's the most accommodating. However the people I know at Edinburgh seem to be having an amazing time! I think though it may feel a bit more cold and lonely though because it's a big city. Many people have similar feelings towards London, for example. However that can be an advantage because there'll be loads of accommodation and entertainment :smile:

plus the campus is simply beautiful!

See what I mean about the Harry Potterness? :wink:

Reply 22

terpineol

I think st andrews can compete equally well with the harry potter side of things.

Reply 23

Beanybob

kat2pult

plus the campus is simply beautiful!

See what I mean about the Harry Potterness? :wink:

Oooooh... I think I just fell in love.... :love:

Reply 24

natasha6483

Beanybob

Oooooh... I think I just fell in love.... :love:

It is a really nice uni! :wink:

Reply 25

L i b

kjc_us

Edinburgh all the way. Best nightlife, best city. St. Andrews may have the edge in terms of prestige, but Edinburgh's not far behind.

TSR is the only place I know where St Andrews seems to be considered more respectable than Edinburgh.

0404343m

Edinburgh is a soulless city

Bizarre. Edinburgh to me is a beautiful city, brimming with culture and things to do. The finest settlement in Britain outside of London.

I realise I seem to be defending Edinburgh here today; I should probably point out that I'm not an Edinburgh student and I am an Aberdeen graduate.

My only criticism of Edinburgh (and this applies to Glasgow too) is that, from what I've heard, courses and departments are rather poorly run and organised.

Reply 26

0404343m

Personally, they're both just pale imitations of the one University that actually looks like something out of Harry Potter:

Spoiler

Now, back to point. Aberdeen, or St Andrews if you like the small town thing. They're all excellent, I'd just say Edinburgh is a particularly distant city- the community spirit sense isn't there, and you don't need to take my word for it, many have commented on it, and (compared to other Scottish and City Universities) the student satisfaction rating isn't all that high.

Reply 27

L i b

kat2pult

plus the campus is simply beautiful!

Edinburgh doesn't really have a campus as such.

See what I mean about the Harry Potterness? :wink:

If you were going to compare that building to any school in film or books, surely it should be St Trinian's - since that is what that building was before the university bought it over?

Anyway, whilst that's part of Pollock Halls, I'm pretty certain it's just used for administration with the rest of the halls complex being a bit... well... dull.

terpineol

I think st andrews can compete equally well with the harry potter side of things.

Architecturally, Aberdeen is not only better from my standpoint, but was designed to be so. King's College Chapel was basically built on the principle of flicking two fingers at St Salvator's Chapel - and it accomplished it pretty damn well. Admittedly Aberdeen also has some mediocre buildings to counter the wonders of Marischal College and the Old Aberdeen area, but I suppose then again so does St Andrews...

Reply 28

L i b

0404343m

the student satisfaction rating isn't all that high.

There's never been a more flawed and corrupt method of ranking universities.

Reply 29

0404343m

L i b

There's never been a more flawed and corrupt method of ranking universities.

I couldn't agree more, and they shouldn't be used in rankings. However, the data should be available to students as something to think about before they pick something. Of course it doesn't make a university 'better' than another (Leicester's placing of 12th is a case in point, they're below universities which rank lower in almost every other criteria, but stunning student satisfaction lifts them that high), but it is nonetheless something that shouldn't just be discarded. Edinburgh has had a large response to these surveys, and the students, on the whole, haven't been a happy bunch compared to other Universities in the last few years, which EUSA have noted on several occasions. Academically, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference, but for someone undecided on where to spend the next four years of their life, its probably worth noting.

Reply 30

NoCommentMan

Beanybob

I have unconditionals to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St. Andrews for joint English and History. [...]

Have you applied to Glasgow? I mean, if you think about studying in Aberdeen, Edinburgh or St. Andrews, why not Glasgow?

Reply 31

Beanybob

NoCommentMan

Have you applied to Glasgow? I mean, if you think about studying in Aberdeen, Edinburgh or St. Andrews, why not Glasgow?

Nope, havent applied to Glasgow uni, but I do also have places at Glasgow Caley and Queen Margarets for Physiotherapy, but I wasnt going to complecate thing by admitting to that.... :o:

Indescision is my middle name....

Reply 32

Rlemkin

Personally for me I feel Edinburgh is overrated and I also chose not to go there.

Aberdeen Uni itself is lovely and in a great place with a nice walk through the park to uni from the accomodation, yet still within a city (15 mins bus, 25 walking)

Reputation wise, St Andrews for some things, but I really think that isn't the most important thing, If you are happier in a place you're far more likely to do well there, no point going somewhere because you feel you 'should'.

Aberdeen is not the most amazing city but to be fair you'll be spending most your time outwith the centre anyway.

I can't find any of my pictures, but it looks lovely in spring

Reply 33

Ekpyrotic

L i b

TSR is the only place I know where St Andrews seems to be considered more respectable than Edinburgh.

I suppose there's all those national rankings too. Meh. Yeah 'cept for them and TSR.

Reply 34

0404343m

Ah yes, let us bow to that definitive indicator of a university's true quality: The journo's league table. Where one measures the width of the smile on the students face, multiplies this with the price of the principal's new bentley, subtracts the number of students not getting a first despite scoring a highly respectable 12% in their exams, adds together the number of pages in the books in the library, divides it by the price of a pint, then works out that the number of A-levels is directly proportional to which school daddy could afford to send student to. Puts all of this onto their trusty abacus, and gives a score out of 1000. Definitive, if ever I saw it.

Can't argue with them, no sir.

Reply 35

Beanybob

danielj315

I see in your sig that you're doing History as one of your subjects at Aberdeen. Is it any good?? Well structured course, interesting lectures etc? I'd love to hear your view of the course...

And yeah, I went to see Aberdeen recently, and thought it was really lovely. The whole place had a nice feel to it, and it was a lovely walk down from hillhead to the uni in the morning :yep:

Reply 36

mathematics91

st andrews is only high in the league tables because prince willian went there

Reply 37

0404343m

Beanybob

Statistically, Aberdeen is actually best for History in Scotland (well for research) with St Andrews and Glasgow joint next and very close behind. For teaching, St Andrews/Glasgow just edge Aberdeen- Edinburgh is a comparitively distant fourth. Aberdeen's dept is considerably smaller than the other three though, and the library is outdated, although soon to be improved- meaning Glasgow/Edinburgh shade it for resources. I'm looking at a PhD there, still unsure about it, but I think it is very strong for history- perhaps less so for English though.