@agrajag, Scottish unis are 4-year, but that means that they allow a little bit more flexibility. You may start down up to 3 streams, I believe, before choosing a major. At an English uni, you are only allowed to take classes allowed by your major/program. You decide that you actually would rather study history than physics at an English uni? Tough.
Americans (and other non-EU Internationals would be full-pay (with no fin aid) at Scottish unis while UK & EU students are subsidized a lot (especially Scottish & EU students, who may attend almost tuition-free.) So Scottish unis may take in as many Internationals as they want while Scotland sets a hard limit on the number of Scottish & EU & RUK students a uni may allow in.
I see Edinburgh as akin to a good American public like UCLA/UW-Madison/UNC. Given the price, itâs a pretty good deal. However, it is a public. Little hand-holding; students are expected to be self-motivated and study on their own. At UW-Madison, the average SAT is only 1900, yet do they drowned? Edinburgh isnât as big (more like the size of UNC), but the type of student that would do well there would be the type that does well at any large public: self-disciplined, self-motivated, can advocate for him/herself.
Whether you are in the bottom tier or not will depend far more on how much work you put in than test scores that you had before uni.
On-campus work is not a thing in the same way as in the US, but off-campus jobs are available, and as a student you are allowed to work a certain number of hours.
It is true that if you meet the requirements for a course, as a full-pay American you are likely to get in. Two notes, however: in competitive (popular) courses can be an exception (IR, for example) and be sure to check if there are specific subject requirements for the course to which you are applying.
PurpleTitanâs note about not much hand-holding should not be skimmed over, either. Be prepared to be proactive about every part of your education. One thing to be aware of is that in the UK there is much less continuos assessment and finals carry most of the weight (in many cases all the weight).
@student970, study abroad sometimes has different arrangements, but most of the catered housing places that I know about at Edinburgh do not provide lunch.
Hello, I wondered if anybody knew what are the best/most popular/ most fun sports clubs at the University of Edinburgh. I just realized there are sooo many sports options that I wanna try out, so I also wanted to know if it is common for students to join more than one sports club. Thanks
Hi Edinfan-
My daughter is a high school junior and planning on applying to Edinburgh next Fall. Could you tell me more about her experience at U of E? Any details I might not find by random googling and reading student room posts?
I could write a book. What areas or issues would you most like to know about? My daughter graduated last June and stayed this year for a masters and may well stay for a doctorate so obviously she likes it!
Thanks-- off top of my headâhow well do Americans integrate into the culture and uni? We travel quite a bit and are comfortable in urban environmentsâhave been to London, Paris, etc., use to live in NYC, but have never visited Edinburgh.
Alsoâare some courses harder to get into if you just meet the minimum requirements for Americam students? And if you do get in, do American have issues keeping up?
Some courses are harder to get into if you are just at the minimum requirements (IR comes to mind).
In my experience Americans donât have trouble with doing the work, but they do sometimes have trouble getting used to the very different approach. UK unis are much more hands off: much less teacher interaction, much higher expectations that you will sort out your own problems. There are resources, and they can be helpful, but I have seen the difference both ways: UK students are often amazed at how âspoon-fedâ students at American unis are. Self-discipline is pretty important. The level of independence much higher at every level, not just academic.
The Americans that I know had no trouble integrating- and typically love it so much that itâs hard to get them home. There are a lot of study abroad students, so students going for the full course will want to work hard to find non-American friends right off the bat (rather than finding their fellow Americans for comfort and then branching out). Edinburgh is a fantastic college town!
Thanks- I had seen similar accounts but good to get it confirmed through another source. I think my daughter would love the UK system on all accounts except for the less contact with teachers/professors. She really enjoys her favorite HS teachers and is good at developing relationships. Is there any chance at all of doing that at Edinburgh?
Of course, though it depends to some extent it depends on the course. I know a current students who have strong (professional!) relationship with their primary professor. Itâs just helpful for your daughter to understand that the system is built around much less interaction.
btw, if she has the marks for Edinburgh, she might also look at Durham which is collegiate (like Oxford and Cambridge), and a more contained community.
Hi again- another question- my daughter will not turn 18 until October of her freshman year-- just wondering if there are other students on the young side or if they are older?
Same as the US- most will be 18 when they start, some only just.
Btw, be aware that the majority of the UK students will have been drinking for a while- legally beer / wine / hard cider & illegally spirits. Whatever your views are, and whatever your daughter thinks she will be like, talk to her about it. At least teach her the core rules (donât drink anything that you havenât opened yourself or an actual bartender has handed to you; never ever drink any sort of punch). If she has had no experience of alcohol, my D1 recommends having her try some standard drinks at home so she knows how alcohol affects her.
Of course, not everybody drinks, and not everybody drinks to excess, but forewarned is forearmed.
A few weeks ago my daughter and I attended an informational session with Newcastle, Durham, Bristol, Warwick, and York. Previously we had attended a joint Oxford and Edinburgh presentation. In both, the Oxford/Durham college system didnât appeal all that much- she did however love Edinburgh, Bristol, and Newcastle. Do you have any info on Newcastle or Bristol? Bristol appears to be more selective. I donât think she will have any issue getting the scores for Edinburgh and Newcastle - but Bristol wants a 5 on the AP Calc b/c test for the program she is interested in.
Dear KK- looks like a lot of people beat me to answering your questions- there is absolutely no issues about fitting in- the Scots are very open socially- (and remember there are actually more Scots in the US, due to the diaspora, than remain in Scotland). According to my d, the only outcasts may be some posh English whom nobody wants to deal with and who are more likely to keep to themselves! My d went to a very small elite private HS (120 in her class) that was very cliquish and Edi was like a whole new world as far as social openness. She also developed very close relationships with several faculty, particularly in her last two years when, unlike the first two years, classes were small discussion groups. I donât think its too different from similar size universities in the US in that regard. Also, I donât think Newcastle and Bristol are anywhere in the same league academically - or at least reputation wise. Has your daughter looked at Trinity College Dublin? Kings College London? (KCL very receptive to U.S. students and will admit based on good SAT scores in lieu of APs). My d chose from acceptances at Edi, St Andrews, KCL and Trinity.
Hi Edinfan - thanks for the info - very reassuring that there are opportunities to develop relationships with the
faculty during the later years at Edinburgh and that American fit in so well. Interesting that you mentioned Kings. My d was originally interested in a London uni, but started leaning toward Scotland because of the flexibility in choosing a course. She still has not ruled it entirely out. What course did your d apply for at Kings? Did she pick the same course for all four unis?
The rep from Newcastle was so open and fun - and made the uni seem the same way. I think it could be her âsafetyâ school as we say in the U.S. Right now, we have plans to visit Trinity Dublin, Edinburgh, St. Andrewâs and Newcastle this summer. Still considering going south for the London unis and Bristol. My d is pretty good at maths, but getting a 5 on AP Calc B/C is no joke. Not sure she would want a school that would give her a conditional offer based on getting a 5 on that AP test. But she loved the computer science âinnovationâ program that Bristol has recently started.
