<p>Son is considering a semester in Scotland at the University of Stirling.</p>
<p>He has considered other locations that I did not feel would be wise. He found this school and from their website it looks great with everything he (and we parents) want.</p>
<p>Anyone have a child who studied there or know anyone that did?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>My older sister studied a year at the University of St Andrews. I'm not sure how different it is from Stirling though - I know Edinburgh ang Glasgow are much larger universities than St Andrews which she said was roughly the size of Princeton - 6,000 total students. About 1500 a class.</p>
<p>My D did a study abroad (summer) at University of Glasgow. She really liked Scotland. In fact, she talked the rest of the family into going there on vacation a year or two later.</p>
<p>No experience with the University of Stirling, but my daughter did a fall semester a few years ago at the University of Dundee. She was a student at Tufts at the time, and decided to arrange it all on her own as she wanted to immerse herself in a different culture rather than hang around with other American students abroad. She loved it, and has been back to Scotland twice since then. The people at Dundee could not have been more helpful and friendly, and doing it all on her own was not a problem at all. Your son will love Scotland!!</p>
<p>My daughter is also interested in a semester at the University of Stirling. We don't have any first hand experience but we have liked the information on the website. It seems just what she is looking for. We know people with relatives in the area and they seem very positive about the school.</p>
<p>Stirling has a really lovely campus and I've heard it's a friendly close-knit sort of place because so many students live on-campus. It's in a rather nice town with decent shopping etc and both Glasgow and Edinburgh are within very easy reach for everything they have to offer. It's also a great area for anyone who enjoys an outdoors lifestyle. I have a Scottish friend who went there and absolutely loved it, and I have never heard anything bad about it. It's not one of the top Scottish universities in terms of entrance requirements but it is certainly regarded as prefectly respectable academically.</p>
<p>I'd also appreciate any information on the University of Aberdeen, since my D is interested in spending a semester there in her junior year.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the positive information. THe universities in Scotland seem like a great place to be and study.</p>
<p>Stirling sounds ideal. </p>
<p>RHSMom- When is your daughter planning on going to Stirling? It would be great if they were there at the same time. from their website, it seems that there are lots of Univ in the States that do study abroad there. Where is your daughter in school? Where do you live?</p>
<p>My daughter hopes to go spring semester 2010. She is currently in her second year at College of Wooster in Ohio. We live in Florida. She wants a more traditional Scottish area and less of a city. She is planning on a history major. She was introduced to Stirling at the Study abroad fair that her college did. I don't know if anyone from her college has been there. I hope she can get some first hand info. There is a British site similar to College Confidential that had some Stirling posts. I heard about it in the study abroad section of CC. At the moment I can't recall the name.. something like student room. Once this year gets underway I know she will start to focus on her options for next year.</p>
<p><a href="http://www">www</a>. the student room .co .uk</p>
<p>remove the spaces for the link to work.</p>
<p>Aberdeen - it's one of Britain's oldest universities so there's some beautiful old buildings. The main campus is about a mile from the city centre in what feels like a village. It's near some lovely gardens and a beach. Academically it's a similar level to Stirling - well-respected but doesn't tend to get the real high-flying students (although it does have a good medical school). The city of Aberdeen is largely granite buildings - some love it, some loathe it depending on your feeling towards granite. It's more international than you might expect due to the North Sea oil industry using it as a base - very much a modern Scottish city, which may disappoint anyone after the Braveheart type of experience. It's got decent shopping, restaurants, culture etc. The weather isn't as bad as you might expect but it can be a bit grim in winter (depending of course on where you are coming from in the US). The biggest downside would be that it is quite a long way from anywhere else, and this makes much travelling around in the UK or Europe rather expensive.</p>
<p>Bewildered:</p>
<p>Thanks. My D will be coming from a school in Minnesota, so the Aberdeen winter will seem balmy to her.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on the English department?</p>
<p>Sorry I've no real idea about English at Aberdeen. I'd assume they'd teach a lot of Scottish literature but that's not very helpful. The site cupcake suggested might produce a student doing English there, who could give you a better idea of what's on offer and what they think about it.</p>
<p>rhsmom-
Too bad our children are planning on the trip a year apart although we can report back to you!!
Son is also a sophomore at Miami, finishing up his history major this term and also starting a second major. He went in with lots of AP credits so officially he's finishing up his Jr year this fall term. Would have been a good match for our kids to go together!!!</p>
<p>I'll check out the link to the reviews. Thanks for posting it!!!</p>
<p>While it was several years ago, I spent a year in at Aberdeen. While I agree with the previous poster with regard to the inconvenient location, it did not prevent me from traveling anywhere. Ditto with respect to their description of beauty of the city on the North Sea with award winning gardens and the architecture of Marischal and King's Colleges as well as the High Street. With a full academic year, I had the opportunity to take advantage of lengthy winter, spring and summer to travel. Winters are long and dark and granite can get to you. However, come springtime, you forget the long nights.</p>
<p>Crazed,
If you son goes to Stirling I would love it if you could post his impressions and experiences, either here or in the study abroad forum. Thanks!</p>
<p>I am so bad with this CC site. Where is the Study Abroad forum anyway?</p>
<p>my son has been accepted to university of edinburgh I wonder if anyone here knows anyone who has gone there, or what the expenses are like in scotland it sounds really nice and he's very excited. He has deferred entry until 2009</p>
<p>Sheilagh your son is very lucky. Edinburgh is a fantastic place to live. I spent a year working there and every time I walked out of the station onto Princes St and saw the castle, or looked down a road to see the sea, I couldn't believe how lucky I was to live somewhere so beautiful. I think he'll have a marvellous time socially (there really is so much going on in the city, that there's something for everyone) and the university is very good academically across the board. Their website gives this guide to budgeting:</p>
<p>Estimated</a> living costs 2008-09 | Finance | International students</p>
<p>The costs look about right to me. If he can cook for himself, then that will be a big saving - eating out or surviving on take-out food is more expensive, I think, than in the US. Edinburgh airport is quite good for cheap flights to other European cities if he wants to travel. As there's so much tourism, it's also not a bad place to find a part-time job for a few hours a week, if he needs to earn a bit extra.</p>
<p>That's brutal at the exchange rate, like $12,000 / academic year, not including all meals or books.</p>