<p>My daughter is seriously thinking of applying to the U of Edinburgh for her junior year abroad next year. I'd love any feedback of those of you who may have attended or have kids who have studied there. Thanks.</p>
<p>I'm a junior from Northwestern studying in Edinburgh right now (just got back from a walk through the gardens in the city center). Classes start tomorrow, so I can't yet speak on the academics, but I'll try to answer any other questions you have the best I can.</p>
<p>So far, my experience has been great. Edinburgh itself is very nice - a surreal display of medieval beauty but a world-class modern city in its own right. The city is small enough that you can seemingly walk anywhere you need to go - I live within a 10 min walk of all my academic buildings, the union, the city center (including the castle and the main shopping street), tons of pubs and coffeehouses, three National museums, and the Meadows, where all the outdoor sports play. Feels safe at night (don't have any stats to back that up but I'm sure that can be easily looked up), and the people are generally quite friendly. The University's amenities are more or less as good as what we have back home, with the exception of the student union buildings, which are nicer and more functional than at NU. The dorms are all in one place somewhat far from campus while the student flats (what I'm in) are in different places in the city. It's fairly prestigious among unis in the UK, and has a student body that is very active in different clubs and societies, which leads to what so far has seemed like a lively and interesting mix of people.</p>
<p>Again, feel free to ask about anything else</p>
<p>lmpw, things are going wonderfully for D (also a junior) so far. She echoes the "lively and interesting mix" comment, and likes her classes too. Unlike t.i., she's in a dorm, not a flat, but it's perfectly fine, according to her.</p>
<p>Does your D have specific questions?</p>
<p>I'm currently in the application process for the upcoming spring at Edinburgh. All I can say is that it seems like an amazing place, and i'm soo psyched.</p>
<p>Just a few questions for the time being as I'll likely ask many more in the next few months. Son is planning on studying in Scotland for spring semester and is just awaiting his acceptance.</p>
<p>I checked a visa website and it seems he will not need a student visa to study abroad in Scotland. Is that correct. If not, how far in advance did you have to apply for the visa? How long did it take to get it?</p>
<p>How did you/your child get all their belongings to Scotland. Seems like a comforter and pillows will take up too much room!</p>
<p>Need converter for laptop to plug in?</p>
<p>All info will be helpful!! Hope your kids are having a great time. (How are the Scottish kids? Nice?)</p>
<p>im also thinking abt it for my junior year...</p>
<p>t.i what courses are you taking there, are there any specific musts and must nots in course choices.</p>
<p>Studying abroad is the best experience that an individual can have. I really encourage everyone to try to send an application to any University overseas. I am an Argentine that is currently studying in the University of Munich and is a great experience meeting new people and their cultures. Go ahead.</p>
<p>I'd also be interested to know the answers to Craze's questions, particularly regarding student visas.</p>
<p>CaseSpartan-
I'll PM the 2 posters at Edinburgh and ask them to post answers on this thread for us.
By the way, how is CaseW? My senior son is applying now to schools for next yr. and interested in Engineering or Comp Sci. Doesn't want a city so we kept it off his list.
-crazed(an MSU Spartan!!!)</p>
<p>Re the visa: The study abroad office at D's college advised her to go ahead and get one just to be on the safe side, even though a careful reading of all the relevant UK websites suggests that it isn't essential if a student will only be there for a period of time not exceeding three months. So she did. </p>
<p>Yes, you'll definitely need a UK plug adapter for a laptop and any other electrical appliances. </p>
<p>The University offers linen rentals (including a pillow) that make the whole packing process much more manageable. My D - yes, she likes shoes and clothes QUITE a lot - managed with a huge rolling duffel, a large rolling duffel, a backpack (the schoolbag kind, not the overnight kind), and a big purse. (Even her lax stick fit, with the head taken off - though her airline would have allowed it to go in a separate lax bag without any additional charge. She just didn't want to try to keep up with an extra bag.)</p>
<p>She's really enjoying her classes and having a great non-academic time too. She seems to spend her time with a mix of UK kids and other Americans she's met, and according to her, everybody's very friendly.</p>
<p>HTH.</p>
<p>Thanks Harriet.</p>
<p>I'm taking two Sociology classes: The Internet and Society and Scotland: Social Structure and Social Change. Both have been excellent so far. I'm also taking Architectural History 1A, which has also been pretty fun, with engaging lecturers. So far I haven't really heard about any knock-out classes you have to take - Scottish Ethnology, Medieval Scottish History, and Art History seem to be popular. </p>
<p>Regarding the visa, for one semester of study, you don't need it, but if there's any chance of wanting to stay longer or wanting to work, I'd get the visa. Get it a couple months or so in advance. I made the mistake of not getting a visa and realized I couldn't work for some extra cash even if i wanted to. </p>
<p>I heartily recommend buying things like pillows, comforters, etc when you get here. There are cheap stores to get these things, and my program (Arcadia) actually provided me with a duvet and blanket - it's not great but it's free. </p>
<p>I brought an American powerstrip which I plug into a British adapter (which you can easily find out here in electronics stores up and down Nicolson/Clerk St.</p>
<p>What are you doing for banking?
Did you open a local acct? Use your debit/credit card over there? Need cash in pounds for when you arrive?
Phone?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>D definitely took pounds with her. (It's always smart to have local currency when you arrive in a different country - at least enough to get you where you're going, from the airport or train station, and tide you over until you find a cash point.) I believe she's using her debit card, which can function as a credit card for emergencies. No local bank account.</p>
<p>The phone is a trickier one. I don't recall what D ended up buying for herself, but I do know she talked with a lot of kids who'd done semesters in the UK recently to find out what she needed. Whatever she ended up getting has a SIM card and is pay-as-you-go, and she tops up her minutes from Tesco when she needs to. </p>
<p>If the question you're asking is, do you really need a phone when there's Skype, the answer is yes: Skype is great for talking/chatting/video chatting when they're in their rooms, but they also need to be able to text friends, and communicate when they're traveling.</p>
<p>Hi crazed,</p>
<p>sorry i've taken so long to get back to your question. Anyways, I absolutely love it here at Case, and its certainly a great place for engineering. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions.</p>
<p>hi, I want to study outside my country and get a MBA but i cant decide were to go and hoe to search for good colleges in other countries plus you need to know how much is going to be the cost to live out there. and later return to my country to work because its better to work with a foreingn degree tan a local. thank you.</p>
<p>Quick question,</p>
<p>I'm currently applying for a student visa, and there is a section asking for the name/address/other info about my "sponsor." Does anybody know who the appropriate sponsor would be for study abroad to edinburgh?</p>
<p>Harriet,
Can you get more phone specifics from your daughter, please! Where to get the phone. Plan from here? Etc.</p>
<p>Also, can you ask your daughter about the debit/credit card. Can she use it at ATM's for getting cash?</p>
<p>It is my understanding that you need to send in your passport to get the Student visa. Right? Problem is, my son may need it for a trip in December. If it takes two months, that will not be long enough either way. Obviously, he'll need the passport to travel in Dec and in Feb (to Scotland.) Any ideas?</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>crazed, sure, I'll ask her about the phone. I do know that she chose, after talking to friends who'd recently been there, NOT to get a plan but to do the pay-as-you-go option. We could easily have bought her a new phone here, with international capability, but she did the pros and cons and felt this was the right choice. FWIW, when she was in h.s. and traveling abroad with school groups, we simply loaned her my H's phone which is set up for international use, but that clearly wasn't going to be possible for 3 months. In any case, I'll try to get details. (I think I'm a much meaner mom than you. :D I insisted that she do the research online and with friends, and follow up with the purchase, etc.)</p>
<p>Yes, she just uses her regular debit card at cash points/ATMs (which are all over the place, in Scotland and throughout most western European countries) to get pounds. This will work for virtually any US debit/credit card, as long as your PIN is 4 characters. It's also wise to have your son call the issuing bank and give them the dates of travel a week or so before he leaves, so that they don't freeze the account when they see unexpected activity in an unexpected place. </p>
<p>Yes, you have to send your passport when you apply for the visa (the visa is a stamp or a new page - I honestly don't remember which - affixed in the existing passport). You can pay extra to have it expedited; that should work with your timetable.</p>
<p>uhh..delete?</p>