Scottish university

[Pinkpeanut27]

Just wondering if anyone can explain them Scottish system to me ?
We don’t live in Scotland but my son is considering applying to Edinburgh or St Andrews .
I know he will sort it out and school will guide him but when I tried to research for my own interest I got confused .
Courses seem to be longer ? And do the students go earlier ie at 17.

If some kind soul can help me out with the basics I’d be very grateful

As you don't live in Scotland your son will have to pay for his tuition (Scottish students do not pay) so he'll stand a good chance of getting in a Scottish University's like paying students!

What is he going to study? Courses will cover Scottish Law and Scottish Regulations etc rather than English ones.

Scottish students don't start earlier but some kids may not turn 18 until later in their first year, that's just down to the year they were born. My son will turn 18 two months into his course.

My degree was three years for the standard degree and four for the Hons. Sometimes you can miss the first one or two years if you did an HND in the subject first.

Thanks that makes sense , he’s looking at history , politics and international relations or some mixture of the above , I’m
Not sure if the specific universities he is looking at do the right mix of courses but he’s got a bee in his bonnet about coming up to Scotland ! I’m leaving him and his teachers to sort it but just wanted an idea .

Yes, generally ordinary degrees are 3 years, honours are 4 and some combined masters are 5.

School leavers in Scotland can be 16 (if leaving after S5), 17 or 18 depending on where their birthdays fall. Some English and Scottish students can get entry to 2nd year though, purely for social reasons, I'd suggest starting in 1st year and making the most of freshers etc.

St Andrews is a bit of a bugger to get to as there's no train station (nearest Leuchars). Both Edinburgh and St Andrews have lots of English and overseas students but you'll probably know that.

If you pop your question in the Scotsnet topic area you might get more replies.

Thanks I didn’t know there was such a place .
Currently I’m leaving it to him , looking at the specific courses I’m
Not sure they will suit him . I think he is just trying to go as far away as he can !