St Andrews, Edinburgh, Durham - anyone have knowledge

[ifonly4]

Does anyone have a DC at these unis or have any knowledge of them? if so, I'd appreciated any honest positives and negatives.

DD has had a change of heart over where to apply for uni. At this stage, it's impossible to get her to open days for St Andrews and Edinburgh, however, hoping to get her booked onto an tour around each in summer hols and an overnight stay in each area, so at least she's seen something of the area. Durham have an open day late October which we can attend, but she won't have much time to consider other options if that gets written off.

The situation with accommodation at St Andrews is nowhere near as bad as people on here would have you believe. My daughter is living in a house with four friends in January. They secured if from an estate agents list in January. It's a lovely house at a fair price. They did not have to camp out over night to get it!
Getting back into halls if so desired is also relatively easy.

It’s called conversation, speakingwoman.

All super snobby. Full of unashamed private school kids who will shove state school kids aside. Like Oxbridge without the sense of cringe.
I'd go for a red brick instead

I'm with Cholka and would rather my kids went to Manchester.

Cambridge was so down to earth after the madness of Durham.

Bit of an exaggeration.

Hope all these contributions are proving useful OP - my takeaway so far is it would be best to avoid public school toffs, and not go to any of the universities your dd would like to go to. Have you thought about Manchester or Cambridge? Fuck it, why not go to uni in America where you can avoid public school people entirely?

Well I for one am in my 50s. But I still have eyes and ears and, what is probably more valuable, I still communicate with my 20 year old son who is at one of the universities named. I guess that is my value to this conversation. Though I would agree that visiting the universities and towns and studying the details of the courses is more important than anything else. But asking for other people's experiences is not valueless.

The stuff about state school kids being shoved aside by private school kids is ridiculous.

I don’t know anything about Durham, but here’s my views of Edinburgh.

It is a big university, so massive range of elective courses.
There’s a diverse range of student housing for first years, and then flats for subsequent years.
There are opportunities to get a part-time job.
It has an international student body.
The city is beautiful, but close to the “great outdoors”. It’s a compact city, so you don’t have to spend a lot on fares.
It’s easy to get into for rUK students.
4 Year course means access to more electives (although you do have to pay for the fourth year).
Easy rail and air transport links.
DD’s flatmates don’t mind that she went to an independent school.

I'm at Durham Uni, it's not super snobby it's actually really diverse. It's a beautiful place to live and there is so much to do.

I'm a huge fan of the collegiate system. Everyone ends up thinking their college is best even if they didn't pick it.

It's the best university for team sports in the country. There is a sport for everyone. Even I've taken up two completely new sports as a mature student and I used to hate sport.

If sport is really not your thing there are lots of other clubs and societies available.

Downside is the University accommodation can be very expensive. I never lived in because I was already local with a family of my own.

I went to Edinburgh many years ago, and am not a snotty private school kid, despite Cholka's claims. I more recently worked at Edinburgh University. There are a fair number of better off students, but it's a big city university so very diverse and you also get a lot of local students who are there because it's cheaper and they can live at home.

It isn't a campus university, which I like. Students nearly always live in flats after the first year, most get involved with city life, and there's a lot of that about. If you want to stay in the university, there are a lot of clubs etc going on. Ski club is terribly posh. Sci fi socety isn't. You'll find friends at all levels.

St Andrews I have also worked at - a bit posher than Edinburgh and the town is pretty small so it can feel claustrophobic sometimes but it's got a lovely supportive atmosphere from what I can tell. Durham is where my sister went (again, years ago now) and it was much like St Andrews.

I would have thought Durham's open day would be before the early closure dates for Oxbridge.

My DD was upset at the college she was offered at Durham and very many do not their (single) preference. You cannot choose. It meant, for her, that she would not get an opportunity do choral singing (she held a choral scholarship from Oxford) and she did not want to be on the extremity of the city near the park and ride, so she turned them down for insurance. We wondered if they gave her a hall she did not want because they thought she might be insurance when they allocated it. Not sure how this works though.

I think students at St Andrews seem to thrive on close knit friendship groups and house parties. Obviously lots of students who go there do not want lots of activities outside the university. They are clearly not going to get it. So it is a bit horses for courses.

DD had several friends at Edinburgh and they loved it. It was not cheap though. It is less insular than Durham or St Andrews so perhaps the personality of your DD will guide you, OP? They are all top class, so it is a nice dilemma to have.

If you can’t make the undergraduate open days, you can still apply via UCAS, and attend the offer holder open days. These are often in the February half-term.

My Dd has just finished 1st year at Edinburgh and loves it. I grew up in Edinburgh and very much enjoy visiting her there now. It's a great city with lots of opportunities and activities and a brilliant buzz.

Same here, CDD. I love going back to visit now.

That's a good point CraftyGin

There are also Offer-Holder Days in end March/April - that's when we went up to Aberdeen again with ds. It was really interesting and also with additional information for parents.

As PPs have said, St Andrews is very insular. imo it 'feels' more like an English university rather than a Scottish one which will suit some personality types better than others. There are few opportunities for part-time jobs or for a life outwith the confines of the university circles iyswim. My nephew was at St Andrews for a year before transferring out to Aberdeen. He found it stifling.
Edinburgh otoh is a nice mix of small city, nearby countryside and lots of course choices. You can bury yourself in the university and only mix with fellow students or join in the vibrant clubs/activities/social scene outwith the university.
It does all depend on your DC's personality/needs/wants.

Durham is lovely but very small and doesn’t have big theatres, music arenas, high street shops, big nightclubs, or anything else you’d expect in a city. Tbh I wouldn’t really class it as a city at all. Edinburgh is much bigger and more diverse, with all of the entertainments and facilities you’d expect. It depends on your DC’s personality. I’m not a city person and somewhere like Durham would be a much better fit for me.

Durham is AMAZING. I had the time of my life there.

As far as I'm aware they have changed the college allocation system, so basically you apply for the one you want, and you get in if there is room. It is not first come first served though - it's randomised.

I went to a very popular oversubscribed college in the centre of town on the Bailey (near the cathedral) and had an absolute blast, but I know those who went to newer/less traditional colleges also loved it.

The older colleges have a lot of shared rooms for first year, which seems scary but most end up loving the experience.

Durham is completely catered apart from one college, Josephine Butler (the one next to the park and ride as mentioned by a pp) and St Cuthbert's Society, which has the option of fully, part or self-catered.

Durham also has post offer open days in March, where you go and stay at your college, look around, do subject tasters and go to a formal.

Apply to all. The offer holder days held in the spring are more useful for crystallising choice anyway.
The Durham offer holder days involve an overnight stay in college. DD went and loathed it having quite liked it on the original open day! She didn't go there. Also don't get too hung up on which college to apply for because they don't necessarily allocate you there. DD's offer came through quite quickly but she was allocated a different college.

Edinburgh is ranked within the top twenty universities in the world. St. Andrews and Durham are much lower in ranking.

Edinburgh is an obvious choice unless your DD has a strong personal preference for either St. Andrews or Durham.

Edinburgh also has a plummeting student satisfaxtion rating.

I think Edinburgh students boycotted that particular satisfaction survey.

I think in the UK, lots of employers rank Durham very highly, certainly in some professions. I don’t recognise the notion that Edinburgh is far superior and it very much depends on subject area.

I really don’t understand why students should not apply to any university they like. Who cares about who else might be there and, if you are state school educated, you will be in the majority wherever you go! I cannot see why students cannot mix with other students, regardless of background. Please tell your DC that they will get the most out of any university if they go in with an open mind and a desire to make friends with like minded people regardless of previous schools and parental income.

I don't know who fills in those student satisfaction surveys. Most students I know a) can't be bothered or b) boycott them