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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Scottish universities

118 replies

LoniceraJaponica · 07/12/2018 10:37

I believe that degrees at Scottish universities are usually over four years. Does this mean that the first year is slightly easier for English students who may have covered some of the coursework in their A levels? Do they get a shock in the second year when they actually have to do some work?

DD is taking a gap year and her friends who are in Scotland seem to party all the time and do very little work. Her friends at English universities party less and have more work to do, or are they just more conscientious?

OP posts:
chemenger · 07/12/2018 11:47

Students who have done either A levels or advanced Highers will find that they have covered some or most of the first year material (certainly in sciences) and will have a fairly gentle start academically. However that can lead cruising which can make second year more challenging than it otherwise would be. Scottish students tend to have cruised a bit in sixth year imo, having qualified for university the year before so first year is less straightforward. All based on being at a Scottish university a million years ago and teaching in on for decades. One caveat, this is the case for subjects studied at school, obviously new subjects won’t have that familiarity factor. So advanced higher chemistry will overlap a lot with first year chemistry, first year anthropology is unlikely to correspond to school study.
It’s much less common for Scottish students to come after fifth year than it used to be, and more common for a level and advanced higher students to go straight in to second year than it used to be.

chemenger · 07/12/2018 11:48

Sorry for the typos. It’s very early in the morning where I am!

Original poster
LoniceraJaponica · 07/12/2018 12:00

Thank you for the replies. Once again, I am sorry that I have aoffended some of you, but it seems that some of the answers here have confirmed what my initial thoughts were, but it is clearly based on personal perspectives.

OP posts:
2rebecca · 07/12/2018 19:44

My son did advanced highers then a 5 year MEng in Scotland. He found the 1st year fairly easy as a lot of the maths was revision although it was still year 1 engineering so covered a lot of stuff not taught at school. Year 2 was a big step up. He'd eased off after getting an unconditional in his last year at school though so a year of less intense but still compulsory stuff was good for him.

Alaimo · 10/12/2018 18:46

One thing that has not been mentioned yet is that depending on the course (and university?), students will generally take 3 different subjects in first year. Depending on the level of congruence between A-level subjects and first year courses, your DD may find it easier or more challenging than her classmates. I also know various people (including myself and my husband) who had applied to university to study one subject, but ended up enjoying our other subject(s) so much that we switched degrees in second year. For example, I applied to study Politics & International Relations, and chose Geography as a third subject. I ended up enjoying Geography so much, that I dropped Politics and graduated with a degree in Geography & IR instead. I think the potential to try 1 or 2 additional subjects at university level before having to make a final decision is a great feature of the Scottish university system.

Original poster
LoniceraJaponica · 11/12/2018 00:12

What happens if you struggle with one of the modules in the first year?

OP posts:
wigglybeezer · 11/12/2018 00:36

Not the experience of my son, he's a first year at one of the ancient Scottish universities and is working very hard, has plenty of lectures and seminars. He is doing a Humanities subject that he also studied at Advanced Higher but there is no overlap in curriculum in first year. I have heard of engineering and science students being exempted from some exams in first year, mostly Maths tests I think, if they have Advanced Higher Maths for instance.
Those who are skiving are probably just happy to scrape through as the grades won't affect their degree
Incidentally it is rarer now for young people to go to uni after Highers, only one of DSs friends did.
I think the OP is in danger of generalising from one person's experience, wait and see what marks they get!

Stopyourhavering64 · 11/12/2018 03:23

Dd and ds both chose Scottish universities as they liked the structure of the degree, and the flexibility to choose subjects they would not have studied before in their first 2 years, before concentrating on their honours subjects in final 2 years
Dd did a year of psychology alongside her main philosophy and film modules, then stopped and did a semester of English in 2nd year to make up the units ( finally realised there was too much maths in psychology for her o level knowledge , but ultimately enjoyed the units she studied)
Ds also chose to do a year and a semester of philosophy, which he'd never studied before, but became aware of and interested in due to his sister's experience ( coincidentally at same Uni!)...he'd never have had this option if he'd chosen a much more restrictive degree outside Scotland
Ds did find first year relatively easy as he was covering topics he'd already studied at A level, but this gave him confidence in his abilities at essay writing as he'd done EPQ and Welsh Bac...he's now half way through 2nd year and will be solely concentrating on his honours degree subjects after Christmashe's realised he's not a philosopher

morethanaword · 11/12/2018 03:32

I applied for a Scottish uni for Med but I rejected the offer and stayed in England. It's a shame as I would have loved it in Scotland but at the time it didn't appeal to me.

donajimena · 11/12/2018 03:42

I'm not in Scotland but I am on a 4 year course. My first was a foundation year with a variety of subjects/modules. It was easy compared to my level 4. I'm just wondering if this is a similar set up to the Scottish system? For no other reason than being curious Grin

Original poster
LoniceraJaponica · 11/12/2018 06:53

You are probably right wigglybeezer. I only know a handful of English students who are studying in Scotland, so my experience is limited to those few. Maybe they are just coasting because of their personalities rather than the demands of their courses.

donajimena DD wouldn't be able to do a foundation year as she did very well in her A levels (but it was a struggle for her).

OP posts:
wigglybeezer · 11/12/2018 08:11

I do admit that my DS is a bit of a swot, he would hate to drop marks, in fact I have been trying to get him to spend less time in the library but he's still 17 so can't join in with the student party culture yet and his subject is famous for massive amounts of required reading so he is possibly not altogether representative.

Walkingdeadfangirl · 11/12/2018 20:23

Have known several English/N.Irish students go to various Scottish Unis. They all said the first year was very easy. So yes the second year needs a change of pace in the first simester.

Given the cost of Uni these days I wouldnt advise any English student waste their money on a 1st year in Scotland, either go straight into 2nd year or go to an English Uni.

readsalotgirl63 · 11/12/2018 21:48

Think it is common for Scottish universities to charge English students fees for only 3 years.

Walkingdeadfangirl · 11/12/2018 22:16

Well I dunno about all Scottish universities but a relataive of mine was charged £36,000 for tutition fees at Edinburgh University a few years ago (I know the fee has gone up to £9,250 per year recently).

Even if you found a uni that only charged you for 3 years you still have all your living expenses. So definetly better doing a gap year, earning some money and going direct into 2nd year.

Walkingdeadfangirl · 11/12/2018 22:23

Just checked and Edinburgh Uni have indeed put their fees up to £37,000 for English students. Obviously accommodation and living expenses would be on top.

dementedpixie · 11/12/2018 22:25

I started Strathclyde uni at age 16 (turned 17 shortly after) straight after my highers. You can do 3 years to get a Pass degree or do the fourth year to get an Honours degree. I did 4 years and got a 2:1 degree.

olivertwistwantsmore · 11/12/2018 22:29

shantay - I still got a 1:1 (not a stealth boast)

A 1:1. Not just a first? Really?

Original poster
LoniceraJaponica · 11/12/2018 22:49

Maybe it depends on the subject?
I have another question. In England you have to be 18 to start a medical degree (I know because DD was looking at medicine last year). She is friends with a medical student in Glasgow who only turned 18 last month, so are the rules different in Scotland?

OP posts:
2rebecca · 11/12/2018 22:55

Yes

Stopyourhavering64 · 11/12/2018 23:01

Dh did medicine at Ancient Uni (in the 80's admittedly) but one of his classmates got in to medical school straight after higher and was only 17 he's now a Prof of surgery, so didn't do him any harm

celtiethree · 11/12/2018 23:02

I think the only stipulation is for no direct entry from S5 i.e. S6 must be completed. Quite a few that are successful will turn 18 during their first year.

Original poster
LoniceraJaponica · 11/12/2018 23:06

The student is from overseas. There is anither overseas student who started this term aged 15 (not for medicine though Blush)

OP posts:
brizzledrizzle · 11/12/2018 23:06

You get the same in English universities, picking sociology for example- you can get on the degree course without sociology a level and then the first year is teaching the a level type content.

YerAWizardHarry · 11/12/2018 23:15

I am currently at one of the ancient Scottish Universities doing a humanities degree as a mature student. I went to university after sitting my Highers at a FE college.
My personal experience backs up what the OP says. I found the Highers more difficult and time consuming than my first year at University. Also the first two years don't "count" towards your degree classification and the pass mark is ridiculously low (around 40%) so many people I know ARE lazy and coast through first and second year doing the bare minimum