Edinburgh Uni vs Durham Uni

[Anteater]

Last time I posted was before Dx was born!!
fast forward 18 years and DD has been offered place at Durham in South College (DD not impressed) but also has an offer from Edinburgh (which she is warming to) D day to make decision by is this Thursday - anybody have any words of wisdom??
I went to Sussex so have no idea what to recommend !

What subject?

I can’t tell you much for Durham University as such, but I now live in Durham and it is a lovely little place. I wouldn’t say the night life is particularly bouncing, but there is always Newcastle.
I went to Edinburgh university and studying there was amazing. The city is obviously stunning, there’s so much to do and the nightlife is brilliant.

What subject is she studying?

Thank you for your reply, she is studying Geography . We are just 1.5 hours on train from Edinburgh.

I know both very well! Durham is a smallish town with a fairly homogeneous student body, whereas Edinburgh is a beautiful city with a very international and varied student body.

DD about to graduate from Durham and has loved it. It’s a small city but safe and they’ve enjoyed the few clubs there but sometimes get a 10 min train to Newcastle for the bigger scene.

Durhum has loads of international students too.

Very different cities. Is she more drawn to a quieter place like Durham or a bigger city like Edinburgh? Some find Durham claustrophobic. Others on the other hand like that things are so close and you bump into people you know all the time.
I wouldn't worry about colleges too much.
No idea about ranking for geography.

In most but not all of the league tables for geography I saw (and I did not make a particularly scientific search), Durham has the edge. It is really superb. But Edinburgh is also very strong, enough so that I don’t think the academic strength is particularly relevant for your DD’s decision.

@OneCup summarised the main difference, I think. Then there is the college system at Durham, which most but not all students like. Also the buildings at Edinburgh are spread around, though I think there is an effort to minimise the to-ing and fro-ing required of undergraduates.

How frequently do you think your DD will be wanting or needing to pop home for a visit? If she is hugely introverted or has health concerns, being able to that very easily could be a plus. For most students it shouldn’t be an issue.

I agree both cities are fab in different ways, as are both unis overall. She really cannot go wrong.

Are you Scottish if you're that close to Edinburgh? The fees would make a big difference if that's the case.

South college is only 2 years old, en-suite and very lovely. Yes it is a hill college and right at the top with Stevo, JoBo and Snow but also opposite the park and ride. It is less than a 10 minute walk from the geography building where my son had lectures. He says it is more like a 5 minute walk. My son was in South this year.

Durham is small enough to be able to get somewhere quickly, all the student accommodation is either on South Road or up near the Castle except St Hild and St Bede which will this year be under renovation so the freshers are all in other accommodation. There is a real sense of belonging to your college with sports teams, bars etc. But you are close enough with hill colleges to meet up with people from other colleges. It is green and leafy the only issue is the large tesco is quite a distance away meaning you are reliant on Tesco express or local shops or market. Ds had a Tesco delivery every fortnight and a small top up shop locally.

I don't know anything about Edinburgh, but thought I would say something about South and Durham.

I agree about Durham and food shops. DD was catered first year at Collingwood college and she loved that and so did I as I at least knew she would have some decent meals . In own accommodation they get Sainsbury's deliveries as the Tesco in town is v expensive and Aldi is out of town. The shops in Durham are one of the only let downs. Have you both visited? .Durham is 4 hrs deom
us so Edinburg would have been out of the question. If we were Scottish then the fees would
mean Durham was out of the question.

DD's first choice was St Andrews as she wanted to go to a smaller town/city, but ended up with her second choice, Edinburgh. She's enjoyed her course (Sustainable Development). If there's any chance your DD would want a year abroad, they're incredibably supportive in terms of information on what students need to do (compared to some other situations I've heard of). As mentioned before there's a real mix there, England, UK and lots of international students, a mix of private and state educated - DD has enjoyed meeting people from different backgrounds and everyone just fits in together. Catered accommodation isn't that cheap, but DD applied for a shared room after she arrived and was transferred after six weeks, which was a lot cheaper. Worked out well as she ended up with a lovely friend.

She's glad she ended up at Edinburgh as there's so much to offer, whether in terms of activities,, cafes, restaurants and nightlife. Her negative is that is so windy and cold!

1. Check fees issue - if a difference and number of years 4 or 3 at each
2. Both are good . My son chose Bristol over Durham and had Edinburgh as back up. My father and uncle went to Durham.

If your Dx is likely to want to work for a multinational or to move abroad, Edinburgh would undoubtedly have more kudos as it is ranked 15th in the world in the QS World University Rankings released today whereas Durham is at 92nd.

Edinburgh

Oh the Geography course at Durham is supposed to be outstanding!
dd is there ( first year- not Geog) . She firmed Durham and put Edinburgh as insurance last Summer.
Shes really thrived there. The collegiate system swung it for her and she’s felt well supported by her college and her dept. She loved the feel of the place too.
Newcastle only 10 mins on train so she goes with friends for shops/ days out etc.
Dd has all face to face lectures etc this year, and her friend who went to Edinburgh has not. I’m sure it’s changed now but it might be something to check ( if it’s important to your Dd)
Good luck to her.. as I said to Dd.. they are both great.. lovely choice to have 😊

@JackieWeaver101 Most people would not believe those rankings. Quite ridiculous. It’s about what people can do not spurious ranking points.

Edinburgh University is definitely highly regarded and more well known outside the UK than is Durham.

Both are great Unis though. I know both very well!

@pinklavenders
Its well know because people visit Edinburgh. It’s never as high up as Durham here. So international rankings are very odd indeed.,QMU London is higher ranked than Kent other UK RG unions which is odd too. It’s because it’s London.

Durham's geography department is really excellent

Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, just a great place to live,

These rankings are used by multinational organisations when recruiting and also by governments when determining eligibility for graduate visas.

As an example, the UK government uses these rankings to determine eligibility for applicants for the High Potential Individual scheme which gives graduates of the leading global universities visas to come to the UK:

"In the year in which they graduated, the university they attended was among the Top 50 of at least two of the rankings, including the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, The Academic Ranking of World Universities or the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings;"

This is how Edinburgh and Durham compare in these rankings:
- www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings
Edinburgh = 15th
Durham = 92nd

Times Higher Education World University Rankingss
Edinburgh = 30th
Durham = 162nd

The Academic Ranking of World Universities
Edinburgh = 38th
Durham = 301st-400th

I'm a Geography graduate from Durham. When I chose it, it was considered one of the better unis for geography. I love Durham and my uni friends are still my best friends (and strangely everyone married each other). But it's small. I loved the colleague scene and ended up living in college all three years. Really enjoyed the college sports matches too.

But if you want a buzzing city atmosphere, not sure you'd pick Durham. Some of the hardcore clubbers went to Newcastle on the train but it's not got Edinburgh's nightlife.

Edinburgh's a very good Uni and I really like the city (though not the weather, Durham was cold enough!). My son dismissed it as an option as he didn't want a four year course but some might see that as a positive. I know it has a strong reputation as does Durham when it comes to graduate recruitment.

Its well know because people visit Edinburgh. It’s never as high up as Durham here.

Edinburgh University is a highly ranked University that is very well regarded by American and European multinational companies. It is ranked 16th in the 2022 QS University ranking. Recruiters know this.

Durham is a good University as well but clearly not as well known or regarded internationally as Edinburgh.

They are both good. Most people in England where most of our children will obtain jobs will put Durham ahead of Edinburgh and if we go by the purity of A level grades needed to get in that is also proven too I think for most subjects. Durham in England was the one you went to if you didn't get into Oxbridge i.e. no. 3 in the UK.