Edinburgh or Durham for History?

[Gardener13]

Please does anyone have any thoughts or DC with current or recent experience on this? DS struggling to decide and deadline is tomorrow! Same offer for both -
pros for Edinburgh - flexibility and potential to change course and/or explore different modules. Bigger, interesting city with great nightlife. Better world ranking and recognition…Cons for Edinburgh - bigger university - too impersonal? Seems student satisfaction levels are not great?

For Durham - pros - history course has a better reputation, college system and small city may be more welcoming and offer holder day much more engaging than Edinburgh but cons - less flexibility to change/explore other subjects, too snobbish (state school pupil)? Small city may feel claustrophobic after a while?

They are both great options so I’m sure either will be good, if he is lucky enough to get the grades, but currently agonising about making the best decision.

Edinburgh IMHO. Exciting city, more course flexibility, more well-known internationally. My DN outgrew Durham within 18 months - enjoyed it and made great friends but felt stifled by the smallness/bubble of it.

At this stage it sounds like he is overthinking things. Did he have a gut feeling when he visited each one? There will be pros and cons to every university. Unless cost is an issue, there's no bad decision here - both great offers - perhaps let him know it's okay to choose the one he likes best for no logical reason at all.

Also, doesn't Edinburgh have a high percentage of private school students too - if that's what is bothering him?

Thanks both - and yes definitely overthinking! I think private school % is not that different for Edinburgh it just seems more associated with Durham and it’s not necessarily a negative unless it creates barriers to friendships or a feeling of not fitting in.

My DS went to Durham from a London comp. He really liked the college system - especially the sports and socials! He made a lot of friends (many of whom are working in london now), mostly from independents and some from big name public schools. Possibly easier to integrate because of the college system - catered meals, organised events, etc?

On the other hand, clubbing is limited, but Newcastle is only a 15min train ride away!

Would a major factor not be that E would be a 4-year course and D a 3?

Whst about accommodation? Does he have his college allocation for Durham?

In terms of Course, University ranking and Degree awarded etc. I'd place Durham and Edinburgh in the same category: one below Oxbridge, i.e. academically, both are excellent.

For me, this comes down to whether your DS would prefer to live in the more cosmopolitan city of Edinburgh, which will have a wider, more eclectic range of museums, theatres, cinemas, nightclubs, restaurants etc. than Durham ?

Durham is definitely smaller and has far less options in these areas - although it still has plenty (and probably enough for a student budget) and as a PP has mentioned, Newcastle is just up the road (10-15 minutes by train). Durham does have great pubs and (cheap) college bars though, if this is more his thing.

As PPs have also mentioned, the Durham collegiate system is unique. I went to Durham 30+ years ago and the friends I made in the my first year in college are still the best friends I have today.

Sport, Balls, Formals, Plays, Music and so much more, are all catered for in Durham colleges - they generate a real sense of belonging and camaraderie that friends who went to other universities just didn't get.

The private school/public school thing - for both places - is irrelevant IMO. He'll make friends with people you like and he';; find some will be from state, some from private and some from public.

Both are excellent choices to have - good luck with his decision.

@teentheme the 4 year thing is probably a positive for him in that it allows an extra year to explore different subjects etc. obviously it comes with a price tag. Sadly Edinburgh doesn’t waive fees for 4th year as some Scottish universities do.
he has a college allocation for Durham - it was one of his top choices, but I know that can change so not a certainty.

If you're worried about 'snobbish' then Edinburgh is not the place for you!

Great city though, and apart from the snobbery I would really recommend it. So much for students there to benefit from.

The college system at Durham is a real plus, it makes it a lot easier to make friends and settle-in, as it's far easier to deal with a few hundred students in your college than thousands in your cohort. There are opportunities to meet others via clubs and societies, and the course itself, though, so you get the best of both worlds.

@Gardener13, some colleges are known as being chosen primarily by the richest/overseas students, others have a lot more state pupils. But I’m sure he knows that!

Edinburgh has two teaching terms and even with exams you are done by late May at the very latest. DD likes this as she works (this year has lined up two 6-week internships). But not everyone's thing.

DD says student population (privately educated/international) very similar (brother lives in Durham). If you want to avoid then neither a good option. Saying that half of DDs friends including BF are privately educated so not a barrier to making friends .

Although DD has appreciated the flexibility of the 4 year degree she would have happily left academia after 3 years.

Edinburgh is in a different nation with some different laws and I think eg more left wing, more affected by strikes than England. Durham used to be regarded as second only to Oxbridge. Durham is shorter so less debt, less cost for parents to fund particularly if there might be a masters or other post grad course like law to cover too. I am from NE England (although 3 of my children had Durham and Bristol offers and chose Bristol in all 3 cases probably because we live in the SE). One of those children had an Edinburgh offer with identical grades to Durham/Bristol (silly choice for a back up but he was insistent as he said he was sure he would get his grades, and he did). So it is not as if Edinbugh was never on our radar. It is a lovely place. I still would suggest he goes for Durham.

Have you considered St Andrews? Great campus, lovely town etc small tutorial groups for History. Very supportive and friendly.

I would go for Edinburgh, for its international reputation, plus I really like the flexibility of their courses. But mostly just because Edinburgh has so much more to offer as a city.

Durham is better for history. To me, that's the decider.

Did he decide @Gardener13 ?

Whichever he chose I'm sure he'll be happy and have a great 3/4 years

Thanks all. So much good advice,which was all read and weighed up. It came down to the wire, but in the end he firmed Edinburgh - I hope it’s the right choice but hopefully there’s not a wrong choice. the option to study a wide range of different subjects in years 1 and2 was a big factor.

Sounds great. I think it's really important to enjoy your course so sounds like a good choice if that mattered to your DS.

Edinburgh, definitely.

Durham is small, traditional, posh and doesn’t have a great deal going on.

St. Andrews, Imperial, LSE and UCL seen to have usurped Durham’s position. I see it as an Oxbridge reject place, rather than somewhere really setting the agenda.

Both Edinburgh and Durham are excellent options for history.

I hope your DS really enjoys his time in Edinburgh. It is a wonderful city.

My DD just firmed Edinburgh for English and an MFL, she’ll see him there in September, unless something goes disastrously wrong with A-levels. I think a real advantage of Edinburgh is the four-year system (cost apart) as they have some fantastic links to universities abroad for the third year, I know other unis do this too, including Durham, but Edinburgh seems to have better connections. I know a few kids are going to places like Cornell next year . Huge attraction. And as many have said it’s obviously a far more vibrant city and better known internationally. But they are both great choices so well done him!!

I suspect you've only visited half of the University if you believe it's traditional and posh.

Try going outside the peninsula up to the hill colleges and out to maiden castle next time you're there (if you deign to lower yourself to visit) - that should provide more balance to your views.

@Gardener13 how's he getting on? Was it the right choice? My daughter has applied to Cambridge, Durham and Bath for Sociology (HSPS at C), but needs another two. Edinburgh was ruled out due to distance - and lowest student satisfaction ratings, but reconsidering now.

I went to Durham (not recently though! I’m almost 40!) and it felt like everyone had been to private school, if not boarding school. I couldn’t relate. I made friends, but it was a really odd world for me - I grew up in a working class town and went to my local comp. They had all applied to Cambridge / Oxford and not gotten in, so they all felt bad about that (I hadn’t wanted to go to Oxbridge, so couldn’t understand that either).

In hindsight, I wish I’d gone somewhere else. Newcastle looked more fun. But I had a good time eventually, but never felt like I had found my “people” or “place”, despite leaving with some good friends who I have to this day.