Opinions on Edinburgh Uni

[amandaland]

Hi all, DD has received an offer from Edinburgh uni and loves the city so is very keen on going there. However, I have anecdotally heard some negatives about the uni being poor in teaching/ student satisfaction as well as being potentially posh and exclusionary (something to do with controversy with its newspaper)

We are from London so it would be a long way and DD is naturally shy but thinks it could be a good way to come out of her shell. Also we are by no means affluent and she has attended the local comp so would maybe not really align with the supposed posh southerner stereotype and she would hope to be with people from a range of backgrounds and places.

Anyone with experiences or opinions on the uni would be much appreciated!

I'm interested in opinions too. Daughter has an offer for Human Geography. Loves the city, unsure of the uni at the open day. We are from the west coast of Scotland and she's unsure if she will fit in.

Following with interest. DD also applied although not yet had an offer. Also from England and definitely not affluent.

No views on Edinburgh but would perhaps be concerned that it is quite a high risk strategy as a way of coming out of your shell. It's an awfully long way from home... Would she be interested in a gap year to develop confidence? Volunteering with something out of her comfort zone?

Contact time can vary by subject and optional modules. It does attract private school and international pupils but not as a majority. Accommodation can be expensive. There are societies for all tastes and all budgets.

Hi, my DD is a second year student at Edi Uni. We are from London and no way affluent! She loves it up there and settled in quickly. The city is small and everything is close by. Transport links are accessible and she can get to uni easily. I think the one big thing to highlight is accommodation costs. In year 1, she stayed in halls. Year 2, due to a house share falling through (unforeseen circumstances), we had to sign up to private student accommodation. The rental costs can potentially match London prices DD came home 4 times during year 1, but for the current year it will probably be only Christmas (which has passed) and once exams have finished in May. Miss her lots but know she is living her best life in Edinburgh

glad your daughter likes it @prayingmum !!

She has built lots of strong friendships throughout her life so I hope she would be able to do the same there. It is very far! But I think the fact she is keen on the city and putting herself out there is a good start :)

DS loves it, and is trying to work out a way he can stay forever frozen in time (masters/PGCE?)

The things that previous posters have mentioned are definitely true. There are an awful lot of very posh kids there, and there are an awful lot of blue haired middle class kids who think they are terribly marginalised and the world needs to revolve around them.

But it's a wonderful city to live in, and it's easy to get part time work, which meant that my DS in Edinburgh was actually much better off than friends in other small city unis where part time jobs weren't as easy to come by.

Another thing to note, the first year (of four) is a rather easier year and many of the Scottish students are still seventeen. That makes it a little more gentle to start than English unis.

@mumsandaunties dc is already on a 2 year masters and has no plans to move back south afterwards!

I did my PhD in Edinburgh, which included some undergraduate teaching. It usually scores not great on student satisfaction, but I feel like it has become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, rather than being indicative of the teaching actually being worse than at other similar universities.

I'm always surprised when people say it's a long way. Sure, it's 4.5 hours, but it's a direct train connection. Would it really be that much different to being, say, 2.5hrs away?

My cousin did Econimics . She is from Newcastle and definitely not from an affluent background. She loved it.

Don’t know about the student side of things , but young adult dc moved there for work, and loved ot. Also from south east. Great city, lots to do, cheap public transport, etc.

I studied there. Your DD will go and not want to leave. The student satisfaction is a red herring I think. I loved my time there. There is a wide range of nationalities and classes. I think the affluence thing comes from locals comparing Edinburgh with the other universities and the fact that Edinburgh may have a lot of English students so it is a bit of a running joke. It’s not a bad thing nor even true (not sure about the stats).
Also it isn’t far. You can be in London in 4.5 hrs using the east coast line.

I went there from a west coast state school. Yes there were a lot of posh kids but I found friends who weren’t and even some who were. I had the best time of my life. I never left Edinburgh because honestly, why would you? I now work for the university so obviously I’m going to say it’s wonderful. There has been a lot of money and resources spent on a whole new model of student support and wellbeing in the last couple of years.

DNephew is there studying a business related degree at Edinburgh University. He got a contextual offer. I think he is enjoying it but does find he has to take modules he doesn't enjoy. They are not optional. Edinburgh Napier doesn't do this for the course DS is waiting to hear about an offer from, horses for courses.

Good luck whatever your DD decides.

My DD (Glaswegian state school) has loved it. Will probably make the city her home.

Has found the teaching quality generally very good (social science).. Has found friends easily. Low contact hours suit her. She's very interested in degree subject so doesn't just rock up to the 3x2 hour a week seminars without having read loads so probably spends 20-30 hours on course work plus works part time and does 2 sports and socialises. Likes she has friends from the wider city too.

Has had a few issues (one related to being a resident assistant in Pollok Halls (serious not blue hair middle class entitlement) which the uni dealt but not quickly enough in my opinion. Lower level issues where some students (usually southern UK say in tutorials that they can't understand what she is saying. She doesn't get this from international students.

I went there as a west coast state school pupil (admittedly a while ago now), to study a traditional Arts subject. Loved my time there and have never left the area.
But yes, there seemed to be a preponderance of independently educated students from the south of England who were quite exclusionary.
I absolutely found many people there like me too!

DC1 is southern and privately educated but not what I'd call posh - that's the boarding school crowd - and her friends are entirely state-school educated from modest backgrounds. The posh gang at Edinburgh exists but I think it exists at all unis of a similar calibre (Bristol, Durham, St Andrews, increasingly Leeds and Newcastle) and they keep to themselves and are a minority, it's really not an issue, the vast majority aren't like that. Agree with the point it's easy to find work, dc1 has had a pt job every year that's really helped and fitted easily around studies. Lots of freebies in Scotland too - free bus travel anywhere in the country, dentist, hygienist - it all helps! Edinburgh is such a vibrant city. Academics are good and there's time to do loads of other things too, dc has had an absolute ball and made some amazing friends.

My friend who teaches at Edinburgh grew up in a slightly bluestocking family but broke from the mainstream in adolescence. She is a fabulous person but has experienced bias in some settings. She got her lectureship at Edinburgh, where she is now a professor, on the strength of her research and had never thought of herself as being good with undergraduates.

I am writing because Edinburgh is where undergraduates finally had the sense to appreciate her. I won’t say anything outing but it speaks to the personal quality of the UGs that they so obviously appreciate her.

Thank you all! Yes, I think DD will love wherever she goes and Edinburgh seems like a lovely choice !

Interested to read this thread (I almost could have written it myself). DD wants to go to an open day in the summer (she will be 2026 entry). She’s also not very outgoing and from a state school, but really likes the sound of the course (geography) and seems to think being at a bigger distance from home will be good for her independence .
As it happens, I’m an Edinburgh graduate and absolutely loved my time there. I found that I tended to gravitate towards fellow state students, although there were lots of privately educated students even then. I don’t know to what extent the balance has shifted in either direction since the 1990s .

My DS is second year computer science from a Scottish state school. He's having a ball and has no complaints at all.

He was an Oxbridge reject and although initially disappointed, he is so pleased he ended up at Edinburgh Uni.

Edinburgh’s financial woes look serious. According to this article there will be a meeting of the University Executive on 18 Feb at which urgent cost-saving measures will be under consideration including “restructuring, possible closures of programmes or even Schools, mergers or shared services between Schools, centralisation of some services, outsourcing of others”.

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/edinburgh-university-warns-staff-urgent-30985410#

IALL universities, excepting Oxbridge and some of the big London institutions, have dire finances - Durham is cutting loads of jobs. It's mostly a case of if you're doing a niche course be certain yours won't be axed.