Second year entry at Edinburgh

[Luckycat555]

Does anyone have any experience of this?

What circumstances led your YP to opting for it, which subject, etc? And did they feel it impacted their social circle? Do they live in halls in year 2, along with everyone in year 1 (which I assume would help socially)? Did it impact them making friends on their course? Should we have asked about year 2 entry when she applied? Lots of questions!

DD has an offer for deferred entry for a subject she is doing at A level (predicted A*) and at the moment would be joining in year 1

If at all possible enter in year 1 - it's not just social contacts as the degree outcomes are generally better if you start in year 1

I went into year 2 at the art school. About 2/3rds of us did.
the Scottish kids did year1, and they had established friendships because of this .
but all the English kids went into year 2. As we’d done foundation years post a level.

I would have liked to have done y1 as well, in retrospect because I loved my time and this would have extended it.

I guess it would have also been a chance to meet the Scottish kids when they were brand new and vulnerable too. By the time we started they knew the city the colllege and each other, and had a more worldly experience than we had had whilst living at home doing foundation.

but really it didn’t make any great difference .

I would agree with this. It's hard to jump into a routine which many others on the course have been accustomed to over the last 12 months.
Also how heartbreaking to have to leave your 4 year friends behind for their final year when you come to the end of your degree.
However, it's another year of fees, and in my experience you don't get the choice - they will offer you what they feel is the right point of entry for your level of achievement. There is a risk of falling into a pattern of coasting if the work feels too easy to begin with.

DD had a flatmate in 1st year who was 2nd year entry at Edi (STEM masters). She had great school qualifications, knew what she wanted to study (dad in similar area) and wanted to have masters in 4 years. Did all the freshers things with them. Had both 1st and 2nd year friends (as my DD had too as her subject allows both 1st and 2nd years go take some courses). I remember my DD saying the STEM students in her flat worked so hard - there was another similar STEM student but she was 1st year entry.

DD knows friends from school who did 2nd year entry (pharmacy/maths). Worked out okay. Maths one would do the same again but not the pharmacy one.

Thanks everyone!

DD is in her 1st year at Edinburgh studying a STEM subject. She decided not to apply for 2nd year entry after talking to tutors at an open day. She felt it would make her first year there too stressful playing catch up and would make it difficult to do a year abroad in the 3rd year (an option she wants to explore). She was later offered consideration for 2nd year entry on the back of her A level results but stuck with her decision to go into 1st year. No regrets so far. She has had a great year, pretty low stress with plenty of time for social stuff, was able to take an interesting elective and got first-class marks in all her first semester modules. There was a bit of overlap with A level in one module, but otherwise it is all new stuff. She has another interesting and very relevant elective planned for next year which she would not have been able to do if she had gone straight into 2nd year. Downside of course is the extra loan for the 4th year - I think she was less worried about this than she might have been because her sister did a 4 year languages degree so it seems more normal to her.

One of DD's friends went straight into 2nd year, but she is doing an art course and had already completed a foundation year. From what DD says she has a pretty heavy workload. Socially being in 2nd year has not been a problem as their friendship group is all people living in the same hall.