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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Living in southern England - Scottish University?

59 replies

Foyled · 05/04/2011 14:10

Anyone any experience of this, applying, visiting, actually getting a place and the travel once they got there, did the DCS think it was worth it?

OP posts:

tallulah · 05/04/2011 14:12

We lived in Kent and my DS went to Strathclyde. Perhaps not a good example as he ended up dropping out after the first term :( Ultimately it was just too far away and he was homesick.

Original poster

Foyled · 05/04/2011 14:22

Good example, but an unhappy outcome, hope it worked out in the end.

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MollieO · 05/04/2011 14:24

Db went from South Bucks to Edinburgh and loved it. I went to a midlands uni and I recall the admissions tutor asking why I wanted to go so far from home. I pointed out the fact that my parents considered it to be a day trip compared to where db was!

senua · 05/04/2011 14:36

I have heard stories of Scottish Universities discriminating against English applicants. Dunno if it's true: can you research the statistics?

How will your £9000-per-year DC feel, living amongst the we-got-it-for-free?

Your DC is more likely to meet a broader spectrum of people elsewhere. The Scots seem a bit, ahem, insular when it comes to tertiary education.

Lilymaid · 05/04/2011 14:51

Re Travel - not my DCs but friends - both at St Andrews.
One friend and her DH would drive up from Surrey - stopping over in Yorkshire on way up, then drive all the way back the next day
Another used to go up by plane with her DD to Edinburgh in order to get two lots of baggage allowance (in days when baggage allowance was always included) - then travel over to St Andrews train/bus (?) then reverse journey home. She lived near an airport fortunately!

AMumInScotland · 05/04/2011 14:57

Edinburgh University has recently been in the news for saying they were giving some additional weighting to students who live in Scotland, but that's the only story of discrimination I've heard.

Not sure why Scots should be considered insular - the UCAS site has some stats about applications (not acceptances though) figures here near the bottom. By my reckoning, 86% of English students apply to English universities, and 88% of Scottish students to Scottish universities - doesn't look like a significant difference to me! Given the total size of the institutions in both countries, Scotland also has higher levels of applications from N Irish, EU and non-EU students.

Original poster

Foyled · 05/04/2011 15:22

Well we do live near an airport...

I don't think the £9000 will bother her too much, there are always people better off/worse off than yourself. As for the broader spectrum - I really don't know.

Any thoughts on open days, do you know if Scottish Unis generally interview?

OP posts:

JollySergeantJackrum · 05/04/2011 15:25

Re interviews, it depends entirely on the subject and the uni. For example, Edinburgh do NOT ever interview for medicine, but Glasgow seemingly always do. They do things differently for some of the other subjects.

RunnerHasbeen · 05/04/2011 15:36

I work at one of the Scottish universities and there are at least as many English students as Scottish, there's no way they will feel out of place. The stories about discrimination are difficult to take out of context, it was part of a discourse about how the government in Scotland could deal with funding tertiary education differently than England and Scottish students not going to university if they had to pay in England. There is no easy solution but none of it IME is representative of a deeper problem, and not your problem - something for the politicians to sort out.

As for worth it, in what sense? If they are into outdoor sports then probably worth the extra travel a couple of times a year to have your hobbies really close by. If the struggle with the cold weather down south, then maybe not.

notrightnow · 05/04/2011 15:46

Teenagers need to decide their priority for university:
get on a great course which suits them;
stay close to home; or
go a far away as they can.

IMO being away from home is a big part of the experience - the further the better! In any case, the East Coast train line from London is fast - it surely isn't such a big deal? They'd only be making the return journey a few times a year.

TapselteerieO · 05/04/2011 15:46

I am no expert but are English degrees not usually shorter than Scottish degree courses? So there is an "extra" year to pay for? English people are the largest minority in Scotland so I don't see the Scots as being insular, you will be hard pushed to find a more international mix of people in such a small place as Edinburgh IMHO. If your dd loves the arts, Edinburgh festival would be a great draw.

Original poster

Foyled · 05/04/2011 16:02

Ok she was looking into the open day which is at a really invconvenient time and very soon, this made me think about the logistics of the whole thing, how on earth would she get there, but I think it is doable.

I think the open day could be good as it could motivate her, also she could rule it out if she really didn't like it, but if they are likely to call her for interview as well, would we be better off saving our money and letting her decide then.

As for outdoor sports - not remotely interested.

Struggles with cold weather - in a way, but never complains.

Loves the arts? Oh yes! Mind you wouldn't she be home for the holidays then?

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LondonMother · 05/04/2011 17:37

Ah, St Andrew's! I saw that was imminent. I don't think I would travel all that way for an Open Day, personally, especially as St Andrew's isn't on a rail line.

It's not just cold weather you have to be prepared for in Scotland, on the East Coast the wind is like a knife when it comes off the North Sea. And on the West Coast you have to expect a lot of rain. And of course the nights are even longer all through the winter, although this is balanced by wonderful long days in the summer.

thinkingaboutschools · 05/04/2011 20:41

Worth it though LondonMother for a weekend away! St Andrews is a beautiful city

Piffpaffpoff · 05/04/2011 20:45

Londonmother, St Andrews is five minutes away from an East Coast mainline station with direct trains to London.

Original poster

Foyled · 05/04/2011 21:33

Which station is that? Also five minutes by what?

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fluffles · 05/04/2011 21:35

i went to st andrews - most students were from surrey

and it's near Leuchars station which is on the main line from aberdeen to london.

fluffles · 05/04/2011 21:39

leuchars is probably ten mins by taxi, 20mins by bus from st andrews... buses and taxis meet every train.

i'm from edinburgh but my friends at st andrews were from:
harpenden
farnham
belfast
cheltenham
USA

Original poster

Foyled · 05/04/2011 21:44

Did you like it fluffles?

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pooka · 05/04/2011 21:46

Long time ago. Lived in London, went to Glasgow.

Loved loved loved it.

Didn't visit beforehand - though one of my brothers was at the end of his degree there when I arrived.

But it had exactly the course I wanted to do. I loved the more relaxed approach to specialisation afforded by the 4 year length, 3 subjects in first year. Then 2 carried on and one new subject. Then either single or joint honours in the following 2 years.

Had a london boyfriend when I went. Fizzled out after a term - but might just as easily have happened in other place. Particularly since was with DH (who lived in London) for the last year of the degree. He visited every 4 weeks. I came home every 4 weeks. So very doable. My mother visited a couple of times. My Dad was in Glasgow through work about once a term.

Was fine. :)

pooka · 05/04/2011 21:47

Oh and didn't have an interview.

Figgyrolls · 05/04/2011 21:53

God I loved my Scottish university days, I chose the course and there were very few uni's that did it............. oxford, edinburgh or ireland, not the posh ones. My best mate was at St Andrews, I visited at least once a week via train, not an issue. I miss it but left over a decade ago.

My options were - London to Scotland on train, used to take the sleeper during winter when they let you put your car on, drive (had own car), fly.

Many friends took the bus/coach too.

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I think about it!

jkklpu · 05/04/2011 21:53

From Scotland and went to uni in South of England: don't see why it should seem more outlandish for people doing it the other way? There are some fantastic universities in Scotland - traditional and less so. I'd always say go to an open day to get a feel for the city where you're considering spending several years of your life. If you can't make the open day, write to the subject dept and ask if you can go and visit another time.

Your daughter would have a much more rounded view of Britain if she went further away from the South of England. She'd get a good education if she chose the right course and, dare I say it, she might even enjoy it.

rathlin · 05/04/2011 21:56

I did my MSc at Aberdeen (BSc was at Queen's in Belfast). Met very few Scottish students. Maybe because it was a post-grad course but we were a mix of English and International (and Irish of course). Even so, I lived in a hall of residence which mainly had undergrads and again, I didn't hear too many Scottish voices. Of the flat I lived in with 6 of us, 2 were Irish (N.I.), two were Scottish and two English so representative mix of the UK....not sure what happened to the Welsh Loved Scotland, similar to Ireland which is maybe why I got on so well there and the Scots that I did meet were lovely...had a sense of humour which is a bit lacking in my current surroundings (west london).

pooka · 05/04/2011 21:56

I could never afford the train after I had spent my money in the pub bought the course books.

Used to get the London - Glasgow overnight coach. Was £25 return in those days. Left at 11pm and arrived at 6.30am.

Shows how much I loved being in Glasgow that I'm even feeling slightly nostalgic about the hellish coach journey. Ahh, Charnock Richard services at 3am. Nothing like it. :)

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