Studying amidst tradition: The University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1582. It is one of the oldest universities in Scotland. How is student life there?

Transcript

00:00What's it like to study in historic Edinburgh, Scotland, with world-class universities, a huge international population

00:07and a gothic old town that's said to inspire Harry Potter?

00:10You probably want to know how you can study here.

00:30First obvious question, why Edinburgh?

00:34So Edinburgh was always really my top choice. I came and visited here before I even knew that there was a big university here.

00:42And I just, I absolutely fell in love with the city. And I think what surprised me was how warm the people are in the city.

00:48You know, everyone says that the weather is so bad, which I swear it's not. We get a lot more sun than people give us credit for.

00:55But yeah, just everyone is so nice and that there's a lot of emphasis on community and safety.

01:01So my friends in the States were definitely a lot more stressed throughout their university careers.

01:06They weren't receiving the same kind of support. Their class schedules were a lot heavier than mine.

01:15International students make up 44% of the student body at the University of Edinburgh.

01:20That's over 24,000 students. And besides London, Edinburgh is the most popular student destination in the UK.

01:36While you may think of it as a rainy city, apparently rainfall in Edinburgh is less than the Scottish average.

01:41And it rains less here annually than in Rome, in Munich and in New York. So I guess I'm just unlucky.

01:51So did you know that the University of Edinburgh recommends between £920 and £1,959 per month as a budget?

02:14Sounds about right. There's a big gap in that figure because rent varies a lot in the city and

02:20cost of living is really affected that as well. Here we have oranges, here we have some milk,

02:26here we have some chicken, eggs, some bread and this splurge item, which is a bottle of gin.

02:37Try and keep it about under £500 every month, which essentially includes most meals going out

02:43except for rent. Unless you're using taxis or something, transport costs are pretty much

02:47negligible in a city like Edinburgh, where you can walk around and use the bus for free.

02:53That's what our bus pass looks like. It's a Young Scot card,

02:56so it gives us free access to the bus. All we need to do is tap it on the bus.

03:03Edinburgh is known for its lively nightlife and cultural institutions.

03:06So how do students blow off steam?

03:13Hey Edinburgh, let's do a society. We have 370 different societies. We have a wine-tasting

03:21society, a beer-tasting society, a chocolate-tasting society, a whiskey-tasting society,

03:27a soup society. Really, any interest you could possibly think of, we represent. We have a little

03:34community for it. We have two quizzes a week through the University alone, but throughout

03:40the city you can find at least five pub quizzes a night, anywhere you are. And yeah, I think most

03:46of my really closer friends I bonded with outside of the classroom. I love Scottish pubs. And each

03:52one has its own character, each one has its own regulars, and each one has its own flavour,

03:58you know, its own taste to it, and I love it.

04:02So how does studying in Edinburgh sound to you? Are you spellbound by its gothic beauty,

04:13or a little bit put off by the rain? Bye!