Edinburgh: the land of cobblestones, coos, and castles Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I took all 3rd-year Honours level courses. I wanted to challenge myself while abroad. I certainly learned a lot in my three courses, but the intensity of the courses was nowhere near the level of intensity of Wellesley courses. This suited me fine as I could spend plenty of time in the pub with friends. The diminished academic intensity is due to the number of hours per week spent in the classroom as well as the self-guided tutorial way of study. Honours courses meet only once a week for two hours whereas the lower-level courses meet more often. Everyone in my English Lit courses was highly motivated, did the reading, and spoke articulately in class even if "class participation" was 0% of the grade. Often I'd enviously eye the British kid who'd identify a verse of poetry as 'Miltonic' since I never got the same background as these kids did. Still, I felt Wellesley prepared me very very well for the workload (which was minimal). Office hours are posted, but I think students rarely go. I went to office hours once my entire semester. That suited me fine. (In English Lit courses, there was a greater emphasis also on historicity and outside literary criticism rather than close-reading and Formalistic interpretation. Thus, students often ventured into the library, would type in a keyword and search for related books to read on their own. Independent research is highly encouraged.) At Wellesley, there's a lot of midterms, tests and papers to ensure that students are engaging with the new material. At Edinburgh, there's less of that proctoring from the professors. I ended up preferring the UK way--it's less stressful. As for the grading system, imagine that all grades are genuinely actually deflated. We complain a lot at Wellesley about how deflated the grades are, but the grades in Edinburgh are more accurate in a way. A score in the 50s = C, 60s = B, and 70s = A. Anything that's 80+ in English Lit world is deemed to be of publishable caliber. As for teaching methods, my English courses had a seminar-style course every week. Then we were self-divided into "ALGs" that is "Autonomous Learning Groups." Essentially these were study groups of up to 4 students who'd review the assigned readings together. The dynamics of the group could be very hit or miss. We'd do the bulk of our work in prep for these ALGs and then email our work into the tutorial. Then we'd discuss the work together in class.

On-site administration of your program

The office of International Study was right on George's Square, so it was very visible. I went in once to sort out classes, but that was it. They gave a one-day orientation, and then let us be. I preferred all that. They made sure at the very beginning to email us frequently about ensuring that we'd get the proper number of credits back home and that we were challenged to the academic level we sought.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in self-catered student flat called Robertson's Close. I read up on all the student reviews: The best flats are all around Cowgate, which is a very loud road by night full of drunken Edinburgh students and locals who are club-hopping or bar-hopping. By day, it's quiet and fine. You can walk to EVERYWHERE from the flats. My classes were literally 10 minutes away in Georges Square. I lived in my flat with 5 other girls. Half of us were visiting students (2 Americans, 1 Canadian) and the other half were full-time Edinburgh first-years (2 Scots, 1 American). I needed to purchase hangers and the usual flat stuff, but the other girls had fully-stocked the kitchen with everything. The fridge was dismally small. I shared a bathroom with two other girls. Overall, it was liveable.

The grocery store supplied almost everything that American grocery stores supplied with the exception of Funfetti Cake Mix. I'm lactose intolerant and just decided to go vegetarian while abroad and I could find plenty of vegetarian options in all those cute cafes and sandwich shops lining Nicolson Street. It was very easy to be vegetarian despite being in a UK country. Pub food isn't exactly healthy grub, so I'd be careful with it.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The International Student Centre (ISC) organized terrific discounted field trips to whisky distilleries, castles, lochs and the like. Definitely try to volunteer with them while there! The people are all quite quirky and interesting. Take the Sandeman New Europe free walking tour. Also take the Hairy Coo free bus tour of the Highlands. Try to find a group of people who want to hike the highlands with you. Hiking Ben Nevis and hiking from Fort William to Inverness was probably THE highlight of my entire semester abroad.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

This question is boring.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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• Apartment

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• International Students
• Local Students
• Americans

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• International Students