<p>Hello there,
I was just wondering how it would be studying in a university in England, Scotland, Ireland etc… ( United Kingdom ).
I mean do they have a campus like many college towns in the US?
Do students live in dorms and party a lot?
Is it really different the life in a big city like London and the life in a city like Manchester or Edinburgh?</p>
<p>I have never studied in England but I know a girl from England who goes to my school and she told me that there are no frats. And there is a lot of drinking that mainly occurs in clubs. And you never share a room. Other than that I don’t have a lot of info for you.</p>
<p>Im currently in a fix too!
I have been accepted into med school in the UK and cause Im international Im hesitant on doing US’ premed-med route cause I get no student loans + very low chances of scoring med school in the us, but I love college life in the US</p>
<p>Anyone here can compare UK and US college life?</p>
<p>Manchester’s central population is 500,000 and the outer population is about 2 million, so it’s not exactly a small city.
It’s a big university and has a reputation for partying etc. And obviously the drinking age is 18.</p>
<p>Edinburgh is a really lovely city, and the university has a great reputation. (I didn’t get in)</p>
<p>Some universities are on campuses, some aren’t. My university is on a big campus, but is a walk away from a fair-sized city.
Some campuses are in the middle of nowhere (e.g. Southampton, Warwick) so everything would happen on campus at one of those places.
Any top 30 universities will be of a high standard (see [url=<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-league-table]here[/url”>University guide 2011: University league table | Education | theguardian.com]here[/url</a>] for a league table)</p>
<p>But it really does vary hugely!
No frats, of course.
But depending on the campus/no campus/city/town whatever, experiences vary wildly.</p>
<p>First year students 99% of the time live in ‘halls.’ At my uni, these were apartments (corridors) with about 10 single rooms and a big kitchen. We all had ensuite bathrooms, which were cleaned weekly along with the kitchen.</p>
<p><em>usually</em> after the 1st year, you have to find a house to rent with friends.
The university will offer guidance, but the letting companies are all external.</p>
<p>I’m going to the US on an exchange (not there yet) but as far as I can see, the main differences are
- No frats
- Drinking age (so people drink in pubs/clubs rather than in secret)
- Single rooms are most common
- Unlikely to have a meal plan - you have to feed yourself!</p>
<p>I’m a US university student who is spending a semester abroad studying in London. It is very different here!</p>
<p>Many students here live pretty close to the school, and they often go home on the weekends. Party nights are every other night, so don’t be surprised to see them go clubbing on monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and friday. There are no fraternities here. My housing arrangement here matches what was previously described. After the first year in halls, all students need to find their own place to live.</p>
<p>If you’ve got any specific questions feel free to ask and I’ll see if I can answer them.</p>
<p>I’m an Edinburgh doing my degree, and I have to say life here is way different than London. It’s a much smaller city for one; you can get just about anywhere you want by walking (although from some parts of the city to others, you’re looking at an hour and a half walk). It just much less hectic and crazy here. We still have a pretty big clubbing scene, and there are a lot of yahs, but I like it much better here than in London.</p>
<p>As Sunsloth says, there are no frats (at all!), everyone (for the most part) has single rooms, and you can drink legally at 18. </p>
<p>On the note of accommodation, at unis in the UK there are things known as self-catered residences, where you cook all your meals yourself. At Edinburgh these are usually 4 and 5 person flats that are basically like normal flats but owned by the uni, and they have cleaners come in once or twice a week. You can do the US style dorm thing, called catered accommodation as well. </p>
<p>Overall, Sunsloth covered things pretty well.</p>
<p>Hey guys I just found this excellent blog about applying to school in the UK. You should check it out! [The</a> Uni Guide](<a href=“http://theuniguide.■■■■■■■■■■/]The”>http://theuniguide.■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>I am considering applying to some UK universities but I am thinking about the future after college… Are UK universities prestigious in the eyes of US law schools? Does anyone know?</p>
<p>^Studying abroad gives you something to talk about in your law school essay, however you must remember that Law School is a self selecting portion of undergrad that for the most part is from a higher socio-economic strata than general students.</p>
<p>In other words: “it makes you a unique snowflake… just like everyone else.”</p>
<p>You will find once your a 1L that many of your peers did much of the same stuff that you have done, that the traditional undergrad has not.</p>
<p>^
Okay. Thank you. So it wouldn’t worsen my chances of getting accepted into a US law school at all? That’s what I was worried about…</p>
<p>There are no frats in the UK. In the first year of university the university generally provides accommodation, this is almost always single rooms I don’t know anyone who shared. Usually you have some choice as to whether you want self catered (usually consists of 6 or so single rooms sharing a kitchen and common area) or catered. Some rooms will have ensuite (usually you pay a little more for these). With a few exceptions universities aren’t based around a campus, although the university housing may be concentrated in a certain area.
The older students usually arrange a “freshers week” of activities when you first arrive, these include tours of the city and lots of alcohol based evening activities.
The social life tends to revolve around either where you live, the course you’re taking or any societies/clubs you join.
After the first year almost everyone moves out of university housing into house or flat shares with friends (usually a one year lease). In student towns there will be lots of letting agents that concentrate exclusively on the student market and some areas of the city are heavily populated with students.
The feel of the university varies depending on where you go, a university in a smaller town e.g. Cambridge is very much dominated by the university but in a bigger city like Manchester there’s lots going on outside of the university, although some areas will still be full of student bars etc.
The courses in England are less flexible than in the states, you have to decide on our subject before you apply and generally there is little opportunity to change. This is an advantage if you know what you want to do, and by the end of your degree you’re likely to be more advanced. Obviously if you’re not sure what you want to study or you’ld rather not specialize yet this will be a disadvantage for you. There’s also much less chance of transferring between universities. If you want to change you’ll usually have to start again (sometimes you will be allowed to start in the second year since the first year doesn’t count towards your final degree classification)</p>
<p>P.S.the UK equivalent of this site might be useful:
<a href="http://www..co.uk/%5B/url%5D">http://www..co.uk/</a></p>
<p>Are there big college sports/leagues? Football is a big deal at my school and at many others. What about at UK colleges?</p>
<p>Ooops don’t know why my link didn’t work, anyway if you google student room it’s like the UK equivalent of this site.
There are sports teams in UK universities and some people get really into their sports but I would say it isn’t as big of a deal as it would be in the states. Also the sports will probably be different, we don’t really have American football (there may be a team at some universities for international students but it would probably be quite casual) or Lacrosse.</p>
<p>Obviously I am the man to answer this thread.</p>
<p>College life here is more individual then in the US. We have ‘clubs’, be they based on sporting interest, politics, ethnicity etc. Ie I was part of the University Cricket Club. Most unis have lots of these.</p>
<p>No frats here. Greek life is non existent. Drinking or ‘bar life’ is the centre of college living. I do not drink alcohol but all students head to one of many bars on campus and hang out.</p>
<p>I studied abroad in the UK and found the experience to be roughly similar to the US one, with some noticeable differences. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Freshers week will be a nice orientation week to meet friends, explore the uni city you’re staying in, get everything ready for fall (michaelmas) term, etc. There will be a LOT of alcohol consumed this week, but the particular college I was staying in had the party rep for our uni. Every night there’d be pub crawls (I love pub golf), socials and many other fun events.</p></li>
<li><p>There are tons of clubs and societies to choose from and join, I ended up joining three or four when I was there. Other than weekly meetings (or in my case daily practices as I joined only sports) they usually organize group socials into town which are fun. Fancy dress nights are common, where people dress up in ridiculous costumes or themes and go out to the clubs dancing/drinking in them. The swim team I was on was a bit eccentric and enjoyed going out in speedos and some random accessory. Binge drinking is on the same level as it is in the U.S. vs. its lower levels in mainland Europe. </p></li>
<li><p>There is the expectation in uni that you will be self-driven, much unlike in the U.S. Grades are determined usually on a paper or final exam, and lectures seemed to be completely optional. The way they grade threw me off a bit, as you only needed a 70 to get the equivalent of an A, but it seemed much harder to obtain. Textbooks are rare, the professors and TAs will provide most of your material, but also a very long supplemental reading list that you are not required to read but will aid you in your studies.</p></li>
<li><p>Uni is only 3 years vs. the American 4, so less time is spent on “exploring” yourself and taking random classes to find out what you want to do. Also years are divided into three terms usually (Michaelmas: Oct-Dec, Lent: Jan-Mar, Summer: Apr-Jun) with the summer term usually devoted to revisions and exams from courses taken in Michaelmas and Lent terms. </p></li>
<li><p>Housing for me was similar to other posters, you live in a flat with 6-8 other individuals with most people at my uni staying on campus for their first and third years and moving off campus during their second year. There’s a kitchen common to you and your flatmates, and you do all your own cooking. It was annoying to have to lug my week’s groceries on a 30 minute bus ride back from Sainsbury’s to campus, but some students do have cars. I chose ensuite and was glad I did, having your own bathroom within your room was nice as the flats are coed.</p></li>
</ol>