D1 applied and was admitted to both St A’s and Durham. Their recruiting pool is pretty much the same and the cohorts would be equally talented. The real difference to my mind is 3 vs 4 year England vs Scotland and abit more flexibility in St A’s on what you study. As for extra curricular activities Durham is very sporty and the standard of competition is much higher than St A’s in most sports, both have lively clubs and societies. Durham or St A’s can be reached from Edinburgh easily slightly longer journey to Durham about 1.45 on the train. Don’t under estimate the grief travelling from Heathrow or Gatwick with luggage etc into central London to get the mainline trains north.