UQ Program: Bachelor of Arts / Business Management
In terms of the academic experience one of the greatest differences is the way the courses are weighted as most of your mark generally depends on how you do in your exams. For my business courses a lot more independent research and outside readings are required from you than at UQ. While for most of the business courses I took there was a set textbook, these and lecture notes, however, were not necessarily enough to prepare adequately for exams. My second year English literature courses were also quite different as the amount of texts which are covered in the lectures are immense and at first seem intimidating, however you are not expected to know all the texts for the exam or the essays. The English tutorials were great as there are only about 7 people in each group allowing for some really good discussions.
While I did not know much about Edinburgh before I went on exchange, it has now become a place where I genuinely feel at home. I stayed in David Horn House which a university accommodation for about 45 people. The residents came from all over the world. There weren’t more than 6 people at the most from any one country. The cultural diversity was brilliant and brought various traditions and holidays to David Horn House such as a proper American Thanksgiving feast including all the American ways of doing it, and Baba Marta which is a Bulgarian holiday celebrating the beginning of spring.
Also what I found nice was that in Edinburgh and really pretty much all of the UK there is a much more relaxed and less excessive attitude towards drinking than there is in Australia. You will be visiting a lot of pubs during your year in Edinburgh, which is great because you don’t get pubs like this in Australia. Most group and society meetings are generally held at pubs at all times of the day. Alone the Student Union building on the main campus had around 5 separate bars in it.
The best tip I could give a prospective student of Edinburgh is to thoroughly read about and attend Fresher’s Week. This is not just set up for first year full time students but for everyone. It is the best way to get to know the University of Edinburgh and the city itself, and learn about the humungous range of societies and programs it has to offer. It is very different from the orientation weeks we are used to in Australia. Buying a Fresher’s Week pass is definitely a good idea as this will grant you free entry or reduced entry to a number of events and not just to University planned events but also to other tourist attractions such as the various ghost walks and castles. Sometime during Fresher’s Week is the Societies Fair which is a must during this week as they have societies for everything from charity societies and science societies to Harry Potter or chocolate appreciation societies. Pretty much all of them are free and are a great way to meet people.
When travelling within Europe Ryanair and Easy Jet offer great deals, as most people will probably tell you. And do look at flights from Glasgow to your destination as well, as sometimes they can offer more direct flights and the train or bus journey from Edinburgh to Glasgow only takes 40-60 minutes.