She has visited two campuses in the US last year while visiting on of her besties in New York. Thankfully it was a no go from her side: too far, too expensive and too American... her words!
Following a European University fair last fall in Paris we came across a charming Admissions officer from Aberdeen and we will be forever thankful to her for putting Scottish unis on our radar.
Aberdeen seemed a bit far off the beaten track but we did venture up to Edinburgh this weekend to attend the University’s Open Day.
On a glorious sunny day - whom everyone we met seemed to comment on - we ran from one building to the next crisscrossing across the central campus along thousands of other anxious looking teenagers and their eager parents.
Our schedule - meticulously planned ahead - was a marathon of 25 minute talks by different heads of faculty. Starting off with an Intro to University of Edinburgh seemed like a good idea, followed by
Geography, Sociology, Chinese/ East Asian studies, Sustainable Development, Economics, Int’l. Relations and Business.
No time for lunch, so we grabbed a toastie of Vegan Haggis (Robert Burns would turn around in his grave no doubt) and kept going and at 3pm we sat in on a sample lecture of “Geography and climate change”.
We got out just in time to catch a cab and headed down to Murrayfields’ rugby stadium to watch the varsity match Edinburgh vs St. Andrews. Getting into the Scottish spirit (minus the alcohol) it was an unforgettable experience. 10’000 uni students with a few accompanying parents scattering amongst them and who felt like they were back in their teens... if only for 80 minutes! Bagpipes, beer and a bunch of courageous big laddies fighting over a rugby ball while the crowd cheered loudly with the sun shining in our faces. What a glorious way to end an Open Day!
St.Andrews University which we had visited the day before seemed on a different planet. However, during the University tour and the following Admissions presentation, the community’s closeness and engagement clearly shone through which to Expat girl was a welcome change compared to the big city daily aggression of Paris.
Now our next move is a trip to the Netherlands in October to compare the Dutch unis with the Scottish programme.
Just goes to show: it is great to be a globetrotting Expat speaking different languages but when the time comes to decide where and what to study, the choice is not quite as obvious for an International student as it is for Expat girl’s local Swiss friends.
And so it is we continue to cover our European options from North to South from Scotland via the Netherlands, across Italy and down to Spain...
... the good news is: time is on our side!
St.Andrew's university building... one of many scattered across town
Global climate strike in St.Andrew's #climatestike
Time for some reflection at the beach
A quick cultural tour of St.Andrew's cathedral grounds before we leave
Squeezing into the benches at Edinburgh University
The inside cupola of McEwan Hall at Edinburgh Central campus
Varsity rugby match on a sunny Friday afternoon... enjoying every minute!
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