The Stupid Questions Everyone's to shy to ask

**SmileyDrMatt** · 27-12-2004, 05:19 AM

Hey Everyone, hope you all had a great christmas.

I just thought I'd start a topic where people can ask the stupid little questions they want to know but it isn't worth opening a whole new topic for.

Here's mine: Is it really that cold up there? Cos I went up for my interview and on the day it was no colder than it was down in South East England (Essex to be precise).

Also : Is there a train that runs direct to Aberdeem from London

As I said, everyone feel free to post little questions on here

**SmileyDrMatt** · 27-12-2004, 05:20 AM

And I'd like to apologise for the spelling mistake I made in the title.

**correctomondo** · 27-12-2004, 07:57 PM

Is there a train that runs direct to Aberdeem from London

i don't think so. you will probably have to change at glasgow or maybe even edinburgh and go through dundee. flying might be easier.

Is it really that cold up there

it was very cold when i was up there for my interview in late october.

**frh** · 27-12-2004, 09:38 PM

There are plenty of GNER trains running between London King's Cross and Aberdeen, though if you have to change it'll be at Edinburgh and not Glasgow. I think the direct trains take about seven hours.

As for the weather, that depends: never having been in the South East of England I dunno what you'd call cold!! It shouldn't be more than a few degrees below what you're used to though! I was there at the end of November and was perfectly comfortable in a fleece (without a hat or gloves) - then again, I live a long way north of Aberdeen so i'm probably used to the 'cold'!! Certainly in the summer Aberdeen'll be a good bit cooler than London (but compared to the rest of Scotland i think it's supposed to be warmer and drier), there should be a good number of days over 20° 8) - though in the winter it is meant to be one of the colder parts of Scotland - but don't let that bother you the difference is small - it's still a long way from the Arctic circle!! Can't imagine living in the South East - 38° in Gravesend last summer - that's at least 10° too hot for me!

I have a stupid question BTW - if you do the intercalated BSc at Aberdeen does it have to be strictly a biomedical science or could you do say, psychology or something like that??

**SmileyDrMatt** · 28-12-2004, 01:47 AM

Lol, don't worry, I think I'm a bit odd living down here. I love cold weather and rain and snow and all that, so Aberdeen would be a dream, lol. Last summer was utterly ghastly, it was sooo hot. Living in the south-east sucks. Nearly everyone had a white christmas this year except us.

When I came up for my interview in November it didn't seem much colder than back home, so I was a little disappointed! Lol! Sad, I know.

I'd heard about sleeper trains that go from London to Aberdeen - I wonder if that's true. Because seven hours on a train would be hell.

As for the intercalated BSc, from what I'm aware I think it has to be medically related. I think if you want to do a different subject you can do it in that paramedical block in the fifth/sixth (???) year when you have the choice to do something unrelated or go abroad for a bit. I'm thinking China would be nice, lol. Or knowing my likings, Alaska or north Canada. Hehe.

**frh** · 28-12-2004, 03:16 AM

Haha - i love snow too - specially when it closes the schools - we had over a week of emergency closures in the spring term last year - and they coincided with the half-term break so we had effectively two weeks where we only went to school about twice - i live in Orkney - which, although it is much further north, is actually (a bit!) warmer in winter and gets less snow than aberdeen (something to do with the Gulf Stream - ask a geographer!) - we do get some pretty ferocious storms in january and february though!

having visited western Norway i would also love to go to north norway or lapland or alaska or somewhere - hav always wanted to explore farther into the North. was amazed to find out when i was examining a globe one day that we are actually on the same latitude as Alaska here - 60° north! :shock:

like i said though, aberdeen won't be dramatically colder than london - but probably enough that you'll notice - and you'll certainly get a good deal more snow!! another thing would be the daylight hours - apparently orkney gets more than an hour and 40 min less daylight at midwinter than london so i would think the difference between aberdeen and london would still be a good bit more than an hour - at the moment the sun here rises after 9 and sets about 3.10!! so when im going to school it hasn't risen when i leave and has set by the time i get home! the pay-off is that at midsummer it basically doesn't get dark!

and you're right about the sleeper trains - they're operated by ScotRail though, not GNER - go to www.scotrail.co.uk - how did you travel for your interview last month? I flew down which was fun cos it was a wee plane that flew quite low and you could recognise all the places you usually drive past on the road up to scrabster (where the ferry leaves from)

**SmileyDrMatt** · 28-12-2004, 04:27 AM

I bet it's easier up where you are. I bet everyone is a bit more used to snow. On the rare occasion we have it it barely covers the ground and the whole of Essex grinds to a halt. I love the sound of going north, I bet it's brilliant. Just the sort of weather I love lol.

When I came for my interview I flew up from london heathrow - that way I only needed to take one day off college and I didn't miss too much work. Lol, that was the first time I'd ever been to scotland, lol.

I'm actually really keen on Aberdeen. Cambridge is my first choice med school just because it teaches medicine more traditionally, but I like Aberdeen and Southampton equally.

I applied to Cardiff aswell but it's my last choice. Where did you apply?

**frh** · 28-12-2004, 05:01 AM

i applied to Aberdeen, St Andrews, Edinburgh and Newcastle - i considered the London ones - thought it would be quite exciting going there - but i decided that i definitely did not want to stay there five years - it's such a long way from home and so expensive as well, not to mention so utterly different from what i'm used to!! also thought about oxford and cambridge but was scared of their applications process - the test and two interviews were too much!! also wasn't entirely sure i'd fit in there - i'm not very competitive, academically or otherwise, and just wasn't comfortable with the impression i got of those places (which was probly not v. accurate since i'v never been able to visit them!) - decided in the end to go for the ones i'v already said - not sure about newcastle cos iv never been there but i knew i definitely didn't want to go to dundee and i didn't like the pbl course they hav at glasgow - so i ended up applying to the 4 most northerly med schools apart from dundee and glasgow!!

originally st andrews was my first choice but iv been so impressed by abdn that im not so sure any more - did you get to visit the Old Aberdeen/king's college campus when you were there? it's totally amazing - even nicer (in my opinion) than the old campuses at edinburgh or glasgow (which are both very beautiful) - we stayed there on our universities trip last june - it's all hundreds of years old narrow cobbled streets, 15th century chapel and everything. it's such a shame that all the medics decamp to foresterhill after first year - but i supppose it's good to be next to ARI. the other thing that attracts me to aberdeen is the fact that you can get clinical placements all over the highlands and islands - as well as in a big city hospital - nowhere else seems to hav that diversity. i also like the way they start you off with a year of basic medical science - not as much as you'd get at st andrews or oxbridge but still not the totally integrated course they have at the likes of glasgow and dundee.

so, im still a rather uncertain :?- if i were to get an offer from st andrews i would find it very difficult to turn down the one from abdn - and i'm pretty sure id choose aberdeen over edinburgh or newcastle, as fantastic a city as edinburgh is!!

on the subject of snow, yes it probably doesn't cause as much of a stir up here - although we don't get that many snowy days in winter - the council are pretty incompetent at clearing it up though so we still get blocked roads etc. - ours is particularly bad cos really massive drifts build up in the wind (it is always windy here!!)

hav you had an intrview at cambridge, btw? what was it like? am very curious since i almost applied there!!

**SmileyDrMatt** · 28-12-2004, 05:35 AM

I've heard bad things about St. Andrews, what made you go for it anyway?

I had my Cambridge interview on December the 13th. It was no where near as hard as I expected. It was certainly challenging, but the interviewers were really nice and promted and helped me whenever I got stuck. I only had the one interview strangely. But I was asked only science questions. I haven't got a clue about whether I've got in or not. I doubt it, but I hope I have.

I like Southampton and Aberdeen equally. At a push I'd probably prefer Southampton because of the fantastic social scene and becuase it's nearer. However I'd be exstatic to go to Aberdeen and if I can't get into Cambridge clinical school I might see if I can transfer to Aberdeen for clinicals.

I didn't apply to any in london. I like london for like a day trip but I could never live there. Also after your first year in halls you have to find somewhere to stay in london which isn't cheap, and being so close to home I'd be tempted to communte which I don't want to do. I'm really happy with the 4 I chose (except cardiff, lol).

**frh** · 28-12-2004, 06:32 AM

why st andrews?

well, cos i'v heard the opposite :lol:! everyone iv spoken to who has gone there has loved it - including quite a few from my school - i also did a week's work experience at wythenshawe hospital in south manchester and the medics there who had come from st andrews were all really enthusiastic - some of them said that they had found it a bit of a slog with all the detail they had to learn but they said that when they got into the hospitals they found the clinical stuff much easier to understand than some of the manchester medics who hadn't had such an extensive preclinical. i think also the fact that it's a picturesque small town means that it is not so far removed from what i am used to where i live.

that said, i have doubts about the types of folk who go there - i have heard that there are a lot of rich snobs from private schools - not that i think everyone from a private school is like that - but you know what i mean - it has the same kind of reputation as oxbridge, whether it's accurate or not i don't know. what was your impression of cambridge? did it seem really snobbish?