University of Glasgow Accomodation (Medicine?)

[Doctor Tse]

when you say its not getting cheaper, do you mean the cost to buy the flat/house or to pay the fees? because i was thinking...5/6 years studying + 2 years hospital work (likely to be in glasgow), and with house prices rising, i think you can gain quite a bit of profit!

[sumina13]

I checked the halls. For £ 2700.00 to 3500.00 (9 months only) one would be able to be right about 5-25min from campus (walking).
I thought it would be worth to get a better feel for the hall life (not that I am happy with paying for less privacy/freedom than a place of my own - I just want to make the most of the 1st year and experience the life on campus before making glasgow more my own)

Please share ur thoughts on the following topics:

- what halls are safer for walking back and forth at late hours (11-3AM)
- what halls allow greater interaction between its residents?
- what halls are closer to social scenes such as cofe shops, live music, art expositions, theather, clubs/bars?
- what halls are safer in general (what places are more likely to get robbed by someone other than your roomate)
- are the Student Apartments the closest ones to the med school?
- can you ride a bike around the streets on campus or are the streets all too narrow to venture in such ways?
- is it safe to keep a scooter around in the dorms or on campus while u go to classes or sleep?
- is it common for people to look for their own house as soon as 1st year is over? in general, how does people rate hall life with private housing or living downtown?

peace

[heed]

anywhere is safe to walk back to at night as long as you are not by yourself and stick to well-lit roads etc etc - the usual stuff you would do in any big city. Murano halls are in Maryhill - which everyone will tell u is some sort of ghetto - but dont listen

Security in halls is just common sense - all the buildings are secure entry, but keep your doors windows locked at night and dont go out and leave your door unlocked or your windows open

you can deinitely ride a bike on campus - some of the streets are really narrowed (or have cobbles on them like Ashton Lane etc) but just dont use those streets!! lol the med school have an area where you can lock up your bike at the entrance and there are plenty more bike-parks "on campus"

[mk118]

Maw and Paw have just put an offer down on a flat in glasgow, bouts a mile from the uni. Its uber nice.

I dont have an offer yet, but my bro will stay there and they can rent out the spare room if i dont get in.

I want glasgow pretty bad. Ill swap my edinburgh if anyone is willing

mk

[ClareS]

Maw and Paw have just put an offer down on a flat in glasgow, bouts a mile from the uni. Its uber nice.

I dont have an offer yet, but my bro will stay there and they can rent out the spare room if i dont get in.

I want glasgow pretty bad. Ill swap my edinburgh if anyone is willing

mk

Um, this may look like a stupid question, but if your parents can afford to buy a flat in Glasgow and your grades were good enough for you to apply there, why were you in the LEAPS scheme?

The aims of the LEAPS/Pathways scheme are quoted on their website as being:

"To promote social inclusion and equality of opportunity by facilitating increased participation and success in Higher Education of young people (in Edinburgh and the Lothians) whose ability to choose higher education as a post school option and/or to demonstrate or realise their potential may have been inhibited by economic, social or cultural factors."

It seems wrong to use an Access scheme to get a place you don't sound like you really want. That's why people get so annoyed about Access schemes such as LEAPS and Pathways.

[mk118]

heh i like your thinking. mk must be at it with his application.

Unfortunately no... my parents arent as rich as it appears:

- Fact 1 - Financially, its cheaper to buy a flat for the 5+ years in glasgow if i get in rather than pay for rent for both me and my bro who is at strathclyde uni.

The value of the property will increase and the profit will help pay off the debt incurred by being at uni and any other costs.

- Fact 2 - The cost of property in glasgow is cheaper than equivalent property in Edinburgh, hence when someone from Edinburgh buys a flat in Glasgow they usually get more for their money. The flat is not expensive at all in terms of Edinburgh standards [neither Glasgow really], its just good researching by my M+D in finding an affordable property that happens to be absolutely beautiful [in my eyes ].

- Fact 3 - Although i qualify for LEAPS because of my parents not being to uni, and the fact that usually children of said parents have a tougher chance of getting to uni, there are other reasons for being applicable for LEAPS. If i had a brother or sister with learning difficulties for example, statistically it would make it tougher for me to get into uni, so dont assume that its merely a financially-based scheme.

Im not sure how im cheating the system by applying to LEAPS with the intention of having Edinburgh as my backup. Are you saying that people in LEAPS should only be allowed to go to Edinburgh? I honestly didnt expect to get any offers, but now that i have got at least one, am i, according to your way of thinking, suppose to withdraw my application from others?

I've had trouble with ppl not understanding the TONE of my posts before - a problem of forums. Big smiley = flippancy. Yup. You totally didnt get that did you?



The actual reason people tend not to like access schemes is because they havent done any research on them. And if they have, its usually just an annoyance/jealousy at the fact someone else is being recognised for having to face extra obstacles [as if there werent enough ] to get to the same stage as themselves.


mk

[ClareS]

mk118,

Anybody who can find a deposit for a flat, no matter how cheap, is not short of funds. However, I was not implying that LEAPS is solely granted on financial grounds. But, if you got enough grades in one sitting to apply to Glasgow you could just as easily have applied to Edinburgh without using the Access scheme.

I don't think I implied you cheated the system- simply that it looks like you could have taken your chances with everyone else. Flippancy about an assisted place seems out of place to me. Because LEAPS is meant to help people who would normally not gain access to university, the expectation is that their hometown university would be their only option. If other universities are available by normal competition, it would seem reasonable to assume the hometown university would be as well. Actually, I've done a lot of research into LEAPS and think it's a great scheme for people who have no other way of getting into university. From your post, that didn't seem to apply to you.

If you had to face extra obstacles to get where you are, then good luck to you. But you do no service to the Access scheme or the other individuals in it by acting so casually towards your acceptance which, after all, was given under priority and special conditions.

I do wish you luck with your other applications- it would be nice if we could all have our first choice.

ClareS

[mk118]

mk118,

Anybody who can find a deposit for a flat, no matter how cheap, is not short of funds. However, I was not implying that LEAPS is solely granted on financial grounds. But, if you got enough grades in one sitting to apply to Glasgow you could just as easily have applied to Edinburgh without using the Access scheme.

...Because LEAPS is meant to help people who would normally not gain access to university, the expectation is that their hometown university would be their only option. If other universities are available by normal competition, it would seem reasonable to assume the hometown university would be as well. Actually, I've done a lot of research into LEAPS and think it's a great scheme for people who have no other way of getting into university. From your post, that didn't seem to apply to you.

...ClareS

I've been encouraged by the woman in charge of LEAPS with regards to medicine applicants to go elsewhere - outside of Edinburgh.

You're right i could have easily applied to Edinburgh. It's not the applying thats the hard bit, its the getting in. The LEAPS lady told me it was unlikely i'd get in anywhere at all.

You say if i got the grades then im just as likely to get in as everyone else based on my merits. Why should i not however also mention the fact that ive probably had more of an uphill struggle than most people?

In something as competitive as medicine, you need every chance you can get to show how much you're capable of. Entering LEAPS provided me with such a chance.

Someone from a deprived background [not just speaking money-wise here] should be allowed to blow their trumpet if they manage to get a good application through the struggles of lack of resources/help.

The expectation is not that the applicant will only get into their local university. LEAPS also has weight with universities in the rest of Scotland and England. Elsewhere ive applied to know that im LEAPS.

This discussion is taking on proportions equivalent to the mk118 vs Keeno discussion of several months back. I'm not going back through said debate.

Safe to say... Im applicable to join LEAPS, the lady from LEAPS said i should have done LEAPS and i got in via LEAPS.

Lets now allow the thread to return to the subject of accomodation in glasgow.

I also hope you get where you want.

mk

[Doctor Tse]

i agree with the buying rather than renting, especially for 6+ years. ive been thinking about that issue for a while now.

[heed]

buying rather than renting is a good idea BUT only if you can afford it (and can pretty much guarantee that you will be able to until your mortgage is paid off!).

remember that it is a huge financial chain round your neck - but if you are sensible about it, it could pay off