SweetPea_45

I've arrived in Edinburgh!!!! When I arrived, it is a beautiful day!!! 70s and sunny! Hoping the weather holds out, of course knowing Scotland it won't... but hey, a girl can wish! I managed to get through airport security, no problems there, of course they did ask me quite a few questions (where will I be staying, how will I be paying for tuition, etc). I guess they liked my answers, because they admitted me in! Today is my first full day in Edinburgh, so I'll be checking out the fringe festival for sure. Still not sure about fees and all. I'm just showing up and paying. My sense is that it doesn't really matter when you pay, as long as you do pay (at least the first installment) by the time the semester starts. Of course I was super excited about the Freshers event (I created a google calendar spread! took me forever!) only to find out that M-F of freshers week, my program is having their own induction week. I am booked 9AM-5PM! Oh well! That does leave the weekends and after 5PM free, but I'll be missing some of the tours and meet ups that I was looking forward to. Antecedant- I hope you enjoy California! I love California during this time of the year!

I'll be registering when I get to Edinburgh. I leave on Monday (yes THREE days from now!!!) & there is just too much to do between now & then! Luckily, the classes for the MPP program are laid out for me, so I don't have to worry about registering for optional courses. I have to figure out how the fee payment thing will work. I'm trying to see if I can pay for it via credit card, so I can rack up the points (perhaps a free flight home?), but I have to be sure that the merchant (edi uni) won't put it through as a cash advance. If that is the case, then I'll have to go through a bank account transfer. Everything with fees is super complicated... the exchange rate for USD to GBP is around 1.568 dollars for every pound. Edinburgh says they accept dollars, but at a rate of 1.666, hello!!?? That is an awful exchange rate. So yeah, it is complicated... but I'm sure I'm not the only American student who is paying for fees. I feel like a nice appointment with the fees office will help with my concerns. In terms of anything else you can do... you may want to check out the freshers week calendar. I am a super dork and made a google calendar of all the events I plan on going to, that way I don't miss out on anything. What is really nice is that they have events especially designed for PG students (ie: coffee crawls, speed networking, wine and cheese, etc), so that way you aren't mixed in with 17/18 year olds. If any of you guys plan on attending any of these events, let me know! I'll try and drop in for a few of them. Best of luck with those last few days of work. It was KILLER for me to get through it! Enjoy your time off as well!

Hey there! So good news! I got my visa back exactly when the consulate said it would arrive! I was able to book my flights to Edinburgh (found a reasonable priced one-way flight $480 from NYC --> EDI w/ one connection) and now I'm just counting down the days! 6 days until I leave NY and 7 days until I arrive! This is becoming very real... very quickly!!!

Hi there! Blackwood Crescent is a really nice flat! I think you'll really enjoy it. What is really nice is that you'll get to walk through the meadows on your way to uni, which really is a beautiful walk. I am crazy excited! I've been freaking out about my visa situation, checking the mail about four times a day, alas nothing has come. I got an e-mail today saying that it is in the mail, delivery by UPS tomorrow at 10:00AM! Crossing my fingers that all goes to plan! Then I can FINALLY book my flight and start feeling like this is really happening! I'm in the mist of planning my European holiday. I'm pretty sure my two week holiday is going to consist of Edinburgh--->Pisa--->Florance--->Rome--->Venice-->Vienna--->Prague-->back to Edinburgh! Hope you are all having a great summer & looking forward to Edinburgh!

Haha yes! September... hurry up! I like that thinking! I applied under one application for both scholarships. It gave me the option to tick which scholarships I was applying for. I thought that I would be able to submit separately, that way I could make the essays unique, but I couldn't figure it out. I reasoned that if they had that option, then they wanted more of a general application. Sorry to hear about not getting the Global either, if it wasn't me, it would have been nice to at least know someone who did win. Guess, we just have to wait and see. I got a call from an Edinburgh Uni student as well. We had about a 30 min conversation about the University, grading policies, living overseas, social aspects,etc. I thought it was a really nice touch.

Hi there, I didn't apply for uni housing, but from my memory when I studied abroad fall '07 (granted policies may have changed since then) and applied for uni housing, I don't remember hearing back about it months in advance, much like when I applied for uni housing through my undergraduate program in the United States. If you are worried about it, I recommend giving them a call/ e-mailing them to find out. From my experience with both calling & e-mailing the University, people get back to you quite quickly, which is really nice. I applied for both Global Masters and Santander scholarships. I heard back from Global (not successful), but not Santander. Not holding my breath, I know they are both very competitive scholarship opportunities.

Hey there! I'm coming over on a student visa as well, so I need to apply for that. You can't apply more then 3 months before the start of your program or they take your money and reject your application outright! So I'll be applying on June 10th, since my program starts September 10th. I hear from friends that the student visa process takes only a couple of weeks, so I'll be looking into booking my flight late June/ early July, with the hope of arriving in Edinburgh around August 10th so I can take FULL advantage of traveling and enjoying Edinburgh before school starts. From my time living in Edinburgh, I would recommend taking as little as possible. There are cheap places (ie: pound stretches (kind of like a dollar store), asda (pretty much Walmart), Boots ( just like a CVS) etc where you can buy your everyday essentials like pots, pans, plates, shampoo. Edinburgh is COLD. No jokes or laughing matters about that, so do bring (or plan on buying) warm clothing. Edinburgh's library is fantastic, and you can prob get all the books you need there. If not, there is a public library in Edinburgh which houses a great deal of rare or hard to access books. If there are books that are essential for your course, then I would bring them. The last thing you want is to be in a situation where someone else has checked out the book you desperately need. Edinburgh is so beautiful during the summer, and of course there is the Edinburgh fringe festival going on in August and into September, so it will be very lively right when we are due to arrive. There are many hostels in Edinburgh, so if you want to come early, there should be no problem finding a place to stay. The first week of University is called "freshers week," pretty much a welcome week for students. Along with the bar/ going out during at night, there are a lot of activities (ie: tour of Edinburgh castle, ghost tours, meet & greets, hikes up tour of parliament, etc). You buy a discounted pass, and it gets you into anything you want to see. It is also a great way of meeting people. The weather is so beautiful right at the start of the school year, this is the time to be the tourist, and take advantage of the city before the weather turns dreadful! Thanks for the advice on the super cheap tickets! I'll be sure to check that website out!

I get really anxious waiting until the last minute as well, but I do want to wait until I have my visa in hand before booking a flight. Either way, I figure with the Olympics, Edinburgh fringe festival, just the typical price hike that comes with summer, I'm prepared to pay a hefty airfare. The last thing I want is to have to pay big $$$ and then have to pay an additional fee to change it. I'll be taking on the new MPP (masters in public policy), administered through the Academy of Government at Edinburgh University. Crazy excited about it!

Wow, that really doesn't seem that bad. I've seen around the $550 mark from New York to Edinburgh, so $620 from Vancouver really isn't that bad. It's really had to bite that bullet and buy the flight, but eventually I'll have to!

Antecedant- Where were you able to find a cheap flight? I'm still looking for a decently priced flight.

When I studying abroad at Edinburgh, I lived in Kincaids Court. I thought it was really nice (but nothing special) self catered flat, and it was a short walk to George Square. My thought is if you don't want the hassle of finding a flat on your own, uni housing is the way to go. Additionally, going uni housing is a great way to meet fellow students. My best friends for the semester was the four other girls I shared the common space of the flat with. If you are more independent or are looking for getting the biggest bang for your buck, you can checkout sites like gumtree (the UK's version of craigslist) to see what flats in Edinburgh are going for. Best of luck to you!

Thanks Hanyuye! Looks like antecedant answered much of your question. You may also have a conditional acceptance if you need to submit to and pass something like a police background check, such as my husband needs to do, because within the scope of his program he will be working with a vulnerable population. I will not be, so I have the unconditional acceptance!

I've been taking a look at this thread for quite awhile now... didn't want to post anything in case I didn't get in. I found out today that I was offered an unconditional acceptance into the MPP (Masters of Public Policy) program through the Academy of Government at Edinburgh University! I'm incredibly thrilled!

Hi there, I've flirted with the idea of a masters in ed policy, since I'm interested in education, but much like you I don't want to teach. I don't think there is anything wrong with going after a graduate degree in international education without experience. There are many reasons why people go back to graduate school, one of which is to pursue a different career path. You are gaining experience through the graduate degree, as opposed to working your way up through job/ hands on experience. One thing you may want to consider, is doing informational interviews with individuals in a career that you are interested in, before spending big $$$ on a grad degree, only to find out that you aren't interested in this type of work.

Hey there, I've been looking into am MPP program at Edinburgh University. I'm also a USA student and I got my BA from American University! I'm in the same boat as you, trying to navigate and figure out if going to a UK institution will hurt job prospects or if individuals/ institutions will look at my degree in a different way. After talking to other USA students getting their degrees in the UK, my current manger, my former manager, and alumni of different ages from the University Edinburgh who have gotten their masters (MSc), my parents, here is what I have found. 1) Everyone has different perspectives on this matter. In the end of the day, it depends on who is looking at your application. One hiring manager may know of and value the smallest school from the smallest town in the smallest state over a University which is ranked in the top 20 in the world, whereas others may see St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Kings, etc, recognize and know the tremendous value of graduating from such a top ranked school. 2) It depends on what your interests are. Are you interested in a subject matter of psychology/ counseling which is content based in something that is U.S. based? If so, there may be value in going to an institution based in the USA? Additionally, if you are interested in going for a PhD, is there value in going to grad school at the same place as where you want to get your PhD? 3) It is important to see if there is an outside body which accredits your program from Scotland. For instance, the program that I am interested in is currently seeking accreditation from an external USA. and European body. If you are able to show that your program is accredited by an outside organization that is recognized by other countries (such as the USA), then other organizations shouldn't have any questions. Also, if you need a licence in order to practice say counseling in the USA, find out what the requirements are and if the Scottish University of your choice meets those requirements. 4) It may be worthwhile to see if you can get your hands on a syllabus of a USA institution that you are interested in and a syllabus of a Scottish institution. Just so you can compare notes and see what you would be getting and to see if the courses match up. 5) Connections, connections, connections. I've noticed that in my field, among other fields, in order to land a job, and sometimes getting into schools as well, it is all about who you know. See what kind of connections the schools have which can help you. 6) Contact the course organizer/ contact and find out if/ how many students successfully obtained a masters degree from the University and then was able to get into grad school, or land a job in the USA. 7) Information- Contact everyone and anyone you know. Speak to old internship advisers, old professors, attend information sessions, etc in order to find out as much information about different programs, and the necessary steps you need to take in order to get to where you want to go. 8) Be able to explain it- People may ask you why you went to a U.K. institution. So be prepared to explain your reasoning behind it. Make sure your reasons are positive and describe it as a strength. For instance you may say that you wanted to learn about psychology or counseling from an international perspective, etc. Hope this helps!