StudentExchangeEvaluationBasicinformation
Otagodegree:BA,withadoublemajorofClassicsandArtHistory
Hostuniversity:UniversityofEdinburgh(Edinburgh,Scotland)
Dateofexchange:firstsemester2018(January–June)
Academics/courseload
Coursetitle Language Otagoequivalent OtagocreditvalueRomanArchitecture(CACA10036)
English CLAS300 24
HistoryofArt1B(HIAR08011)
English ARTV100 24
HowtoMakeItalianRenaissanceArt(HIAR10114)
English ARTV300 24
AfullcourseatEdinburghisconsideredthreepapers,asopposedtothefourpapersat
Otago.Theyrecommendforvisitingstudents,ifitispossible,totakeonlytwoHonours-
levelpapers(thirdandfourthyear)andthenonefirst-orsecond-yearpaper.Anoteon
choosing papers: at least formy subjects, the courses filled up very quickly, so try to
choosethemasearlyasyoucan.
Howdidtheacademicexperience/workload/styleofteachingdifferfromOtago?
Myacademicexperiencedidn’tdiffergreatly fromOtago.Blackboardwasused,and it
wassimilarinintermsofteachinghours:threelecturesandatutorialforthe100-level
course,andthenat300-levelitwastwohoursperweekpercourse.TheHonours-level
courses were smaller, and participating by answering questions was encouraged (but
classengagementwasn’tmarked).Ofthethree,onlythefirst-yearpaperwasrecorded.
Itdifferedslightly inthattherewasonlyone internallyassessedassignment(anessay)
andthentherestof thegradecomes fromtheendofsemesterexam(about50-50). I
thinkthemarkingisabittougher:70andaboveisanAgrade.Mygradesdiddroplower
thantheytendtobeatOtago–butthenIwasalsotravellingmore,andconsciousthat
it’sonlyapassorfailmarkrecordedonmyOtagotranscript!
Accommodation
What accommodation did you stay in? What were the pros and cons of your
accommodation?
There is a variety of accommodation available for visiting students in Edinburgh. The
university owns and/or has contracts with a variety of accommodation types (see
accom.ed.ac.uk/for-students/search-for-accommodation/), but there is also the option
ofstayingaprivateflat,oraprivately-runstudenthallofresidence.
When applying for Edinburgh University, you have the option of selecting your five
preferreduniversityaccommodationoptions,andthen(intheory)youshouldbeoffered
aplaceinoneofthem.Onceoffered,it’satakeitorleaveitsituation–ifyoudon’tlike
theoffer,thenyouhavetofindalternativeaccommodationnotrunbytheuniversity.I
was offered a place in a hall that was not one of my five options, and after reading
reviews I decided to turn down the offer as it didn’t sound that great, and I had the
back-upoptionofstayingwitharelativenearby.
When I got to Edinburgh I decided itmightbeworth seeing if therewereanyprivate
flatsavailable–therewereplentybutagoodmajoritywereeitherveryexpensive,only
forlong-termrent,farfromtheuniversity,orjustnotverynice.Iwasn’tlookingatthe
besttime:lookingforandarrangingflatsshouldbedonemonthsinadvanceofthestart
oftheuniversityyear(September),ratherthanhalfwaythroughit.Idecidedtoaskthe
universityaccommodationcentre iftheyhadanyspaces left intheiraccommodation–
theygotbacktomequicklywithanumberofoptions,andIendedupstayinginMurano,
auniversity-runhallsofresidenceonLeithWalk.
Muranowasgreat;unlikemanyoftheotherhalls,it’sverymodern(built2015),andall
theroomshaveanensuitebathroom,completewithshower. Istayedinafour-person
flat, which, given we each had our own bathrooms, meant sharing only a spacious
kitchen/livingarea,whichcomeswitha40"flatscreenTV.(Flatscanrangefrom3to6
person,oryoucanchoosethestudiooption,whereit’saone-personflat).Likeotheruni
accommodation, it comes with appliances like fridge, hoover, oven, iron, kettle,
microwave,bed,desk,chairetc.,butnotcrockery,cutlery,orbedding.Thereareplenty
ofop-shopsonLeithWalktosupplythese–orevenbetter,theFreeShop,heldatthe
beginningofsemesteratuni–whereitemsthatpaststudents(deliberately)leftbehind
are laidout forcurrentstudents to take.Notonly is itgreatbecause it’s recycling, it’s
alsocompletelyfree!Budget-friendlynewhomewarescanbetoppedupatPrimark(on
PrincesStreet),atTescoorthepound-shopsdownattheendofLeithWalk.
Muranoalsoincludesacommonroom,alaundry(card-operated),helpfulstaffandRAs,
aswellasacleanerwhocomesweeklytocleanthecommunalareasoftheflat.There’s
abusstoprightoutside,whichcantakeyoudirectlytotheuniinabout20minutes,or
youcandothe30minutewalkifyou’refeelingenergetic(orjustdoitbackfromuni,as
it’sdownhillalltheway).Intermsofdailyliving,it’sveryconvenientlylocated:“express”
versions of Tesco and Sainsbury’s within two minutes walk (and a large Tesco a ten
minutewalkdownLeithWalk),andlotsofcafes,pubs,andothershopsnearby.
Ithinkreallytheonlydownsideistheexpense:Istayedforaboutfourandahalfmonths
intotal,forthecostofjustunder$6000,soc.$320aweek.However,consideringthat
the price does include all utility bills, internet, a weekly clean of the kitchen, secure
grounds, warm rooms, contents insurance, ensuite bathroom, a support system, and
good location, I think it would be very difficult to find a flat with all of Murano’s
advantages for anything less than that price in Edinburgh. Formore information, see:
accom.ed.ac.uk/property-details/55/murano-murano-amphion-lane-edinburgh/;
libertyliving.co.uk/student-accommodation/edinburgh/liberty-village/
(Notmyphotos–they’refromtheaccommodationwebsitetogivearoughideaofMurano).
Moneymatters
Asmentioned, I spentabout$6000onaccommodation for thesemester.Thenextbig
costwastravel: IwentfromAucklandtoGlasgowwithEmiratesforabout$1300–asI
booked about sixmonths before I left (trying to avoid an increase in prices as it got
closertoJanuary)Iwasn’tabletobookareturnatthattimeastheflightdatesweren’t
released at that stage. Formy return flight I booked through STA, as through them I
couldaccessastudentdiscountaswellasmytravelinsurance.Thereturnflight(London
to Christchurch with Emirates) was $1000, and for the travel insurance you have a
numberofdifferentoptions,(Iwentforthecomprehensivecoveratjustunder$500).In
summary,expecttospendatleast$2000onairtravelcosts(dependingonairlineandat
whattimeyoubook),andthenanothercoupleofhundredforthetravelinsurance.
Forfoodcostsandotherhouseholdnecessities,I’dsayIspentbetween$60and$80per
week(Ihavetoeatglutenfreewhichraisesthecostabit;sidenote,therearesomany
glutenfreeproductsavailableintheUK!)Anotherfrequentcostwastransport;asIused
thebusalot(atleastinwinterwhenitwascold),themostcost-effectiveoptionwasto
buyamonthlybuscardforabout$98,whichgivesyouunlimitedtravelonallEdinburgh
buses and trams for four weeks (lothianbuses.com/tickets/). (Another side note: the
publictransportinandaroundEdinburghisfantastic).Trainticketstovisitfamilyoutside
of Edinburghwereunder$20 for a return. Speakingof trains, if youwant to take the
train down to London,make sure you go through Unidays so you get a 40% student
discount–it’sthenjustaboutthesamecostofflyingdown–andsomuchnicerwiththe
scenery, and none of the tedious security, waiting, and travel to and from airports
(myunidays.com/GB/en-GB/partners/virgintrains/view/online).
In terms of paying for things, I went with a Loaded for Travel card
(loadedfortravel.co.nz),whichyouloadupfromyourNZbankaccountwithanycurrency
youwant,andthen justuse it likeanordinarybankcard. Iused itmostly for therent
payment instalments. As a UK citizen, it was easy enough to set up my own bank
accountwhenIgotthere–IwentwiththeBankofScotlandandjustneededbypassport
asproofofidentity.Visitingstudentswhoaren’tUKcitizenscanalsosetupanaccount–
ifyou’restayinginuniversityaccommodation,aletterforproofofaddressisprovided,
aswellasthelistofbanksthatwillacceptyou.
Visas&Insurance
AsaUKcitizenIdidnotneedtoapplyforavisa–and,Imaybewrong,butIdon’tthink
NZ citizens need to apply for a visa either if they’re staying for less than sixmonths.
Insurance was was recommended by Edinburgh University (but not enforced). I got
travel insurance through STA (statravel.co.nz),which covered all ofOtagoUniversity’s
requirements–goinandseethem,theyareveryhelpful!
Extra-curricular/SocialActivities
Whatorganisedactivitieswereavailabletostudents?Whatextra-curricularactivities
wouldyourecommendtofutureexchangestudents?
The university has a number of clubs and societies, and organises loads of events for
students (ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/student-life/clubs-and-societies). I went to
aceilidh(youhavetotryitatleastonce!),triedsalsadancing,andwentononeofthe
International Centre’s trips. They havemany throughout the year to locations around
Scotland,sometimesjustfortheday,someovertheweekend(edinburghisc.com/trips/).
Iwent on a two-day, overnight trip to the Isle of Skye. Iwould definitely recommend
doingat leastoneoftheirtrips: it’sgreattohavea littlebreakawayfromuniandthe
city, and it’s soeasyaseverything isorganised for you. The fee includes coach travel,
tourguide,overnightaccommodation,andapackedscheduleof sights to see. Justbe
suretobuyticketsassoonasthey’rereleasedonlineastheygoquickly!Ialsoattended
artclassesattheLeithSchoolofArt(notassociatedwiththeuni),whichwerefantastic
(leithschoolofart.co.uk/course-types/short-courses).
Whatwastheuniversity/citylike?
WhatIloveaboutEdinburghisthearchitecture–Medievalalleysandbuildings,cobbled
streets, elegant Georgian terraces, castles, and gardens throughout. It’s got a rich
history,andanicefeeltothecity.Intermsofactivities,there’ssomethingforeveryone
in Edinburgh, whatever your interests may be. There’s an abundance of great cafes,
bars,andrestaurantsforsocialising,theatresandcinemas(showingrecentreleases,and
smallerones showingavant-gardeor classic films),big chain storesand smallerquirky
shops,parksandgardens,andofcoursealltheclassictouristspotsliketheRoyalMile,
Edinburgh Castle, and so on (advisable to do before the peak tourist season over
summer).Myreccommendations:
• Fora rainy, coldday (ofwhich thereweremany!):explore thegreatmuseums
andartgalleries(aswellastheirrespectivecafesandgiftshops);
• Want to relax? Try theworld’s (unofficially) comfiest cinema seats at the Vue
CinemainOceanTerminalMallinLeith;
• Feelingpeckish?great coffee (and lovelybuilding) at theNationalMuseum,or
brunchatthePrintworksdowninLeith;
• Wanttobecreative?TakeaweekendworkshopattheLeithSchoolofArt;
• Makethemostofaniceday:strollorpicnicintheMeadowsorBotanicGardens;
• ButalsogetoutofEdinburgh!Visitthestunningcountrysidenearby,othercities
oftheUK,ormakethemostofbeingsomuchclosertoEurope(orevenbeyond)
andtravelfurtherafield.
OverallExperience
I chosetostudy inEdinburgh foranumberof reasons: Ihad likedthecitywhen Ihad
stayedforacoupleofdaysafewyearsprior;Ihavemuchofmyextendedfamilylivingin
andaround thearea; theacademic reputationof theuniversity; and its location,with
easyaccess to the restof theUK,andbeyond. I came to love it for thebeautyof the
architectureand thesurrounding landscape, thepeople, theopportunities itprovided,
both in terms of activities, and also to become more independent, resourceful, and
confident.Like(hopefully)everyotherexchangeitwasarewardingexperiencetolearn
abouttheworldandmyself,andwasexciting,challenging,andveryenjoyable.Toother
studentsgoingonexchange,justmakethemostofyourtimethere,trydifferentthings,
andenjoyitasmuchasyoucan.Mì-àdh!
TheShore,Leith,Edinburgh
Medievalhouse,Edinburgh
SnowatsunsetinFife(areajusttothenorthofthecityofEdinburgh)
IsleofSkye
EileanDonanCastle
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