Opinions wanted: University College London and University of Glasgow

[Specter1075]

Hello all.

This will be far from any topic regarding aviation but I post here seeking opinions.

I have been accepted to the University of Glasgow for an International Masters in Russian, Central and East European Studies, and also to the University College of London for a Masters in Russian Studies. While I doubt Im fortunate enough that someone here might have taken either program, I AM hoping some of you will have some opinions about the schools themselves. There exist some world rankings, but I don't put a lot of faith in them. I would prefer to hear the opinions of regular people. So, that said, please share your opinions with me; be they about the cities, the schools, whatever. I want to read as much as I can from as many sources as I can before making any kind of decision.

I greatly appreciate it!

[Zaggy]

I personally know very little about both schools; but still, congrats on the offers for your Master's program!

I have been 'enduring' the 'gentle-prodding' of academia at Uni for the last 2 months; they're trying to encourage me to hang in there for Honours and some sort of combined Masters/PhD program. What is annoying is, they're telling me how cool it all is, etc; but I'm only halfway through my program (and finding it quite boring really, despite my HD GPA).

Still, I reckon either would be good. While London would be good in that its close to transport to take you anywhere in Europe, it is killer expensive to live in (got a mate doing his PhD in some sort of Distributed Dynamic Computational Blah Blah in London); how much of your living expenses are they covering and how much work they want you to do (like Tutoring/Research Plebian/etc)?

[Specter1075]

Hi Zaggy! Thanks for the reply.

Im not sure what my budget it, but I think I can make either city work. I wont be receiving any financial support from outside my family, but Ive got some credit of my own so I should be ok in that regard. It seems so far that there are pluses to living in both cities. From a lifestyle standpoint, I really cant decide which city appeals to me more.

From an academic standpoint, Im hearing from a few places that UCL is supposed to be an excellent school by reputation. Glasgow's program is a bit different, but provides and opportunity to spend a semester or two (its a 2 year program compared to UCL's 1-year) in an Eastern European country. (Eastern European without leaving the EU) While that appeals to me (I LOVE Estonia)I don't think it will benefit me much later on.

I guess all the opinions in the world dont make my decision an easy one. I think I am leaning towards London...

What is your program, if I may ask?

[BHawthorne]

Whichever has the best on-campus or near-campus pubs? :smile:

[Specter1075]

An excellent consideration indeed! Though I'm not very choosy; if the establishment has beer then its a good establishment in my mind!