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| Edinburgh international students pay close to highest fees in the UK |
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Originally published on October 27th, 2009 RECENT FIGURES indicate that the University of Edinburgh is one of the most expensive universities for international students in the UK.
Edinburgh’s fees are second in Scotland only to St. Andrews, which will charge £11,350 this year to all international students. A table listed in The Guardian this week compared tuition fees for all universities currently accredited in the UK. The most expensive university for international students is Imperial College, which charges £15,500 for classroom based courses and £19,450 for lab based courses. The least expensive is Birkbeck College at the University of London, which charges international students £3,936 a year. The nature of Scottish degrees, however, which usually last a year longer than those south of the border, mean that an international student at Edinburgh will upon graduation have paid close to the highest fees in the UK in total. 'Emily', a fourth year History student from the United States, says that while envious of the Scottish and EU students who are exempt from paying fees, she considers herself lucky to be attending Edinburgh, given the cost of higher education in the United States. “Edinburgh's cost is great especially considering the quality of the education. When I was applying for university, my parents made enough money that the government deemed me ineligible for financial aid, but nobody can really afford to shell out $45,000 a year, can they? Edinburgh is a much less expensive option than most US schools, and I think it's a really smart choice for kids like me who didn't qualify for much aid.” She did, however, express the feeling that the University administration could do more to help offset international students' costs: “Things like printer credits. Students can spend a fortune on things like printing, but international students have already given so much to the university it would be nice to get some help in that department. They could also offer rent reductions on university halls of residences. Basically, things which won't cost the university much money, but will benefit students who have already given significant amounts of money in tuition fees. “Also, I wish that Edinburgh would charge the same rate of tuition every year rather than raise the cost each year for continuing students. When I started I think my fees were around £8,500. I now pay upwards of £11,000. If they want to raise the fees for new students, that's fine, but be consistent with the rate for returning students. That's something that schools in the US build into financial aid plans, that costs for the individual student won't go up over the course of their time at university.” 'Sara', a first year from France, highlighted other difficulties that students from abroad face, such as arranging university housing: “I wanted to be in Holland House or Chancellor’s Court because they have practice rooms for music, which I’m studying, but I got placed in John Burnett House, which is the most expensive residence at Pollock! I have requested to change rooms, and [the University] have been fairly helpful with that.” A University of Edinburgh spokesperson told The Student, “The University of Edinburgh is one of the top ranked universities in the world. Comparing like for like, taking a degree at the University of Edinburgh costs less than at any other British university in the world top 20.”
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