Originally from a town called Midlothian in Texas, named after Midlothian Scotland, Olivia is a second year History student. A medievalist at heart, who also likes to knit and crochet, take walks in Holyrood park, and drink an obscene amount of tea. Image Olivia What attracted you to the University of Edinburgh and this programme, in particular? The depth of classes I can take here in Edinburgh is unlike anything I’d be able to take as an undergraduate in the US. Plus, in Edinburgh, you don’t have to take four years of courses outside your main area of interest! In the US, I would have a couple years of compulsory maths and sciences which I definitely don’t have to take here (and definitely appreciate not having to take!) What one thing would you recommend new students at the University of Edinburgh do? Learn how to take notes in a way that helps you learn. I spent the first few months of my first year totally overhauling my note taking system from the way I wrote down information in high school. It is so helpful to know what methods of studying really help you get the information down. Any student wisdom you'd like to pass on? Don’t put so much pressure on tutorials. They’re there to deepen your knowledge and if there are parts of the material that you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask questions about it. If you can treat a tutorial as a discussion with friends, you’ll get so much more out of it than if you go into it thinking you have to say everything perfectly. What advice would you give to anyone thinking of studying at the University of Edinburgh? If you’re an international student, make sure that you know how the education system here differs from the one you’re used to, think about the kinds of courses you want to take and if the ones we have here match what you’re expecting for yourself, and think about the city too! Edinburgh is an absolutely fantastic city, but if you don’t think you’d enjoy living here, that will impact your wellbeing immensely. This article was published on 2024-06-19
