dallasdoesntexist

[dallasdoesntexist]

thank you so much for such a comprehensive ask! i feel like ik a lot more little details about the city now that i wouldn’t have known otherwise — tysm<33

but if it’s not a bother, i just wanted to ask — what do you mean by this bit? “There's a lot going on politically within the uni at the moment, with gender liberation (especially trans rights, which sucks for me as a trans person)” i… am also trans, but i’ve not transitioned or come out (my family is quite transphobic, and my city doesn’t have the resources for trans stuff as far as im aware), so i was hoping to come out and transition after i move out and go to uni. but from what you say here, it sounds like if i do end up being accepted here, it might be safer to stay in the closet? i’m so sorry to ask this — i know it’s not a fun thing to talk abt. i’m just a bit stressed— since i do know people who live in the city and are doing well, but none of them r trans unfortunately.

also— i’m sorry, i promise i’m not trying to just dredge up the negatives😭😭 but ahhvwnegdjd there’s a housing crisis / cost of living crisis / overcrowded classes and courses / timetabling issues / assessment feedback issues?? i know, sadly, that none of this is unique just to Edinburgh, but i didn’t actually realise the city and uni were having all of these problems specifically. i’m sorry if this is a stupid question, but instead of asking you a whole lot, i guess i’d just love to know— is it… bad? as in, in your experience, worse than other unis have it?/if you could go somewhere else would you, that kinda thing. The timetabling issues sound crazy (6hrs of classes?!!) but i feel like i could deal w/ that, but oof, assessment feedback stuff? what’s your experiences w/ that been like, if any? i’m just not from a place where they really prepare us for uni (well, they do, just — my country’s school system and unis work very differently to those in the uk), so i feel like w/out feedback i might end up falling behind lol.

also!! yep, i did mean eng lit, not english languag — thank you SO much for so much of detail on all of that! it cleared up so many questions i didn’t realise i had. like seriously, your ask was so sweet and comprehensive, of course definitely no pressure to answer whatever is going on in this one😭😭

hi again!!! so sorry for answering so late, im only on tumblr every now and then at the minute.

about the trans stuff, I was in the exact same situation as you. I had the same idea with transitioning once I moved to uni and honestly, there will be pros and cons with doing that no matter where you go. At UoE specifically, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding multiple attempted screenings of Adult Human Female with it recently being found that the uni actually paid for an external security company to make sure the event went forward. Recently a trans-exclusionary LGB activist managed to secure a major role within the university. The Trans and Nonbinary Officer did step down in protest of both of these events, and the position is still unfortunately vacant.

HOWEVER there are a lot of positives to being out as trans (even if its just to your friends) at the university, such as:

The Gender Liberation Society which meet every Monday in Appleton Tower

The Gender Empowerment Fund which allows you access to packers/binders/wigs/any trans apparel you might need (with a limit of £150)

You can change your name on the University of Edinburgh system on your own (via EUCLID) so that your real/preferred name is the one on class registers, instead of your birth/dead name

Lots of tutors will as everyone to specify their pronouns at the first meeting, so you'll never feel targeted

There's trans flags spray painted on walls all across old town LMAO

GET A GP AS SOON AS YOU MOVE HERE! The waiting list for the gender identity clinic REQUIRES a GP referral and the wait list is only <2 years long!

(in comparison, Glasgow's is >5 years!)

All in all, the issues with trans stuff has to do more with the admin of the university rather than the people who actually matter to you. You'll find the admin of the uni suck the most more than anyone else at everything. Most of the normal people at the university are very understanding and polite about you being trans (one of my friends actually forgot I was trans once, straight up just thought I was a guy which was very flattering lmao).

In my opinion, it is very worth it coming out. There are people who have your back.

About all of the other stuff, though the University are at fault for not doing enough to help, often everyone affected works together to make it as easy a life as possible. If you are struggling with timetabling, or how full your classes are, or if the amount of assessments you have are driving you up the wall, there is always someone you can contact. In order of who you should contact first:

Your Student Advisor: they can help point you in the right direction and provide notes that can be used at the end of the year to apply for Special Circumstances (if, say, mental health or financial issues, etc, got in the way of your studies)

The Listening Service at the Chaplaincy

The Advice Place

Student Counselling service

Wellbeing officer

and im sure there are more but I've not had to go past this step

About housing-- it is a country-wide issue, but very apparent in the bigger cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh. Even some of my family in London have shared the same sentiment ("If an agency offers you a flat, just take it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't suit our needs, we can't afford to be picky.") Students at UoE have protested the University's lack of involvement in ensuring that students will not go homeless ESPECIALLY since they are taking on a significantly higher amount of students (especially international). There is really nothing that can be done about this, BUT I have heard of undergrads making friends with 4th years and taking over their flat at the end of the year when the 4th years graduate. That's always an option. Again, there is also the Co-op, but it is very competitive.

If we are to compare UoE to other universities, by far and large it is still better academically than most. The reputation is phenomenal and people will wow you whenever you tell them where you study. Being from Glasgow, it was a competition between the two of those Uni's for me, and I do feel like I made the right choice coming to Edinburgh despite all of its flaws. Remember, the university isn't your entire life -- the city can be part of it, too. It really just depends what you're looking for from both the university and life outside of it. I don't think I would have gone anywhere else (unless I could afford Oxbridge lmao). I don't want it to sound like I hate the uni, sure, it is frustrating, but I just want to be as open and honest with you about it as possible so that you truly know what you are getting into.

If you want any actually decent feedback, schedule office hours with your tutor/lecturer and talk with them about it there. The written stuff tends not to help me at all, I need to be verbally told what went wrong and how to improve. The written feedback tends to be more harsh than helpful, and doesn't help me understand where I lost marks.

Scotland's university system is also different to the rest of the UK (yay devolved government), meaning you will do 4 years of a degree instead of 3, and a bunch of other stuff that isn't coming to mind rn lol. School's don't prep us for uni that much either, except for if you do Advanced Highers (which I did for Eng Lit). They are technically the equivalent to first year of university (which I agree with).

#talking.txt #edinburgh #student life #study blog #studyblr #ask #anon #university of edinburgh

[dallasdoesntexist]

Helen of Troy (detail) Frederick Sandys 

[dallasdoesntexist]

Transept of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire by Joseph Mallord William Turner

[dallasdoesntexist]

i might dress up and go to the library tonight. maybe that will reinspire me

#student life #edinburgh #talking.txt

[dallasdoesntexist]

maybe this is what it means to be alive.

picking yourself on those days you feel like you will not make it to the next moment, finding meaning in the smallest things possible, not betraying yourself, dealing with everything with the hope of it all. maybe this is what it means to be alive… watching the sun go down, getting out of your bed to feel the cold floor in the morning, feeling the blood rush through your veins, the sensation of your heart beating inside your chest. winds of change carrying it all away.

[dallasdoesntexist]

i feel like a rotten apple inside the favourite teacher's desk

#talking.txt #student life #tw depressing thoughts

[dallasdoesntexist]

- I Guess the Old You is a Ghost (#589: June 25, 2014)

[dallasdoesntexist]

most ardently

[dallasdoesntexist]

Judith beheading Holofernes, c. 1612 by Artemisia Gentileschi (Italian, 1593–1652/53)

[dallasdoesntexist]

hii there! you may have moved away, but as someone who really wants to study at the uni of edinburgh, i’m wondering — what’s it like there, did you enjoy it? i’m also a tumblr user, and want to study eng/hist, so your blog has been so interesting to look at:D

hiya! i still live here (and will be living in edinburgh indefinitely :) )

life at the university is kind of wild right now, I won't lie lmao. There's a lot going on politically within the uni at the moment, with gender liberation (especially trans rights, which sucks for me as a trans person), cost of living, a housing crisis and calls for the president of the university to step down due to raising tuition costs/underpaying staff/overcrowding courses and classrooms while simultaneously making about £43,000 more than he made last year (A HELL OF A LOT AND ALSO WAY TOO MUCH) while everyone else suffers. There is also a major class divide, but there's a society founded to combat that and a lot of resources for people from lower incomes (like myself) which are helpful. Timetabling and assessment feedback also suck but honestly the previously mentioned stuff is far worse.

But on more positive notes:

The social aspect of university is amazing. Even if you don't find clubbing to be your thing, there's plenty to do with societies and you'll meet people on your course quickly in your tutorials and if they're decent people you'll likely become quick friends. Memberships for societies range from £3-£10 for most, but some do exceed (if they expectedly need more money to run (ie. sports societies), and most host at least 1 activity a week (usually at 4 or 6-ish PM).

During freshers' there's a ton of things to do both in and out of the uni as well. Societies will host multiple events a week; taster sessions, tryouts, tours, etc. If you're into clubbing, then clubs also have student special events for the week. St James Shopping Centre also hosted a student-only shopping night which was....... an event.

As for classes, as I mentioned timetabling is often quite shit (I have 6hrs straight of classes on a friday...), but the classes themselves are pretty much everything you would expect from a university level class. People sit and type away (which will gradually decrease over the semesters....) and no one talks to each other (which will also change). I'm assuming you want to do English Literature and not English Language? It is called Literary Studies in first year, and I am doing it as an elective right now. I 2nd year you can choose to do English or Scottish Literature (or both). In the first semester, you will write 2 essays: one on a poem and another on a scene from a piece of drama. Most likely you will pick from these plays:

A Doll's House

Macbeth

It's True, It's True, It's True

Content warnings are given by the lecturers before a lecture is to be held, and accommodations are given if need be.

In semester 2 the focus is on prose, so novels, short stories, etc. We are studying:

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of A Justified Sinner (my fav <3)

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh

Silas Marner by George Eliott

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Again, content warnings are given and accommodations made if needed. There's still 2 essays, but one is on an except and another is a short dissertation comparing 2 of the novels.

As for the city itself, it is fucking gorgeous. It is so easily walkable, and even if you don't want to/can't walk far, the busses are fantastic and can get you anywhere in about 20 minutes max. Holyrood park is gorgeous, especially at the summit of Arthur's seat. The majority of the architecture is Victorian and older (dating back as far as the 13th century, I believe? Idk im not a historian) which gives the whole city, especially Old Town, a certain charm. There's plenty of "aesthetic" spots, coffee shops, photo ops, etc. Plenty of crows abound for that extra gothic factor. If you want to see a lot of greenery other than Holyrood park then I'm afraid you will have to move quite far out -- it is a very compact city. There's a lot of museums and artsy places, too. Something for everyone! My only complaint is the amount of construction going on at the minute, but I understand it is completely necessary to maintain the old and fragile architecture. I would like to be able to see over North Bridge and walk down George IV Bridge undisturbed tho :/

Other random bits of info:

If you want a job, apply in November (December latest)

STAY AWAY FROM HIVE AT ALL COSTS

Flat searching is far too stressful, but start doing it early.

(Or you could apply to the Student Housing Co-op.... but you didn't hear that from me... (im gatekeeping))

Pollock Halls is very culty. Just learn how to cook and go to literally anywhere else

Except Kincaid's if you don't like clubbing

Baristo's coffee is the cheapest of all the on-campus cafes

Most of your classes will be in either 50 or 40 George Square. They like to trick you into thinking they're 2 separate buildings but they are actually connected by a downstairs study space/cafe

You will not find a seat in the Library past 11AM. Best find somewhere else to go early on in the year

Get Lidl plus on your phone

There will often be times you wished you had a camera on you. Learn to be in the moment and appreciate it there and then instead

So far though, I am enjoying myself. However, I am procrastinating 2 essays and should have been studying these past 3 hours but it's so fine :):):)

#talking.txt #edinburgh #student life #study blog #studyblr #dark academia #ask

[dallasdoesntexist]

Giselle - Dutch National Ballet

[dallasdoesntexist]

Albert Durer Lucas (English, 1828--1918)

[dallasdoesntexist]

Le guerrier, 1916 by Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (French, 1859–1938)

[dallasdoesntexist]

#i want another kitten

[dallasdoesntexist]

The Four Roses and Lady of the Roses, 1901 by František Dvořák (Czech, 1862–1927)

[dallasdoesntexist]

I can't dare to dream about you anymore

[dallasdoesntexist]

Sydney Mortimer Laurence (American, 1865–1940)