Hi all!!

I got accepted to kings college london and university of edinburgh for sept 2009!anyone have any thoughts on which university I should go for??

for that matter, anyone also accepted to KCL or UoE this Sept???Thanks for the help!!!

KCL all the way!

Katie this is the Lord (hope this is the katie i think it is). Certainly KCL. No question.

KCL no doubt

both are very good but ...
KCL - Edinburgh 4-0

Generally, I'd also plump for KCL for the LLM as it has a much higher profile than Edinburgh (I prefer KCL to LSE...but that's another story).

But ultimately, both schools are great, and you should pick the one that offers you the best specialisation/courses that you are interested in, and also consider costs and the type of experience you're interested in.

These blanket 'university X is best' type comments are fairly useless (sorry guys!).

These blanket 'university X is best' type comments are fairly useless (sorry guys!).

both are really good. Nevertheless, personally, I prefer Edinburgh... I don't know... I just don't like the idea of moving to London.

Hy,
I'm also excepted to UoE, but I still don't know, if I should go ... I probably wpuld prefer KCL, because it's London :-D

thanks for everyones input!!

I am leaning towards KCL at the moment, the accomodation is so central and not half as expensive as I initially thought!

Of course it all depends if I keep my 2.1 so fingers crossed!!

You should definitely check out the courses available and the lecturers and choose the programme that has courses/academics that are more suited to your educational aspirations. If you are self-funded, you should also think about the living costs of Edinburgh v. London. Living costs may only be slightly less in Edinburgh but travel around the city is outrageous in London and Edinburgh it is minimal as you can walk pretty much anywhere you want to go or hop on an inexpensive and very quick bus!
Good luck to you!

Hi Katie,

I responded to a similar request in a different thread from one of our future colleagues. I noticed your request and here is my response.

I was fortunate to have a choice between Kings College (Competition Law) and University of Edinburgh (European Law). Both are excellent schools and programs so I started with the understanding that I really cannot make a bad decision. There are some objective facts that are available to help in the process. Of course there are debates surrounding most of the facts. The best example is the debate over ranking. I recommend listing the factors you believe are important given where you are in your career and your overall objectives.

The factors I considered (and highlights of key points leading to my decision) are as follows:
(1) Specialisations and courses available. I really like the European Law specialisation at Edinburgh and the way it is taught through the interdisciplinary Europa Institute.
(2) Overall quality of the program and professors. I used the RAE results as a starting point here. My theory is that the quality of overall academic work being done by the professors that will be teaching us is the best objective fact available. I also found somewhere in my research that academic peers across UK universities (the experts) highly regard the UE law professors. Dr. Jo Shaw is highly regarded in European Law and is very active in the area. Dr. Robert Lane is also highly regarded especially in the area of EU competition law. I read several papers from the Mitchell Working Paper Series (published through the Europa Institute) and I was very impressed by the quality of the thinking.
(3) Reputation/Ranking. The overall University is ranked amongst the best in the world. The Law School is ranked amongst the best in the UK. The RAE results are consistent with a top ranking.
(4) Overall liveability of the location. For my family and I, Edinburgh is the hands down winner in this category. I have worked in London on various deals and it is a fabulous city. But working and living in a city are two different things. London is huge and the result is that I would not live as close to the University as I would like given my desire for collegiality with fellow students and the professors. Edinburgh is more compact and still an International city. We are from Colorado and really appreciate the outdoors and related activities (such as hiking). Edinburgh and Scotland seem to fit us better.
(5) Quality of the foundation established for the next part of my career. I am a practicing attorney in the US and I have been a General Counsel for a multinational company. For the next part of my career I want to teach. I also believe that the labour model in the US is transitioning to a model more like that of the EU and UK. The European Law specialisation through the Europa Institute clearly gives me the opportunity to establish the foundation that I want for the next part of my career.
(6) Collegiality and camaraderie (overall college experience) amongst the Professors and my fellow students. This is probably the most important factor for me as connection and camaraderie are very important motivators for me. In his lecture published in the Mitchell Working Paper Series, Professor John Peterson said we succeedonly when we all try to be a better colleague tomorrow that we have managed to be today. He also said the best thing about working here is the quality of people with whom I work. These comments carried the day for me and solidified my decision to join the University of Edinburgh and Europa Institute.

And there you have it. Cheers

I'm in the same boat...don't know which to go for, Edin or KCL. Was settled on going to Edinburgh until the KCL offer last week!