I chose to stay at College Wynd for my first year at The University of Edinburgh, and to say the least it was great fun.
When I submitted my application for student accommodation in Edinburgh I knew nothing about the places I was applying to. Random names, different prices, catered vs self-catered, et cetera all confused me as an international student who had never been to the UK before. The only two things I wanted were to live near the University and not spend too much money. Keeping these two in mind, I applied to the five cheapest student accommodations around George Square, with College Wynd being my first choice.
# Why should you choose College Wynd?
It takes me 3 minutes to reach the Geroge Square campus where all first year lectures are generally held.
It is cheaper than many of its contempraries like Kincaid’s Court, and money saved is money earned.
You are right in the heart of the city, everything you want is in a 10 min walking range from supermarket, restaurants, pubs, clubs, landmarks, libraries and so on.
Rooms are reasonably sized, not massive, no extra facilities but enough for you to happily stay for a year.
Your flatmates can be from all over the world, I was pleasently surprised with the diverse group of nations,represented in College Wynd. In own my flat we had India, Poland, USA, England & Scotland represented.
Cowgate in general is a party street. That means you can have a very crazy nightlife but still reach lectures on time because you are so close to everywhere.
Despite all the great advantges listed above, there are some clear problems living in College Wynd or on Cowgate in general.
# Why you may not be suitable for College Wynd?
College Wynd is not luxurious or modern. It is an old building with creaking floors which take time to get used to. If you prefer any of those two you should not come to Collge Wynd, go for more modern (but expensive) flats like Salisbury Court, Brae House, Haddington Place, Chancellors Court etc.
Your social circle might not be too big here. Personally I could only connect with my flatmates and a bit with my neighbours over the period of two semesters.
The lack of an exclusive common room is probably one of the reasons people don’t form bigger social circles here in College Wynd. We share a common room with Kincaid’s Court however it is located in their premises and we don’t have keys for them. Hence you will always have to ask someone to let you in. On this point, I genuinely think Kincaid’s Court would be thief’s dream because the residents there let you in without ever asking anything.
Probably the biggest issue residents face here is noise. This is directly caused by living on a party street. Despite my flat being on the third floor, it feels like I can hear every single thing being said or sung below my window every night. This happens every night till atleast 3:30 am. I honestly got used to this noise over a period of a month and it became like a lullaby for me. However many people continue to struggle with it, so your mileage may vary. It helps having a 24/7 library five minutes from you, so your studies do not suffer.
# Final thoughts
It was honestly a great experience for me to live in College Wynd this year. I met some wonderful people in my flatmates, had fun times on Cowgate, was able to sleep till much later times before lectures compared to my friends, explore Edinburgh as a tourist, and most importantly learn to cook!
There might be somethings that I maybe forgetting right now so I will keep adding them later. If you have any questions or want to know more you can contact me through email or any of the Social media platforms given below. I hope you all have a great time here in Edinburgh.
# Gallery
