[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]The first university in the alphabet is also the most northerly, way [PARA]up there in the so-called 'Granite City'. The old stone city ([ITAL][PARA]marginally warmer than Jim Davidson's reception in Brixton[EITAL]) lies [PARA]on the east coast of Scotland, suitably placed to be the oil capital [PARA]of Europe, and spanned all round by [ITAL]spectacular[EITAL] castles and [PARA]coastline, beaches and lochs, the Grampians and the [PARA]Cairngorms. [ITAL]It's a pretty place too[EITAL], with flowers, parks and [ITAL][PARA]pleasant [EITAL]architecture in every wee nook and cranny. The [PARA]University is based on 2 sites which were once 2 separate [PARA]universities. In fact, Aberdeen had 2 universities at a time when [PARA]that was the total in the whole of England. The larger, main site is[PARA]King's College in Old Aberdeen, [ITAL]a satisfying eyeful[EITAL] of 15th [PARA]century buildings, modern blocks, green space and cobbled [PARA]streets, 3/4 mile north of the city centre. Marischal College, an [PARA]imposing granite building right in the centre - the 2nd largest [PARA]granite building in the world ([ITAL]yippee[EITAL]) - is the other site and home [PARA]of preclinical and some biological science courses. Midway [PARA]between the 2 sites (inland, to the west) is the University Medical [PARA]School.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Aberdeen attracts many English, as well as Scottish students, [PARA]who often find themselves further from home and more isolated [PARA]than they'd anticipated. However, Aberdeen offers plenty of [PARA]excitement of its own in a beautiful and relaxed environment. [PARA]Students at Marischal College find that any separation from the [PARA]main site is counter-balanced by being even closer to the city [PARA]centre, but students do complain that the only mixing they do is in[PARA]the University accommodation within their own year.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 201,099 [BULL] London: 410miles [BULL] Edinburgh: [PARA]103miles [BULL] Dundee: 75miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Aberdeen is busy to the point of being congested, but it's clean [EITAL][PARA]and is currently enjoying relative prosperity due to North Sea oil. [PARA]The trade in black slippery stuff has attracted a varied cultural [PARA]cocktail from all over Scotland and England, as well as industrial [PARA]clusters and tankers. Consequently, the wee fishing fleet is on [PARA]the wane. But Aberdeen isn't a sprawling waste, not by a long [PARA]shot, and it's easy to burst out into [ITAL]splendid [EITAL]countryside and on to[PARA]sandy beaches ([ITAL]coated in a thin film of pollution[EITAL]). Miles from [PARA]anywhere, the city has more than enough shops to spend a [PARA]student grant, which takes about 3 minutes 34 seconds since it's [PARA]not a cheap town. It has bookshops and banks (most major [PARA]branches) and many a muckle museum, including the City Art [PARA]Gallery and the Maritime Museum (Aberdeen's oldest building).[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Despite being so far north (the same latitude as St [PARA]Petersburg), British Rail connections are [ITAL]quite good, but are [PARA]expensive[EITAL]. Among many Scottish and some English towns, [PARA]services are offered to London (7hrs, 3/day), Birmingham, [PARA]Edinburgh and Bristol.[PARA][BOLD]Buses:[EBOLD] National Express coach services to, among other places, [PARA]London (ú31.50, 10:20hrs, 2/day), Glasgow (ú10.90, 3:50hrs, [PARA]3/day), Edinburgh (ú10.30, 3:50hrs, 3/day) and Birmingham (ú32, [PARA]9:20hrs, 1/day). Citylink and Stagecoach also run services.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] A92, A93, A94 and A96. 2 miles to the nearest junction.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Aberdeen Airport offers inland flights around the UK and to [PARA]some European cities.[PARA][BOLD]Ferries:[EBOLD] There's a ferry service to Lerwick in the Shetlands.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD][ITAL] The A92 is fairly major and once hitchers have got to [PARA]the M90, it's plain sailing. The hitches of hitching, though, are that [PARA]it's a long, long road and going west inland is nigh impossible.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Good bus services run anywhere in the city from 35p.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Useful late at night[EITAL], about ú1/mile.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] Despite the heavy traffic and the cold winds, many [PARA]students rely on pedal power. Incidentally, bike theft is as rare as[PARA]any other crime in Aberdeen which has the lowest crime rate in [PARA]Britain for a city its size.[HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Arts[EBOLD] 3,114 22pts[PARA][BOLD]Divinity[EBOLD] 136 12pts[PARA][BOLD]Engineering[EBOLD] 571 12pts[PARA][BOLD]Law[EBOLD] 623 24pts[PARA][BOLD]Medicine[EBOLD] 732 24pts[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 2,331 16pts[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 1,100,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 6,500 [BULL] Study places: 700[PARA][BULL] Computer workstations: 300[ESTAT][PARA]There are 6 libraries, including 1 at Marischal and another at the [PARA]Medical School. 24 hour computer access.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 7full/3part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 6%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]When Aberdeen University was 2 separate colleges, [PARA]students wore red togas, spoke Latin and 1st years were called [PARA]'Bajans' (to rhyme with 'Ray Bans').[PARA][BULL]The Tale of Downie's Slaughter: Downie was a King's College[PARA]Sacrist at the start of the 19th century, who was so unpopular [PARA]that students staged a mock execution in the Quad. When he [PARA]felt a wet cloth on the back of his neck, he thought the icy hand [PARA]of death had clutched him and he died of shock. Aberdeen [PARA]University gowns are now worn 2 inches shorter as a mark of [PARA]respect.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Nicky Campbell (DJ); Iain Crichton-Smith (poet); Iain Cuthbertson [PARA](actor); Sandy Gall (ITV newsreader); Evelyn Glennie [PARA](percussionist); Denys Henderson (Chair of ICI); Kenneth [PARA]McKellar (singer); David McLean MP (Con); James Naughtie [PARA](BBC 'Today' presenter); Earl of Strathmore.[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, part timers and postgrads. The [PARA]SRC produces a freshers' mag.[PARA][PARA]
