When I was coming to the last few months of high school, I was stumped. I had a selection of Scottish universities in mind, including my hometown’s university but I just couldn’t make the decision.

I have wanted to study architecture for as long as I can remember but I didn’t like the idea of leaving home. I love the aesthetics of my hometown, Edinburgh, and along with having friends, family and dog there it was difficult for me to leave.

I also didn’t know what variation of architecture I wanted to do, or whether I’d even like university. I was 18 and had no idea what lay ahead of me, but in no time, attending the RGU Open Day solved all my issues at once.

There were many factors that made my decision to study at RGU easier. The RGU campus is based in an incredible setting. I thought it would be amazing to go for a walk down by the River Dee during lunch or study there weather permitting.

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During the open day, I also had the chance to meet with some lecturers and student ambassadors who answered all my questions about the course, studying at RGU and living in Aberdeen. The extremely high employability rate at RGU wasn’t ignored either. The whole experience helped me decide which of the universities on my list was more suited to my needs and what I wanted to do in the future.

Leaving my hometown provided an exciting opportunity to live on my own and gave me the chance to live in Aberdeen, a fantastic city for students. Everything is so close together- from shopping centres and venues for going out, to the beautiful Aberdeenshire countryside. Every time I need to go out for whatever reason, I only have to walk a few minutes before I reach my destination. The buses to the RGU are very frequent too, it takes me less than 20 minutes to go to the university from the city centre making the daily commute easy.

Making new friends in Aberdeen has been proven way less complicated than I anticipated it to be, the city is small so meeting each other is easy even if you live on the opposite sides of the city.

Studying at RGU has helped me develop friendships and given me the chance to be sociable. I ran for student rep roles, my classmates and I get to organise big nights out spanning multiple classes for the course and I am able to have a voice that is respected with RGU staff.

Obviously I miss home like any student who has moved away from their family would, but when I’m home for long enough I remember all the exciting things that wait for me in Aberdeen. My new friends, a course that I really enjoy and all the fun I have when out socialising – this makes choosing to study in RGU the best decision I have ever made!

David Gruber

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