Thursday, March 19, 2009

Grad School and Scottish Jews?

Wow, I don't believe it!

I have 2 options for grad school: University of Toronto and University of Glasgow.

I've started making lists, pros and cons to each, and the one huge factor is tuition.
Toronto costs $21,879 CAN for their 2 year MA. In USD, total tuition would be just under $40,000.
Glasgow costs £7,500 for their 18 month MA. Which, in USD, is about $10,000, 11,000 max.

Aside from tuition, what other attractions about the area?
Toronto: Lots of Jews, and lots of people that speak the language I've spent 3 years studying.
Glasgow: In terms of either mentioned above, I haven't had a clue. Until this morning.

I did some googling and it turns out that there is quite an established Jewish (Orthodox) community in and around Glasgow and the rest of Scotland!
Here's the link if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.scojec.org/communities/guidebook.pdf

The oldest shul in Glasgow is Garnethill Synagogue, which has been around since 1879! Who knew? I sure didn't!

Aside from 5 Orthodox shuls in the city, there are 6 places that sell Kosher food, a kosher restaurant and networking opportunities for the students. I had no idea about the Scottish Jewish community, but know that I know that there is a huge presence there, I'm excited to check it out! However, the one question that is not answered on the wesbites, is the matter of conversion. I emailed the rabbis and am waiting to hear back.

There seem to be 2 main rabbis in the city, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks at Garnethill, and a
Moshe Rubin, at the Giffnock and Newlands Hebrew Congregation. That one may be affiliated with Chabad, but I'm not sure.

I'm so excited! After getting rejected from the university I'm currently at, I didn't think any other school would want me, and I have to decide now which one to go to!

Aside from Jewish stuff, it's the freaking United Kingdom!! Tons of history, castles galore, the Scottish Highlands, the Isle of Skye, and amazing accents! What's *not* to love!? Besides, everyone in Canada came from Europe, but maybe that's another story...Anyhow, the UK would be an awesome place to live for the next few years. Something else I love about the Glasgow program: They have a mandatory study abroad, for a semester, and after receiving a University of Glasgow diploma, they also note where you studied abroad and the work you did while you were there. Oh! AND the UK has a visa policy that gives international students a 2 year visa to work in the UK after graduation! I can get started on my EU residency pretty soon, apparently! :-) Comments appreciated, and if you know someone in Glasgow, that would be grear, too! Thanks!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hehe I still definitely think you should go for Glasgow. You may never have another shot at it!