Stirling
84 Reviews by Students #83 out of 219 University locations
Study in Stirling
Situated in central Scotland, Stirling is known as the “Gateway to the Highlands” because beyond it are mountains, the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. 10 minutes outside of town is the University of Stirling which is a campus university set on 330 acres of land.
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University of Stirling
University of Stirling was founded in 1967 and boasts a unique location next to the castle and loch and enjoys views of the foothills of the Scottish Highlands. The university has been split into five faculties, each of which comprises multiple departments, institutes and centres. 97% of graduates are either in full time employment or further study six months after graduating.
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Stirling Student Life
Stirling is a good-sized city complete with the university and an endless adventure playground. The whole area is a paradise for hill-walkers, not to mention canoeists, archers, cyclists, quad-bikers, climbers, riflemen, snowboarders, campers...
Cost of Living
Accommodation
Student accommodation costs range from £84 - £212 per week; the average is £151 per week.
Compare the average elsewhere: Glasgow: £169/week, Dundee: £135/week, Edinburgh: £199/week.
(Prices are for all purpose-built student accommodation (both private and university-owned) over the last 12 months, as listed on StudentCrowd)
The average price for:
A cheap meal at a restaurant: £15
A pint of beer: £2.30
A regular takeout coffee: £3.07
1L of milk: £0.89
A loaf of white bread: £0.95
(Source: Numbeo)
Nights Out
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Located in the heart of the University of Stirling is Macrobert Arts Centre, a cultural hub that offers theatre performances, comedy, music, art exhibitions and an independent cinema. It also does student deals and weekly curry nights!
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Nightclubs
There are two good clubs in Stirling, Dusk and Fubar, they have special nights on most days of the week which include great drink discounts. You’ll also enjoy going to the Kilted Kangaroo, an Aussie themed bar where you are always guaranteed a bonza time!
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Live Music Venues
For live music fans, Stirling more than caters for you. The Albert Halls puts on a fantastic programme of emerging and established artists, whilst you can find some of the best acts on Scotland’s folk scene playing at The Tolbooth.
Public Transport
Every hour during peak times nearly 20 buses run between the main campus and town and students with ID cards can get a discount. The main bus company is First and it’s possible to buy a week-long ticket that gives you unlimited travel between the two. The city is well connected by both road and rail, there are direct train services to London, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.
Eating Out
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High Street Favourites
You can expect to find your favourite chain restaurants in Stirling that are kind to your student budget. There’s a Nando’s, Domino’s, Subway, Pizza Express and many more.
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Stirling Farmers' Market takes place every second Saturday of every month right in the city centre. It’s a great place to pick up the best fresh and delicious ingredients whilst supporting local farmers and producers. Top tip, make sure to try out the handmade wines, gins and craft beers!
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Restaurants
There are a couple of restaurants to have up your sleeve when the parents come to visit. There’s Brea serving locally sourced ingredients to showcase the best that Scotland has to offer and then there’s Hermann’s Austrian, referred to as Stirling’s best restaurant, which serves Austrian and Scottish cuisine in an elegant setting.
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The Great Outdoors
Stirling is known as the gateway to the Highlands, where you can find amongst stunning scenery over 30,000 lochs, hills and mountains. A 30-minute drive away is the famous Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park where you can find fantastic walking, cycling and sailing.
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Just a 10-minute drive from Stirling you will find Dunblane. Here you can go on the famous riverside ‘Darn Walk’ which is an enjoyable 5-mile walk between the old Victorian spa town of Bridge Allan and Dunblane.
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Hop on a train and within 10-minutes you can be in small Clackmannanshire town of Alloa. Here is a great spot any time of the year to explore historic attractions, beautiful scenery or have a game of golf in one of their six scenic golf courses.
Top 10 Stirling Accommodation
Read Stirling Reviews
Very good scenery...
Very good scenery, with a good amount of restaurants and places to explore. read more
This is a sleepy...
This is a sleepy town. Everything is closed by 18:00 and there is only one club in town. read more
Poor overall, exp...
Poor overall, expected better. Not great opportunities. read more
Stirling is a gre...
Stirling is a great place to live as an international student. read more
Stirling is a bea...
Stirling is a beautiful city with very interesting places to visit and have fun read more
Stirling itself i...
Stirling itself is quite small compared to other Scottish cities such as Glasgow or Edinburgh and the public transport is very unreliable, however it does have a few good places for nights out read more
Transport can be...
Transport can be really frustrating due to constant delays and cancellations. However the town itself is beautiful and worth visiting read more
Stirling is a gre...
Stirling is a great place where everything is within walking distance, including shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, pubs - you name it. You can enjoy the nightlife and also feel safe walking home. read more
The buses are awf...
The buses are awful but everything else is good read more
Stirling is a nic...
Stirling is a nice (but expensive to live) small wee town. The public transport is very good with buses to the uni every 20minutes and the nights out are always packed read more
Really cute town,...
Really cute town, uni busses can be a bit of a hassle at times. Spoons and fubar are great nights out read more
I love Stirling!...
I love Stirling! Pay attention to all sightseeing places here read more
A place mix with...
A place mix with culture and history. This is best for adventure lovers and a beautiful environment to stay in. read more
A very peaceful t...
A very peaceful town, you’d very likely bump into people you know on a daily basis. read more
Great place for s...
Great place for students to commute and have other fun activities around read more
A small town with...
A small town with everything you need right near you. A good and peaceful place to be. read more
Wish the transpor...
Wish the transport systems were better, night life here is pretty average. But the place it beautiful! read more
Stirling is a sma...
Stirling is a small place and therefore does not have the range of facilities like other cities however it'll do read more
Construction outs...
Construction outside of the Railway Station has made public transport a nightmare but, for the most part, it's a lovely city with a few stand out independent businesses that are a treat to visit. read more
Fun city but pret...
Fun city but pretty small. It is close to many other nice towns read more
I love Stirling b...
I love Stirling because as a country boy it gives me the chance to live in a city while enjoying the country read more
Stirling is so cu...
Stirling is so cute with its old town characteristics but also it's modern looks. read more
Plenty of places...
Plenty of places to walk and eat out however the choices are limited. Lots of shops (charity, markets etc.). Transport links are great with buses and trains very close by (however the UL service is not very good with late buses and sometimes not even showing!) read more
The only reason t...
The only reason that I don’t quite like stirling is that it’s too far from Glasgow and I have to spend more than an hour to get there read more
A quiet city，is v...
A quiet city，is very suitable for living，it will make people feel relaxed. read more
Amazing area with...
Amazing area with everything accessible. read more
I wish the night...
I wish the night life was better... But I love the city, it's beautiful! read more
Its a decent town...
Its a decent town but it is expensive for students and the local transportation is bad. read more
Amazing city with...
Amazing city with good facilities read more
Could improve nig...
Could improve night life, shopping centres and transportation read more
Needs a more exci...
Needs a more exciting nightlife! read more
Free bus travel i...
Free bus travel if under 21 which is great, bus times could be better though. There is only 1 night club and it is kind of bad, it plays the same 20 or so songs on a loop and gets way too crowded. read more
It is quite hard...
It is quite hard to find a flat in Stirling, however the town offers a range of restaurants and bars. One downfall is there is currently only one nightclub, on a Wednesday night it is packed and full of atmosphere, however, other nights it can be quiet. read more
Relatively small...
Relatively small town to live in but with Glasgow and Edinburgh nearby its good. read more
Meh, it is comple...
Meh, it is completely average. Dont come here for a big night life. Alternatively, dont come here if you want somewhere quiet. Eating out is okay. But about 2 months in you run out of options. read more
Pretty affordable...
Pretty affordable, nice natural and historic locations, accessible, friendly people, calm and quite read more
I would have give...
I would have given the cost of living a 5 out of 5, but you would have to be very lucky to get an accommodation on time as many of the ones left are quite expensive compared to what they offer read more
I have not used p...
I have not used public transport so I will not know. Never went out read more
Only the size of...
Only the size of a town but still plenty of things to do and places to go read more
Stirling is a bea...
Stirling is a beautiful city with just enough of everything. I don't go clubbing so I can't speak much for nights out but I have seen lots of live music being advertised and had a great time at a traditional Scottish dance. I have put the transport as a 5 but I drive so I am not sure read more
Places serving va...
Places serving variety types of foods for international students is strongly recommended to be considered as till now I couldn't find "Halal/Islamic way for meat's slaughter) except Indian food with poor hygiene standards. read more
Stirling is a nic...
Stirling is a nice small town that has most things needed however there aren’t any big social events read more
Stirling is safe...
Stirling is safe and has something for everyone: a good nightlife, a range of cute cafes and restaurants, beautiful nature and parks. read more
Stirling is betwe...
Stirling is between Glasgow and Edinburgh so what it lacks in places to go out in, it makes up for in convenience. There are however some excellent restaurants and cafes and fabulous walking trails for those with dogs. read more
Busses are too ir...
Busses are too irregular and do not follow the set schedules, often not showing up at all, especially late in the evening. read more
Stirling is a nic...
Stirling is a nice quiet city with good facilities and a nice range of shopts read more
Stirling is a cut...
Stirling is a cute small city. Everything you need is mostly centrally located. It is small compared to Glasgow and Edinburgh, but it has so much history and enough of a night life. read more
Stirling is decen...
Stirling is decently priced for students when comparing with other locations. Limited places to shop and eat, but public travel is good to get to other cities to accommodate this. read more
Stirling is a nic...
Stirling is a nice little city. It has the stuff you need without being overwhelming. read more
A small town, but...
A small town, but still amazing. No public transport apart from taxi, but it’s not needed, which makes this town so much better than other cities. read more
Such helpful peop...
Such helpful people that aided me in getting a Job read more
I love to travel...
I love to travel by Bus. the scenic beauty while travelling makes it just special each day. The town is well maintained and feels new each time I step out. read more
Stirling is for s...
Stirling is for sure one of the best cities in the world which you can access to Edinburgh or Glasgow easily since it is located in the heart of Scotland. Also, cost of living is much cheaper than other cities and Stirling has something which is exclusive to it. read more
Easy access to pu...
Easy access to public transport. read more
It’s pretty good...
It’s pretty good and I like where I live. read more
Stirling is a nic...
Stirling is a nice town with a lot of history. read more
All good consider...
All good considering the COVID-19 pandemic read more
Stirling is an am...
Stirling is an amazing city to dwell in. read more
Quite expensive a...
Quite expensive as it's close to Glasgow and Edinburgh, but there's not much to do at night as it's not a huge city. The people are very kind and friendly here, the criminality rate is very low, and there's a fair amount of shops in town. However, there's not a lot of choice for what concerns food, and public transport is expensive and inefficient. read more
pretty boring not...
pretty boring not been out yet because of COVID. Was so bored i hardly stayed in Stirling read more
Class place to st...
Class place to study. Dusk loyals read more
It’s cheap and ha...
It’s cheap and had a lot of sexy time read more
It is full of his...
It is full of history nice to visit at a tourist, but pretty boring to live in. Shopping is great, but if you want to eat out, remind that almost all the places close at 9 pm, which is the time I usually dine at home!! The rents are quite expensive, considering it's not a metropolis but just a bit more than a village, and the public transportation is not worth the money you pay (buses are always late and bus shelters don't protect you from the cold, several bus drivers are rude), while the taxi services are good. If you want to go on a night out, there are only two nightclubs and the other things open are just pubs that don't even serve food, which is not the best thing if you're not a drinker. Overall, people in Stirling are very kind and helpful, and the town is linked to Glasgow and Edinburgh with very efficient trains. read more
It is full of his...
It is full of history nice to visit at a tourist, but pretty boring to live in. Shopping is great, but if you want to eat out, remind that almost all the places close at 9 pm, which is the time I usually dine at home!! The rents are quite expensive, considering it's not a metropolis but just a bit more than a village, and the public transportation is not worth the money you pay (buses are always late and bus shelters don't protect you from the cold, several bus drivers are rude). read more
Cost of living is...
Cost of living is okay, however, the city is honestly poor and depressing. It's always raining. read more
Nice slow town, t...
Nice slow town, two good clubs - Dusk (Fridays) and Fubar (Saturdays), kilted kangaroo is good for drinks and banter. read more
Public transport...
Public transport to and from the university is brilliant - £1.70 for a return with a student card during the day to and from the centre and the bus comes every 5-10 minutes. The shops in Stirling are pretty good and have everything anyone could need, however, lacks a good number of clothes shops - if you fancy treating yourself to a shopping spree you're probably best to get a train to Glasgow. Nights out are amazing - because there are only 2 clubs they're always filled with students and you see everyone, as well as the clubs having great deals too. Eating out is great and there are many options, but I would recommend the Wetherspoons for best value for money if you're casually eating out with friends. Cost of living is great - everything you could need is in town. When you first move there it might be easy to get into the habit of living out of the Nisa shop on campus, but this would be a big mistake: everything's overpriced so make sure to do shopping in town. read more
Terrible night li...
Terrible night life! Only 2 clubs However very friendly and students fill them up quite quickly and very cheap! Lots of cheap nice individual restaurants and a new spoons. Lots of buses and 40min trains to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Thistles centre is great but shops are small. Better going to Glasgow. Very scenic and lots to do! read more
Not the best shop...
Not the best shops in the world but it's a nice wee city with lots of variety I food places. Huge cinema and good, friendly and cheap public transport read more
A lovely town tha...
A lovely town that has little to offer other than a few historical tourist attractions and some pretty views. The nightlife is a choice of local scummy pubs, Dusk, which is one of the worst clubs I have ever set foot in, or Fubar, which can only be described as 'sticky'. read more
everything in Sti...
everything in Stirling is fairly inexpensive, especially to live here. The nightlife is cheap! read more
Cons?
Not a lot of things to do that don't involve drinking or going out except bowling or shopping really