Aberdeen, University of

Age: 516

History: Founded in 1495, by 1497 it boasted the first chair of medicine in the English-speaking world. Four Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work carried out at the university. Picturesque and historic Old Aberdeen is now the main University site.

Address: Two sites in Aberdeen, north-east Scotland, capital of the Grampians, and oil capital of Europe. The medical school is based at Foresterhill, a mile and a half from the main campus.

Ambience: A 15th-century campus in a historic part of Scotland's bustling third largest city. Aberdeen is known in tourist circles as The Granite City, The Flower of Scotland, and The Silver City by the Golden Sands. Crammed with sparkling granite buildings, cosmopolitan Aberdeen has a thriving economy and buzzing town centre, as well as a beach ruled by stiff North Sea breezes and gutsy seagulls.

Vital statistics: Around 16,000 students from over 120 different countries. One of the top Scottish universities, and the fifth oldest in the UK.

Added value: A £21m medical training facility, and a new sports development, Aberdeen Sports Village, opened in 2009. A £57m new library will follow in late summer 2011.

Easy to get into? The university does not use the UCAS points system, but entry requirements range from three Bs at Scottish Highers (two passes at A-level) for some courses to the minimum of five Highers at AAAAB (three As at A-level) for medicine.

Glittering alumni: James Naughtie, of Radio 4's Today; Alistair Darling, former Chancellor of the Exchequer; Nicky Campbell, radio and television presenter; Tessa Jowell, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office.

Transport links: Great road and bus links throughout the UK. Two and a half hours drive from Edinburgh and Glasgow, or take one of the hourly trains. Seven hours by train from London's King's Cross. There are cheap flights that touch down in London in just over an hour.

Who's the boss? Professor Ian Diamond, former deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Southampton and PhD student at the University of St Andrews.

Teaching: Ranked 32nd out of 116 for teaching in the Complete University Guide.

Research: Ranked 35th out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: 46th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: Aberdeen boasts a huge variety of venues, with student-friendly bars and clubs galore in the city. On campus, there’s 'the Hub' student centre, with café bar and food court.

How green is it? Not bad. Came 31st out of 138 universities in the People and Planet Green League 2011, an essessment of environmental performance. The university has a dedicated Environment Office, whose role is to reduce the impact the university has on the environment.

Any accommodation? Yes. Catered halls cost between £137 and £157 per week. Self-catering flats cost from £69 to £198.45 per week.

Cheap to live there? Not bad. Rooms in private flats start at about £60 per week.

Sports ranking: 28th in the BUCS league.

Fees: Scottish and EU students do not have to pay any fees. Students from England, Northern Ireland and Wales are charged a standard Scottish tuition fee, which for 2011/2012 is £1,820 per year, with the exception of medicine, which is £2,895. Fees for 2012/2013 are yet to be decided, but it is expected they will rise by the rate of inflation.

Bursaries: The university offers scholarships based on need and merit, as well as a number of subject-specific scholarships. For details visit www.abdn.ac.uk/undergraduate/scholarships.

Prospectus: 01224 272 090/1; www.abdn.ac.uk/prospectus

UCAS code: A20