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Social Life
Both Aberdeen and RGU offer students an attractive environment in which to study and relax. More than 10% of the population of Aberdeen are students; therefore the city caters for people like you. It offers everything you would expect from a major urban centre – the pubs, the clubs, cinemas and theatres, restaurants and concerts – but there's also an incredible range of sport and leisure opportunities. In fact, Aberdeen is a renowned gateway to the great outdoors with its famous backdrop of sandy beaches and snow-capped mountains.
RGU: Union
RGUnion is a place for socialising, relaxing, meeting new people and making new friends. Facilities include snooker and pool tables, a lounge, cafe, bar and shop. It offers somewhere to go after a hard day at university where you can unwind, enjoy yourself with friends and find out about joining clubs and societies. The Union is there to ensure that student life at RGU is filled with great social opportunities as well as academic ones.
The bar plays host to live bands, local and guest DJs and has fantastic drink promotions. Big screens show live sports and theme nights are a regular occurrence, adding to the fun and lively atmosphere.
Clubs and Societies
While at university you get the chance to meet other people with the same interests as you, but they are not always the people on your course. Clubs and societies give you the chance to meet and mingle with the rest of the university. They also allow you to try out things that you have never previously had the chance to do. Over 40 clubs and societies are organised within the Union building, with several of them catering specifically for international students.
Aberdeen Nightlife
Aberdeen has an urban scene to rival anything else you will find in other Scottish cities. The city is compact and fun, and offers you plenty of great opportunities for everything from shopping and dining through to drinking and dancing.
For those new to RGU, student life begins with Freshers Week, which has a host of events, activities and nights out crammed into seven hectic days. It will set you up for your time in Aberdeen.
Throughout the rest of the year, the potential entertainment for you to enjoy in Aberdeen is equally varied. The city is something of a magnet for musicians and the city's home grown live music scene is buzzing. The hub of the city's art scene is The Lemon Tree, home to avant-garde events, regular live music, club nights, comedy, performance and dance.
As for pubs and clubs, Aberdeen has its fair share. Every taste in music is catered for as well as every budget.
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RGU: Sport
At RGU we take sport and leisure seriously. So seriously, in fact, that we have invested some £11 million in a sport and social facility, RGU: Sport, at Garthdee. Whether your sporting interests are recreational or seriously competitive, you will find that the sports complex offers something for everyone, at every level.
Facilities include a 25-metre swimming pool and a versatile main sports hall, which can be used for indoor hockey, badminton, tennis, 5-a-side football, volleyball, korfball, netball, basketball and cricket. There are also two smaller sports halls for fencing, judo, karate, keep-fit, aerobics, dance, yoga and table tennis, and a dramatic climbing wall spanning three levels.
Surrounding Area
Outwith the city you will find some of Scotland's most dramatic and picturesque scenery in the mountains of the Grampian Highlands and beyond. But these hills don't just look good - here you'll find the best skiing and snowboarding slopes in the UK (at Cairngorm, Glenshee and the Lecht) and also some of the best walking and climbing in Scotland.
And because Aberdeen lies on two rivers, the Don and the Dee, and is also right on the coast of the North Sea, you’ll find excellent local facilities for sports such as rowing, canoeing, sailing and surfing.
Indeed, every year Aberdeen plays host to its very own Boat Race on the Dee, when the RGU rowing team take on the rowers from the University of Aberdeen. This friendly rivalry also extends to the annual Granite City Challenge when sports teams from both Universities go head to head for a Challenge Cup.
