<p>Is anyone applying to St. Andews in Scotland or Trinity in Ireland from the United States? Does anyone know anything about these schools?</p>
<p>I can't shed any light on those schools and I guess the lack of an answer suggests no one else can. My daughter is spending a junior year studying at the University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. She is an English major at Kenyon and is taking a number of courses in English and Irish writers. I think she is enjoying the experience, but the difference in approach to education between US LACs and European universities is, I believe, making her regret spending a whole year there instead of just a semester. It may be very different for other majors. As a Freshman she had smaller classes and more personal attention from the professors than she does now at UCC. </p>
<p>I assume you have researched the issue and concluded that for your course of study that it will not be a concern.</p>
<p>My D is applying to Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland. It is an American college on the border of southern Switzerland, northern Italy, in the lakes region. Big on international relations.
As far as Trinity, the one thing I do know is that it is viewed by people in Ireland in general as extremely "out-there" left wing. All of my relatives in Ireland would never send their kids there. IN Ireland, it is UC Galway and UC Limerick that hold the highest academic prestige. I also know that the University Colleges of Ireland do not offer financial aid to American students.</p>
<p>Sunshadow- my younger D is also considering applying to Franklin. It is supposed to structured along the lines of a U.S. liberal arts college. I think she is trying to decide if its strengths are in areas that are of interest to her. It is a small school, so a broad range of departments and majors is not available. What are your D's interests?</p>
<p>I have a surgeon friend who went to Trinity and loved it--loved all the tradition. The course offerings are extremely limited though. I think Dublin is a great college town.</p>
<p>My son applied to five programs in the UK via the UCAS online app system. Again, it's best to research which major you are interested in and then choose the application accordingly. Best news: one essay! Very easy application compared to US schools.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that Oxbridge apps are due on October 15th and they insist on an interview. </p>
<p>My oldest son is talking about going to grad school in Europe--and may take an IR course in Europe this summer.</p>
<p>The UK schools are roughly the same cost as US private universities but Australian and New Zealand schools are a real bargain--particularily since a BA in any of the above is a three year affair.</p>
<p>Just a quick question to any Americans out there. I'm an International Senior studying in a top British school (not in the UK) and know many people who have offers from Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Warwick, UCL (me!), Bristol, Durham, Bath, Edinburgh etc. </p>
<p>All these schools are overall much much much much much better than St Andrews. I don't think anyone in my grade (120 kids) even has St Andrews as one of their top choices. Why is it that so many American students think it is one of the top schools in the UK. It's like me thinking UCLA is better than HYPS. (I know its just an example lol). Or am I just missing something?</p>
<p>Again its not criticism or disrespect or anything I was just curious.</p>
<p>For most, it's simple; Prince William attended.</p>
<p>In the UK, I have seen NYU over-rated tremendously too (it is a good school but the majority seem to think it is on par with Harvard etc.).</p>
<p>Hehe but then again Prince William wasn't the brightest.</p>
<p>I was just talking to my cousin who did go to High School in NYC last year. He's a college freshman now. In his graduation class of about 50, 7 Americans (as in citizens so no arguments about $$ here) went to St Andrews and it seems most of them were accepted at decent LAC's in teh US.</p>
<p>2dsDad: My daughter was trying to decide between communications and international relations, only to find that Franklin offers a mix..international communications! Do you have any hesitations about sending your D over to Europe for school for 4 years?</p>
<p>"Do you have any hesitations about sending your D over to Europe for school for 4 years?"</p>
<p>Some. The distance is one issue. Switzerland should be as safe as any location in Europe, although I realize there are many unsafe places now in Europe. I don't think the separation will be a problem for her. She loves to travel and the travel integrated into the curriculum caught her attention. I also have a cousin who is Swiss, native born, who lives near Zurich. Maybe he and his wife can check up on her occasionally. Not everyone has that backup, though.</p>
<p>The problem my daughter has is that she is very much undecided regarding a major. A small school with 350-400 students and proportionately small faculty will have a limited range of choices. She just has to decide if the sort of things that she might be interested in can be found there or not.</p>
<p>I had no idea St. Andrews wasn't a top tier school. All info. read suggests that they are on par with Cambridge and Oxford! Is it a school for wealthy kids who don't do that well in school?????</p>
<p>Is Trinity not a top tier school as well? </p>
<p>We are getting such conflicting information from the schools and our counselors!</p>
<p>I think US people are interested in these schools because St. andrews and Trinity are good at MARKETING themselves in the U.S. (Plus, it sounds exotic.) They are successful in providing the kind of information that US parents want to see, and they have largish U.S. populations. How many of us receive college mailings from Oxford or Cambridge.. (none I've heard of.) St. Andrews and Trinity make U.S. high school visits, attend college fairs, and send mailings to US highschool students. It's all in the marketing....</p>
<p>2dsdad: The small size of the school was a major concern for my D. She would never go to a tiny school in this country. However, she changed her mind when I told her that "Europe is her campus!"
On another note: I was actually surprised that such a small school would offer as much as it does, according to their website...</p>
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I had no idea St. Andrews wasn't a top tier school. All info. read suggests that they are on par with Cambridge and Oxford! Is it a school for wealthy kids who don't do that well in school?????
[/QUOTE]
Yup. And now filled with Americans. Before Prince William went there, no-one had ever heard of it. I believe William got grades ABC in his A-levels, which are average-ish. Pretty poor when you consider he went to the most expensive private school in the country for his (high) school education.</p>
<p>If you look at that link and click on the 'Top Universities League Table' link you'll see St Andrews at a 'lowly' 18th. When considering 18th, keep in mind that 18th in the UK will be equal to the 50's in the US. IMO I'd say St Andrews is equivalent to a Rochester. These rankings by the Times are widely considered to be pretty good ratings. </p>
<p>Obviously a Oxford/Cambridge wouldn't need to send out admissions literature... they are widely considered the best in University education and are recognised all over the world. Has anyone ever had Harvard/Princeton/Yale/Stanford send them mailings????! ;)</p>
<p>St. Andrews also has a special separate application for US students so you don't have to go through UCAS, etc.--you can apply direct. That was some of the draw for a friend of mine who applied there--she didn't have to wrangle with some of the extra complications.</p>
<p>After using UCAS, Common App, UC Application, Columbia and Michigan Apps, I can say UCAS was the best application by faaaar.</p>
<p>I have a friend who did a year at St. Andrews (via Emory scholarship) and loved it. Obviously didn't have a lot to compare it with.</p>
<p>To those applying to Franklin, be aware that living in Switzerland is incredibly expensive. Even more than London. My D got lots of promo stuff from Franklin, which I assumed was triggered by her German address on SATs, and we had never heard of the school before. I'm interested in what people know about it. We looked at their website a bit, but my D did not pursue it because she was ready to go to school in the US for a change. I didn't encourage her because of the expense of living there.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Obviously a Oxford/Cambridge wouldn't need to send out admissions literature... they are widely considered the best in University education and are recognised all over the world. Has anyone ever had Harvard/Princeton/Yale/Stanford send them mailings????!
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</p>
<p>Sometimes it doesn't pay to be too subtle on the Web. You ARE kidding, right? All of those schools send marketing stuff to my son. A lot of it was, "don't be afraid to apply -- we accept real, live high school students here."</p>
<p>Oxbridge sent marketing stuff to your son?? Wow. They sure don't do that for UK students! (Well, unless you ask them for it, obviously!)</p>
<p>I think the fact that Oxbridge don't send out admissions info is unfortunate, actually. I went to a state comprehensive secondary school (aka, bottom of the pile, prestige-wise), and the mystique surrounding Oxford was such that many students didn't want to apply on the basis of ridiculous misconceptions, like the belief that everyone here is a minor genius who strides around in a gown muttering to themselves in Ancient Greek.</p>
<p>I think a dose of "we are normal, really" would encourage many more students who would really benefit from an Oxbridge education to apply. That said, high schools also need to do much more to encourage able students to look past the stereotypes and just go for it.</p>