<p>My girlfriend who is from England went there. Her son is a freshman there this year and he absolutely loves it. His courses are challenging, he just turned 17 in August and they roomed him with a buy from Scotland about the same age. He is very involved in cross country and music too.</p>
<p>Why do you want your child to go to university outside of the US? I can of course understand if you want to study UK related majors - British history? or if your child just loves everything British? Or work in the UK (WHY?)
I think a much better option is to go to a US school and do a year or semester abroad.<br>
We are Americans who have lived in the UK, Germany and China and our kids go to International schools filled with non US kids who are dying to go to university in the US. Some go back to their home countries but many are attending the expensive international school ($20000 a year tuition) with the sole purpose of getting into a US university.</p>
<p>shanghai mom--I'm an American who is at st andrews right now. why? I'm getting just as good an education as i would at most schools in the US, especially in IR (granted, not at hpy but i wouldn't have gotten in there anyway!).
but, it's all about the experience! in my IR class, out of the 12 people in my 'tutorial', 5 of them aren't even native English speakers. how cool is that! when my friends came home at Christmas time, all they talked about was football games and joining frats, while i could detail adventures and experiences I've had in 3 other countries already (just in the first 3 months at school). and ill likely be spending my year abroad in Egypt (im studying Arabic), while my friends will be in places in western Europe I'll have already had the chance to explore.
I'm also saving money by coming here, because my family didn't qualify for need-based aid, and most private schools don't give merit scholarships that are more than 12k a year, i wouldn't have gone to a school of my choice for under 30k.
and the best part about my UK education: NO REQUIRED COURSES!! that means i don't have to waste money fulfilling stupid 'gen-ed' requirements for the first two years of college. I'm an IR and Arabic major, and I've been learning IR and Arabic (plus Spanish and psychology by choice) since day 1. there is so much more depth here. no taking random astronomy or philosophy classes and the like if you don't want to.
most importantly, i plan to go into international law, and i feel confident that my global experience will be a huge strength in my application, and in future job pursuits.</p>
<p>and to those discussing the prestige of st andrews: st andrews is definitely not hpy/oxbridge equivalent, most people here would agree that its and ivy/oxbridge reject school. which means had the kids in st andrews gone to american unis instead, they'd be at schools equivalent to bc, bu, tufts, gw, emory etc etc. those schools that are still really good but aren't 'ivies'.**also, some programs here are better than others. their IR program is one of the best in the world, there are 11 applicants for each available seat. and americans are not here because the prince went here! no one cares! if i here that one more time... do you really think a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds, are going to pick up and move 3000+ miles away, and see their families twice a year tops, just because the prince went to school there?? americans come here for the eduction (espeically IR), but the number one reason i think there are so many americans here is for the experience. check out this newsweek article about americans in scotland: <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14325149/site/newsweek/%5B/url%5D">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14325149/site/newsweek/</a></p>
<p>and to be honest, unless one holds a degree from a really elite institution, or a notoriously bad one, or one where the person interviewing them has some sort of alumni connection, a BA is a BA. rochester or rutgers, syracuse or st andrews, no one cares when there are so many equivalent institutions. its about how well you did, and what you did while there. so if a student can go somewhere where they really enjoy learning and are offered great opportunities, be it in america or the uk or elsewhere, they should go for it!</p>
<p>I'm applying to St. Andrews this year and know enough about it to be sure that is has an excellent reputation. It is one of the oldest and most respected universities in the UK, and is IMO in the tier 2 division of universities behind Oxbridge with Edinburgh, UCL, LSE, Glasgow and Manchester. The problem with it, though, is that it is smaller than the other ones and is far from having the endowment of others and the recognition coming from the 'city name'.</p>
<p>Tier 1 = Oxbridge/LSE/UCL/Imperial/Warwick/Durham/Kings etc</p>
<p>Tier 2 = Manchester/Nottingham/Bristol/Sheffield/Edinburgh/Leeds</p>
<p>Tier 3 = St Andrews....</p>
<p>inshallah - how is st. andrews third tier when on the ranking tables you refered us to is ranked 18th whereas manchester is ranked 26th?</p>
<p>I think you're wrong.</p>
<p>Tier 1 = Oxbridge stands alone, in the same why HYPS do.
Tier 2 = LSE/UCL/Kings etc, just as the rest of the Ivies and Ivy-equivalents (like UChicago, Duke, Northwestern, Gtown, Tufts, etc. do)
Tier 3 = Manchester/Nottingham/St. Andrews</p>
<p>I'm sorry. My mistake. It should be as lolabelle has stated above ^^^</p>
<p>To Shanhai Mom: The answer is, not all Americans love football, beer, and the typical American college experience. Some of us are looking for a different kind of world in which to be educated. We don't all walk to the same drummer.</p>
<p>I'm Canadian, doing undergrad at a Dutch university, and I'd just like to say that Mishy's post is spot on. Especially the bit about required courses.</p>
<p>Why stay in America if you have the opportunity to fully experience a new culture, language, and way of life? Semester or year abroad is fun, but basically it's just loads of partying with other exchange students. Not much cultural/language learning compared to being a proper resident of a foreign country. Just because studying in America is someone else's dream doesn't mean it has to be yours. Especially if you're American. There are excellent universities all over the (rich) world.</p>