<p>Do any of you know any of these places (St Andrews, Aberdeen and Stirling)? What are your impressions of them? How do they compare to each other? </p>
<p>What is it like going to college in Scotland?</p>
<p>anyone...??</p>
<p>My daughter did a semester abroad at St. Andrews last year. She loved it. It is a bit remote, so the nightlife is not like you would find in London, but the people are friendly and the pubs are great. You can legally drink there at age 18. She had a date with a scottish rocker which will make for fun memories if he hits it big.</p>
<p>They have a lot of awesome traditions, and host a lot of formal balls. My daughter brought one evening dress and she could have brought 3. Each hall has its own personality, kind of like frats or sororities here.</p>
<p>They have bonfires on the beach even when it is cold. One day in the spring, they all get up at like 4 am and run in the ocean. The entire student body. </p>
<p>Everyone goes to Loch Ness at least once, and supposedly the drive there is pretty scary, which adds to the adventure.</p>
<p>You have to make an effort to meet the actual students and not just hang with the other american study abroad kids. The kids that attend St. Andrews told my daughter that its hard for them because they will make friends with an american, and then the american is gone, which is tough for them, so they tend not to pursue it. Having said that, my daughter is still in contact with all the Scots that she hung with, and they have visited when she was interning in New York.</p>
<p>The school sets up lots of weekend trips to see other parts of Scotland, and the transportation system is easy to figure out if you want to go to London or Edinburgh on your own.</p>
<p>My daughter is in the honors college at home. She found the classwork to be slightly more difficult, but she was taking Junior level classes as a sophomore.</p>
<p>Downsides: It's cold and damp. Bring rainboots. My daughter didn't have any, and she ended up buying them. Food is a bit of a challenge if you are the fussy type.</p>
<p>Here's a quote from her blog:</p>
<p>"There are definitely benefits to life here, I am getting used to it. It is a much more comfortable and natural lifestyle I think. People treat college students like adults here, which is how it should be. There arent a ton of rules and you are expected to take care of yourself and do what you are supposed to do."</p>
<p>Vderon - thanks for your very helpful answer! :) I'm considering going to college in Scotland instead of the US, but the choice is nearly impossibly difficult to make so hearing impressions of the places is very helpful!</p>
<p>Since people can drink openly there, does drinking dominate the social scene? Or does it become less of a big deal when it deosn't have the appeal of doing something forbidden?</p>
<p>Were the classes interesting at all? When I look at course catalouges for UK places, they all sound so drab - psych 1, psych 2, etc. instead of the interesting seeming titles and descriptions found in American course catalouges. </p>
<p>Do you know what she meant by being "a much more comfortable and natural lifestyle" in St Andrews? What kind of things does St Andrews not have rules about?</p>
<p>Vderon: I am confused as to whether your daughter found classes more difficult at St. Andrew's or at her honors college in the U.S. Would you please elaborate? Also was your daughter taking junior classes during her soph. year in the U.S. honors college or at St. Andrew's. Thanks!</p>
<p>"Do any of you know any of these places (St Andrews, Aberdeen and Stirling)? What are your impressions of them? How do they compare to each other?"</p>
<p>Universities in the UK tend to specialize, but in general comparing St Andrews to Aberdeen/Sterling is like comparing apples and oranges. St Andrews is the premier university in Scotland, comparable to Oxbridge and elite institutions in the US. St Andrews has a very cosmopolitan feel because it draws top students from around the world; nearly 50% of their student body is from outside the UK. Both Aberdeen and Sterling are mid-tier universities that cater mostly to Scottish students.</p>
<p>If you're looking for psychology, St Andrews' department is usually ranked between 3rd and 5th in the UK. I don't think the other two even break the top twenty.</p>
<p>St Andrews is very small, ancient, and isolated. Think living in Hogwarts for four years. There are no clubs, but lots of balls, garden/beach parties, and golf.</p>
<p>As for difficulty, I would say that the arts courses offered at Oxbridge, St Andrews, etc. tend to be more advanced than those in the US. A major caveat, though, is that students in the UK tend to be specialists and the system is not really designed to produce generalists. That said, Scottish universities are far more flexible than those found in England.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me is you have any more specific questions.</p>
<p>So is life at Aberdeen and Stirling very different from St Andrews because of the difference in "quality" (or however one should term it!)? What type of places in the US are comparable to Aberdeen and Stirling?</p>
<p>Hi- sorry- I didn't check this for a couple days:</p>
<p>Since people can drink openly there, does drinking dominate the social scene? Or does it become less of a big deal when it deosn't have the appeal of doing something forbidden?</p>
<p>Drinking seems to be less of a big deal. They all drink, but they don't drink to get drunk, if that helps. It's just part of the lifestyle.</p>
<p>Were the classes interesting at all? When I look at course catalouges for UK places, they all sound so drab - psych 1, psych 2, etc. instead of the interesting seeming titles and descriptions found in American course catalouges. </p>
<p>I would have to ask her which ones, but she found 2 of her classes to be interesting and at a higher level than what she could get here. She is finding the same to be true at the University of Manchester this year.( She is on another study abroad). </p>
<p>Do you know what she meant by being "a much more comfortable and natural lifestyle" in St Andrews? What kind of things does St Andrews not have rules about?</p>
<p>I'm guessing that she meant that the people there don't live to work, they work to live. I found this to be true everywhere in the UK. People work hard , but they are more relaxed than we are in general, and they take time to appreciate life. The UK is friendly, expecially when compared to France, which we also visited.</p>
<p>ICY- she found the classes more difficult at St. Andrews, and she was taking classes there that were a year above her level at St. Andrews. She also had less work to be graded- as they don't grade every little thing you do. You have a couple major projects and essays, and a final, and that is your grade. The good news is that her University at home( Mizzou) basically took those grades as a pass or fail, and they don't factor in her GPA. She gets the credit, but not an American letter grade. That is not to say that she did not do well at St. Andrews, but if you had to use the American equilavent of her grades there, she probalby would have had Bs instead of As.</p>