@psycholing, trust @jupiter98- even if overloads were allowed, there are so many other adjustments to make in first year, not least in the quirks of teaching.
It is true that the Scottish system is the most flexible within the UK, but by US standards it is still very prescriptive. St Andrews has dozens of IR courses you can apply to, most of them variations on languages. You apply into (say) Econ + IR or Russian + IR, and follow that course load. For example, just plain IR is [here[/url] (scroll down for the modules in joint subjects, eg + Econ, + Language or + 2 Languages) (more detail on just IR [url=<a href=“https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/publications/coursecatalogue/undergraduate/latest/International%20Relations-1000&2000level.pdf%5Dhere%5B/url%5D”>https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/publications/coursecatalogue/undergraduate/latest/International%20Relations-1000&2000level.pdf]here](https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/publications/coursecatalogue/undergraduate/latest/International_Relations-progreq-16-17.pdf)). The Econ modules for Econ + IR are [url=<a href=“https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/publications/coursecatalogue/undergraduate/latest/EconomicsFinance-progreq-16-17.pdf%5Dhere”>https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/publications/coursecatalogue/undergraduate/latest/EconomicsFinance-progreq-16-17.pdf]here /url.
If he chooses to do a language in which he is already truly fluent (ie, oral, aural, reading, writing) he should contact the Modern Languages department directly, and ask how they would deal with that (they will expect the contact to come from the student, not the parent). For the mainstream languages, UK students will have to have an A at A Level in the language, so that is the level that the course work will start from. You can find examples of past papers, with marking schemes [url=<a href=“http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages]here[/url] if you want to get a feel for what that level is. In the absence of an AP or an A level or similar (Goethe Institute / Alliance Francaise / etc), my guess would be that they would want to do a placement test of their own.
@ccabj, St As, UCD & TCD are horses of very different colo(u)rs!
In very general terms, UCD feels the biggest- more like (say) a state university; TCD has the most compact campus, and StAs has more traditions. St As is in a village, with 8K undergrads + 3K grads; UCD is in a suburb with 16K undergrads and 8K grads; and TCD is in a small city with 12K undergrads and 4K grads. Academically, overall StAs and TCD would seen as roughly on a par, but in some subjects (such as business) UCD would be seen as notably stronger than TCD (dk enough about StAs Management course to be able to speak to that).
For all of them, you are pretty certain to get college housing in your first year. After that you have about ~ 30% chance at St As (not an official #!)- most students find accommodation in town; a pretty strong chance at Edinburgh, though most domestic students will live out & you may want to as well, and a high chance at TCD (which would be Trinity Hall for the first years, but a pretty good bet to be on campus final year, and guaranteed free on campus housing & food, plus EU level tuition paid if you get [schols!](https://www.tcd.ie/academicregistry/exams/scholarship/))
Dear @collegemom3717
that was really informative, esp about the TCD scholars which I had no clue about! But frankly, is the acco scene in Dublin as bad as many blogs/articles make it out to be? It was a great economical option compared to US, UK and Canada but now I’m not so sure after getting to read much about acute acco shortage. It’s for my D btw. Sorry for asking so many qs!
hmmm…housing in Dublin is indeed scarce and expensive, and yet…everybody manages. Trinity Hall is a good option, especially for first year. A bike or a bus pass (there are very frequent buses), makes it really handy, and the Luas (light rail) is just around the corner (and the stop is actually at the gates of one of the best (girls) schools in Dublin).
I just got a conditional offer for Econ and IR that says “This offer is subject to you obtaining: Certified proof of your qualifications as stated on your application to be submitted by 15 July.”
@andrewsuni2021 Well if you really are going to a Scottish university, then you should get used to asking them yourself.
But it looks like what you really have is an unconditional offer, congratulations. But you know all those qualifications that you listed on UCAS or the common app? They want you to send some formal proof of them by 15 July. You may have to contact them to ask what kind of certified proof would be acceptable.
@andrewsuni2021 it means that you have to send all your qualifications from reputed sources. In other words, sending a score report from collegeboard or ACT, transcript from your counselor (if they asked for one), that sort of thing. Congrats on your offer!
Has anyone experienced issues applying for Scholarships? I wrote to the admissions office and they reminded me to log into the my application portal to apply. i didn’t realize but they have some good scholarships for international applicants. i think the deadline is in march. congrats to @andrewsuni2021 on your offer.
Hey! I applied for International Relations back in early November and have yet to hear back, any thoughts? Thanks! (I am American so I applied international using the common app)
@livvye123 My son applied beginning of Dec. for IR and heard back about 2 weeks ago. In contrast, he heard back from Edinburgh in about a week. Are your scores well over the threshold for admission? If so, no reason to worry.
@livvye123 I applied via UCAS so maybe that’s the reason for the quicker decision? They also sent my decision pretty quickly after I sent them my mid-year grades which could be what they’re waiting for.
