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@psycholing my daughter is sort of looking forward to May Dip. We joke that as a former ocean Open Water swimmer we prepared her well. She once did An Open Water Swim as a seven year old with the water being 57F.
@VickiSoCal I think your D is the sort of robust, physically resilient person that would enjoy the rituals. My son is medically fragile to some extent (genetic condition) so it was just not for him. On the other hand St. Andrews was gorgeous and our guide was completely enraptured with the program.
@Sybylla As someone who has spent years in the UK, I must admit that posts like yours make me cringe. While I have no members of my family who attended St Andrews, it enjoys an outstanding reputation in the UK and is definitely considered “up there” with UCL, Warwick etc. It also has a world renowned IR program that is arguably better than at most UK universities. And as a point of fact, LSE has been repeatedly slated for the quality of its undergraduate teaching and it’s student satisfaction ratings have been pretty woeful of late.
Yes, it is true that acceptance rates at Ivy League Universities, Chicago, Berkeley etc., are much lower than any UK university, but that is because American universities practice holistic admissions. UCLA had over 100,000 applicants this year but only a small percentage of those applicants possessed top qualifications. Conversely, there is really no point applying to a British university if you don’t meet its minimum offer. The same isn’t true of the US and I’ve had two children get into Ivies with qualifications considerably lower than people routinely quote on these boards. I suspect the fact that they were largely raised overseas was a major factor in their admission.
Sorry for the rant, but I do get tired of these endless, incorrect comparisons of UK and US universities and the absolute fixation high school students have on acceptance rates. Those exceptionally low admit rates mean just one thing…you are almost certain to be disappointed.
** I just re-read your post and caught your comment about “private school toffs”. Most Americans wouldn’t register that comment. I now understand why you don’t like St Andrews, but it isn’t any more full of privately educated students than LSE, Oxbridge, Warwick etc. **
Full disclosure, I do have skin in the game. D1 is a senior this year. She has thoroughly enjoyed her time at St A’s. and is a little sad going into the final lap but is looking forward to a fresh challenge on graduation. Her grades have been excellent, learnt a new language from scratch and managed to tick the box on 13 different European countries visited while at St A’s; the final and 14th will be Greece in between finals and graduation. She played a varsity sport and even represented Scottish students, held a part time job with the university and a local retail establishment. Asked about what she liked best about her time there, a very smart, eclectic and funny cohort, excellent teaching with engaged profs only ever had 3 TA’s, 1 of which was a native speaker of her new language. Her growth as a human being over the last 4 years has been amazing, truly money well spent… getting that Geoff will be the cherry on top!
As a current St Andrews fresher, I can’t recommend St Andrews enough. My 1st semester was fantastic, and honestly after 2 weeks of our 5 week winter break I was ready to come back! If anyone has any questions about St Andrews academics, social life, healthcare, visa matters etc, please feel free to @ or pm me or check out my blog, samthroughthelookingglass.■■■■■■■■■■
Also if you haven’t already, join Facebook! I use Facebook in St Andrews daily, whether it’s for checking society events, buying ball tickets, or texting on Facebook messenger, which is in my experience the text app of choice. It’s also extremely helpful before freshers week to meet people, ask questions, and buy freshers week tickets in advance. Freshers events like Opening Ball, and Starfields (the music festival) sell out quickly, so it’s important to buy tickets for events ahead of time. For example Christmas Ball tickets sold out within 13 seconds of being on sale!
My daughter has only been there one semester but I can confidently say as someone who went to a US University in the same major and taught college courses in that major at another well regarded US University, that the rigor and teaching quality is up to par at St. Andrews. And @AceofallTrades she was one of those lucky few who scored Christmas Ball tickets. 
If you want to see what the town looks like use Google Street View, especially all the pretty bits around the coast lol. If you have any queries about st andrews make an account with The Student Room (the UK version of this site) and ask away there! I just graduated and happy to help
I actually took the risk and Firmed St Andrews without ever visiting (or even looking the town up) I just did it blind based on its reputation and I don’t regret a thing
Hey, I applied joint French and IR early November and I’m still waiting. It’s killing me since everyone who applied early to US schools had an exact day they knew they’d find out. Rolling is tough…
My DD applied as a transfer, waiting to hear, but I have a question about these balls. Do you only go with a date? Is it formal because this sounds like a lot of $ ball gowns, can anyone explain this to me? Thanks!
Because the Christmas ball was in such high demand you could only buy two tickets online. My daughter and her friends had an agreement that they would all try to buy tickets and whoever got them would sell at face value to another in the group. In the end 4 girls went together. She wore her senior prom dress. The tickets were 37 pounds. So all in all it really didn’t cost her that much cheaper than senior prom. If she goes to May Ball she will either wear her junior prom dress or swap with a friend.
@cloudysmom you definitely don’t have to go with a date! Most people go in groups of friends, and when it comes to dresses less is definitely more! I found my opening ball dress on asos.com for £10, and a lot of girls will opt for simple dresses and statement necklaces, as well as jumpsuits. If you PM me, I can send you some example pics.
Hello! I’m an international student from the United States- I applied very late(jan. 14th) to the biomedical science program. I have 3.5UW, 4.1W, and a 32ACT. I have taken 5APs and personally think my PS was good. Can anyone let me know if I have a chance? I was recently rejected from a school in the UK actually so just trying to get myself mentally ready 
@heyheyy123 what were your AP scores?
And do you mean Biomolecular Science? They do not have biomedical science as an undergrad degree.
Does anyone have a facebook group, groupme chat or snapchat story/group for accepted students?
Search for “University of st andrews class of 2022” on Facebook.
Hi, thank you for your quick response! I’m actually taking two of my 5 APs this year- however, of the other three, I went 3,3,5… (not a great test taker)
^^^ @VickiSoCal
They are going to want 5’s on chem and bio, maybe a 4 on one of them and a 5 or 4 on another science or math.
You are aware that you take the below courses first year and your grade is 70% based on your final? My daughter took the first one in the fall and is in the second one now. They are not easy classes. They move very quickly and assume you came in with a very good preparation in chemistry in high school.
Introduction to Inorganic and Physical Chemistry: covers the origin of the elements, atoms and the Periodic Table, shapes and properties of molecules, chemistry of the elements, properties of solutions, thermochemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics.
Organic and Biological Chemistry 1: covers the structure, stereochemistry and nomenclature of simple organic compounds, fundamental organic reaction mechanisms, organic functional groups and their reactions, introductory bio-organic chemistry, and organic spectroscopy.
Biology 1: provides an introduction to molecular and cellular biology. It covers cell diversity and the origins of life, cellular structures and fundamental processes.
Biology 2: provides an introduction to the diversity of life on Earth and addresses key elements of organismal and ecological aspects of life.