St Andrews or Glasgow?

Student Lounge International Students
1

Hi all! So I’d just like to say I really appreciate all the advice I’ve gotten from this website and the United Kingdom forum in particular thus far. After doing further research and reading what everyone said in the last thread I posted, I have pretty much decided I will not be attending QMUL in the fall as the only real draw I feel to it is the fact it’s in London. However, now I have a bigger decision to make.

I have unconditional offers to Social Anthropology at St Andrews and Sociology and Politics at Glasgow and I could really use some advice and some questions answered that I have not been able to find through the Student Room website or the school website (or any website for that matter). The first question I have is how in the world do I make the choice?

Some of my other questions are:
-I know St Andrews has a lot of traditions which I really love. Are there any traditions at Glasgow?
-At St Andrews would it be at all possible to add another course (and make my degree a joint honors rather than a single honors) after I get there?
-Given that St Andrews is a smaller town without an airport or major travel hub, how easily would I be able to travel to other parts of Scotland, the UK, Europe, and the world while there?
-What are some major pros and cons of both Glasgow and St Andrews?
-I know St Andrews typically has the stereotype of the students being “posh.” Is there a stereotype of Glasgow students? (obviously I know stereotypes are rarely true and often apply to only a small percentage of students but I still find it helpful to know what others perception is of students at particular universities)
-After graduating I would ideally like to move to New York (or possibly San Francisco) and get a job involving writing, public relations, communications, and/or politics. Which school and/or course would best help me achieve this goal?
-Since UK uni calendars are somewhat different from US uni calendars, would it still be possible for me to come back and intern in the US (hopefully New York) over the summer? Also does either university have particularly good connections and resources to help me find these internships?

Any answers or thoughts on any of these questions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your time and knowledge!

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  1. None that I am aware of. I'm sure there may be some, so would be good to more research online.
  2. Yes, you decide your final course as you enter your third year.
  3. More research on pros and cons available on TSR (british version of CC)
  4. Glasgow uni students have a reputation for being posh within Glasgow. Look up 'Glasgow uni accent' and 'Glasgow uni wanker'.
  5. Hard to say, more variables than just university names which determines whether you get a job. Although I would think that St Andrews is the more recognised name out of the two for university education.
  6. St Andrews has a New York alumni club. You can find out more information on the careers section and alumni clubs of each university's website.
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My daughter accepted an unconditional offer at Glasgow. Here are some of the positives that swayed her choice.

  1. She really liked the CS course at Glasgow over her other choices. She also is interested in an outside course that is not offered at other unis.
  2. Everyone we spoke with who had attended Uni of Glasgow said they loved their time at Glasgow. I’m sure there are student who may not have enjoyed their time at Glasgow, but we asked everyone we met- including students working in local stores and restaurants, and did not get a single bad review. People basically seemed happy there.
  3. Glasgow lived up to its friendly reputation. I’m not saying St A is not friendly, but Glasgow has amazingly friendly people.
  4. Loved the West End/Byers Road/Ashton Lane vibe.
  5. Glasgow is a big city without being overwhelming. The subway is easy to use and is basically a big circle- if you miss your stop just stay on for 20 minutes and it circles back around.
  6. Easy access to a large airport means she can take weekend trips to see other parts of Europe.
  7. Great shopping in the city center.
  8. Great music scene reputation - my D is looking forward to attending concerts in town. Even the street musicians on Buchannon street were good–
4

Just to balance it out—Some negatives about Uni of Glasgow-
Halls/accommodations are not as nice as St.Andrews.
Traditions not as apparent as at St A.
Less well known in US than St A but ranked higher in international rankings.
StA has a posh feeling in the entire town- Glasgow is more mixed, but all student areas felt safe and fun.

5

I attended StAs as a JYA and in grad school…a long time ago. The town has drastically changed since then. Back in the late-90’s, it was quite easy to travel from St. Andrews throughout the UK by train and bus. I would note, though, that it is important to know the difference between the local (which stops at every small town) and direct route.

One thing I would add regarding Glasgow…the accent. It can take a bit to get used to. StAs tends to draw more from England and the Borders. Its graduate school is very international.

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OP will be wherever she picked by now…