University of St. Andrews in Scotland

Student Lounge International Students
201

<p>A post bac means it it done after your 4 year degree but it doesn’t lead to a masters. An example of one is:
[Scripps</a> College : Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program](<a href=“http://www.scrippscollege.edu/academics/postbac/index.php]Scripps”>http://www.scrippscollege.edu/academics/postbac/index.php)</p>

<p>On the FAQs page:
"Who is the program for?</p>

<p>The Scripps College Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program is for individuals who have decided to change professions in order to pursue a career in medicine.</p>

<p>What kind of person is Scripps looking for?</p>

<p>Scripps College seeks to admit intelligent, mature, and motivated individuals whom have an informed desire to make a change in their professional direction. Applicants should also have a strong commitment to the profession of medicine and a commitment to their community and goals.</p>

<p>Who is the program not for?</p>

<p>The Scripps Post-Baccalaureate Program is not for anyone who:</p>

<p>Previously applied to Medical School
Already taken the MCAT
Wishes to retake prerequisite science courses to strengthen their grade point average
Already taken the majority of required prerequisite classes (We do allow some course repeats if a significant amount of time has elapsed)"</p>

202

<p>Oh . . . seems you dont knwo what postbaccalaureate is- so usually some humanities/social science people graduate college in the US, and get an epiphany that they always wanted to be doctors all along (typically they could not get jobs with their Comparative Lit degrees lol) anyways they go through a postbac problem to take the necessary premed classes and apply for med school.</p>

<p>Some people already have a couple of science classes, and just need to boost their GPAs. I had a couple of people with british undergrads in my science classes- I knew two of the girls- one was from Imperial, the other was from another university of london school (either UCL or KCL, I keep mixing them up lol). The girl in Imperial studied biological sciences- she took organic chemistry with me. However they were international students. I dont know exactly how they treat Americans with foreign degrees, I just know foreign degrees and courses are not accepted.</p>

<p>[Postbaccalaureate</a> Premedical Programs - Search](<a href=“http://services.aamc.org/postbac/]Postbaccalaureate”>http://services.aamc.org/postbac/) </p>

<p>[Student</a> Profiles](<a href=“Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program | Johns Hopkins University”>Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program | Johns Hopkins University)</p>

203

<p>Woah! I had never even heard of those! But that’s another year - year and a half :(</p>

204

<p>Maybe I should just stick to my auto admission to UT Austin and find ways to go abroad.</p>

205

<p>As far as foreign degrees “not being accepted,” I have done the research and virtually every US medical school requires ONE YEAR of US-based college schooling as part of its -pre-requisites. So, if you graduate from a foreign school, even with a bunch of chem, physics, bio, etc., you will still have to go to a US school for one year. I know, I asked.</p>

206

<p>The best advise I can give you is to find out if people from st andrews go to med school- be proactive and ask around. If you really want to go somewhere try and find a way to do it.</p>

<p>Also doesnt st andrews have a good school of medicine?</p>

<p>This should answer any future questions about medicine</p>

<p><a href=“http://medicine.st-andrews.ac.uk/prospectus/entry.aspx#NorthAmerica[/url]”>http://medicine.st-andrews.ac.uk/prospectus/entry.aspx#NorthAmerica&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

207

<p>Well I actually have looked into their medicine program and it’s nice and everything BUT again when I come back for residency what’s going to happen? That seems even more complicated than just getting a postbac</p>

208

<p>Oh and thanks placido240!! Saves me a lot of looking through web sites!</p>

209

<p>Hi everyone
I am a student in New York, and I was just accepted to St. Andrews
here are my stats to see what they accept, I know I would have like to see it before I applied:
SATS:
610-Math 650-Reading 670-Writing
SAT II:
520- US History 550-Math 1
My average is about an A-
hope this helps :)</p>

210

<p>I, too, was just admitted to St. Andrews. I received an unconditional offer of place in the MAHons Modern Languages with International Relations program. After I mailed my application, I got an email confirmation that they received my complete application. Two days later, I received another email with an offer of place! I had some questions, so I called the International Admissions office, and they were SO nice! They absolutely could not have been nicer. I talked to one guy originally, and then he switched me over to a woman, who happened to be the lady who read my application and made the decision. She was soo sweet and said that she remembered my application and loved it. It was such a nice, personal touch, and their willingness and eagerness to talk was a stark contrast to a lot of responses I’ve received from other (American) admissions offices that I’ve called, who’ve given me the run-around in switching me from one line to the next. St. Andrews is my top choice, even though there are a lot of other, arguably more prestigious, schools that I applied to in the U.S. for similar programs.</p>

<p>These are my stats:
GPA Weighted: 4.46/4.00 (Top 10% class) UW: 3.70/4.00
SAT I: 2330/2400 (National Merit Semi-Finalist)
CR 790 + M 770 + W 770<br>
SAT II: Spanish 710, Literature 740, Math 2 690 (whoops!)
AP: Psych 5, Eng lang & comp 5, Calc AB 5, US History 4</p>

211

<p>Thanks everyone for posting your stats! I’m applying to St. Andrews for sure next year in International Relations-Russian-French (WIYA).</p>

<p>I have several questions, most importantly, how closely does St. Andrews look at American HS transcripts? My GPA is a 3.8 (UW), but the thing is… my grades are all As with several Cs. No Bs. Just As and Cs. Unfortunately, Sophomore year (last year) I got a bit annoyed with one of my teachers, my international relations teacher, to be specific, because he literally knew nothing about the world. For example, he insisted that marriage is illegal in China (I’ve personally been to two weddings in China), Russia is anti-capitalist (not that he even understood capitalism), and called Nazi Germany communist on more than just a few occasions. Consequently, I simply decided not to go to his class anymore. I only came during test-days (which is the only reason I got a C in the class and not an F). Furthermore, I received two Cs in math Freshman year due to an extremely hard math course I took. </p>

<p>Will my C in Honors International Studies influence the decision of St. Andrews (seeing as I want to major in the subject)? </p>

<p>I’m hoping to take some college classes in international relations at the local university, which I’m hoping will make up for the C. </p>

<p>Lastly, I scored a 5 on the AP Comparative Government and Politics Exam without taking the class so would that maybe outweigh the C? Also, please apply this question to Oxbridge, as I’m interested in both of those (and will hopefully meet the SAT and AP requirements by next year).</p>

<p>Second, and shorter: what exactly does the integrated year abroad entail? Could I choose between France and Russia? What would I be doing?</p>

<p>Third, for anyone interested in IR, did you apply to schools in Geneva? I’m interested in University of Geneva, St. Gallen, and Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations. The opportunities for employment/interning/general working experience (what with the UN so close) here would obviously be much better than comparables in Scotland.</p>

<p>Last, can you maybe chance me as my application stands at the moment?</p>

<p>SAT: 2190 (CR: 730, W: 760, M: 710) –> I’m taking the SAT again later this year so my scores may improve. </p>

<p>AP Exams:
AP World History: 4
AP Comparative Gov. & Politics: 5
AP Human Geography: 4
AP Environment Science: 2 (super crappy, I know)
^^(those were all self-study)
In May I’ll be taking:
AP Macro Economics
AP European History
AP US History
AP Spanish
And lots more Senior year…</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8 (hopefully will increase within the next year)</p>

<p>–Lots of clubs, including officer positions.
–Debate team (3 years) with lots of awards
–Model UN for one year (will be 2 senior year)</p>

<p>Thanks very much in advance! </p>

<p>P.S. I’m visiting (hopefully) over Spring Break. Is there anything I should know in particular? Anyone I should get in contact with (like an American Admissions Counselor-- mentioned earlier)?</p>

212

<p>Wow, sorry for the long post! I didn’t realize I had so many questions! :slight_smile:
(Probably why my College Confidential username is Zu Viele Fragen :stuck_out_tongue: )</p>

213

<p>You look like a long shot for Oxbridge, but consider LSE, Edinburgh and Sciences Po in Reims. Would you consider applying to St. Andrews for something else besides the highly coveted IR concentration? History, Modern Languages and Management? Sometimes you can switch into IR once you have been at St. Andrews a year.</p>

214

<p>ZuVieleFragen, I think you will probably be fine. You said that you will be applying to St. Andrews for sure next year, so does that mean you are a junior? If so, I think that’s even better. If you write a really great personal essay expressing your interest, and show your eagerness to attend by applying really early (admission is rolling), I think your grades and scores will more than suffice. The only potential setback I can see, which you already mentioned, is your C in International Relations. But, if you do well in your college class, I think that will definitely make up for your grade, and will even set you apart among applicants. Also, I don’t know if you’ve had much experience abroad or with international exchanges, but given your interests I think it would give your application more substance to do so. There are a lot of scholarship programs you can apply to for over the summer or during the year; if money isn’t an issue then you are really lucky and have even more options to choose from! Even if going abroad isn’t possible, there’s always the option to host a student, or get involved with international organizations. These are some things I did that helped me when I applied, and made for an interesting essay. As I mentioned on the previous page of this thread, I was recently accepted into the MAHons Modern Languages with International Relations, although I haven’t quite decided which languages I want to study yet, as I study Spanish and French in school, have learned German from my dad (who’s German), and desire to learn Arabic and Russian at some point, too! </p>

<p>As far as what the integrated year abroad entails, you can go to either France or Russia, and you will most likely have a work or internship lined up for you. You will be “integrated” as much as possible in the daily life and work environment of the country you choose. </p>

<p>Sorry for my extremely long post as well–brevity is not my strong suit! Hope this gives you some ideas…:)</p>

215

<p>@Damaris: Am I really not a competitive candidate for Oxford? I was under the impression that Oxbridge didn’t really look at American grades, and if I do get 5s in all my APs, and improve my SAT scores a bit, wouldn’t I be a contender? This is assuming I pass the PPE test and have a good interview (which I thought had the most weight in an application).</p>

<p>And no, I would not apply to St. Andrews in anything but IR most likely. </p>

<p>@aghdfkghkdfjgh: Congrats on being accepted! I’m also quite interested in modern languages, which is one reason I like St. Andrews (the opportunity to study IR in addition to French and Russian). Your information, in regards to the curriculum in general, has been very helpful (and yes, I’m a junior this year)! </p>

<p>Another question for you: did you look at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations? I’m really, really interested in it but I have a lot of concerns with it. For example, when googled, only ten pages of results come up. If you google even the worst US universities tens of thousands of results show. Obviously since it’s less than a decade old there hasn’t been much attention around it, but the curriculum looks great and the faculty list is outstanding. I’m really hoping to find someone to talk to about it before I visit later in the year!</p>

216

<p>Hey everyone, I just received an unconditional offer for Arabic and Middle East Studies. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 91/100
SAT:
CR 740, M 560, W 800
SAT II:
Lit 740, French 700
AP European: 4</p>

<p>@ZuVieleFragen, my math skills are pretty abysmal (as evidenced by my SAT scores) but my grades were strong in every other subject, so I’m pretty sure they ignored the C+ I had in Pre-Calc. You should be fine if it’s your only bad grade…</p>

217

<p>Congratulations on the offers everyone! I’m visiting in March and if I fall in love with it like I think I will then I’ll be in Fife next year for IR.</p>

<p>ZuVieleFragen, the faculty list does seem really impressive after skimming through the profs. I’m sure it’s just a matter of a young school being young for the lack of publicity and all. If you can sacrifice prestige for a good education then it’s definitely an option. Obviously, visiting will put things in perspective better than any forum can.</p>

218

<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I got in a few days ago for German and IR but I want to continue studying Spanish, Russian, and French.
I guess I should continue the pattern and post my stats:</p>

<p>SAT: 800 W, 770 CR, 700 M
SATII: 720 Math II, 770 Lit, 800 German
AP: German 5, Spanish Language 5, USH 5
GPA 4.66 (but it should be higher taking this year’s grades into account.)
National Honor Society, National German Honor Society, Winner national language competition, participated in a State-department program for youth talented in language.</p>

<p>I love the school, and am hoping to visit march-ish.</p>

219

<p>Hey everyone! Just found out that I was accepted to the University’s Art History program :). I’m ecstatic because it’s my first choice school!</p>

<p>Stats
SAT I: 790 W, 650 CR, 610 M
SAT II: 690 Literature, 680 U.S. History, 590 French (I recently retook the French exam to try and boost my scores. I want to be accepted to the joint-honours of Art Hist./French, which requires that I score above 700.)
AP: 3 U.S. Hist, 4 Government, 4 Comp/Rhetoric
Classes: AP French, AP Lit, AP Euro, AP World, Independent Study AP Art History, Orchestra
Extra-Curricular: Art History Internship w/ local artist, two jobs, multiple athletic teams</p>

<p>I’m glad I got in. When I was applying it took me a week to write my personal statement because I was so afraid that I’d write something terrible and the admissions officers would toss my application out immediately. Finally I just relaxed and wrote what I truly felt, and it worked :). Good luck to everyone who’s applying!</p>

<p>P.S.-Does anyone know of where I can find campus pictures besides Google? I cannot actually visit the University, so I want to see as much of it as I can from online images to try and get an accurate feel for it as much as I can. Thanks!</p>

220

<p>the website’s videos are mad beautiful.</p>