<p>I actually applied to university of Glasgow for just psychology because they have a very strong program (4th after oxford, cambrige, and UCL I believe) but I like BOTH biology and psychology, and St. Andrews is one of the few schools that offers it as a dual degree. The other is Royal Holloway, which I also applied to. Also applied to the natural science department at Durham. </p>
<p>Also I really like the Scottish system of 4 years so I am inclined to choose a Scottish university over an English one because of the flexibility once you arrive, even if it might not be quite as good for the subject.</p>
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<p>But why should that matter? Prince William only went there because it was in the middle of nowhere, not because it was particularly good. His cousin Princess Eugenie attends the decidedly average Newcastle University - why isn’t that on the American radar also?</p>
<p>@dionysus58,
Because of the way the American media (and public) love and were fascinated by their wedding. Personally, I couldn’t care less, but to some, it seems like a fairy-tale opportunity?</p>
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<p>Because nobody outside of the UK cares about her.</p>
<p>Well nobody in the UK cares about her either to be fair.</p>
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<p>The Royal Family’s primary goal is to preserve their position of power in all realms and territories where they presently rule and William, as a member of the “firm”, serves that purpose. I suspect that, given the growing trend towards Scottish independence from the UK, strengthening the ties between the Royal Family and Scotland was a major part of the political calculation to send William to St. Andrews. Prince William’s frequent visits to Australia and New Zealand (two Commonwealth realms with strong anti-monarchist movements) are likewise also politically motivated.</p>
<p>I doubt that that was the reason. Scotland isn’t moving towards independence - the SNP might want it but there is no appetite for it elsewhere, certainly not from the Scots.</p>
<p>Though impossible to cast in American terms it, like Princeton, is the 3rd oldest in its country though smaller, and more ‘clubbish’ than any other major university. </p>
<p>Yet there are also elements of Amherst - a superb but small, elite liberal arts college the likes of which neither the UK nor Europe can hope to comprehend.</p>
<p>Add to this a true British experience amid a uniquely robust international undergraduate matriculation, in a spectacular setting with a romance that especially appeals to the youthful mind … and all this at half the price of the Ivy League.</p>
<p>From such a perspective as this one may begin to better appreciate how it is really quite enticing.</p>
<p>I agree that the lower price is definitely attractive as it the promise of a “true British experience.”</p>
<p>I would hardly call St Andrews a true British experience, it’s about as far removed from the real Britain as you can get. St Andrews has taken advantage of recent royal publicity and used it to boost it out of relative obscurity and to project an image of a sort of New England style college in rural Scotland. I would hate for Americans to think that St Andrews Uni, the town or it’s students are in anyway representative of the UK - they’re not.</p>
<p>My, my, my that all sounds quite negative. I don’t hate St Andrews but there’s something quite distasteful about the way it markets itself.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m seriously considering St. Andrews, it looks awesome. I’m from the US. However, money is kind of a problem. How does Sr. Andrews do for financial aid etc?</p>
<p>Hi! 
Unfortunately, I have done research on this, and St. Andrew’s isn’t great with financial aid for an American/international applicant. You may have to do some digging to find scholarships… However, I do believe St. Andrews works with FAFSA (loans) if that helps…</p>
<p>Okay, thanks! Well, I also realized it’s pretty selective (my college counselor said more selective than Stanford…don’t know if that’s right) so I’ll be lucky if I can get in anyway…</p>
<p>With respect your college counselor has no idea what he/she’s talking about. Let me put it this way, I have never met an American who applied to St Andrews who did not get in.</p>
<p>Yeah I have to agree with Dionysus, I got into St A’s and I know that Stanford is way out of my league.</p>
<p>NO WAY is St. Andrews more selective than Stanford for American students.</p>
<p>Okay, well that’s good to know! askjeeves, can I ask if you got any financial aid for st Andrews, and if so, how?</p>
<p>Despite your gestures to the contrary, it is difficult to not sense more than a whiff of animus toward St. Andrews.</p>
<p>It is, indeed, a ‘true’ (though not ‘modal’, ‘typical’, or ‘average’) British experience - it is, after all, in and of Britain, not Kansas or Alberta or California.</p>
<p>It also is MUCH more akin to a New England liberal arts college than anywhere else in the UK with respect to enrollment and social milieu … Brits and Euros have no comparators.</p>
<p>As for marketing, plainly you have little sense of how rampant and unsubtle is collegiate & university salesmanship in America. St. Andrews is demure and classy in comparison. Talk about distasteful!</p>
<p>What do you mean by ‘true’ if not to imply a typical university experience in an average British town? St Andrews disappoints on both counts; most British people do not live in small rural communities and nearly all British universities are located in major cities with urban campuses.</p>
<p>There is nothing different about St Andrews with respect to enrollment. You appear to be suggesting that St Andrews, like American colleges, look for strong ‘rounded’ students with lots of extracurricular activities; this is absolutely not true. As for its social milieu, I would argue it is very different from the elite New England LACs who go to great lengths to ensure diversity (social, ethnic and economic) amongst their students. St Andrews does not do this. It is full of grammar and privately educated students, all of whom come from pretty much the same socio-economic background.</p>
<p>I’m not comparing St Andrews’ marketing with that of American colleges, my point was that from a British perspective the university feels very American in the way it now represents itself.</p>
<p>Also, I’m a dual UK/US citizen. Does that matter at all? Would I eligible for reduced tuition or anything like that, since I wouldn’t technically be an international student if I went to St. Andrews?</p>