<p>The only UK schools most Americans know or care about are Oxford, Cambridge, and LSE. The top UK universities are easier to get into than the top American universities. I don’t think St. Andrews is a top UK university though. It’s also easier to get into than, at least the top 30 to 40 American universities.</p>
<p>it is a top university, especially for undergrad which is why it is notorious for being an Oxbridge-rejects university.</p>
<p>Brian:</p>
<p>I would say that for some subjects, St Andrews is indeed top notch. For example, International Relations.</p>
<p>If you look at the League tables for 2013, St Andrews is listed in the top three for “politics” (essentially tied with Cambridge or Oxford----I forget which one)</p>
<p>But I concede that I am biased, because my son is starting school there in September.</p>
<p>If anyone if willing to chance me…
Applying as transfer student from the second year at a 4 year US university
GPA 3.3 (I’m hoping to raise it during fall quarter but it probably won’t end up higher than a 3.4)
SAT 2230
Five AP tests, all 5s</p>
<p>I’m applying to International Relations. For the personal statement, they ask for a “brief account” of why you want to study there, and I’m not sure how long it should be. Mine is about 200 words and it seems short. It’s also pretty straightforward and not very creative or “flowery”, does that matter?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Firefly: </p>
<p>I don’t know how they treat transfer students, but it is my understanding that for kids right out of high school, that standardized test scores are the most important criteria, including SAT and AP scores. </p>
<p>So I bet you will get in.</p>
<p>I would love some feedback from either parents of kids who have attended St. Andrews, or the kids themselves. My daughter’s first choice is St. Andrews, and while I can absolutely see her there, and I think it is a great choice for her, I still do have some concerns. 1) How much have you seen your child (or your parents) during the school year? My husband argues that we would not see her much more during the school year if she went to her second or third choice, both about 10 hours drive, than we would if she goes to St. Andrews. I’m just having a hard time with the thought of her being so far away. 2) I’ve heard lots of comments that many of the kids from the US come from exclusive private prep schools. Is this just a stereotype, or is it fairly accurate? Nothing against private prep schools, and while we are probably considered fairly affluent, I’m not sure how comfortable she’ll be if all her US classmates are super rich.
3) Related to that question, do the kids at St. Andrews really tend to associate only with their own countrymen(women)? Part of the appeal of going to St. Andrews is the international mix of students. Thanks so much! She’s still working on her application, but I’d like to have some of these issues addressed before she is possibly accepted, as I know she’ll be so excited she won’t be thinking straight. :)</p>
<p>Hi Momofapeach. My daughter starts in one week so I can’t speak to what the year will bring. I suggest you check of St. Andrews US parents page on FB. It will give you some sense of the students that are attending. I intend to see my daughter as much as her friends’ parents with kids back East(I will go over once in the middle of fall semester and will meet her in Europe for part of spring break). She will come home for 4-6 weeks over Christmas and again for the summer.
I know several students who have gone to St. A from the Seattle area. While they are all products of our local Prep Schools ( where the counselors seem to know more about St.A and most parents who can afford full frieght for college also send their children to private HS), none would be classified as “rich”. Most of the public school kids from our area go to state universities or receive significant aid. It is hard to find a US school of this caliber that has the satisfaction ratings and 4 year graduation rate that this school has.
I am concerned that the financial issues will be more pronounced in subsequent years when they set out to find flats on their own and budgets may vary widely.
I find many of the posts here by a handful of Brits rather negative. My daughter’s new roomate will be from England. She purposely requested a roomate and a less expensive accomodation to be sure she was in a more economically diverse hall. Her goal, like many, is to develop friendships from around the world, and not exist in a US expat community.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your response. It was what I needed to hear! I would love to hear more!</p>
<p>I’m an international student who has attended boarding school in the UK for 4 years and am currently about to go to Imperial. </p>
<p>I’m going to be very frank here, St. Andrews while seen as a solid UK uni is not great compared to some top to middle US unis. If you are an american planning to apply to St. Andrews but can get into the lower ivies, Duke, Michicgan etc. then i would rather stay in the US if i were you.</p>
<p>St. Andrews is SEVERELY overrated and isn’t a target school for many investment banks, top consultancy firms. The only UK unis known in the US and which i would go if i were an american are LSE, Oxford and Cambridge. Even my uni Imperial College isn’t well known in the US</p>
<p>Ipodcable is correct</p>
<p>you don’t know what you’re talking about. yes it’s not that targeted for Finance and Economics - go to Warwick for that - but St Andrews is the third best University in the UK for most Arts subjects, and is VERY strong for Physics, Chemistry, Comp Sci and Mathematics. </p>
<p>St Andrews normally has one of the highest, if not THE highest satisfaction ratings of any University in Britain, and normally the highest Good Degree Honours of any University bar Oxbridge.</p>
<p>the trio of St Andrews, Warwick and Durham are generally regarded as the best Universities in the UK outside of LOxbridge</p>
<p>While I can’t speak on the topic of entre’ into investment banks or consulting firms, I just wanted to note that in the most recent League tables, St Andrews is ranked #2 (and very close to #1) in “politics”. While such rankings, of course, must be taken with a grain of salt, if a school is ranked #2 in the whole country, it is probably safe to conclude that at the least, it is pretty good.</p>
<p>While it may be true that St Andrews is not well known, how many Americans have heard of Middlebury, Pomona, Williams, Bowdoin, Carleton, Claremont Mckenna, Haverford, Davidson, etc. etc. etc ???. Yet, they are good schools.</p>
<p>Also, how many colleges in America truly give you entre’ into investment banks and consulting firms? Not many. </p>
<p>So if that were the sole standard people should be looking at when deciding which college to attend, the choices would be quite small.</p>
<p>My kid is a freshman at St Andrews. So I am biased. However, the Fiske College Guide, which presumably has no ties to St Andrews, mentions St Andrews in the same breadth as Brown, and even compares it to Princeton.</p>
<p>Given that they have a joint degree program with William & Mary in International Relations, I think that it is safe to conclude that it is probably about in that league.</p>
<p>Which “ain’t bad”.</p>
<p>My son, upon arriving at St Andrews, reported to me that “this is the most beautiful town I have ever been to”.</p>
<p>And he spoke about the pleasant “white noise” of hearing the North Sea, with just the occassional passing of an automobile.</p>
<p>And of meeting kids from Singapore and Switzerland on his very first day.</p>
<p>Which ain’t bad either.</p>
<p>Hi,
I’m a highschool senior from New York, and recently Saint Andrews has risen to my top choice. I have already focused in on the International Relations Major, and am set on national security (I know that a new yorker wanting to study national security is probably cliche at this point). My college advisor said studying in the UK would be a great option because it better suits someone who is already set on their course of study. He then suggested Saint Andrews because of its International Relations reputation. So I have a couple questions that I was hoping you guys could answer:
-Is an IR degree from Saint Andrews prestigious?
-What is the general vibe of the school?
-Is it very party oriented?
-Very preppy?
-Do the professors have professional experience in the fields they teach about?
-Does St. Andrews provide you with good Job/Graduate school prospects?
-Is there a strong emphasis on athletics?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your answers, I know there was some overlap in the social department, but that’s my main area of concern. I’ve been at a very preppy school since first grade, and while I’ve become comfortable with it, I’m not really a fan of it. It’s fine if there is a strong presence of “prepsters”, I just need to know if there is a wide range of kids in which I could find my group. I’m also hoping that this is a place where every now and then you can have some intellectual debate with your classmates, rather than just party and all that. Would I find that kind of discussion here? I’m not a total buzzkill, I enjoy parties to some extent, but I’ll admit I am a nerd in the sense that I want to be as well prepared as possible for a career in national security. </p>
<p>Thanks again,
Salem</p>
<p>Other Schools I’m looking at:
Georgetown
Johns Hopkins
Colgate</p>
<p>slemdog:</p>
<p>My son is now a freshman at St Andrews, majoring in International Relations, so I know a little about the school, and can perhaps a least partially answer some of your questions.
So far, he likes the school a lot.</p>
<p>In terms of prestige, if you look at the Fiske College Guide, which you can buy at a Barnes & Noble, you will see that this guide mentions St Andrews as being similar to a Brown, and perhaps even a Princeton.</p>
<p>Since St Andrews has a joint degree program in international relations with William & Mary, I would say that it is probably similar to W & M in terms of prestige. Perhaps somewhere between a William & Mary, and Brown.</p>
<p>After all, I don’t think the two schools would have joint degree programs with a school that was very far below, or very far above, their level of quality.</p>
<p>If you look at the 2013 League Tables, which is the way they rank schools in the UK, you will see that St Andrews ranked a very close second in the field of “Politics”, just below Oxford or Cambridge (I forget which one) (and ranked above the other one of the two). Thus, while rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, I would say that St Andrews must at the least be “pretty good” in politics to rank so high.</p>
<p>At St Andrews, you only take three courses your first year, not five like in an American college, so you would be taking less electives than at an American school. One of the three would be in international relations, which to date my son has called “fascinating”.</p>
<p>I could be wrong about this, but it is my impression that St Andrews goes more by standardized test scores (SAT, AP exam scores), and less by extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>It is also somewhat easier to get into St Andrews than a top American school if you are an American, because Americans pay much higher tuition to go there than native Scots, or Brits.</p>
<p>You can apply to five UK schools in one application, so I would say that you should definitely apply.</p>
<p>You could do a lot worse.</p>
<p>If you are truly interested in IR, then I would recommend that you should probably apply to George Washington as well, as it is a bit easier than Georgetown to get into, and it is good for IR. Perhaps also American University, but that is a step lower still. Also, Tufts is good for international relations as well. Probably higher ranked than GW, but lower than Georgetown.</p>
<p>With respect to your question about athletics, my impression is that there is not a strong emphasis on athletics. Obviously, you won’t be going to any SEC quality football games there.</p>
<p>One good thing about St Andrews is that they give you a yes or no very quickly.</p>
<p>Often within two weeks of applying.</p>
<p>My son passed up UCLA to go to St Andrews. I know of someone who passed up McGill, and the US Naval Academy to go there. I also know someone who could have transferred to Harvard from St Andrews, because they had powerful connections, but chose to stay at St Andrews.</p>
<p>I would probably go to Johns Hopkins or Georgetown School of Foreign Service over St Andrews, unless you really want to study in Europe.</p>
<p>If the choice were between Tufts and St Andrews, I am not as sure.</p>
<p>Also, I would say that the “medium” size of St Andrews is an attraction. Not too big, not too small.</p>
<p>While isolated, and in a small town, it does have a bus that goes to Edinburgh.</p>
<p>One other piece of advice. I don’t know your stats, but it is very very hard to get into a top 20 school. And almost impossible to get into a top 10 school. My son was waitlisted at a lot of schools in the #17 to #25 range in the US News rankings, despite having super high SAT scores, and 14 AP classes.</p>
<p>I would apply to a LOT of schools. If you do, you will probably get into 3 or 4. THEN, you can weigh your options. If you don’t apply to a school, you have rejected yourself. </p>
<p>If you get into St Andrews, feel free to email me when the time to make an actual decision occurs (April/May???). I will know more about the school by then, and more about the IR dept.</p>
<p>How long does it take St. Andrews to get back to you on your application? I sent mine in via air mail from the US about 2 weeks ago. Also do they let you know your status via email? </p>
<p>For reference, I have a 3.75 Unweighted and a 4.53 Weighted and a 2240 on my sats, 800 on math sat II, 740 on US history, and 730 on chemistry. for APs: 5 on BC Calc, 5 on French, 4 on English Lit, 4 on Euro History, 4 on US Govt, and 4 on US History. Thanks!! #anxiouslywaiting</p>
<p>Beeboop,
You will undoubtably receive an unconditional acceptance provided all your documents were in order and your personal statement clearly supported your area of study. My daughter’s stats were in the same range. She received an answer by e-mail in about 18 d this same time of year.</p>
<p>They sent me the confirmation email a week ago that said they got my application and will respond in up to 4 weeks. How long does this response typically take - does it usually take the whole 4 weeks?</p>
<p>Probably more like 18 days. I’m on the way to visit today. Raisin weekend just ended. I think my d. Is having a great time.</p>
<p>it’s better to go to St. Andrews since costs are saved up. Much more beneficial than studying in the US</p>
<p>my daughter just received her acceptance e-mail today. It took about two weeks from the time she applied.</p>
<p>She is in orbit today she is so excited. Still a long way to go before the college acceptance process is over, but StA is the clear #1 today.</p>