<p>It’s a very small town - you step outside your hall of residence or a faculty building - again, many are impressive - and you are in the town, but the town is a university town - you will bump into fellow students and staff everywhere. There isn’t much else there apart from the golf. And the sea, and the beaches, and the sunrise over the sea. (I saw the northern lights there, just as an aside.) If you are used to big cities, it might seem a little dull, but then you will make friends and it won’t be dull any longer. </p>
<p>You could think of it as a campus with a town in it.</p>
<p>Accommodation varies. Generally you will get a small, plain, serviceable room with a washbasin in it, and a bathroom nearby. </p>
<p>It has a high academic profile; due to its undeniable beauty as well as its ranking, it attracts students who wanted to go to Oxbridge but didn’t get in. It isn’t in the same league, but often the people who don’t get in to Oxford or Cambridge are rejected for the wrong reasons, so you will meet academically exciting people there if you go.</p>
<p>Hello,
I was recently accepted to the University of St. Andrews and I live in the US. I’m curious to see if any current students could give me advice on things to prepare for before I arrive and the general atmosphere…ie best dorms, what to do…
Thanks!</p>
<p>I have sent in my app and am waiting to hear back.
Questions: Did they notify you when your app was received and if your app was complete?
How were you notified of their decision? Post? Email?
Thanks and congratulations on getting in!</p>
<p>virgie - Thank you! I e-mailed to make sure my application was completed. They sent me an e-mail with the decision, saying they were going paperless this year.</p>
<p>I found out the same way tkdkid did…about a month after I sent in my application they sent me my acceptance letter via email. I’m pretty sure I’m going there next year; I’m trying for a couple scholarships which will confirm my decision.</p>
<p>Has anyone visited? I am not able to and would love to hear about it from someone who actually goes there or has visited!</p>
<p>^ I have been to St Andrews many times, and although the place is nice and all, i’m not convinced that it would a good idea to spend 4 years there unless you don’t mind being in a bubble. It’s just a nice place for vacation. And, quite frankly, there are five universities that are better regarded than St Andrews in the UK, apart from Oxbridge, namely: LSE, Imperial, Warwick, UCL and Durham.</p>
<p>True, but it depends what you want to study. Oxbridge doesn’t have international relations like St. Andrews. </p>
<p>Before I applied to colleges, I pretty much researched what schools would have the best program for what I want to do, IR. It’s undeniable that St. Andrews is one of the best in the world in that area. </p>
<p>Where do you go to school RML? Are you at a university yet?</p>
<p>I know that it is a very small town, but is it easy to get to other cities in the UK? I live in the US and I’m not familiar with the transportation systems in the UK.</p>
<p>the transport system particularly the railway/train system in the UK (including Scotland) is efficient and there are international airports in major Scottish cities such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.</p>
<p>Just as a note. Exam and Sat scores are not the be and end all of getting a place in St Andrew’s. This is why people think it isn’t selective. Wrong, St Andrew’s is very selective it’s just that they take other things like personal experience and other achievements into account and add that with your exam marks as a whole. If they find that you have great experience in the subject you are studying then this is balanced on perhaps a lesser exam grade. From what I have heard Edinburgh uni just go by exam marks but St Andrew’s take everything into account. Also, people getting in with a slightly lower exam grade (but with good experience) does NOT reflect on the prestige and quality of the university and its professional links to industry and other universities such as Yale or Harvard. St Andrews is one of the best in the world.</p>
<p>Ok, why do you think Americans flock to St Andrew’s (it is the most popular university in the UK with Americans)? It is because it has better links to Yale and Harvard than Oxford or Cambridge has and it is the world’s home for golf. Like one poster said before the American education system was based on Scotland’s system. It is also cheaper than paying for Harvard or Yale (and it also offers certain amounts of financial relief for some students I’ve heard studying away from the states).</p>
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