<p>OK, the Hogwarts thread reminded me of this question, haha. I was wondering if anyone knew about this university. It really does interest me a lot. I sent for information and was pretty impressed. I won't be able to go and look though probably until next summer (we've got Germany this summer). I was just wondering how it would compare to American universities, admission requirements, difficulty to get in, etc.</p>
<p>A friend's D is a freshman there this year. She loves it & does quite a bit of traveling in Europe during off times. She was comparing to northeast LACs last year & is now glad she chose St Andrews.</p>
<p>What would be an acceptable GPA/SAT for admission, do you think?</p>
<p>I would think similar to top schools here. International schools don't look at ECs at all, and the essays are about academics. I think that while Edinburgh is the top rated school in Scotland, St. Andrews is the hardest to get into, because it's the smallest. The admissions standards differ with the major you apply to, also. Remember (or maybe you never knew) that with British schools you apply to a certain program within a school, like International Relations or English/Psychology for instance. Some are harder, like IR. </p>
<p>There is definitely less freedom in terms of getting a broad liberal arts education in any British school. Scottish schools like St. Andrews offer much more flexibility than schools in England but are still much much more focused on a student's chosen major. So you basically better know what you want to do. </p>
<p>Also, the academic environment is different. Professors tend to teach less and students are much more independent in terms of their studies. If you are the kind that prefers a more structured class environment, like me, you may dislike this part.</p>
<p>St. Andrews to put it bluntly is a a pleasant and venerable campus university, the kind of place where they don't steal the spoons. It was quite obscure, though perfectly respectable, until Prince William turned up: then it suddenly started to climb up some of the league tables, which tells you a lot about some league tables...Killer question: how many Nobel prize winners/presidents/famous scholars has it produced or housed?</p>
<p>I'm considering applying to St. Andrews, I've heard a 1300-50 is usually going to be at the very least where you need to be</p>
<p>i know a girl who's going there in the fall, i'm not entirely familiar w/ her stats, but i'd guess 1320ish sat1's and approx 4.0w gpa.</p>
<p>nothing great, but not too shabby.</p>
<p>St Andrews must have the best PR organisation in the USA! It's a good university, but there are probably at least ten other institutions more highly regarded here in the UK. I don't know what St Andrews does, but somehow it has become extremely overrated in the US.</p>
<p>Thomas_Hitchings...I believe much of it is attributable to a certain young prince, that and the fact that they have a special app for US students so they don't have to deal with the unfamiliarity of UCAS.</p>
<p>The whole William thing is funny actually, because that totally put me off applying to St. Andrews, despite the fact that I love the place and, as it happens, they have extremely well-regarded research going on in the exact field I'm interested in. C'est la vie, I suppose (and there's always graduate school).</p>
<p>A very thorough advertising campaign in the United States is what does it. At my school (Stuyvesant), the biggest poster or ad that any school has hanging does not belong to an American school but to St. Andrew's,</p>
<p>I got in with a 1350 SAT, took 4 AP classes, and sent my SAT II scores. GPA is a 4.12. I'll be going next year!</p>
<p>I applied to St'Andrews for Math-Psychology and got in. I think it's a really awesome university, and you should have a great education there. But I am going to UVA this fall.</p>
<p>good luck at UVa</p>
<p>The reason St. Andrews is of special interest is that the schools in England (like Oxbridge) aren't compatible with the American system. Their high school is one year longer, and college is three years, while the Scotland system llines up with us better. And seeing as how St. Andrews is the smallest top school in Scotland, asnd comparable in size to most medium-size U.S. unviersities, it seems to appeal the most. Plus, Tiger Woods loves it there...the golf course that is</p>
<p>I've heard sooo much about the golf course - if i am not mistaken, my teacher told me it's the first golf course built in the UK?</p>
<p>It was where golf was invented</p>
<p>My d heard about it because she's a Scottish Highland dancer and was interested in spending some time in Scotland. One of the American schools on her original list (Arcadia U, I think) allow students to spend a yr at St. Andrews. Sounded like a great opportunity to me.</p>
<p>I'm only considering scottish universities (overseas wise) because england really just doesn't compare well with our system. I'm also considering university of aberdeen (more scottish feel), edinburgh and glasgow.</p>
<p>That's another reason a lot of people have heard of St. Andrews.</p>
<p>A good number of American schools have programs where students spend time there.</p>
<p>See, I would love to go to St. Andrews. I just really don't think I have the stats to get in.</p>
<p>Plus, I'm still not quite sure what I want to go into, so I'm not sure if the straight UK university is for me - even though I would so love to attend. </p>
<p>I've also considered U of Wales...a lot because of their pretty amazing library.</p>