<p>So I am applying to St Andrews, but I'm not exactly clear on what kind of academic environment it has. I like the idea of going to college abroad and experiencing the UK first hand. I am very intellectual and looking for a challenging curriculum and a great education. I have a 4.36 weighted GPA and a 2380 on the SAT. I think my first choice is the University of Chicago, but if I got a scholarship to St Andrews would it be worth it?</p>
<p>No, go to Chicago instead. I spent a year as a grad student at St. Andrews. The town is very isolated and the unstructured "classes" seemed to be a waste of time.</p>
<p>Chicago>>>St Andrews..</p>
<p>You can get a golf pass as a St A student for a few hundred $$$/yr to play the city courses (which of course includes the Home of Golf). That's the only reason I'd choose Scotland over U of C. Go to Hyde Park if you can.</p>
<p>St Andrews is an excellent university! It is quite different from American colleges, but offers a phenomenal education nonetheless. The town of St Andrews is pretty small, but beautiful and quaint. Plus, Scotland has great public transportation. Cities such as Dundee and Edinburgh are quite close and very easy to get to.</p>
<p>Well, compared to most if not all of the other posters, I actually attended the University of St. Andrews as a regular undergraduate student, not a study abroad student or a graduate student...</p>
<p>What are you interested in studying? U Chicago and the University of St. Andrews are very different places.</p>
<p>Your post makes me think that the University of St. Andrews (and perhaps none of the Universities in the UK) are a good match because the system in the UK requires one to choose a field and master it. There is little opportunity to take classes outside of your field of study. In other words, you won't find the well-rounded, balanced curriculum that you would find at a prestigious American university such as U of C. I left St. Andrews for this very reason.</p>
<p>I recommend that you look at schools in the US if you seek a challenging, well -balanced curriculum.</p>
<p>Otherwise, St. Andrews is a very nice place and it isn't that isolated if you are willing to make the effort to get away. Academics depend on course of study and level of study. You may wish to consider study abroad there.</p>
<p>St. Andrews is long and fairly expensive cab ride away from the nearest train station. The students I knew rarely left town, which increased the claustrophobia. The dorm food was amazingly bad, too. I was on the university-wide dorm council, and the undergrads were always complaining about the fact that the heat in their dorms was shut off at night. Noct, did they shut off the heat when you were there?</p>
<p>I only lived in dorms for half of the year. I believe that you are correct and that they shut the heat off at night or at least for most of it.</p>
<p>St. Andrews is a bit far from the nearest train station, but there is a bus which runs rather frequently. If you can split the fare with a few other people, it's even cheaper to take a cab. I left St. Andrews for Edinburgh or Dundee at least once a week. It wasn't difficult, but there were times when I arrived back in Leuchars (the town with the train station) so late that the bus had stopped running. I managed to catch a ride with someone who had a car or who was being picked up most of the time, but there were a few times I had to make the ~3 mile walk in the cold.</p>
<p>Dorm food is notoriously bad, but you can choose to live in apartment style dorms where you cook for yourself. I think that living in a non-university owned apartment or house is probably the wisest choice, but it's not for everyone.</p>