University of Edinburgh, Glasgow or St. Andrews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
"What do you mean be specific feeders?"

I am this poster and I meant Oxford at Emory or BU asks you to do a year at community college, Syracuse has some Wells college that they may ask you to start in...I am sure many more prestigious schools have specific feeders like these. These are just a handful that I am aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

+1.

Current St Andrews student, for reference, here are some of the American schools which my American St Andrews peers & I got into:

NYU, UC Berkeley, USC, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Williams College, Boston College, UVA, Hamilton, Haverford, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, William & Mary, GWU, Connecticut College, Colorado College

People on DCUM act like we couldn't get in anywhere else, but every American I know here was a competitive candidate with 1400+ SATs or high 30s ACTs. Lots of my friends got near perfect scores on these.

Was every American here also getting into Dartmouth/Cornell? No, but some were. Many more of my peers were on Ivy waitlists. The biggest acceptance overlap, anecdotally, is NYU. I've met lots of kids who also got into NYU, and were choosing between there and St Andrews.

If you're a parent/student considering St A, I'm happy to answer questions, I can share the good and the bad, because there's definitely both aspects, but overall it's a great experience both in academics and student life.

Good for you, but I am the poster who knows a family whose kids go to Saint Andrews and they would not have gotten into any of the schools you just listed. Sorry. You don’t know everyone who attends your school.

Hmm. Poster who knows a family with kids at St. Andrews versus a current student. I wonder who has a better grasp of the quality of the American students there. Maybe it’s not you?

The “current student” doesn’t know the grades and GPAs and college acceptances of every one of their American classmates, and if she does that makes her super weird. My only point is that I know for an absolute fact that there are kids in St Andrews from the US who were absolutely not candidates for admission to any of the top universities that the “current student” mentions.

Good lord...give it a rest. Who cares that you know students who attend St Andrews that didn't get into better schools, that's not exactly relevant or helpful input to this discussion. Of course the current student doesn't know everyones admission stats, but neither do you and WGAF!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

+1.

Current St Andrews student, for reference, here are some of the American schools which my American St Andrews peers & I got into:

NYU, UC Berkeley, USC, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Williams College, Boston College, UVA, Hamilton, Haverford, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, William & Mary, GWU, Connecticut College, Colorado College

People on DCUM act like we couldn't get in anywhere else, but every American I know here was a competitive candidate with 1400+ SATs or high 30s ACTs. Lots of my friends got near perfect scores on these.

Was every American here also getting into Dartmouth/Cornell? No, but some were. Many more of my peers were on Ivy waitlists. The biggest acceptance overlap, anecdotally, is NYU. I've met lots of kids who also got into NYU, and were choosing between there and St Andrews.

If you're a parent/student considering St A, I'm happy to answer questions, I can share the good and the bad, because there's definitely both aspects, but overall it's a great experience both in academics and student life.

I have quetions about classwork/homework. we understand that there are few hours of classes a week and then some tutorials with limited number of kids and a good amount of reading each week. we also understand that there is a good amount of self study. what about writing assignments? kid has some ADHD issues, has improved and does well in DCPS high school (including AP classes) but intense writing homework (ie 30 pages essays weekly) may be a challenge. also, a big assignment at the end of the semester instead of smaller graded assignments throughout the semester may also be a problem. it seems like the latter seems to be the case but it is not completely clear. can you make an example of one of your classes (maybe first year). how was the worload, how many graded assignments, how the final grade was determined and so on. i understand there is not a lot of support for kids with learning issues but I wonder if you know of students with ADHD issues and how they are doing. this is a major issue for us as US option would be much more cuddling (even though our kid seems to like StA better) thanks

[Anonymous]

Uni should accept a letter from your psychiatrist outlining supports that you dc might need. We got 1.5 times on exams, and extra time for assignment submissions. Uni also provided an executive coach. Talk to disability services to learn the process. My DC with adhd graduated in 4 years. The student needs to self advocate and be responsible. Also, meds are free in Scotland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

+1.

Current St Andrews student, for reference, here are some of the American schools which my American St Andrews peers & I got into:

NYU, UC Berkeley, USC, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Williams College, Boston College, UVA, Hamilton, Haverford, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, William & Mary, GWU, Connecticut College, Colorado College

People on DCUM act like we couldn't get in anywhere else, but every American I know here was a competitive candidate with 1400+ SATs or high 30s ACTs. Lots of my friends got near perfect scores on these.

Was every American here also getting into Dartmouth/Cornell? No, but some were. Many more of my peers were on Ivy waitlists. The biggest acceptance overlap, anecdotally, is NYU. I've met lots of kids who also got into NYU, and were choosing between there and St Andrews.

If you're a parent/student considering St A, I'm happy to answer questions, I can share the good and the bad, because there's definitely both aspects, but overall it's a great experience both in academics and student life.

I have quetions about classwork/homework. we understand that there are few hours of classes a week and then some tutorials with limited number of kids and a good amount of reading each week. we also understand that there is a good amount of self study. what about writing assignments? kid has some ADHD issues, has improved and does well in DCPS high school (including AP classes) but intense writing homework (ie 30 pages essays weekly) may be a challenge. also, a big assignment at the end of the semester instead of smaller graded assignments throughout the semester may also be a problem. it seems like the latter seems to be the case but it is not completely clear. can you make an example of one of your classes (maybe first year). how was the worload, how many graded assignments, how the final grade was determined and so on. i understand there is not a lot of support for kids with learning issues but I wonder if you know of students with ADHD issues and how they are doing. this is a major issue for us as US option would be much more cuddling (even though our kid seems to like StA better) thanks

Current student. This depends a lot on DC's executive function levels—if few major assignments is going to pose a major issue (versus many, spread out assignments), and if DC isn't inclined to reach out for academic skills programmes (ASPs), office hours, stay engaged with class material—St Andrews isn't going to be a good fit.

But there are lots of resources available (academic skills programmes, office hours, support centres) and accommodations for ADHD, disabilities that one can take advantage of. But no, you're definitely not coddled like at an American university, and no one at St Andrews is going to chase you down to do your work, no "academic advisor" in the sense of an American college. Student Services at St Andrews has a lot to offer, but you have to seek it out. "Uni also provided an executive coach" from the above commenter is interesting, I didn't know that!

Like at any American college or in any major US metro area, many American students at St Andrews have ADHD diagnoses and adderall prescriptions, and many ADHD-diagnosed students here doing just fine.

What I will say, like the above commenter mentioned, is to make sure you have your diagnoses, make sure you have good med prescriptions (i.e. good fit with the meds if your DC needs them).

That way you can ask for extra time, disability accommodations, etc. and also your DC won't be needing to adjust meds when in a different country.

What I'll add also is that at St Andrews, your first two years' worth of grades are not included in your final grade classification, so that students can explore different subjects. Only the last two years of grades are included in your final degree classification. Also, the grade at which one fails is much lower during the first two years of uni. So the adjustment period to university life is more lenient than the latter two years.

[Anonymous]

My child also has ADHD, and has accommodations (time and a half on exams and assignments, if required). She's had to write a couple of 10+ page papers, but it seems to be about one or two a semester. As another poster mentioned, students have to be pretty disciplined and self-motivated. There is no one checking in on them to make sure they are okay, that they are going to class, that assignments are being completed. My child failed one test and had to drop the class. No make ups, no extra credit opportunities provided. But because the first two years of grades don't count towards their final degree classification, there's time to figure it all out. At mid-year, mine had a 15 or 16, which is on track for an upper second class. That was pretty reassuring.

[Anonymous]

Which degrees/majors are good at which of these unis ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which degrees/majors are good at which of these unis ?

This entirely depends. But any major offered at any of these unis will be within a research intensive department offering study in that discipline up to the PhD level. This is true of Edi, Glasgow, and St Andrews.

If you're American and want to practice medicine in the US, I wouldn't recommend studying in the UK. But beyond that, the world's your oyster. Even if you want to practice law in the states, you could do undergrad in the UK and then JD in the US.

My experience is with St Andrews, which offers high-quality teaching in lots of areas, but some of the subjects it is most well known for include: International Relations (top in UK, teaching it for a long time), Philosophy, Physics (esp Astrophysics), Art History, Economics, History (esp Mediaeval History), English, Classics.


The Guardian ranks universities by subject: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2022/sep/24/the-guardian-university-guide-2023-the-rankings

St Andrews does not have fine arts, law, or most engineering, but Glasgow and Edinburgh will have all of those, as they are much larger universities. 10k at St Andrews, 26k at Glasgow, 40k at Edinburgh. Both of these should be good for law, as would University of Dundee. U of Dundee was a branch of St Andrews until the 1960s, and St Andrews located their law, engineering, etc there in Dundee, thus, when U of Dundee became an independent institution, St Andrews lost law and engineering.

But the best school for engineering in Scotland is actually Strathclyde University in Glasgow. And the best for art in Scotland is the Glasgow School of Art, not affiliated with U of G.

But as with anything, look into the program your DC is interested in, research it at each university, get the view book, ask questions, visit open days and campus tours. Perform your own due dilligence.

[Anonymous]

Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

This is the most antiquated take. The poster has clearly not stepped foot anywhere near Glasgow, Edinburgh, or St Andrews in recent years.

[Anonymous]

Re: employers - my dc works at tech mega unicorn. They are degree snobs. Dc graduated from Edi, and a colleague comes from St.A, one of eng chiefs is from Edi, ect. I think there are about 10 employees with degrees from Scotland.

[Anonymous]

I will never ever ever understand all of the hand wringing about being an American abroad that I see on Twitter, DCUM, TikTok and other social media platforms. I posted above about going to Edinburgh for grad school. Idk if some of you just haven’t traveled out of the country in a while or went to these schools 50 years ago but I cannot tell you how diverse they are. There were more Chinese students than Scots in my program! No one is getting robbed or talked about behind their back for being an American, the education is great, the life experiences are even better. I feel like I lived an alternate universe from some of the posters above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

This is the most antiquated take. The poster has clearly not stepped foot anywhere near Glasgow, Edinburgh, or St Andrews in recent years.

Except I still spend a lot of time in Scotland, have relatives at all 3 schools and didn’t leave Scotland all that long ago myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

Agree with this take completely, as someone who was educated partially in Europe.