Help me prep for St Andrews visit

[Anonymous]

D has an unconditional offer. We are going to visit towards the end of April. I have signed us up for one of the regular tours with the admissions office and we will spend two days in St. Andrews. I would very much welcome any advice or insight that current or past parents have. Anything specific I should be asking or looking for? Open to any/all suggestions!

[Anonymous]

Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

NP - are you saying the dining hall food is bad so try local fare instead?

[Anonymous]

Join the FB St Andrews parent’s page. It’s a great resource and way less drama than other parent pages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

NP - are you saying the dining hall food is bad so try local fare instead?

Not saying it is bad, just different. Don’t expect your typical buffet style US university dining hall. You can see what the menus look like on a weekly basis here - https://mainhalls.mysaffronportal.com/Menus?page=2

You should expect that you DC may dine out with some level of frequency if they don’t plan to do some cooking for themselves.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thank you for the very helpful suggestions !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

NP - are you saying the dining hall food is bad so try local fare instead?

Not saying it is bad, just different. Don’t expect your typical buffet style US university dining hall. You can see what the menus look like on a weekly basis here - https://mainhalls.mysaffronportal.com/Menus?page=2

You should expect that you DC may dine out with some level of frequency if they don’t plan to do some cooking for themselves.

The menu is 90% carbs??!! It’s nasty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

NP - are you saying the dining hall food is bad so try local fare instead?

Not saying it is bad, just different. Don’t expect your typical buffet style US university dining hall. You can see what the menus look like on a weekly basis here - https://mainhalls.mysaffronportal.com/Menus?page=2

You should expect that you DC may dine out with some level of frequency if they don’t plan to do some cooking for themselves.

The menu is 90% carbs??!! It’s nasty.

Typical Scottish fare, students walk off the calories trudging back and forth between dorms and classes.

But agree it is not for everyone so budget for meal prep or dining out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

NP - are you saying the dining hall food is bad so try local fare instead?

DP. I have no idea why PP said that. I ate it for many meals. It is fine. It is neither gourmet nor home-cooked. As one expects, it is dining hall food similar to the US. Honestly it was better quality food than at my US university dining hall.

[Anonymous]

"The Central" is the unofficial main university pub, so it will have a lot of students and faculty eating and drinking there. I would suggest eating at least one meal there. Try to talk with students about what they like dislike.

At a typical UK pub, one goes to the bar to order one's food and drink. There ordinarily will not be a waiter coming round to collect orders. One typically pays when ordering.

[Anonymous]

The North Haugh dorm complex is pretty modern and towards the edge of town. The whole town is smaller than a large US public u campus though. Worth looking into.

Some of the dorms in town are fairly old. Wide variation in dorms, so look at several different ones if you can.

[Anonymous]

Bring clothing in layers including a waterproof jacket. Weather can be highly variable. Some buildings are warmer than others. Layers let one stay comfortable in a range of temperatures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for St Andrews shuttle. Easiest way to get back and forth to EDI. Town is 3 streets so you can see it in a day. You can get a feel for the dorms which vary greatly from castles to prison shaped structures. Be prepared to walk on uneven ground and small hills. Plenty of places to grab food in pubs and restaurants.

One of the biggest challenges is adapting to dinning hall food if signing up for catered accommodations so trying some of the local fare may be a good idea.

Traffic is usually light but you need to remember to look right, left, right.

NP - are you saying the dining hall food is bad so try local fare instead?

Not saying it is bad, just different. Don’t expect your typical buffet style US university dining hall. You can see what the menus look like on a weekly basis here - https://mainhalls.mysaffronportal.com/Menus?page=2

You should expect that you DC may dine out with some level of frequency if they don’t plan to do some cooking for themselves.

The menu is 90% carbs??!! It’s nasty.

Not nasty, though some dishes are oddly named to an American ear. "Sticky broccoli" is really an asian style stir-fry with meat and broccoli and vegis, for example.

[Anonymous]

Which degree is DC accepted for? That might permit additional feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which degree is DC accepted for? That might permit additional feedback.

BS, Psychology