Tell me about St Andrews in Scotland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:St Andrews is the third best university in Scotland after Edinburgh and Glasgow. They have a very clever marketing strategy that targets gullible Americans and tries to convince them, successfully by the sounds of it, that St Andrews is in the same league as Cambridge and Oxford. The reality is, they are in a similar league to University of York and Bristol…ie 10-15 in the Uk.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm always a little concerned when I see parents thinking of sending their children to universities abroad. It is a long-term commitment. The best universities in America offer arguably the best undergraduate education, and at least for job prospects (particularly in North America), a U.S. degree will get you farther. I know it's not popular to say these kinds of things (I feel like I need to say that I am not remotely near a MAGA head), but I feel like it warrants mention.

Do you have stats to back that up? At. Andrew’s rivals good US universities.

What gives you the impression that St. Andrews rivals "good US universities"? It would be lucky to be placed in the top 75 or so if it were plopped in the States.

The Guardian ranks it #2 in the UK, ahead of Cambridge: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2020/sep/05/the-best-uk-universities-2021-league-table

Do you not realize that the Guardian is a tabloid that can be bought? No one cites it for serious material. It’s like citing People Magazine

[Anonymous]

The St Andrews haters have returned. Here is a recent ranking that places Them as the number 1 school in Scotland and number 4 in the UK - https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings

[Anonymous]

Our kid is going to St Andrews next year and they chose it over TWO top 20-30 options in the US that each cost over 85K per year.

At 45K a year maybe we can help our kid pay for grad school. We are delighted. The only way we would pay 90 K is for an Ivy and sadly our high stats unconnected kid did not get in. So off to Scotland they go... and it will be great!!

[Anonymous]

A number of kids in the DC area are going to St Andrews either 4 years outright or as part of W&Ms JDP program where you do 2 years at St Andrews and 2 at W&M.

Had DC graduate from the JDP Program recently St Andrews provides a great education. But there is a difference between a UK and US from an academic standpoint. UK has fewer graded assignments and kids are required to do more reading and work outside of class on their own.

Grades in first 2 years don’t count for your degree classification but you must meet minimums in certain modules (classes) to advance to honours (junior and senior) years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm always a little concerned when I see parents thinking of sending their children to universities abroad. It is a long-term commitment. The best universities in America offer arguably the best undergraduate education, and at least for job prospects (particularly in North America), a U.S. degree will get you farther. I know it's not popular to say these kinds of things (I feel like I need to say that I am not remotely near a MAGA head), but I feel like it warrants mention.

Do you have stats to back that up? At. Andrew’s rivals good US universities.

What gives you the impression that St. Andrews rivals "good US universities"? It would be lucky to be placed in the top 75 or so if it were plopped in the States.

The Guardian ranks it #2 in the UK, ahead of Cambridge: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2020/sep/05/the-best-uk-universities-2021-league-table

Do you not realize that the Guardian is a tabloid that can be bought? No one cites it for serious material. It’s like citing People Magazine

The Guardian is a respected broadsheet, along with The Times, The Telegraph and the now defunct The Independent.
The UK Tabloids are The mirror, The sun, the daily mail - otherwise known as "red tops"

[Anonymous]

Whatever it takes for people to believe they’re getting a cut price Ivy. Speaking as someone who was brought up close to St Andrew’s and went to Oxford, you are completely delusional if you think St Andrews is in any way comparable to Oxbridge. Decent university but Edinburgh is considerably better, as are LSE and Imperial College. They may be top 10 but that’s the equivalent of a top 100 school over here, with the top 2 being Ivy League level.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a current St Andrews student here. I think it's a fantastic school, and it's been ranked higher than Edinburgh, LSE, and Imperial for the past 4 years. You can dismiss it all you want, but in every UK ranking it is in the top 3. Now, do I think it's a cut-price Ivy? Of course not. I do, however, think it's miles better than many of the top 50 US schools. It's a different academic model, and it's not a research university, so it's hard to compare apples to apples. But I have a another student at a top 50 US university and I can tell you that the academic rigor at St Andrews is much higher than at the US school. If you don't have first-hand experience with a student at St Andrews or if you are basing your opinions on some vague impression from 25 years ago, I would take your comments with a shovelful of salt. But please, haters, keep on hating. I'd rather keep St Andrews a secret for a bit longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current St Andrews student here. I think it's a fantastic school, and it's been ranked higher than Edinburgh, LSE, and Imperial for the past 4 years. You can dismiss it all you want, but in every UK ranking it is in the top 3. Now, do I think it's a cut-price Ivy? Of course not. I do, however, think it's miles better than many of the top 50 US schools. It's a different academic model, and it's not a research university, so it's hard to compare apples to apples. But I have an another student at a top 50 US university and I can tell you that the academic rigor at St Andrews is much higher than at the US school. If you don't have first-hand experience with a student at St Andrews or if you are basing your opinions on some vague impression from 25 years ago, I would take your comments with a shovelful of salt. But please, haters, keep on hating. I'd rather keep St Andrews a secret for a bit longer.

The academic rigor of any top 20 British university is considerably greater than most American universities, I will give you that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current St Andrews student here. I think it's a fantastic school, and it's been ranked higher than Edinburgh, LSE, and Imperial for the past 4 years. You can dismiss it all you want, but in every UK ranking it is in the top 3. Now, do I think it's a cut-price Ivy? Of course not. I do, however, think it's miles better than many of the top 50 US schools. It's a different academic model, and it's not a research university, so it's hard to compare apples to apples. But I have an another student at a top 50 US university and I can tell you that the academic rigor at St Andrews is much higher than at the US school. If you don't have first-hand experience with a student at St Andrews or if you are basing your opinions on some vague impression from 25 years ago, I would take your comments with a shovelful of salt. But please, haters, keep on hating. I'd rather keep St Andrews a secret for a bit longer.

The academic rigor of any top 20 British university is considerably greater than most American universities, I will give you that.

NP well if you give her that, then why slag St Andrews at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever it takes for people to believe they’re getting a cut price Ivy. Speaking as someone who was brought up close to St Andrew’s and went to Oxford, you are completely delusional if you think St Andrews is in any way comparable to Oxbridge. Decent university but Edinburgh is considerably better, as are LSE and Imperial College. They may be top 10 but that’s the equivalent of a top 100 school over here, with the top 2 being Ivy League level.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm always a little concerned when I see parents thinking of sending their children to universities abroad. It is a long-term commitment. The best universities in America offer arguably the best undergraduate education, and at least for job prospects (particularly in North America), a U.S. degree will get you farther. I know it's not popular to say these kinds of things (I feel like I need to say that I am not remotely near a MAGA head), but I feel like it warrants mention.

Do you have stats to back that up? At. Andrew’s rivals good US universities.

What gives you the impression that St. Andrews rivals "good US universities"? It would be lucky to be placed in the top 75 or so if it were plopped in the States.

The Guardian ranks it #2 in the UK, ahead of Cambridge: https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2020/sep/05/the-best-uk-universities-2021-league-table

Do you not realize that the Guardian is a tabloid that can be bought? No one cites it for serious material. It’s like citing People Magazine

The Guardian is a respected broadsheet, along with The Times, The Telegraph and the now defunct The Independent.
The UK Tabloids are The mirror, The sun, the daily mail - otherwise known as "red tops"

Believe what you must. Ask any Brit about this Guardian ranking and they will laugh you out of the pub

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current St Andrews student here. I think it's a fantastic school, and it's been ranked higher than Edinburgh, LSE, and Imperial for the past 4 years. You can dismiss it all you want, but in every UK ranking it is in the top 3. Now, do I think it's a cut-price Ivy? Of course not. I do, however, think it's miles better than many of the top 50 US schools. It's a different academic model, and it's not a research university, so it's hard to compare apples to apples. But I have an another student at a top 50 US university and I can tell you that the academic rigor at St Andrews is much higher than at the US school. If you don't have first-hand experience with a student at St Andrews or if you are basing your opinions on some vague impression from 25 years ago, I would take your comments with a shovelful of salt. But please, haters, keep on hating. I'd rather keep St Andrews a secret for a bit longer.

The academic rigor of any top 20 British university is considerably greater than most American universities, I will give you that.

NP well if you give her that, then why slag St Andrews at all?

I wasn’t slagging it off at all, it’s a good school. It is not a great school though, more like bottom end of the Uk top 10…which is comparable to a mid tier school over here. St Andrews is the equivalent of a William and Mary or a Lehigh. It cleverly markets itself to Americans as this amazing university but, honestly, it is very few British students first choice - it is incredibly small and relatively remote. Edinburgh, Bristol, Durham, York, Imperial College, LSE - all more appealing to British students. And as for Oxbridge? So far in the distance it’s not even visible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current St Andrews student here. I think it's a fantastic school, and it's been ranked higher than Edinburgh, LSE, and Imperial for the past 4 years. You can dismiss it all you want, but in every UK ranking it is in the top 3. Now, do I think it's a cut-price Ivy? Of course not. I do, however, think it's miles better than many of the top 50 US schools. It's a different academic model, and it's not a research university, so it's hard to compare apples to apples. But I have an another student at a top 50 US university and I can tell you that the academic rigor at St Andrews is much higher than at the US school. If you don't have first-hand experience with a student at St Andrews or if you are basing your opinions on some vague impression from 25 years ago, I would take your comments with a shovelful of salt. But please, haters, keep on hating. I'd rather keep St Andrews a secret for a bit longer.

The academic rigor of any top 20 British university is considerably greater than most American universities, I will give you that.

NP well if you give her that, then why slag St Andrews at all?

I wasn’t slagging it off at all, it’s a good school. It is not a great school though, more like bottom end of the Uk top 10…which is comparable to a mid tier school over here. St Andrews is the equivalent of a William and Mary or a Lehigh. It cleverly markets itself to Americans as this amazing university but, honestly, it is very few British students first choice - it is incredibly small and relatively remote. Edinburgh, Bristol, Durham, York, Imperial College, LSE - all more appealing to British students. And as for Oxbridge? So far in the distance it’s not even visible.

+1. The strange thing is that Americans don’t understand the prestige of Imperial College. It’s much more highly sought after than St Andrews but never mentioned here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever it takes for people to believe they’re getting a cut price Ivy. Speaking as someone who was brought up close to St Andrew’s and went to Oxford, you are completely delusional if you think St Andrews is in any way comparable to Oxbridge. Decent university but Edinburgh is considerably better, as are LSE and Imperial College. They may be top 10 but that’s the equivalent of a top 100 school over here, with the top 2 being Ivy League level.

+1