U of St Andrews - Admissions per State

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the same frustrations that some Americans have with admissions to T20 schools.

DP: I don't think that it's the same at all. St. Andrew accepts less qualified international applicants than their UK students. T20s in the US accept the best applicants in the world -- I don't think international students are more easily accepted than US students. In fact, for the T20 that are need blind for international students, the acceptance rate is often lower than the US acceptance rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

This is very frustrating. I’m from Manchester, and just moved to the US 2 years ago. A lot of Americans here take for granted how difficult it is to get an offer from St Andrew if you are English or Scottish. For most Americans that are applying to Ivy League schools or other schools in the t25 St A is a backup. I realize English unis need foreigners to complement the low tuition paid by locals, but it is infuriating. My son is going to his final year at Exeter. He wanted to go to St Andrews, but was rejected with A* A* A for Management/Econ. Only to come to the US and find out that some Americans get in with just 3 APs at 4 and a 1400 SAT. We should have moved to the US sooner for my son to apply from here. Exeter has been great, but this a little frustrating.

Did he not even get an offer? Or did he get an offer for three A* results?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

This is very frustrating. I’m from Manchester, and just moved to the US 2 years ago. A lot of Americans here take for granted how difficult it is to get an offer from St Andrew if you are English or Scottish. For most Americans that are applying to Ivy League schools or other schools in the t25 St A is a backup. I realize English unis need foreigners to complement the low tuition paid by locals, but it is infuriating. My son is going to his final year at Exeter. He wanted to go to St Andrews, but was rejected with A* A* A for Management/Econ. Only to come to the US and find out that some Americans get in with just 3 APs at 4 and a 1400 SAT. We should have moved to the US sooner for my son to apply from here. Exeter has been great, but this a little frustrating.

Did he not even get an offer? Or did he get an offer for three A* results?

No offer. Straight rejection. And he was not alone. 3 of our friends were in similar situation. Granted, their kids were applying to popular programmes like Classics/History, Economics/Math and IR. All of these 4 kids achieved A* A* A and one was A* A* A*. All rejected. All from Manchester. This is infuriating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

This is very frustrating. I’m from Manchester, and just moved to the US 2 years ago. A lot of Americans here take for granted how difficult it is to get an offer from St Andrew if you are English or Scottish. For most Americans that are applying to Ivy League schools or other schools in the t25 St A is a backup. I realize English unis need foreigners to complement the low tuition paid by locals, but it is infuriating. My son is going to his final year at Exeter. He wanted to go to St Andrews, but was rejected with A* A* A for Management/Econ. Only to come to the US and find out that some Americans get in with just 3 APs at 4 and a 1400 SAT. We should have moved to the US sooner for my son to apply from here. Exeter has been great, but this a little frustrating.

Did he not even get an offer? Or did he get an offer for three A* results?

No offer. Straight rejection. And he was not alone. 3 of our friends were in similar situation. Granted, their kids were applying to popular programmes like Classics/History, Economics/Math and IR. All of these 4 kids achieved A* A* A and one was A* A* A*. All rejected. All from Manchester. This is infuriating.

That is frustrating. I've read that many admissions officers don't trust predicted grades and make decisions based on GCSEs, and that many/ most kids like this in the UK -- without great offers but with great A levels -- take a gap year and reapply with joy. But if a kid doesn't have exciting plans, a gap year can be long . . . .

[Anonymous]

Quite right. We offered our son the chance to take a gap year for precisely this reason, but he was so upset at the time that he wouldn’t hear of it.
On the bright side, he’s had two wonderful years at Exeter, made a fantastic group of friends, and it does seem to be working out for him. Still, it’s hard not to feel frustrated when I see kids here in the US,kids he could run rings around academically, receiving offers from St Andrews and their parents casually stating it was easy, when he was turned down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at Harvard Westlake's matriculation data.

Zero admits to Oxybridge in three years.

St. Andrews: 75% admit rate. They are willing to go down to as low as 3.2-3.4 GPA range.

In the 3.2-3.4 GPA range, St. Andrews' admit rate is 50%.

This is dated information, and the upward trend of H-W GPAs, applicants and offer rates by GPA tier is pretty extreme if you look across the past several years of data… it’s a microcosm of StA’s growing popularity and selectivity.

Contextually, H-W is one of the very top HS’s in the country and has long been a StA feeder. But they also have grade deflation… it’d be very interesting to see their related SAT and AP scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

If you dont mind me asking how are both of your Oxford and St Andrews kids doing? And is your 3rd one enjoying Northwestern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

This is very frustrating. I’m from Manchester, and just moved to the US 2 years ago. A lot of Americans here take for granted how difficult it is to get an offer from St Andrew if you are English or Scottish. For most Americans that are applying to Ivy League schools or other schools in the t25 St A is a backup. I realize English unis need foreigners to complement the low tuition paid by locals, but it is infuriating. My son is going to his final year at Exeter. He wanted to go to St Andrews, but was rejected with A* A* A for Management/Econ. Only to come to the US and find out that some Americans get in with just 3 APs at 4 and a 1400 SAT. We should have moved to the US sooner for my son to apply from here. Exeter has been great, but this a little frustrating.

Did he not even get an offer? Or did he get an offer for three A* results?

No offer. Straight rejection. And he was not alone. 3 of our friends were in similar situation. Granted, their kids were applying to popular programmes like Classics/History, Economics/Math and IR. All of these 4 kids achieved A* A* A and one was A* A* A*. All rejected. All from Manchester. This is infuriating.

What are people in the UK doing with classics degrees for it to be so popular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

This is very frustrating. I’m from Manchester, and just moved to the US 2 years ago. A lot of Americans here take for granted how difficult it is to get an offer from St Andrew if you are English or Scottish. For most Americans that are applying to Ivy League schools or other schools in the t25 St A is a backup. I realize English unis need foreigners to complement the low tuition paid by locals, but it is infuriating. My son is going to his final year at Exeter. He wanted to go to St Andrews, but was rejected with A* A* A for Management/Econ. Only to come to the US and find out that some Americans get in with just 3 APs at 4 and a 1400 SAT. We should have moved to the US sooner for my son to apply from here. Exeter has been great, but this a little frustrating.

Did he not even get an offer? Or did he get an offer for three A* results?

No offer. Straight rejection. And he was not alone. 3 of our friends were in similar situation. Granted, their kids were applying to popular programmes like Classics/History, Economics/Math and IR. All of these 4 kids achieved A* A* A and one was A* A* A*. All rejected. All from Manchester. This is infuriating.

What are people in the UK doing with classics degrees for it to be so popular?

Classics is one of the easiest Oxbridge courses to get into, which is part of its appeal. Employers of all kinds like Classics. Many end up in law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I looked at Harvard Westlake's matriculation data.

Zero admits to Oxybridge in three years.

St. Andrews: 75% admit rate. They are willing to go down to as low as 3.2-3.4 GPA range.

In the 3.2-3.4 GPA range, St. Andrews' admit rate is 50%.

This is dated information, and the upward trend of H-W GPAs, applicants and offer rates by GPA tier is pretty extreme if you look across the past several years of data… it’s a microcosm of StA’s growing popularity and selectivity.

Contextually, H-W is one of the very top HS’s in the country and has long been a StA feeder. But they also have grade deflation… it’d be very interesting to see their related SAT and AP scores.

According to its own school profile, half of H-W’s graduating class in 2024 had a GPA of 4.0 or higher and a 3.2 to 3.4 is very near the bottom of the class. H-W is no more immune to grade inflation than any other school.

[Anonymous]

Also, assuming a 50 percent yield, which is assuming a lot, in 2023 there were 2200 USA applications and 471 enrollees. That suggests an acceptance rate of 50% if not more.

The reason why California and New York combined have 1/3 of the enrolled students is because the two states combined have about 1/5 of the entire US population. And the reason why there are so many from Connecticut is because of boarding schools. As for DC nobody from DC public schools is going to Saint Andrews — it’s rich people from the top private schools choosing to go after not getting into a top USA private university.

St Andrew’s is a good school for sure, but let’s not get carried away. It’s not in the same league as the top USA privates and isn’t nearly as competitive in admissions either — for American applicants at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, assuming a 50 percent yield, which is assuming a lot, in 2023 there were 2200 USA applications and 471 enrollees. That suggests an acceptance rate of 50% if not more.

The reason why California and New York combined have 1/3 of the enrolled students is because the two states combined have about 1/5 of the entire US population. And the reason why there are so many from Connecticut is because of boarding schools. As for DC nobody from DC public schools is going to Saint Andrews — it’s rich people from the top private schools choosing to go after not getting into a top USA private university.

St Andrew’s is a good school for sure, but let’s not get carried away. It’s not in the same league as the top USA privates and isn’t nearly as competitive in admissions either — for American applicants at least.

What is your source for "2023 there were 2200 USA applications and 471 enrollees" ? Seems off.

St Andrews is definitely easier to get into for Americans, but very competitive for UK students. Graduate prospectus is very good. Brown/Dartmouth/Wesleyan are comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, assuming a 50 percent yield, which is assuming a lot, in 2023 there were 2200 USA applications and 471 enrollees. That suggests an acceptance rate of 50% if not more.

The reason why California and New York combined have 1/3 of the enrolled students is because the two states combined have about 1/5 of the entire US population. And the reason why there are so many from Connecticut is because of boarding schools. As for DC nobody from DC public schools is going to Saint Andrews — it’s rich people from the top private schools choosing to go after not getting into a top USA private university.

St Andrew’s is a good school for sure, but let’s not get carried away. It’s not in the same league as the top USA privates and isn’t nearly as competitive in admissions either — for American applicants at least.

What is your source for "2023 there were 2200 USA applications and 471 enrollees" ? Seems off.

St Andrews is definitely easier to get into for Americans, but very competitive for UK students. Graduate prospectus is very good. Brown/Dartmouth/Wesleyan are comparable.

No way -- for American students, St Andrews is a MUCH easier admit than Wesleyan and a MUCH MUCH easier admit than Brown or Dartmouth. Great school, so smart Americans who get shut out of top US schools are wise to look there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

How did they get into Northwestern as an international student? Did they seek financial aid? Which extracurricular activities did they have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is there and LOVES it. The high number of CT acceptances reflects the high number of boarding school kids.
Most of my son's friends are Americans (about 60%-ish) but his flat mate is European and so is his girlfriend (British -gulp!)
It is a fantastic place for an independent, adventurous kid. It is academically rigourous- hard to get into from the US but Ivy-level difficult from the UK and Scotland.

I’m sorry but St Andrews is absolutely not Ivy level difficult from the UK. I should know, I went there.

So did I. I dont know how long ago you were there. But over the last few years the UCAS tariff is the highest in the UK. So yes, it is a tough admit for RUK and for the Scottish even more difficult. It is much easier for Americans and international. So yes, from a pure comparison point of view, it is one of the most difficult unis in the UK to get admitted to if your are RUK or Scottish.

Yes, that’s correct. I have three children. My eldest two applied to St Andrews, and my youngest is currently at Northwestern. We’re based in London, and all three attended boarding school.
My eldest achieved A*A*A and was accepted to St Andrews in 2016, although rejected by Oxford. 6 years later in 2022, my second applied with A*A*A* in the same subject, was rejected by St Andrews but offered a place at Oxford. My youngest didn’t perform quite as well on his A levels. He received AAA in his A-levels and chose instead to focus on American universities, preparing for the SAT and related applications. He is now in his second year at Northwestern.

It is frustrating for RUK applicants that international students appear to gain admission to St Andrews with relative ease, while our children are expected to achieve near perfect results. It’s important to remember that St Andrews is a small university, with a first-year intake of only around 2,000 students. Of those, approximately 900 places are allocated to international students, leaving around 1,100 for Scottish and RUK applicants combined. That split is roughly 50/50, meaning only about 550 places on average are available for RUK students. The competition is incredibly fierce. So the entry grades for the most popular courses are very high.

How did they get into Northwestern as an international student? Did they seek financial aid? Which extracurricular activities did they have?

There is no “they.” It is him. My son scored 1590 on the SAT and 36 on the ACT, one sitting each time. He found both tests super easy. And yet, he had the lowest A-levels of my three children. He applied for financial aid and was given close to 50%. They are need aware for international students, but they gave us exactly what we needed to make it work. Most of his extracurriculars were sports, and in his final year here he was lucky enough to work with an economics professor at UCL.