Tell me about St Andrews in Scotland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:St Andrews must be doing something right - Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of St Andrews, has been elected as the next President of Universities UK (UUK).

The role runs for two academic years from 1 August 2023 and is elected through a ballot of UUK’s 140 members.

She was educated at Oxford and held leadership positions at Oxford before moving to St Andrews.

Exactly. the leadership exchanges between St Andrews and Oxford speak for themselves. Louise Richardson went from leading St Andrews to leading Oxford. Mapstone went from number 2 spot at Oxford to leading St Andrews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question for the braintrust here, not specifically related to St. Andrews..

I understand that UK universities depend on AP scores and SATs to evaluate students rather than grades.

DS has a mediocre GPA and has scores of 4 and a 5 in AP CS and AP Calc AB. 3s and a 2 (AP Physics 1) in other subjects. 1520 SAT.

AP Stats, Physics C and BC calc on schedule for next year and might end up with 4s in one or more of those.

Which UK universities does he have a fair chance of getting in?

I understand the info. is on each school's websites but wondering if anyone can share their wisdom based on research already done. Thanks!

He will have to apply for a specific course. What would it be? As entry qualifications vary widely by course, without this information no one can really tell you anything.

Computer science or adjacent programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I golf like crazy so I've only been to St Andrews on vacation and for golf reasons, not college reasons, but it's very hard to go to St Andrews and NOT think, man, what a place to go to college! It's really beautiful, grey and gloomy in the winter, I'm sure, although not as cold as NYC where I live.

People on this site have a way of speaking definitively on issues with no basis (the idea that William is considered an ass by brits is a great example).

It's a well ranked college that costs in the 50k and not the 90k neighborhood in a very special town by the sea. Where breaks can be spent in Florence instead of Florida. I have no kid in this race, but you people are crazy not to see the appeal.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I golf like crazy so I've only been to St Andrews on vacation and for golf reasons, not college reasons, but it's very hard to go to St Andrews and NOT think, man, what a place to go to college! It's really beautiful, grey and gloomy in the winter, I'm sure, although not as cold as NYC where I live.

People on this site have a way of speaking definitively on issues with no basis (the idea that William is considered an ass by brits is a great example).

It's a well ranked college that costs in the 50k and not the 90k neighborhood in a very special town by the sea. Where breaks can be spent in Florence instead of Florida. I have no kid in this race, but you people are crazy not to see the appeal.

+1

Times Higher Ed has it at #30 in the UK along with a host of others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2023 Times Education ranks it in joint 30th spot with a few other places

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-uk

Ah yes!

The same global university ranking metrics which rank UW Madison and University of Illinois higher than Brown and Dartmouth. Yup, such metrics rank Manchester higher than St Andrews.

Definitely helpful if you're trying to see which universities have the highest research expenditures. Not even remotely helpful when you're deciding where to go to undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I golf like crazy so I've only been to St Andrews on vacation and for golf reasons, not college reasons, but it's very hard to go to St Andrews and NOT think, man, what a place to go to college! It's really beautiful, grey and gloomy in the winter, I'm sure, although not as cold as NYC where I live.

People on this site have a way of speaking definitively on issues with no basis (the idea that William is considered an ass by brits is a great example).

It's a well ranked college that costs in the 50k and not the 90k neighborhood in a very special town by the sea. Where breaks can be spent in Florence instead of Florida. I have no kid in this race, but you people are crazy not to see the appeal.

+1

Times Higher Ed has it at #30 in the UK along with a host of others

How are global university rankings, basically measuring research expenditure and size, at all useful here?

Times change. St Andrews is now one of the most sought after schools in the UK, as confirmed by its UCAS entry tariffs:

"St Andrews’ entry standards are only one Ucas tariff point lower than the highest in the country at Cambridge."

https://dlv.tnl-uk-uni-guide.gcpp.io/universi...andrews-a0YyN9Z01Dsa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2023 Times Education ranks it in joint 30th spot with a few other places

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-uk

Ah yes!

The same global university ranking metrics which rank UW Madison and University of Illinois higher than Brown and Dartmouth. Yup, such metrics rank Manchester higher than St Andrews.

Definitely helpful if you're trying to see which universities have the highest research expenditures. Not even remotely helpful when you're deciding where to go to undergrad.

Look at it - its not a global list, it's a UK list assessed by a UK publication that's been doing such assessments since time immemorial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2023 Times Education ranks it in joint 30th spot with a few other places

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-uk

Ah yes!

The same global university ranking metrics which rank UW Madison and University of Illinois higher than Brown and Dartmouth. Yup, such metrics rank Manchester higher than St Andrews.

Definitely helpful if you're trying to see which universities have the highest research expenditures. Not even remotely helpful when you're deciding where to go to undergrad.

Look at it - its not a global list, it's a UK list assessed by a UK publication that's been doing such assessments since time immemorial.

This. And no 30 amongst UK schools is about right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2023 Times Education ranks it in joint 30th spot with a few other places

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-uk

Ah yes!

The same global university ranking metrics which rank UW Madison and University of Illinois higher than Brown and Dartmouth. Yup, such metrics rank Manchester higher than St Andrews.

Definitely helpful if you're trying to see which universities have the highest research expenditures. Not even remotely helpful when you're deciding where to go to undergrad.

Look at it - its not a global list, it's a UK list assessed by a UK publication that's been doing such assessments since time immemorial.

Did you read the ranking?

It quite literally extracted all of the UK universities from a global university ranking, hence the global ranking next to the UK ranking. There was no unique methodology other than that.

8 University of Manchester (Globally, =54)
9 University of Bristol (Globally, 76)
10 University of Glasgow (Globally, =82)
11 University of Warwick (Globally, =104)

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2023/world-ranking#!/length/-1/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats

The same rankings place Michigan State and Wisconsin-Madison above Dartmouth. Now again, explain how this is helpful for students deciding where to go to undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Times Higher Education grew out of The Times newspaper.

How does The Times newspaper rank St Andrews in their own national rankings?
Second in the UK.

The Guardian?
First

The THE's own "Table of Tables" national ranking?
St Andrews takes 3rd place

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rankings_of_universities_in_the_United_Kingdom#The_Times/The_Sunday_Times

[Anonymous]

I don’t get the hate on here? What does it prove?

My kid spent several weeks in Europe this summer and met kids from all over. He said all of them, especially the UK kids, were very impressed he is headed to St A’s. So clearly they are doing something right. Most kids who attend love the school, town and experience.

[Anonymous]

Because it is smaller and a bit more akin to liberal arts colleges, StA is like an apple compared to the oranges of big research-based UK universities. It is a good school that also has some of the exclusivity and upper-class vibes a lot of Americans want.

To the person bashing Manchester: it is where man first split the atom, where Alan Turing first explored AI, where countless Noble Prize winning scientists have studied or taught. But it is more like a strong state school in the US, without upper-class cache in a very class-center culture.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of people would agree that Wisconsin and Illinois should rank higher than Dartmouth and Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2023 Times Education ranks it in joint 30th spot with a few other places

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/best-universities/best-universities-uk

Ah yes!

The same global university ranking metrics which rank UW Madison and University of Illinois higher than Brown and Dartmouth. Yup, such metrics rank Manchester higher than St Andrews.

Definitely helpful if you're trying to see which universities have the highest research expenditures. Not even remotely helpful when you're deciding where to go to undergrad.

Look at it - its not a global list, it's a UK list assessed by a UK publication that's been doing such assessments since time immemorial.

Did you read the ranking?

It quite literally extracted all of the UK universities from a global university ranking, hence the global ranking next to the UK ranking. There was no unique methodology other than that.

8 University of Manchester (Globally, =54)
9 University of Bristol (Globally, 76)
10 University of Glasgow (Globally, =82)
11 University of Warwick (Globally, =104)

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2023/world-ranking#!/length/-1/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats

The same rankings place Michigan State and Wisconsin-Madison above Dartmouth. Now again, explain how this is helpful for students deciding where to go to undergrad.

It includes global, sure, but only as an after thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Andrews must be doing something right - Professor Dame Sally Mapstone FRSE, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of St Andrews, has been elected as the next President of Universities UK (UUK).

The role runs for two academic years from 1 August 2023 and is elected through a ballot of UUK’s 140 members.

She was educated at Oxford and held leadership positions at Oxford before moving to St Andrews.

Exactly. the leadership exchanges between St Andrews and Oxford speak for themselves. Louise Richardson went from leading St Andrews to leading Oxford. Mapstone went from number 2 spot at Oxford to leading St Andrews.

Only visible difference between Oxford and SA is location for more opportunities . However, for undergraduate, SA is a better choice.