University of Edinburgh, Glasgow or St. Andrews

[Anonymous]

I'm a Brit and most Brits are raving alcoholics in comparison to Americans. However, as student drinkers we don't feel the need to construct drinking "games" in order to get drunk, we just talk a lot instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't speak loudly with an American accent in Edinburgh and especially Glasgow cities. Even if you had a London accent I would warn this. And avoid the town on Friday & Saturday nights it will be stuffed to the rafters with drunks.

Solid advice.

I disagree. Obviously if you yourself act like a drunk and obnoxious idiot while speaking with your American accent you might be asking for trouble. But when you don’t the locals embrace you.

You have never been to Scotland, obviously.

Yes, I have. Several times. Also the parent of an Edinburgh graduate. And we were absolutely and 100 percent embraced. You’re full of it.

I'm a previous poster who went to grad school at Edinburgh. The responses from people on this thread reinforce my decision to take everything people say on this website with a the largest bucket of salt. I have a lived experience. I was also completely embraced. When people found out I was American, the craziest response I got was "that's interesting." It's a *very* international University with kids from all over the world.

[Anonymous]

I know half a dozen kids who are at St Andrews or recently graduated. All are rich private school kids who did not get into any decent college in the US and went to St Andrews to save face. They’ve been happy at St Andrews.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]The weather in Scotland is not great. It is cold and damp all the time.
And does he really want to hang out at the pub every day?
And I mean every single afternoon.

[/b]



My Oxbridge kid said the same (yes bitterly damp - overcast all the time and he's south). But as to drinking, he says it is much more prevalent and accepted in the UK universities. It's also easier to get on campus as a freebie. The drinking starts earlier in the when the lectures finish and the sherry caddy rolls out. Beer or wine at lunch. Port after. The afternoon pub drinking starts with Ale, then vodka martinis, Pimms (during summer), Gin & tonics. He says you can get very drunk, very cheap and get very fat very quick.

This exactly. The drinking culture in the UK is out of control.
And the damp and cold will seep into your bones.
And the food is not great either.

I think Americans do college best. K-12 is weak in the US (public schools in general) but the US knows how to do college better than anywhere else

I was surprised that my Oxford kid said this. And he came from witnessing the party scene at UVa. He says the alcohol is everywhere. Even after church. You go. Then free port. You go back to your college. Free ale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in the UK, my daughter is a junior and she will be applying to colleges next year incl Edinburg.
Edinburg is a much more academic and has historically been considered a top, difficult to get in uni. SA has a reputation of the place where old money send their kids to, lots of boarding schools kids (not the top academic ones like Eaton or Winchester, but Marlboro etc - you go there for good networking and connections. However in recent years SA has gone up in rankings and even beats E now in some rankings, so its academic reputation has been rapidly improving. Both places have dreary rainy weather most of the year.
Glasgo is not in the same league with the above two, not even close.

If you’re in the UK, how come you can’t spell any of these proper names correctly?

[Anonymous]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/sep/24/stoxbridge-st-andrews-overtakes-oxford-cambridge-guardian-university-guide

[Anonymous]

Some of the PPs…oof! Save face? WTF! Anyhow my kid is going to St A (first choice, no face saving)…loved the campus and school culture. Didn’t love Edinburgh as much as they thought they would…really liked Glasgow though. I recommend visiting each to get a feel. My kid was surprised about which they liked best based on actual visit as opposed to online research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know half a dozen kids who are at St Andrews or recently graduated. All are rich private school kids who did not get into any decent college in the US and went to St Andrews to save face. They’ve been happy at St Andrews.

What is wrong with you? Do you always spew nonsense about things you know nothing about?

My child is a second year at St Andrew. We are not rich, DC didn't attend private school, didn't go to St Andrews to save face, and it was their first choice. And oh, yeah, they had a 34 ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA and got into competitive US schools, including Tulane and University of Michigan. Also, I see no signs of impending alcoholism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had student-led tours at both St Andrews and Edinburgh. We spent the day in St Andrews mapping out the halls and the buildings where my child would have most of their courses (psychology major), walked to the sports center, poked around the shops, had lunch in a pub and people-watched in a coffee shop for a while. It's very easy to get a sense of student life in St Andrews. In Edinburgh, we had a longer tour, and were able to see the library and some other university buildings. We ate lunch near the student union, and walked to some of the catered halls to see how far they were from George square (most were about 20 min away, but easy to take the bus). After our visit, my child was interested in St Andrews but Edinburgh was definitely the first choice - it's a great school in a lovely and lively city, lots to do, cool vibe. The more she thought about it, however, the more she liked St Andrews because she thought in a smaller, more geographically compact school it would be easier to make friends, easier to find support, easier to navigate. And Edinburgh is only a train ride away. She was accepted to both but decided on St Andrews, and it was definitely the right decision for her during Covid lockdowns and restrictions. Now that it's back to normal, she says that the town doesn't feel small at all and there is tons to do. She didn't consider Glasgow, but both Edinburgh and St Andrews are great choices.

How often does she fly back home?

Twice a year, Christmas and summer. She takes quick (and inexpensive) trips to Europe with her friends during the other breaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know half a dozen kids who are at St Andrews or recently graduated. All are rich private school kids who did not get into any decent college in the US and went to St Andrews to save face. They’ve been happy at St Andrews.

What is wrong with you? Do you always spew nonsense about things you know nothing about?

My child is a second year at St Andrew. We are not rich, DC didn't attend private school, didn't go to St Andrews to save face, and it was their first choice. And oh, yeah, they had a 34 ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA and got into competitive US schools, including Tulane and University of Michigan. Also, I see no signs of impending alcoholism.

Thanks PP My kid is super interested in St Andrews very high stats (4.0 35 ACT) and good to hear your kid is there and likes it. I get the sense its much harder to get into for kids in the UK than in US - at least in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know half a dozen kids who are at St Andrews or recently graduated. All are rich private school kids who did not get into any decent college in the US and went to St Andrews to save face. They’ve been happy at St Andrews.

What is wrong with you? Do you always spew nonsense about things you know nothing about?

My child is a second year at St Andrew. We are not rich, DC didn't attend private school, didn't go to St Andrews to save face, and it was their first choice. And oh, yeah, they had a 34 ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA and got into competitive US schools, including Tulane and University of Michigan. Also, I see no signs of impending alcoholism.

I think the demographics of St. Andrews is evolving and rapidly. I am a Brit who used to scoff at people applying there (pre-William) because it was where the rich but dumb went when they didn't get into Edinburgh. But this has CHANGED in the past 10-15 years, obviously. I think William going there made it instantly more popular and then, more competitive and it up'd its game.

Good for you that your kid is there and loves it. I think it sounds like a solid and prosperous college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know half a dozen kids who are at St Andrews or recently graduated. All are rich private school kids who did not get into any decent college in the US and went to St Andrews to save face. They’ve been happy at St Andrews.

What is wrong with you? Do you always spew nonsense about things you know nothing about?

My child is a second year at St Andrew. We are not rich, DC didn't attend private school, didn't go to St Andrews to save face, and it was their first choice. And oh, yeah, they had a 34 ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA and got into competitive US schools, including Tulane and University of Michigan. Also, I see no signs of impending alcoholism.

Thanks PP My kid is super interested in St Andrews very high stats (4.0 35 ACT) and good to hear your kid is there and likes it. I get the sense its much harder to get into for kids in the UK than in US - at least in the past.

I think that is somewhat true. 95% of my child's friends are from the UK, and they are very, very bright and serious students. Many of them are medical students for whom St Andrews was their first choice. My child's medic housemates study all the time. When my kid was waiting on UCAS offers they followed various forums on thestudentroom.co.uk and getting into St Andrews is insanely competitive. The international students (not just American) that my child knows are a bit of a mixed bag - there are quite a lot of rich socialites - but it's not an easy school by any means and my child's professors are tough graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know half a dozen kids who are at St Andrews or recently graduated. All are rich private school kids who did not get into any decent college in the US and went to St Andrews to save face. They’ve been happy at St Andrews.

What is wrong with you? Do you always spew nonsense about things you know nothing about?

My child is a second year at St Andrew. We are not rich, DC didn't attend private school, didn't go to St Andrews to save face, and it was their first choice. And oh, yeah, they had a 34 ACT, a 3.9 UW GPA and got into competitive US schools, including Tulane and University of Michigan. Also, I see no signs of impending alcoholism.

Did I generalize about all Americans who attended St. Andrews? No. And yes, I do know the half a dozen kids who attend/attended and I do know what other colleges accepted them because they are in my kids' circles of peers. Save face does not mean the kids don't have grades, test scores, etc. for competitive US schools - it just means they were not accepted at them. So these kids attended St. Andrews rather than their safety. And saying your kid goes to univerisity in Scotland has a certain cachet to it for some people, especially when the other choice is JMU. And I actually do know about attending university in the UK because I am an American who graduated from the University of Durham and historically St. Andrews has had the reputation as the UK university that would basically accept any American who could pay and the wealthy British students who were not so accomplished academically. I would recommend Durham - I loved my time there.

[Anonymous]

So, what you are saying is that students with great scores, etc. etc., choose St Andrews over other US schools that seemed less appealing. And what does it matter if historically (or currently) it is "easier" for Americans to get in? When I applied to college, there were many "back-door" ways to get into good US schools. You could do summer programs that gave automatic admits...and today you can graduate frrm a more prestigious school if you transfer in from programs that many schools designate as specific feeders (BU, Northeastern, Emory). The OP asked about the school and people's experience with them. not your rude opinion of their reputation. Your comments are what is wrong with this entire system. You are not looking at whether a school is a good fit or what the students hopes to get out of it. You are thinking about how a student's admit looks to snobby adults.

For the OP, I don't think anyone send their kid across an ocean to a totally different culture just to "save face" or get cachet. I think it takes a specific kid who has an adventurous spirit to choose that path. My kid that will be attending STA chose this path specifically and is excited to meet like minded students from all over. Incidentally, my student is in the top 5% of their class but we are not rich socialites.

[Anonymous]

St. Andrews has become a U.S. private school favorite for kids who can’t get into top U.S. colleges.