Tell me about St Andrews in Scotland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey there! I'm the current parent with an "agenda" mentioned in the post you just quoted. According to them I am in the midst of an entitled American-style tantrum. We are actually a nice, low-key family that doesn't make waves at schools. We also don't require smoothie bars and think dorm food is fine. In fact, we really like St Andrews. But- St Andrews has been a mixed bag for us. In our case- undiagnosed covid during 2021, leading to long covid, leading to bad grades because it was too late to drop classes at the time this was happening, was a huge stumbling block that was not forgiven by the University. I have had all manner of snide remarks hurled at me for this unfortunate situation and it's a real eye opener. It has been truly disappointing the school was not willing to be more flexible. If our student had been enrolled stateside, we would have just jumped in the car to bring them home. Health situation would have been treated sooner, crisis averted. Despite the amount of recruiting they do here, St Andrews hasn't been flexible for us in this situation even though it was exacerbated by being an international student.

"St Andrews has been a mixed bag for us" -- that's your problem, right there. St Andrews, like most global universities, recruits adult students. Not adult students AND their parents. Students are expected to, well, be adults, not to look for one infantile excuse after another and then go to daddy and mommy for help. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Long covid is an infantile excuse for poor academic performance? Gosh. Here's another "no handholding" warrior

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long covid is an infantile excuse for poor academic performance? Gosh. Here's another "no handholding" warrior

Being born to some US parents should be classified as permanent childhood trauma.

[Anonymous]

St Andrews recruits American families, let's be real here. Students are not invited to the fundraising cocktail receptions with Sally Mapstone. Parents' names are on the invitation to the Family Programme events. Parents are paying the bills, which is why St Andrews is recruiting Americans in the first place - because the UK government doesn't fund all the available seats at the University.

[Anonymous]

To the St Andrews booster who has no tolerance for criticism of the school, and a disdain for spoiled Americans and their helicopter parents, are you also a St Andrews parent? If you are, using your own logic, why are you spending so much time helicoptering around in here? Why do you care if others want to share their pros and cons? There's a lot to consider committing to four years at St Andrews vs staying stateside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long covid is an infantile excuse for poor academic performance? Gosh. Here's another "no handholding" warrior

Being born to some US parents should be classified as permanent childhood trauma.

The UK has a "you get what you get and you don't get upset" mentality toward university, and the USA does not. It's just ... different. You are making it personal for some reason. Do you think you represent the attitude of the University toward Americans? That would be helpful to know. It's a cliche that American students are infantile. it's also a cliche that UK students have been on their own since 8 years old in boarding school, and are repressed and bitter. Could we please not do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews are great school providing a great experience but for undergrad, a semester there is enough for students who can get into similar schools here in US.

Kids can get sick, pandemics and travel bans can happen. Too much unnecessary stress for undergrads and their parents.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The large percentage of American students brings a friendly energy to the class-conscious British student body. The moody atmosphere of the ancient town complements majors like History and Literature, it’s a cinematic backdrop of a college town. Beware, though, the Stockholm syndrome the Americans have. The University takes dubious pride in tossing out the phrase “no handholding” at info sessions and orientations. “You are an adult. No handholding” is really a convenient way to dismiss students who are barely adults from expecting better service from the University. The collective eye rolling and disdain the administration has for the “silly” American undergrads who are “only there to meet royals” needs to be re examined. Don’t second guess yourself, Americans, this University falls seriously, significantly short in many ways but tries to make you feel needy and immature for expecting better service. Americans are subsidizing a giant chunk of the University by paying full tuition in comparison to the UK kids paying almost nothing, fine, but the University also unjustly paints these American kids as high maintenance, less impressive seat fillers with deep pockets who are taking spots away from deserving UK kids because the government can’t subsidize all of them. The Americans who choose St Andrews are solid, adventurous students who opt to study overseas at age 18 for four years. They contribute greatly to University life. “No hand holding” is really the catchall phrase the University fires back when American students want to hold it accountable for its many sub par services. For example- the University’s inability to house its students within walking distance- kids are housed in Dundee an hour bus ride away because the University over accepted and ran out of housing. We aren’t talking a ten minute shuttle bus, this is an hour+ long bus ride to another city to stay in the empty dorms belonging to another University in Dundee. The professors are unionized and quite often on strike, they cancel classes and stand outside on the shopping streets banging pots with spoons, leaving grad students to teach some, and recycling old zoom material from covid. There are no summer sessions, the University rents their dorms to golf tourists in the summers, so if you fall behind with credits, look forward to adding an extra year on to your studies, if they let you. They may expel you, saying you have run over the semesters allowed to complete your major in time, good luck somewhere else. There are two chances for academic assessment during the term- a midterm grade and a paper. They send the exams to students online, and if you have a problem with your internet that day, too bad. There is no academic advising system like there is in the States. You only use an advisor as a conduit for enrolling in your classes each year. They aren’t assigned to students for the duration of their studies. There is no academic mentor to advise or guide once classes are underway. Is this really “no handholding”? Or is this a gaslight-y way to make students feel like failures for questioning the sub par services available in comparison to similar Universities in the States? Student health services are also quite shaky in comparison to the support and privacy you can get in the states. It’s hard to get appointments, and if you have a health condition that interferes with your studies, it’s very very difficult to be excused from work you may have missed or need to redo. Don’t buy in to the “no handholding” stiff upper lip British thing. Americans have greatly bolstered St Andrews in every way; making do with less -than shouldn’t be a point of pride. In many ways, dealing with the admin at this University can be a lot like dealing with the DMV, don’t let them make you feel like you’re the problem.

It sounds like what you are saying is they need to be more Americanized since we are sending them so many students?

And i think the warning you are giving to parents is the wiggle room and negotiation they take for granted in the US isn’t going to be there. It’s a good warning and many parents will scoff and think it won’t apply to them bc even if they were faced with the same situation surely there would be some solution. It’s easy to see how this problem can happen ….

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long covid is an infantile excuse for poor academic performance? Gosh. Here's another "no handholding" warrior

Being born to some US parents should be classified as permanent childhood trauma.

The UK has a "you get what you get and you don't get upset" mentality toward university, and the USA does not. It's just ... different. You are making it personal for some reason. Do you think you represent the attitude of the University toward Americans? That would be helpful to know. It's a cliche that American students are infantile. it's also a cliche that UK students have been on their own since 8 years old in boarding school, and are repressed and bitter. Could we please not do this?

Very funny. When you send US kids to the UK you expect said US kids to adapt to the UK, not the other way around.

Read it slowly if you must.

[Anonymous]

Our friend's Big 3 child who is now at St. Andrews told us when our kid who was considering applying: "I really haven't been academically challenged at St. Andrews."

ymmv

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey there! I'm the current parent with an "agenda" mentioned in the post you just quoted. According to them I am in the midst of an entitled American-style tantrum. We are actually a nice, low-key family that doesn't make waves at schools. We also don't require smoothie bars and think dorm food is fine. In fact, we really like St Andrews. But- St Andrews has been a mixed bag for us. In our case- undiagnosed covid during 2021, leading to long covid, leading to bad grades because it was too late to drop classes at the time this was happening, was a huge stumbling block that was not forgiven by the University. I have had all manner of snide remarks hurled at me for this unfortunate situation and it's a real eye opener. It has been truly disappointing the school was not willing to be more flexible. If our student had been enrolled stateside, we would have just jumped in the car to bring them home. Health situation would have been treated sooner, crisis averted. Despite the amount of recruiting they do here, St Andrews hasn't been flexible for us in this situation even though it was exacerbated by being an international student.

"St Andrews has been a mixed bag for us" -- that's your problem, right there. St Andrews, like most global universities, recruits adult students. Not adult students AND their parents. Students are expected to, well, be adults, not to look for one infantile excuse after another and then go to daddy and mommy for help. Sorry.

Who is the one sounding infantile here? Nobody went running to mommy and daddy - this student tried to work with the University around some health issues that affected their grades. That seems mature and determined, not infantile. Presumably one of the student's parents shared the story here. The OP wanted to know "the good, the bad, the ugly, the unexpected" about the school. Why the insults?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Long covid is an infantile excuse for poor academic performance? Gosh. Here's another "no handholding" warrior

Being born to some US parents should be classified as permanent childhood trauma.

The UK has a "you get what you get and you don't get upset" mentality toward university, and the USA does not. It's just ... different. You are making it personal for some reason. Do you think you represent the attitude of the University toward Americans? That would be helpful to know. It's a cliche that American students are infantile. it's also a cliche that UK students have been on their own since 8 years old in boarding school, and are repressed and bitter. Could we please not do this?

Very funny. When you send US kids to the UK you expect said US kids to adapt to the UK, not the other way around.

Read it slowly if you must.

The differences in the UK system vs American schools is what the poster was describing in the first place. UK schools will not adapt to Americans' expectations in certain situations. Americans should realize this. Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

I think any kid or family with high needs should stick closer to home.

solved it all for y'all! yw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey there! I'm the current parent with an "agenda" mentioned in the post you just quoted. According to them I am in the midst of an entitled American-style tantrum. We are actually a nice, low-key family that doesn't make waves at schools. We also don't require smoothie bars and think dorm food is fine. In fact, we really like St Andrews. But- St Andrews has been a mixed bag for us. In our case- undiagnosed covid during 2021, leading to long covid, leading to bad grades because it was too late to drop classes at the time this was happening, was a huge stumbling block that was not forgiven by the University. I have had all manner of snide remarks hurled at me for this unfortunate situation and it's a real eye opener. It has been truly disappointing the school was not willing to be more flexible. If our student had been enrolled stateside, we would have just jumped in the car to bring them home. Health situation would have been treated sooner, crisis averted. Despite the amount of recruiting they do here, St Andrews hasn't been flexible for us in this situation even though it was exacerbated by being an international student.

"St Andrews has been a mixed bag for us" -- that's your problem, right there. St Andrews, like most global universities, recruits adult students. Not adult students AND their parents. Students are expected to, well, be adults, not to look for one infantile excuse after another and then go to daddy and mommy for help. Sorry.

yes - recruiting all those 17 year old adults

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think any kid or family with high needs should stick closer to home.

solved it all for y'all! yw.

And if your health changes (migraines, depression, injury, what have you) while you're abroad at St Andrews, be prepared to transfer out and finish up at home, because they won't work with you to keep you there if your health affects your grades. That's the truth! And it's a great school! But don't expect flexibility on their part because they aren't flexible.US schools have the ADA to worry about, UK does not.