University of Edinburgh, Glasgow or St. Andrews

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Glasgow and went to uni there for undergrad. It’s been a long time (almost 30 years), but when I was there, Edinburgh was generally seen as the most prestigious university by Scots. St Andrews was more a place for English Oxbridge rejects to go to (I had a childhood friend from London who went there, for example). I had a lot of fun in Glasgow, and it’s also a strong school. As people have said, Glasgow and Edinburgh are both much bigger than St Andrews, although - in Glasgow especially - the university is in its own area (and fun fact - the tower in Georgetown looks like a cheap little copy of the one in Glasgow). If you ever watch the tv series ‘Lovesick’ on Netflix, it’s set in Glasgow. Also, I’m not sure where this thing about Scottish people hating Americans is coming from - it’s the English they don’t like (and people from elsewhere in Scotland), and even that’s overblown…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

+1.

Current St Andrews student, for reference, here are some of the American schools which my American St Andrews peers & I got into:

NYU, UC Berkeley, USC, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Williams College, Boston College, UVA, Hamilton, Haverford, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, William & Mary, GWU, Connecticut College, Colorado College

People on DCUM act like we couldn't get in anywhere else, but every American I know here was a competitive candidate with 1400+ SATs or high 30s ACTs. Lots of my friends got near perfect scores on these.

Was every American here also getting into Dartmouth/Cornell? No, but some were. Many more of my peers were on Ivy waitlists. The biggest acceptance overlap, anecdotally, is NYU. I've met lots of kids who also got into NYU, and were choosing between there and St Andrews.

If you're a parent/student considering St A, I'm happy to answer questions, I can share the good and the bad, because there's definitely both aspects, but overall it's a great experience both in academics and student life.

Good for you, but I am the poster who knows a family whose kids go to Saint Andrews and they would not have gotten into any of the schools you just listed. Sorry. You don’t know everyone who attends your school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

+1.

Current St Andrews student, for reference, here are some of the American schools which my American St Andrews peers & I got into:

NYU, UC Berkeley, USC, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Williams College, Boston College, UVA, Hamilton, Haverford, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, William & Mary, GWU, Connecticut College, Colorado College

People on DCUM act like we couldn't get in anywhere else, but every American I know here was a competitive candidate with 1400+ SATs or high 30s ACTs. Lots of my friends got near perfect scores on these.

Was every American here also getting into Dartmouth/Cornell? No, but some were. Many more of my peers were on Ivy waitlists. The biggest acceptance overlap, anecdotally, is NYU. I've met lots of kids who also got into NYU, and were choosing between there and St Andrews.

If you're a parent/student considering St A, I'm happy to answer questions, I can share the good and the bad, because there's definitely both aspects, but overall it's a great experience both in academics and student life.

Good for you, but I am the poster who knows a family whose kids go to Saint Andrews and they would not have gotten into any of the schools you just listed. Sorry. You don’t know everyone who attends your school.

Hmm. Poster who knows a family with kids at St. Andrews versus a current student. I wonder who has a better grasp of the quality of the American students there. Maybe it’s not you?

[Anonymous]

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.

+1

[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.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

What do you mean be specific feeders?

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)

[Anonymous]

Northeastern's retention rate is 98%. Emory's is 95% so are they feeders for grad school, or did you mean students are transferring in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

What do you mean be specific feeders?

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)

"What do you mean be specific feeders?"
"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)"

I'm not the OP on any of these comments, but Northeastern and BU both operate programs for second-tier applicants where they send them abroad for a first semester or year, under a different academic unit of the university, so they can avoid reporting the stats of these lesser students to USNWR, and thus inflate their rankings.

Look up "NUin" program at Northeastern. After the semester or year, they have the students technically "transfer" into the regular university's collage of arts and sciences, engineering, etc. from the original unit they attended.

At Emory, they operate "Oxford College of Emory University" in rural Georgia, a two-year college, again for lesser applicants, where the students then transfer into the regular Emory University after their two years at Emory's Oxford. As to why you'd want to attend a 900 student two-year college in rural Georgia? Idk, but it's how Emory makes their numbers look better

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts here on Trinity College Dublin?

Also speaking more broadly, do US grad schools - law and business - look well or not on UK or Ireland degrees for American kids?

Lastly, what are the career offices and opportunity’s like for Americans graduating from these UK schools? Bound to work in UK - Europe or is US employment possible without great effort?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

What do you mean be specific feeders?

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)

"What do you mean be specific feeders?"
"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)"

I'm not the OP on any of these comments, but Northeastern and BU both operate programs for second-tier applicants where they send them abroad for a first semester or year, under a different academic unit of the university, so they can avoid reporting the stats of these lesser students to USNWR, and thus inflate their rankings.

Look up "NUin" program at Northeastern. After the semester or year, they have the students technically "transfer" into the regular university's collage of arts and sciences, engineering, etc. from the original unit they attended.

At Emory, they operate "Oxford College of Emory University" in rural Georgia, a two-year college, again for lesser applicants, where the students then transfer into the regular Emory University after their two years at Emory's Oxford. As to why you'd want to attend a 900 student two-year college in rural Georgia? Idk, but it's how Emory makes their numbers look better

Wouldn't you want to attend Oxford college for the chance to go to Emory when one otherwise wouldn't have?And I actually think Oxford makes Emory looked worse than it is. People think Emory isn't as selective as its peers (WashU, Vandy, Rice, etc) when in fact it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

What do you mean be specific feeders?

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)

"What do you mean be specific feeders?"
"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)"

I'm not the OP on any of these comments, but Northeastern and BU both operate programs for second-tier applicants where they send them abroad for a first semester or year, under a different academic unit of the university, so they can avoid reporting the stats of these lesser students to USNWR, and thus inflate their rankings.

Look up "NUin" program at Northeastern. After the semester or year, they have the students technically "transfer" into the regular university's collage of arts and sciences, engineering, etc. from the original unit they attended.

At Emory, they operate "Oxford College of Emory University" in rural Georgia, a two-year college, again for lesser applicants, where the students then transfer into the regular Emory University after their two years at Emory's Oxford. As to why you'd want to attend a 900 student two-year college in rural Georgia? Idk, but it's how Emory makes their numbers look better

Wouldn't you want to attend Oxford college for the chance to go to Emory when one otherwise wouldn't have?And I actually think Oxford makes Emory looked worse than it is. People think Emory isn't as selective as its peers (WashU, Vandy, Rice, etc) when in fact it is.

I said Oxford College of Emory makes Emory's numbers and stats which they report to USNWR look better, as lesser candidates can go to Oxford College and their stats aren't reported to USNWR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

+1.

Current St Andrews student, for reference, here are some of the American schools which my American St Andrews peers & I got into:

NYU, UC Berkeley, USC, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, Williams College, Boston College, UVA, Hamilton, Haverford, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, William & Mary, GWU, Connecticut College, Colorado College

People on DCUM act like we couldn't get in anywhere else, but every American I know here was a competitive candidate with 1400+ SATs or high 30s ACTs. Lots of my friends got near perfect scores on these.

Was every American here also getting into Dartmouth/Cornell? No, but some were. Many more of my peers were on Ivy waitlists. The biggest acceptance overlap, anecdotally, is NYU. I've met lots of kids who also got into NYU, and were choosing between there and St Andrews.

If you're a parent/student considering St A, I'm happy to answer questions, I can share the good and the bad, because there's definitely both aspects, but overall it's a great experience both in academics and student life.

Good for you, but I am the poster who knows a family whose kids go to Saint Andrews and they would not have gotten into any of the schools you just listed. Sorry. You don’t know everyone who attends your school.

Hmm. Poster who knows a family with kids at St. Andrews versus a current student. I wonder who has a better grasp of the quality of the American students there. Maybe it’s not you?

The “current student” doesn’t know the grades and GPAs and college acceptances of every one of their American classmates, and if she does that makes her super weird. My only point is that I know for an absolute fact that there are kids in St Andrews from the US who were absolutely not candidates for admission to any of the top universities that the “current student” mentions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any thoughts here on Trinity College Dublin?

Also speaking more broadly, do US grad schools - law and business - look well or not on UK or Ireland degrees for American kids?

Lastly, what are the career offices and opportunity’s like for Americans graduating from these UK schools? Bound to work in UK - Europe or is US employment possible without great effort?

Trinity College Dublin has a gorgeous campus in central Dublin. I think you'll get more American study abroads there than Americans there for four years, as opposed to St Andrews and Edinburgh with significant four-year American contingents. It's definitely the best university in Ireland, but I can't say much else about it as that's where my knowledge ends.

Yes, American law and business schools would definitely respect UK & Ireland degrees for American kids, the good American law and biz schools definitely know of TCD and the good British universities. Same with careers, especially if your kid is looking in major US metro areas, there are going to be lots of alumni of Oxbridge, St Andrews, LSE bopping around, surely alumni of other British unis to varying degrees as well.

My experience is with St Andrews, where many go on to American law or biz school, or good careers in the states:

If you go to the page of St Andrews alumni on Linkedin and search "JD", that way you'll get those who are in American law school and not British, which doesn't award JDs, you'll see alumni at law school at Harvard, Columbia, Berkeley, Stanford, Yale, Georgetown, UVA, Notre Dame, Michigan, BU, etc. Hun

If you filter St Andrews Alumni on Linkedin for MBA and with the location as United States, you'll see alumni at Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Dartmouth Tuck, Texas McCombs, UVA Darden, Vanderbilt, Chicago Booth, Duke, etc.

Anecdotally of DC's friends (final years at St Andrews), grad school offers from Oxford and Cambridge (multiple), Cornell, lots of the London universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

my kid was accepted and we went to a meeting in DC for accepted students. we were told that this year there were about 4000 applictions from the US and that a little more than 400 were accepted. so it is beconing more difficult even for US kids. the steretype of St. Andrews as the place for dumb rich kid is at best old. rankings are up (#1 for the Guardian and consistently among the top universities in the UK). also, there is a network of thousands of alumni in the US, for the poster who quipped that the job market is hot in the UK, as if that's the only place if you graduate from St Andrews.
my kid was just accepted by her top choice in the US with some sholarship (still at least $20K more than "posh" St. Andrews, for whoever wonder why people consider sending their kids abroad instead of to US colleges lately) and we are now working to determine which school is the best fit. kids visited StA and loved so we will see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date. Our college counselor told us it is HIGHLY competitive for British kids and becoming much much more so year by year for US kids, especially ones willing to go overseas, as the US top 25 becoming almost impossible for smart but unhooked kids. Our counselor said it used to be super-posh elites and has become more much difficult to get in.

my kid was accepted and we went to a meeting in DC for accepted students. we were told that this year there were about 4000 applictions from the US and that a little more than 400 were accepted. so it is beconing more difficult even for US kids. the steretype of St. Andrews as the place for dumb rich kid is at best old. rankings are up (#1 for the Guardian and consistently among the top universities in the UK). also, there is a network of thousands of alumni in the US, for the poster who quipped that the job market is hot in the UK, as if that's the only place if you graduate from St Andrews.
my kid was just accepted by her top choice in the US with some sholarship (still at least $20K more than "posh" St. Andrews, for whoever wonder why people consider sending their kids abroad instead of to US colleges lately) and we are now working to determine which school is the best fit. kids visited StA and loved so we will see.

+1
Glad you enjoyed your visit. It's such a special place to see in person. Have your DC talk with any current St Andrews students you may know from your network. That could help DC figure out if the fit is there.