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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] I think the stereotype of St Andrews some of you are expressing is out-of-date.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.[/quote]

+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.[/quote]

I have quetions about classwork/homework. we understand that there are few hours of classes a week and then some tutorials with limited number of kids and a good amount of reading each week. we also understand that there is a good amount of self study. what about writing assignments? kid has some ADHD issues, has improved and does well in DCPS high  school (including AP classes) but intense writing homework (ie 30 pages essays weekly) may be a challenge. also, a big assignment at the end of the semester instead of smaller graded assignments throughout the semester may also be a problem. it seems like the latter seems to be the case but it is not completely clear. can you make an example of one of your classes (maybe first year). how was the worload, how many graded assignments, how the final grade was determined and so on. i understand there is not a lot of support for kids with learning issues but I wonder if you know of students with ADHD issues and how they are doing. this is a major issue for us as US option would be much more cuddling (even though our kid seems to like StA better) thanks[/quote]

Current student. This depends a lot on DC's executive function levels—if few major assignments is going to pose a major issue (versus many, spread out assignments), and if DC isn't inclined to reach out for academic skills programmes (ASPs), office hours, stay engaged with class material—St Andrews isn't going to be a good fit.

But there are lots of resources available (academic skills programmes, office hours, support centres) and accommodations for ADHD, disabilities that one can take advantage of. But no, you're definitely not coddled like at an American university, and no one at St Andrews is going to chase you down to do your work, no "academic advisor" in the sense of an American college. Student Services at St Andrews has a lot to offer, but you have to seek it out. "Uni also provided an executive coach" from the above commenter is interesting, I didn't know that!

Like at any American college or in any major US metro area, many American students at St Andrews have ADHD diagnoses and adderall prescriptions, and many ADHD-diagnosed students here doing just fine.

What I will say, like the above commenter mentioned, is to make sure you have your diagnoses, make sure you have good med prescriptions (i.e. good fit with the meds if your DC needs them).

That way you can ask for extra time, disability accommodations, etc. and also your DC won't be needing to adjust meds when in a different country.

What I'll add also is that at St Andrews, your first two years' worth of grades are not included in your final grade classification, so that students can explore different subjects. Only the last two years of grades are included in your final degree classification. Also, the grade at which one fails is much lower during the first two years of uni. So the adjustment period to university life is more lenient than the latter two years. [/quote]

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