Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

This is the most antiquated take. The poster has clearly not stepped foot anywhere near Glasgow, Edinburgh, or St Andrews in recent years.

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

Anonymous wrote:Most entertaining reading how uninformed people in this area are about Scotland. I went to two of these schools and was brought up in Glasgow (but did not attend Glasgow Uni). My observations are follows:

You will have more fun at a Glasgow funeral than at an Edinburgh wedding. Glasgow is a fabulous university and the west end is the best ‘student environment’ of any Scottish university. The posts about safety are very valid, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, and open your mouth with an American or English accent, you are 50% likely to get robbed. In fact, if you go three blocks in the wrong direction, you are 50% likely to get robbed regardless of accent. Edinburgh is a vibrant, interesting but hugely class based university. There is a massive private school element there, and most groups stick to themselves. I’m talking about Scottish private schools mostly. Americans are treated as a novelty for the most part, and laughed about behind their back. I spent 4 years at St Andrews and while it is a beautiful and historic place, it’s small, really pretty boring and most students get hammered each and every night. Good for golf though.
There is zero sporting school spirit at any of these schools, so compared to the US - it would feel a bit odd. Academics at all three schools are very good and there’s a lot of history to drink in. And then there’s the weather……it rains constantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh and St Andrew’s are less wet but a wind that goes right through you.
Most US employers would consider these schools comparable with VA Tech/Illinois/Indiana. Ok, but not great and certainly not considered as an Ivy substitute.
I did a third degree at Cambridge and there is absolutely no comparison between these three schools and Oxbridge.
I would not send my kids to any of these schools unless the intent was for them to settle in the UK.

Anonymous wrote:Which degrees/majors are good at which of these unis ?

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.

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

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.