If there are St Andrews students within your family/friends network, get connected and see if your kid can meet up with them. We did this -- fortuitously they are taking the course DC applied to and have kindly responded to follow-up questions on WhatsApp from DC.

I know this sounds inconvenient, but consider taking the bus to the train to the tram to the airport at least one-way.

Visit West Sands and East Sands, perhaps walking on the coastal path to East Sands (and beyond), and stopping at the Cheesy Toast Shack. Many of the students we talked to noted how the location and outdoor activity are a big part of their experience -- this isn't the same as joining the hiking club, but at least provides a little glimpse. Allegedly there is a herd of highland cows further south on the coast path, but we did not find them.

We did not get to go inside the residence halls and see actual rooms, but we did walk to/around most of them -- it was helpful to see how close/far some of them are to certain academic buildings, other spots like the sport centre, and the general vibe and setting.

If visiting on a Sunday, walk the Old Course! There are a couple great restaurants with steak frites almost everywhere. We love St Andrews.

Visit the School of Psychology & Neuroscience if you can. Get a feel for that specific part of St Andrews. Ask about modules which particularly interest DC. Try to talk with at least 1 faculty member.

Try to learn something about student clubs that might be interesting to DC. If your family is religious, see if your faith has a presence in town or within the university.

Spend a fair bit of time trying to understand the student housing options. Housing is tight in/near St Andrews. Renting on the local economy can be expensive.

The other thing to remember is that UK/Irish universities generally have fewer student supports than a typical public university in the US. Students need to self-advocate and need to be more self-reliant.