Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

University of St Andrews

This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

St Andrews University: A Warning

Scroll to see replies

Reply 40

partoftheweekend

This is the same reason why I rejected Hogwarts.

University of St Andrews

Reply 41

SiaSiaSia

moonlight_freakout

I happened to look at your UCAS choices and if i could give you a piece of advice it'd be to firm bath instead of south hampton...it's such an amazing place!!!

... No.

Reply 42

member327593

sounds like keele to me, i regret applying there :frown:

Reply 43

Slumpy

lolimemma

Do fat sams not still run the bus over to Dundee from St Andrews that takes you home as well?

As far as I'm aware, they do.

Reply 44

moonlight_freakout

SiaSiaSia

... No.

Don't argue your point too much, huh?!

Reply 45

sophie_c

Each to their own! I'm also in 2nd year at St Andrews, and am absolutely loving it! Indeed so much that I am already thinking that my time here is passing far too fast (and I'm doing a 5 year degree here)! I'm going on my year abroad next year, in France, and to be quite honest, I'm going to miss St Andrews so so much! :frown:

Ok yes, it is small, but surely you can deduct that from the prospectus and visiting day! If you don't like small towns, it's probably not the best place to choose! Ok it doesn't have clubs, but that doesn't mean there's nothing going on! There are so many house parties all the time, and there are more pubs per sq meter (or something) here than anywhere else iin the country! And they're not all "old people" pubs if you get what I mean, the likes of The Vic and The Raisin have a more clubby atmosphere. Also, when the weather is nicer, there are parties on one of the THREE beaches with bonfires, which are always great craic :biggrin:

If you want clubs, there's always Dundee, and Edinburgh!

In terms of shops, as it is a small town of course there are going to be less shops than in a bigger city, but it's got pretty much everything you need! 4 supermarkets (Tesco, Alsi, Morrisons, 24hr Nisa Extra), New Look, Boots, Clarks, WH Smith, Rymans, Monsoon and Accesorize, Superdry, Joules, Jack Wills, The Body Shop, several phone shops, Trespass, Intersport, American import food shop, and many independent clothing and shoe shops, food shops, lots of amazing gift type shops (Beetle, Bonkers, Top Drawer etc), several bakeries (you have to try a fudge doughnut from Fisher and Donaldson mmmm :smile:

), DVD rental, LOADS of coffee shops (North Point, Beanscene and Taste being among my personal favourites), loads of charity shops, I could go on...! If you want more, Dundee is 25 mins away on a bus (that run every 15 minutes!)

Haha, and it really isn't in the middle of nowhere! I have friends who live in London, and they can get a direct train (from London - Leuchars), leuchars being only a few mins away from ST As on the bus! And people coming from abroad, can fly to Edinburgh, and that isn't far away either!

Basically, I absolutely love it here, and have found the teaching levels to be of a very high standard! I am very sorry that OP is not enjoying it here, but if I am completely honest I don't think I have ever met anyone here that is not absolutely in love with the place! Apart from it being very beautiful, it also has such a great atmosphere! It being small isn't always a bad thing, it certainly saves a lot of money on transport etc, I've never gotten a bus or taxi cos everythings so easy to walk to- and I don't live in the centre of town! The beaches are also pretty cool... this afternoon I went to East Sands (roughly 20 seconds walk from my flat) with a flatmate with a flask and biscuits... :biggrin:

Sorry for the long answer, but please don't write St Andrews off that easily people, at least visit!

...and I didn't even mention the traditions... Raisin weekend ( :woo:

) academic families, the undergrad gown, and the list goes on...!

Reply 46

sophie_c

lolimemma

Do fat sams not still run the bus over to Dundee from St Andrews that takes you home as well?

Aye

Reply 47

Boyan

hah, sounds awful .. please Imperial accept me!

Reply 48

username324526

am i the only one who loves bunnies and castles and pubs ._.? lmao

OP i don't feel for you because you should have checked it out :| obv if you come from london its miles away but gambling on four years of your life was probably worth the train fare. what did you expect from northern scotland?

it saddens me to think you need clubs to be open late to be happy :| and maybe the students who 'pretend to have fun' have actually just accepted the earlier opening times and go with it?

aoiodjasdfn

Reply 49

LAX Inc

I would recommend people who applied to St Andrew Uni should read this. It's good!

Reply 50

Purplestardust

LAX Inc

I would recommend people who applied to St Andrew Uni should read this. It's good!

Thank you =) I'm by no means claiming to be the way the truth and the light, but I just thought it was about time someone gave an accurate, no-bs assessment of the place.

Reply 51

cactus kid :)

All i can say is... gutted OP!

Reply 52

sophie_c

MissFanatical

I do too! I love St Andrews :smile:

Btw, St Andrews can no way be said to be Northern Scotland :wink:

Reply 53

Ben25

I never considered applying to St Andrews, but even I knew it was in a small town with not much going on. What exactly were you expecting?

Reply 54

M_E_X

Umiisadorable

Thank you =) I'm by no means claiming to be the way the truth and the light, but I just thought it was about time someone gave an accurate, no-bs assessment of the place.

I'm a current 2nd year at St Andrews and I'm really, really enjoying it.

Some of your points are ridiculous, but at least answer me this;

When you applied to, and accepted your place at, St Andrews university, did you really believe there would be many clubs or a large "shopping centre"?
St Andrews main appeal apart from its excellent academic reputation is the fact that it is a small, quiet, safe town. It is for exactly those reasons that I turned down universities like Imperial and Kings to come here.

It certainly doesn't sound like you're having a good time, and I am sorry for that - but were you expecting the town to be different to how it is? Did you not visit? Did you not look in a prospectus? Did you even go on the wikipedia? I can't believe someone could be as shocked as you apparently are.

edit: Some posts which stood out...

foxo

God, I didn't think anyone actually believed that St. Andrews was just as good as Oxford and Cambridge.

People generally don't think that, but the university performed exceptionally well in both the dreaded "league tables" and in other quality-measures (such as the RAE) this year. I do believe it is not only the best university in Scotland, but one of the top 5 in the UK.

Reply 55

SiaSiaSia

moonlight_freakout

Don't argue your point too much, huh?!

Reply 56

Leto

sophie_c

In terms of shops, as it is a small town of course there are going to be less shops than in a bigger city, but it's got pretty much everything you need! 4 supermarkets (Tesco, Alsi, Morrisons, 24hr Nisa Extra), New Look, Boots, Clarks, WH Smith, Rymans, Monsoon and Accesorize, Superdry, Joules, Jack Wills, The Body Shop, several phone shops, Trespass, Intersport, American import food shop, and many independent clothing and shoe shops, food shops, lots of amazing gift type shops (Beetle, Bonkers, Top Drawer etc), several bakeries (you have to try a fudge doughnut from Fisher and Donaldson mmmm :smile:

After reading the OP, I had visions of St Andrews as a tiny village with nothing but a local grocer and a post office in danger of closing.

After reading your post, it's got more than where I live. Which is supposed to be a large town but we don't even have a bookshop. So I definitely won't be striking St Andrews off my 'maybe I'll apply there' list yet! :smile:

Reply 57

lauram992

Is Dundee actually good? I know this is going a little off topic but I saw you mentioned Dundee. I visited there for an IV and was really impressed by the uni, but like you said, I noticed the city is pretty small and it was a bit bleak on first impressions. Does anyone have any comment about Dundee that would help me make a decision (provided I get an offer? :P)

Reply 58

dreamyeyed

Yup. I know people who transferred out of St Andrews to Glasgow because they hated the place, people and the teaching. It's not what it's cracked up to be. Quite glad they rejected me now!

Reply 59

Scottish_Klams

L i b

You should have visited before you went, or at least tried to gain a reasonable idea of where you were applying to.

There are at least some quite decent clubs in Dundee, or at least there certainly were a couple of years ago.

The beach is usable all year round? Yeah, you go and sit out on the sands in this ******* weather, see how much fun it is...

It is fairly isolated. Its proximity to Dundee and Edinburgh are its only saving grace, and transport links with either are pretty poor. The rest of Fife is, frankly, a hole which I can't imagine many students would want to visit.

Not really, just a fairly normal amount for a town its size, I'd say.