[TheUbermensche]

Ok, so I got an offer for Economics and Philosophy last week so doing the final bit of research before I 'firm' it. (nota bene: now looking for Econ/Phil students to get in touch with!)

In my reseach, I came across a website of the student traditions of St Salvator's Hall (games like coining etc.) What I noticed from that is that St Andrews seems like a very 'Americanized' university in the sense that there is a large focus on the drinks and sex culture; more so than I would expect at unis like Manchester even.

Whilst I don't have a problem with that (I am a teen male!), I am also someone to sometimes just enjoy sitting around with people discussing novels, theatre, debate etc. I applied for Oxford (rejected unfortunately) because it was the ideal university that would facilitate that; the people have a genuine passion for the subjects they study and they actually enjoy talking about it et al. E.g. philosophy students actually sit by the fireside discussing Nietzsche into the late hours of the night.

I am also a very political individual, an ardent leftie at that. Now, since St Andrews is sort of drawn back from any major towns and cities, I can imagine its not a very politically active university. Would that be a fair judgement?
Also, it seems like a farfetched idea to bump into any Labour supporters in somewhere like St Andrews; am I wrong in thinking that? (p.s. I have my conservative tendencies so I am not fussed about ideologues!

I suppose the crux of my question is :
Does the drink culture overshadow the academic culture of St A? Are the people there actually passionate about what they study? Can someone who is very intellectually driven enjoy himself there?

ADD:
To current students: I am from a very urban surrounding, so, how much of student body would you say are ethnic minorities?

[Square]

lol

ok in all seriousness:

there's only so much that 'researching' the university will do to give you an idea of what to expect. Yes there is a lot of drinking but it is also full of smart folk, the two go very much hand in hand in my experience, no one takes themselves too seriously.

I wouldn't say its a particularly politically active university, but there are those who get involved; see the burning of barack obama a few weeks ago, and the equivalent labour scum going around shouting: "tory ***** (four word letter for female genitals)" when a conservative MP was speaking to the some students.

[jwd22]

Saint Salvator's was where I lived! What/where's this website; because although it's true for some, its not the case for most people there!

[TheUbermensche]

(Original post by jwd22)
Saint Salvator's was where I lived! What/where's this website; because although it's true for some, its not the case for most people there!

Someone posted it on here on another forum, I will try find it!

[monkyvirus]

OP made me smile because it was such a misconception:

1) we are not removed we are on the doorstep of dundee and easily linked to edinburgh and glasgow (like everyone else in the central belt)
2) we have a multitude of excellent pubs. Also we have tons of cafes and restaurants because we like to sit down with friends and chat. You will also experience many academic family dinners, etc. so the drinking culture isn't as bingey as you might believe
3) sallies has drinking game traditions but they hardly drag you to pubs or spike you're OJ in the morning
4) we don't hide the fact people like to hook up so we are rewarded with clear areas of one night stand material: the union, the bop and the lizard. Everywhere else is a safe zone The pubs all close at 12 and kick you out by 1 so how much drinking do you think we can fit in?
5) we love discussing our subjects and in fact most of them are Oxbridge rejects so most students here desire nothing more than somewhere to nurture their passions. We are a good uni, we attract good students, good students like their subjects simple as.
6) if I had a penny for every night my friends and I had spent discussing politics, philosophy, literature, science, music and bad movies until dawn I wouldn't need to worry about my student loan.
7) IR is by far the most popular subject which is obviously political, just in case you were worried! and lots of folk take a random module in IR or philsophy out of interest (the advantage of a scottish uni)

One word of warning the sports societies can have a HEAVY emphasis on drinking, though the amount of peer pressure to drink is pretty minimal.

also most of us don't own fireplaces :P

[TheUbermensche]

(Original post by monkyvirus)
OP made me smile because it was such a misconception:

1) we are not removed we are on the doorstep of dundee and easily linked to edinburgh and glasgow (like everyone else in the central belt)
2) we have a multitude of excellent pubs. Also we have tons of cafes and restaurants because we like to sit down with friends and chat. You will also experience many academic family dinners, etc. so the drinking culture isn't as bingey as you might believe
3) sallies has drinking game traditions but they hardly drag you to pubs or spike you're OJ in the morning
4) we don't hide the fact people like to hook up so we are rewarded with clear areas of one night stand material: the union, the bop and the lizard. Everywhere else is a safe zone The pubs all close at 12 and kick you out by 1 so how much drinking do you think we can fit in?
5) we love discussing our subjects and in fact most of them are Oxbridge rejects so most students here desire nothing more than somewhere to nurture their passions. We are a good uni, we attract good students, good students like their subjects simple as.
6) if I had a penny for every night my friends and I had spent discussing politics, philosophy, literature, science, music and bad movies until dawn I wouldn't need to worry about my student loan.
7) IR is by far the most popular subject which is obviously political, just in case you were worried! and lots of folk take a random module in IR or philsophy out of interest (the advantage of a scottish uni)

One word of warning the sports societies can have a HEAVY emphasis on drinking, though the amount of peer pressure to drink is pretty minimal.

also most of us don't own fireplaces :P

Ok I just needed to hear that!
Drinking culture is perfectly fine with me, but as you perfectly described, a 'bingey' drinking culture is clearly not preferred.
I wouldn't mind a tiny bit of class for my 4 years there

[Lucia.]

Hm not true, " there is a large focus on the drinks and sex culture" - in actuality people in St Andrews can be quite prudish so I think this "sex culture" is over-egged, possibly by those who are indifferent to it. I've noticed that many students in St Andrews are socially conservative (not saying that's a bad thing; it's just an observation).

[henriksebastian]

Hi! I love to be informed and to discuss many subjects, so I can identify with you up to an extent. However, there is always the danger of sounding "elitist".

It's a University, and a reputable one. Thus, obviously most of the people who get in will be fairly academic and fairly interested in their subjects. So yes, you'll find like-minded people! Who doesn't enjoy learning, discussing and talking about academic subjects once in a while? If you're interested in something, it's only natural, and there's always people with similar interests.

The idea that such a competitive uni to get into is full of shallow, superficial, oversexed kids is a bit funny... but yeah, there's everything.

Ethnic minorities? What do you mean? In St. Andrews the Scotts are a minority LOL! And I'm serious! If I read right, it's about 1/3 international, 1/3 EU and 1/3 UK students. Now consider how many countries the international ones come from and how many countries there are in the EU, or the different places in the UK, you really get a diverse university.

I've firmed to study MA Economics, and will probably be studying psychology, philosophy and IR alongside, and end up with a joint honours. Hope your intellectual thirst isn't going to be a barrier for you to come join us!