The Student Room Group

St Andrews or Glasgow University (chemistry)

Glasgow
Pros
close to home
good nightlife
boyfriend & friends going there (not much of a pro.. cos ill make new friends)
already got an offer :p:
accomodation (4,400 ensuite roughly...:s-smilie: )
its quite a good uni...

Cons
...but not as good a uni as STA
lower entry standards etc
may not be allowed to move out (parents HAVE to fund most of it, and are slightly skint :frown: )
if i do move out and cant afford good halls would have a 5:1 bathroom ratio :frown: (slightly bad IBS...)
living at home and travelling an hour would SUCK essp if i had like one lecture to go to :|


St Andrews
Pros
best uni in scotland
great course
NEW expensive facilities
cheapest non ensuite is (2,700 which is good! and only 3:1 bathroom ratio as well)

Cons
SO FAR AWAY!
quite cold town
mostly forgeiners... (or im told theres lots)
someone i know is there, and has NO friends.
ensuite is 4,700!!!!!
LDRs suck balls :frown: (boyfriend and i been going for 3 years)
will be uber skint. lol.
no nightclubs!
posh people go there :s-smilie:


a bit about me:
im quite loud, confident person :smile:
live in a town, (train ride to glasgow...)
i dont drink MUCH, but i do like the occasional night out :smile:
im going to be uber skint at uni, ie not posh :p:
im considered a trendy geek...? like:s-smilie: not my words though :p:
ohhh, i have newly diagnosed IBS which is stress and food related (expensive to buy some of the products)




HELLLLP!:eek3: :eek3:

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So what if foreigners go to STA. They would have got in because they would have worked REALLY hard in their home country. This can be very helpful as you can make friends who work in a different style to you and it could help you with your studies.

I would recommend you go to STA. Like you say, it is the best uni in Scotland. The en suite things is a major con, and so is the fact you will be skint, but what student isnt!

Your long distance relationship with your bf may be a problem, but you have to think of it like this. Which uni will give you a chance to have a better future. Both are good unis, but STA has a better reputation and it will help you.
i HATE this decision :|

i really dont know.


ive not visited st Andrews yet.
but i liked the look of glasgow - felt homey.


but then again.
AHHHH.
hate this :frown:
Reply 3
Visit both. I wouldn't say St Andrews is the best university in Scotland, and define 'best'.

If you can't afford one, and don't want to wait a year and save up, then go to the one you can afford. There's nothing wrong with living at home if you go to Glasgow, it has one of the highest ratios of commuting students outside of London. It's incredibly easy to make friends.
TheOneWho
Visit both. I wouldn't say St Andrews is the best university in Scotland, and define 'best'.

If you can't afford one, and don't want to wait a year and save up, then go to the one you can afford. There's nothing wrong with living at home if you go to Glasgow, it has one of the highest ratios of commuting students outside of London. It's incredibly easy to make friends.


i was actually messaging you about this... :p:
(cos you were on the glasgow // strathy thread)

i was just thinking how is it the "best"... just cos the prince went there ? :rolleyes:

idk, i really dont. but if i can get to live in ggow (can afford if DSA pay the difference of the ensuite to not... well i think i can...) i need to apply before april for accom. AND HATE WAITING!


i hate this decision. noone said it would be this hard....
but wouldnt i have more job prospects if i got like a 2.1 from st andrews versus a 2.1 from glasgow?
LouisVuitton43
but wouldnt i have more job prospects if i got like a 2.1 from st andrews versus a 2.1 from glasgow?


Not necessarily, especially in the Current Economic Climate. My cousin graduated from Glasgow last year, she's got a job as a town planner in New Zealand now, starting salary £40,000.

Go with your gut feeling, not what TSR tells you. Good luck! :smile:
ArcadiaHouse

Go with your gut feeling, not what TSR tells you. Good luck! :smile:



i dont have a gut feeling.
im ALWAYS one over the other, then change like, a few days (or even hours) later :frown:
St Andrew's obviously, it's really good for chemistry and it has a much better reputation than Glasgow.
"GO FOR THE ONE YOU LIKE AND NOT THE ONE WHERE YOU HAVE MAKE SACRIFICES" just take out all the league tables and job prospectus out of your mind because if u are GOOD and graduate even from the worst uni u are going make something out of life.
goodboy4444
"GO FOR THE ONE YOU LIKE AND NOT THE ONE WHERE YOU HAVE MAKE SACRIFICES".



i have to kind of make sacrifices at both...

like, living away from a great nightlife vs living at home with my family...

and dont know which one i "like"
LouisVuitton43
i have to kind of make sacrifices at both...

like, living away from a great nightlife vs living at home with my family...

and dont know which one i "like"

you are confused......confused and ............confused!!!!!!!!!!

if i was in your situation (i hope so)i will choose the one closer to my family.
i can ensure u family support is really important .i am an international student doing my A levels and i miss my family!!!!!!!!!!!!:frown: :frown:
goodboy4444
you are confused......confused and ............confused!!!!!!!!!!

if i was in your situation (i hope so)i will choose the one closer to my family.
i can ensure u family support is really important .i am an international student doing my A levels and i miss my family!!!!!!!!!!!!:frown: :frown:



hmm. i dont think i want to live with my family.
they drive me CRAZY sometimes.
and i hate my sister (she doesnt live here but here ALL the time..)

like my dad can refuse to help pay for halls in glasgow cos its commutable.
but couldnt if i went to st andrews...
LouisVuitton43
i was actually messaging you about this... :p:
(cos you were on the glasgow // strathy thread)

i was just thinking how is it the "best"... just cos the prince went there ? :rolleyes:

idk, i really dont. but if i can get to live in ggow (can afford if DSA pay the difference of the ensuite to not... well i think i can...) i need to apply before april for accom. AND HATE WAITING!


i hate this decision. noone said it would be this hard....


Prince William went there because he didn't have much real choice. It being small, remote and easy to maintain security also helped. I'm not saying St Andrews isn't a good university, it is, but 'best' is subjective.

You should visit both, they are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum.

LouisVuitton43
but wouldnt i have more job prospects if i got like a 2.1 from st andrews versus a 2.1 from glasgow?


If anything, I would argue that being in a city like Glasgow your opportunities of getting some form of relevant work experience is greater. That is what will boost employment chances, not a brand name. It is only really investment banking and the high circles of lawyers who care about university name.
TheOneWho
Prince William went there because he didn't have much real choice. It being small, remote and easy to maintain security also helped. I'm not saying St Andrews isn't a good university, it is, but 'best' is subjective.

You should visit both, they are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum.



If anything, I would argue that being in a city like Glasgow your opportunities of getting some form of relevant work experience is greater. That is what will boost employment chances, not a brand name. It is only really investment banking and the high circles of lawyers who care about university name.




i am ment to visit st andrews on the 24th of march,
but i fear thats too late to accept glasgow...?
someone said QM is booked up well before april (i have a medical note though, would this make any difference :frown: )


wow. never thought about it like that...
QM is always one of the first to go, but then it is pretty much everyone's first choice. I don't think a medical note would make that much difference if all the rooms have been assigned. You would probably get put in a smaller Murano flat or a small place somewhere else. I think you would need to contact the residential services about that though, to see what provisions (if any) are/can be made.
TheOneWho
QM is always one of the first to go, but then it is pretty much everyone's first choice. I don't think a medical note would make that much difference if all the rooms have been assigned. You would probably get put in a smaller Murano flat or a small place somewhere else. I think you would need to contact the residential services about that though, to see what provisions (if any) are/can be made.



i have emailed them about it...
see what happens.
Reply 17
Having visited St Andrews I can say that there is nothing automatic about wanting to pick it over most universities. The 'city' (a very small 'toun') is certainly not for everyone, probably not for the majority of people actually, regardless of their grades. I can imagine that it would be isolating in the extreme if you don't happen to get in to the particular clique that you may want to. For the English, it would be like being stuck in some small windy mill town in West Yorkshire.

Glasgow is bigger (it also appears to have some of the most beautiful university buildings in Scotland) and, if the Times Online table is to be taken as an absolute measure, it is 10th in the UK for Chemistry.

There's no doubt that St Andrews has a very good name for itself these days (but about 13 years ago when I was applying to universities it was advertising a lot of courses in clearing and wasn't quite as highly ranked - if memory serves me it was more struggling to get in to the top 10 then rather than being top 5).

Definitely visit anywhere before you decide to accept- especially a Marmite place like St Andrews, regardless of its impressive age, ranking, and some of its traditions.
which one am i more likely to get (or hopefully get) a phd at?
Reply 19
TheOneWho
Prince William went there because he didn't have much real choice. It being small, remote and easy to maintain security also helped.


Absolutely. He didn't have to worry about getting bored in a small loaction because he could probably hop in a helicopter and go anywhere he wanted whenever he wanted. He also didn't need to worry about not getting in to a clique because he could guarantee that anyone that he wanted to make friends with would probably become friends with him.

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