[cbredear]

(Original post by spongle)
Classes start on the 17th, but "Orientation" week begins on the 10th. So usually (if I remember correctly) halls will start letting people in on the Saturday, so the 8th.

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/semesterdates/

Yes, move-in is on the 8th (most halls at 10AM).

Here is the orientation schedule: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/orientation/events/.

[kecius]

Thanks!

[Oh-WOW]

(Original post by kecius)
Hi, I'm starting an Art History course this year at St Andrews. I'm not from the UK and I'll have to travel by plane to Scotland. I'm kinda hoping to plan my trip in advance. Does anyone know when I should arrive? As far as I understand, the course starts on the 10th of September, but I think I read somewhere that you can move in a couple of days earlier? FAQ on the university website states that 'the arrival date is usually the Saturday prior to Orientation Week', does that mean the 8th? Or do I have to wait for them to send me info about my accomodation and then I'll know when to arrive?

(Original post by spongle)
Classes start on the 17th, but "Orientation" week begins on the 10th. So usually (if I remember correctly) halls will start letting people in on the Saturday, so the 8th.

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/semesterdates/

Even though classes wont begin until 17th, you will need to be there by 10th to complete advising etc and you wont want to miss out on the freshers weeks events as that's were you meet people and make friends! Most people will arrive on 8th and some more on 9th.

[kecius]

Ok, thanks. Just one more question - Orientation week is the same as Freshers week?

[Ecosse_14]

(Original post by kecius)
Ok, thanks. Just one more question - Orientation week is the same as Freshers week?

Yes

[Bonzo10]

Any advice on applying to economics at St. Andrews? Things to mention in statement, necessary experience, etc? Any help would be massively appreciated.

[Ecosse_14]

(Original post by Bonzo10)
Any advice on applying to economics at St. Andrews? Things to mention in statement, necessary experience, etc? Any help would be massively appreciated.

Nothing specifically for St Andrews I don't think. Just make sure you have a good personal statement, just like for any other university. This might help

[chailattelove]

Hello! I was thinking about buying a gown during Fresher's Week. Could anyone please tell me how much a new/used one costs?

[Ecosse_14]

(Original post by chailattelove)
Hello! I was thinking about buying a gown during Fresher's Week. Could anyone please tell me how much a new/used one costs?

New is around £135 and used is something like £80. Roughly. Make sure you get there super early on the Monday morning

[sarahxcv]

Hello, I've just got my 5th year Higher results (AAAB) which I am very very happy with, considering I was convinced I had only got ACCC! My dream is to study Art History/Philosophy at St Andrews, and so was wondering if ANYONE could give me a rough idea of whether or not those grades would be enough to get a conditional offer from them, and what those conditions are likely to be (I'm planning on taking two more highers in sixth year). Thank you!

[TheFOMaster]

Hey I'll be applying for St Andrews next year aswell with similar results for a different course

For Art History you need AABB. I'd probably assume you need A's in History and possibly English. Since you exceed the results you could get an Unconditional with a good personal statement. For a conditional, you'll get asked for an A/B in a Social Science at Higher, or Advanced Higher. Good luck, Hope to see you there

[Ecosse_14]

(Original post by sarahxcv)
Hello, I've just got my 5th year Higher results (AAAB) which I am very very happy with, considering I was convinced I had only got ACCC! My dream is to study Art History/Philosophy at St Andrews, and so was wondering if ANYONE could give me a rough idea of whether or not those grades would be enough to get a conditional offer from them, and what those conditions are likely to be (I'm planning on taking two more highers in sixth year). Thank you!

With AAAB, you could get an unconditional if you have a good personal statement. You could also be given a conditional but nobody knows what the conditions would be (only the admissions tutor knows that). Or, you could be unsuccessful (particularly if your PS isn't good). It isn't all about the grades, a lot of it depends on your personal statement.

[lost eden]

Jumping on the electronics confiscation bandwagon...

There are certain things that are not allowed in halls & will be confiscated if the staff notice them - things like fairy lights, lava lamps, kettles, hotplates, this should all be in the paperwork/contract you sign. If you live in a hall with a cleaner that comes around & cleans your room once a week they will often notice these things & report them to hall management who will come & confiscate them.

Actual 'inspections' are very rare, if at all. When I lived in New Hall there was once in the entire year that they chose one room per corridor at random & had a quick nose to see if there was anything disallowed, but that was it. Incidentally, my room looked like this at the time & they (rightly) had no issue with it.

Some halls will send a guy around doing Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) but that is usually only on the appliances provided by the hall (the desk lamp, etc.) & not your personal things.

Unless you have something that is explicitly disallowed, or are doing something obviously dangerous, you're not going to have any problems.

(Original post by p.anamarija)
I was wondering if youve ever heard of any of the students having their electronics (laptop in particular) confiscated during the checks they describe on the unis website?

Also, If Im coming from Europe, will it really make a big difference if I bring my laptop + a socket adapter or buy one in the UK?

Whatever you do don't go & buy a new laptop, or even a new charger - both would be ridiculous things to do!

An adapter will be fine, but you'll probably also find that you can just replace the mains cable of the charger with one that has a UK plug on the end so you won't have to worry about an adaptor. If you look at your laptop charger, you'll probably find that the mains cable is detachable & has a EU plug on one end (that goes to the wall) & a standard connector on the end that goes into the charger. Just replace that with one that has a UK connector on the wall end.

(Original post by laughylolly)
Do many people at St Andrews have desktops? I have an Imac and it's not very old and functioning properly so I would rather take that than buy a laptop.

There are far more people who just have a laptop, but it's certainly not unheard of to have a desktop (or even multiple... see the link I posted earlier in this post!) in their rooms. Makes for watching movies with friends in your room much nicer when you have a decent sized monitor & speakers, rather than all crowding around a laptop!

(Original post by hayheyley)
Haha that's not good! I heard that New Hall once had a fire alarm 6 times in a week but that might not have been last year. It might also be a lie because I'm pretty sure it was a Melvillite who told me that :P

5 years ago when I was staying in New Hall somebody thought it would be fun to intentionally set off the alarm, in the middle of the night, multiple times per week. Unfortunately I don't think they every caught who it was, as it would've been rewarding to see him/her expelled from the uni & criminally charged.

[Helsy]

(Original post by lost eden)
Jumping on the electronics confiscation bandwagon...

There are certain things that are not allowed in halls & will be confiscated if the staff notice them - things like fairy lights, lava lamps, kettles, hotplates, this should all be in the paperwork/contract you sign. If you live in a hall with a cleaner that comes around & cleans your room once a week they will often notice these things & report them to hall management who will come & confiscate them.

Actual 'inspections' are very rare, if at all. When I lived in New Hall there was once in the entire year that they chose one room per corridor at random & had a quick nose to see if there was anything disallowed, but that was it. Incidentally, my room looked like this at the time & they (rightly) had no issue with it.

Some halls will send a guy around doing Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) but that is usually only on the appliances provided by the hall (the desk lamp, etc.) & not your personal things.

Unless you have something that is explicitly disallowed, or are doing something obviously dangerous, you're not going to have any problems.

Things have changed in New Hall. Though our cleaner typically never really said anything about the electronics, we did have monthly inspections, and I did have something confiscated during one of these.
New Hall has the PAT, and they do test your own things. Basically anything that involved electricity was tested, the same for everyone else I knew in the hall, which resulted in one of my friends having his laptop charger confiscated.

[Ecosse_14]

(Original post by Helsy)
Things have changed in New Hall. Though our cleaner typically never really said anything about the electronics, we did have monthly inspections, and I did have something confiscated during one of these.
New Hall has the PAT, and they do test your own things. Basically anything that involved electricity was tested, the same for everyone else I knew in the hall, which resulted in one of my friends having his laptop charger confiscated.

Yeah you'll have started getting monthly checks because it's now self-catered and all self catered residences are inspected once a month.

[Helsy]

(Original post by Ecosse_14)
Yeah you'll have started getting monthly checks because it's now self-catered and all self catered residences are inspected once a month.

That goes for DRA catered as well though doesn't it? Because from what I've read/heard everyone in DRA has monthly inspections regardless of the food situation.

And this may be a stupid question, but why do the catered halls not have monthly inspections?

[Ecosse_14]

(Original post by Helsy)
That goes for DRA catered as well though doesn't it? Because from what I've read/heard everyone in DRA has monthly inspections regardless of the food situation.

And this may be a stupid question, but why do the catered halls not have monthly inspections?

Ah yeah catered DRA people still get monthly inspections. Um, I think it's because catered residences get cleaners.

[hayheyley]

The PAT is for all halls as far as I am aware, just to check that electronics comply with UK safety regulations.

(Original post by Helsy)
That goes for DRA catered as well though doesn't it? Because from what I've read/heard everyone in DRA has monthly inspections regardless of the food situation.

And this may be a stupid question, but why do the catered halls not have monthly inspections?

I was in Melville and I wasn't *told* of any inspections I had, although one time I returned to my room to find someone had moved the posters from my door/wardrobe door to the poster board (and the same with my friend next door). I'm assuming this was an inspection but I had expected a note to explain why my stuff had been moved while I was out. Anyway, I just moved it back & it never got moved again.

[Helsy]

(Original post by Ecosse_14)
Ah yeah catered DRA people still get monthly inspections. Um, I think it's because catered residences get cleaners.

New Hall had cleaners. Though they only cleaned once a month...

(Original post by hayheyley)
I was in Melville and I wasn't *told* of any inspections I had, although one time I returned to my room to find someone had moved the posters from my door/wardrobe door to the poster board (and the same with my friend next door). I'm assuming this was an inspection but I had expected a note to explain why my stuff had been moved while I was out. Anyway, I just moved it back & it never got moved again.

My whole corridor never had problems with posters on the wardrobes etc. Might just be because we had nice people checking. But we always did get a note saying that the room had been checked. A bright red one, probably to make sure we saw it.

[lost eden]

Ah sorry, didn't know about the changes - it was 5 years ago that I stayed in New Hall

As for PAT I'm somewhat against it, as it can actually result in damage to the equipment being tested. I've seen equipment that has been discarded for failing a PAT where the reason for the failure... was the PAT itself!

You should also know that any appliance under a year old doesn't need PAT. And if the Hall comes & does PAT on your things without informing you, you should kick up a fuss