University of St Andrews

St Andrews vs Glasgow?

Hi,

I have unconditional offers for Glasgow and St Andrews for environmental/earth science.

Not quite sure how to decide between the two, I've been told the main difference is between city or town life? Is this true? Are the courses majorly different? From what the modules are on the websites, they seem pretty similar?! :confused:

Any help would be much appreciated! :smile:

Reply 1

megscot95

Your really best to try visit both universities and see which one you feel is best for you, as they are both very different universities. I know St. Andrews does post offer open days from next month onwards, and I'm pretty sure Glasgow do, so you might want to look into that :smile:

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University of St Andrews

Reply 2

Chammy1

I went to Glasgow Uni first before dropping out and going to St Andrews so I can give you advice!

Glasgow is a huge city and the university is massive. I didn't like the way the course (psychology, sociology, history) was set up and I didn't feel like I was part of the community, I felt like I was just a number. I am from a town that is smaller than St Andrews, so I found the city overwhelming, so that was a major factor in my decision to leave. I found it difficult to make friends because I never saw the same person twice even though I joined a lot of sports clubs and societies. If you like the look of Glasgow more, I recommend you stay in Murano halls. I stayed in Queen Margaret and the atmosphere was horrible. The clubs and social life in Glasgow are excellent though, if you do make friends. My friend from home went to another glasgow based university, and the clubs are amazing.

I love St Andrews. I found the course challenging (psychology, biology, maths) but manageable. I like how personal the university is, I do feel like I was taken care of when I started. My adviser is available most of the time, and my tutors engage in their students lives.
It's a weird set-up socially though. I went out roughly 3 times a week in first semester. The union and a few select pubs make up the main part of my social life. Friday nights I always have a lot of drinks and go to the union, and may end up in our only 'night-club'. I love going on club holidays and stuff like that but I managed to get used to it. Sometimes the halls or sports teams arrange nights out in dundee which is a nice change. Saturday nights are usually the same. Wednesday nights, all the sports teams have a social. I found the clubs to be a lot more inviting and engaging. When I turned up at socials, I quickly managed to friends. You also have academic parents to take you out as well. Ceilidh's are very popular in St Andrews. I thought it was a weird way to spend your nights but they are good fun and everyone heads to the pub afterwards. My friends from halls make up the majority of my social life. The atmosphere is great and the older students make sure you make friends. I recommend Melville or Uni hall.

It all depends on what type of person you are. If going out to clubs is important to you, then choose Glasgow. Don't be too put off by my experience, I was unlucky. St Andrews isn't filled with posh people and we do like going out drinking and going to clubs. If you prefer a more personal touch to your education, and don't mind town life, choose St Andrews.

In terms of modules, look at university guides and league tables and see what the differences are. Glasgow and St Andrews are in the top 3 highest ranking universities in Scotland, so you will get a good degree regardless of where you go.