Questions/Concerns about St. Andrews

Hello! I just received a conditional offer from St. Andrews (Philosophy and Statistics BSc) and was beyond happy as it has been my "dream university" for quite a while now. However, I started having second thoughts soon afterward, and I was wondering if anyone could address any of them (doesn't have to be everything, I'd appreciate any bit of information).

1. What initially attracted me was the quietness and community feel of the place (as I heard), but I can't visit the town for myself as I am an international student. Can anyone tell me about the daily experience of living there and whether there are any gardens/parks/similar places to hang out in?

2. As an international student, I find the tuition fees quite expensive (unfortunately, I submitted my UCAS application too close to the deadline, so I wasn't able to apply for the international excellence scholarship). How many funding opportunities are available throughout the actual years of study?

3. I've heard about the domestic prestige but am concerned that it won't translate internationally. How difficult is it to find internships throughout my studies to boost my employability then?

4. I really like the flexible course structure, though I was wondering if it would be possible at all for me to take Economics as my 3rd course in the first year, considering that I didn't apply for it and it's very competitive.

5. The student satisfaction rates are very high (which is a huge reason behind why I targeted St. Andrews), but I'm scared that it's not super reliable considering the negative experiences I read about here. Are they just "exceptions to the rule"?

6. Just a general question: how approachable are the professors if a student needs extra help or feedback?

I also received an offer from Bristol, which initially wasn't my first choice as I didn't find the modules as appealing, but I'm applying to the Think Big scholarship and might actually firm Bristol if I am successful. Any advice? Thank you!

I can't comment on the specifics of the course or academic staff but I can try other points:

St Andrews does quite a lot of research as a percentage of staff (joint 10th with Southampton and Loughborough - everywhere's at least 15% behind Oxford or Cambridge for research intensity) but the quality of it overall is only joint 25th on 83%, which is behind Liverpool. It's currently 5th for percentage of graduates who go on to do something related to their subject. n.b. I would take claims of entry standards with a pinch of salt. Many Scottish universities claim to have high entry grades achieved by entrants but, in practice, they either admit a lot of 17 year old Scottish students whose Highers are not directly comparable to A-Levels, or they admit a lot of international students for which the same is true. St Andrews currently has a 40.4% of international students. This is higher than any major UK university outside of London. I visited St Andrews as a tourist and it felt far too isolated and quiet for me. Beautiful ancient buildings do exist in non-quiet places too. St Andrews is Scotland's oldest university and the third oldest in the UK so that gives it some prestige but I suspect it was off the radar for many people until Prince William and Kate Middleton studied there.

Ok, that just irritates me. Most students in Scotland apply to university with the grades they already have from their Highers. This means they already know if they meet the entry requirements for most courses and offers aren't reliant on future exam results - a system that I'm sure a lot of English students would prefer. However most will also the study for more Highers or Advanced Highers in S6. This means that when they go to uni they have accumulated more UCAS tariff points. To note, an A at Advanced Higher scores the same in points as an A* at A level.

So for example a Scottish student with 3 A's at Advanced Higher will have the same tariff points as an English student with 3 A*s. But if they also have 5 A's at Higher, then the points for those Highers (where they are in different subjects to the Advanced Highers) will be added to their tariff score.

Scottish universities will probably have higher reported levels of entry grades because they admit more Scottish students and these students have accumulated more tariff points. It's not something they've made up- it's just a difference in the education system and how it is reflected in the tariff system.

To note 5 A's in Highers is only just short of the same score as 3 A*s at A level. So again, using the tariff system, not far off the same level. You can argue about the tariff system if you want but it's the agreed system for comparing different qualifications.

As far as content goes, I'd agree that an Advanced Higher is more similar to A level (effectively a second year building on the one year at Higher). But as I said many students have passed these before going to uni.

OK, I better understand now. We should probably just use the average of an entrant's top 3 grades of A-Level.equivalents in these league tables. It'd be fairer on Scottish universities and fairer on other universities in establishing approximate proven intelligence of the entrants for that year.

Yikes! Exams are certainly not a testament to "proven intelligence". Yes, they are what we have, but they don't prove intelligence; they prove the ability to do well in exams.

Guys pls tell me about the weather and mental health

Thank you so much! Genuine question though, why not base decisions on student satisfaction?

Guys pls tell me about the weather and mental health

It rains a lot and everyone is depressed.

Anyone please?😔 Would also appreciate links to resources that might answer these questions!

It rains a lot and everyone is depressed.

Because what might "satisfy" one student may not another. It's based on things like nightlife, perceived teaching quality, price of a pint etc.
As per my original comments St Andrews is a very good university that performs well in domestic rankings, but not so internationally (depending what rankings you look at) due to the way those are skewed towards more larger research-intensive institutions (and with that more so in the Anglosphere). However St Andrews has always had a strong reputation in Medicine/Medical Sciences, International Relations, its postgraduate School of Management, and it usually ranks globally in the top 50 for Arts and Humanities subjects.
In terms of the social scene, it is what it is: a quiet coastal town with a strong student tight-knit community. Some point towards issues of classism/lack of diversity at St Andrews. Sure it lacks diversity and probably has a higher proportion of privately educated students, and a lot of Americans, but university life is what you make of it.