St Andrews - Ask A Current Student Thread

Hiya, would really appreciate some help pleeeeaaaseee!!

So I'm applying to St Andrews this year because apparently it has the biggest and one of the best medieval history departments (is this true?) and cos I live quite far away I'm basically going to have to fly to edinburgh to get there. I've been working out some costs and my maintenance loan will only cover my accomodation (the cheapest so albany or fife park, are they nice?) and y travel through out the year. Which means I'm going to have to get a job while Im there. So basically are there many jobs in St Andrews? As its pretty small is it a bit of a scramble?!!
Also looking at the accomodation most of it is, to me at least, extortionate!!! 5 grand even if its self catered!! So how do other st andrews afford this as my loan would never cover it. Do many peoples parents step in and pay it?

Anyway thank you for any help lovely St Andrews students!!!

Are they still doing building work? I'm planning to study maths here, but when I looked on google maps to see what the uni actually looked like, all I could see was a bunch of construction work...

Albany and Fife Park are pretty basic but nice enough. Albany is probaly slightly nicer and it has a common room in each house, which FP doesn't. Albany is about a 15-20 minute walk out of town and Fife Park is about 20-25 minutes (but there is a bus from there). There are jobs in St Andrews, especially if you are willing to do bar work and if you try hard and go around places with CV's, you can get a job. There are alot of pubs and they are often looking for staff.
DRA and New hall are really expensive because they are en suite but the catered halls are more affordable because the price includes your food for a year. Especially Andrew Melville which is subsidised by the uni to make it slightly cheaper. I'd say most people receive some support from their parents. A combination of loans, parents, an overdraft and sometimes a job and you can survive.

Where are you from, may I ask?

Thank you for replying!!

Yes they do seem nice, I would love to live in Albany and pay the extra because its so close to the beach!
Is catered really more affordable? Cos about 2 grand seems a lot to spend on food, as you've still got travel and a social life to pay for. As if you go into self catered you can try and just eat on the cheap as much as possible. Or am I just being really naive about the cost of living?!
But I guess other years go into private accomodation and even move to dundee for cheaper living as st andrews is pretty tiny! So is this an option 2nd/third/fourth years choose?
And I'm from Devon so same country but its cheaper to fly

You could take a megabus. It would take a long time but would be cheap.
Well if you think about it. Say you're here for roughly 35 weeks, thats £57 a week. You also get cleaners in catered halls, so you save money on things like cleaning products and toilet roll etc. You could probaly eat for less than that but you get alot of food. I'm just pointing out that Melville is also affordable.
I'm not going to lie. Accommodation in St Andrews is a major issue and you wont find private accommodation cheaper than Albany/FP. Also, be aware that it isn't guaranteed that you will get into Albany/FP. It is seriously oversubscribed because they are the cheapest options available. Don't let that put you off applying though. Do you not receive a grant or anything?

Some people do end up in Dundee but you need to factor in the cost of the £6 bus ticket each day. Plus it's more inconvenient. Most 2nd/3rd/4th years rent privately. Alot of it is very expensive but there are cheaper places to be found.

Hey,
I will apply to foundation year for enter to psychology one year later.I do love the look,the style and the system of Saint Andrews however I do have a few questions.

1)How good is the professors and whats their reaction when you want do research and so ?

2)Can you choose any modules of Maths or Filmmaking ? Because I do desire to skill myself in those areas too
Thanks

The lecturers are great. Obviously you get some better than others and in psychology I can think of amazing lecturers and maybe 1 or 2 who aren't so great but still know what they're talking about. You get the opportunity to do mini research projects in your stats classes too.

You can take modules in maths and also film studies, however the film studies course is theoretical rather than a practical film-making course.

Hey there!
I'm applying for maths and was wondering about the personnal statement, what percentage should be purely about the subject? At the minute mine is probably 50% maths and then lots of other little chunks of extra stuff I've done, most of that about music and experiences I've had.

Would you say it should be more about maths? I'm at the 4000 character limit.

Thanks very much

i would like to do some volunteering work every wend at st andrews preferably with children or at stables. can u help me please?

Probably been asked before, but can anybody with any experience tell me about the prices of Private Sector Accommodation, how likely it is to get it in the town of St. Andrews, and perhaps even tell me of there own experiences when it comes to getting accommodation in later years?

The cheapest you'll find further out of town centre would be £360pppm (and you'd be lucky to get this!) and this goes all the way up as you get to the town centre/near the Old Course in the big, fancy flats. It is quite stressful as there isn't enough private accommodation for the number of people looking so you need to be properly prepared in advance and move fast when it comes to the time where estate agents are putting lists out and things.

When abouts would this be, When I should start looking out. Would it be near the end of first year, or would it be over summer?

Also before I get ahead of myself, I only sat 4 Highers in S5. I got AAAA. What are my chances of even getting an offer, based on past years? (For Chemistry, Subjects are Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Computing)

It will be the end of January/February that the majority of people find their private accommodation leases.

The requirements on the whole only include 4 Highers so you're fine

Here's a question: I sat my Highers quite a long time ago, 2006 to be specific. I got ABBBB, however I had no real focus for study or direction I aspired to go in. I went back and re-sat all five again in the one go and got AAAAA. How would this be viewed by St Andrews?