Has anyone applied for English and Film ?

Anyone else apply for English and Film?
Haven't heard anything yet .. :/

Don't worry. St Andrews doesn't start to make decisions until the UCAS deadline. I got my offer in mid-February, but they can take up until the deadline to respond. They have loads of applications to go through so I wouldn't worry. I study English at St Andrews and am happy to answer any questions you have .

Ah, thank you. Well, could you tell me a bit about the overall student life/experience/atmosphere at St Andrews, particularly in comparison with other Universities? I've heard some stories about lecturers not turning up and not really caring etc... Have you had any problems with that sort of thing? Also, is the English course very different in a Scottish Uni do you think? Thanks! x

The student life is great in St Andrews, it is definitely very different to other unis, but that's not necessarily a bad thing!

Some people say your social life isn't as good if you life in one of the 'far away' halls, but to be honest, you can walk anywhere in St Andrews, whereas my friends at city unis usually had to get buses from halls into uni. I think you do get a very different experience in each hall. I was in New Hall ( now Agnes Forbes Blackadder), and the layout is pretty much like a travel inn. I got to know the people in my own kitchen and a couple of other kitchens, but that was it really, I met people in classes and I'd ask them where they lived and usually it'd turn out they lived in my hall, I just hadn't met them in the whole six months. The catered calls are a lot more sociable, so if you'd like a wide social group in your halls I'd go for one of those, but some people prefer cooking for themselves and being in a small group.

There are loads of traditions which is great, Academic Families, red gowns, raisin weekend, the may dip, and they're all optional of course, so if the more traditional side of things isn't for you then don't worry. Balls are usually on at least every other week, some are more popular than others but you can usually find a formal event to go to if you want to. Societies are key in St Andrews, because it's rather small, people put a lot into societies and make an effort to get people involved and give them something to do. I've done really random things like going to a bakery at night time and going to a Quidditch meeting. If you're looking for the city atmosphere, St Andrews maybe isn't the place, but I go to Dundee three times a week which is 30 minutes away and you can easily get to Edinburgh and Glasgow too, but strangely most people just stay in St Andrews!

One of the great things about St Andrews is that there isn't really a divide in year groups, which is helped by academic families and societies. I have friends in every year group including postgrads.

I have had a few occasions where a lecturer hasn't turned up, but this has always been followed up by an email from the department explaining why. This has usually been due to staff illness or clash in availability, I think there's only once where there was an unexplained absence, but the department's always apologised and I think it's expected it will happen on occasion, but it is rare, it doesn't happen all the time.

How much your tutor/lecturer cares really varies depending on who you have, and I think this is the same at any university. I had a lovely tutor last year who would take the time to talk to you and guide you through anything you were finding difficult, I always spoke to her before essays. On the other hand you can get ones who are more reluctant, but to be honest I've only ever had one tutor who I've been terrified to speak to because I think he thinks I'm a waste of his time, but he's actually got much better this semester! The English department is generally very friendly and approachable and I have found them helpful in most cases, but I think there will always be a staff member or two you clash with. If I have had an issue with a staff member I've gone to the school president or my year rep who is a student and they can help you too.

I'd say the English course is different at a Scottish uni, firstly because of modules. You have to study three modules in your first two years, but you can pick similar subjects like linguistics, Comparative Literature or a language, but you can do anything that fits in your timetable, as long as you take English all the way through. Most modules at Sub-honours level will contain some element of Scottish Literature, but I've enjoyed most of it! I even took a module on Older Scots Literature. At honours level you're free to choose the modules you want, but you have to study at least one medieval, one rennaisance/restoration and one Augustans/Romantics/Victorians, but it's not too restricting! There's even opportunity to do creative writing modules too.

Sorry this has been an essay! Do let me know if you have any more questions .

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer in such detail. Last question! Is there a greater proportion of international students/ English students/ Scottish Students? And if so, is it hard to keep in contact do you find because everyone lives so far away? Is there a diversity in the type of students, like you would find at a city university? Thanks again

No problem Sorry I should also add that because you're joint honours, you'll only have one extra subject to do in your first two years, and you won't be restricted with the modules you can take in English in your last two years as you'll have another subject too.

The proportion of international students is high, about a third come from outside the EU, and about 1/5 of the student population is from North America. There are quite a few English and Scottish, I have only met one student from Wales so far! There are also quite a lot from Northern Ireland too, but I've only met one girl from the Republic of Ireland. It's definitely diverse, but I also find that some nationalities prefer to stick together. Most of my friends are from the UK, and I have two close friends from the US, but apart from that I don't know many people too well who live abroad. In the holidays it is hard to keep in touch as everyone goes back to wherever in the UK or abroad, but I'm lucky that most of my friends live in the Fife/Dundee area and I worked in St Andrews for a while in the holidays so it was easy to see them. But I know people whose good friends came from the US and they used it as an opportunity to spend a holiday there. I'd say there's just as much diversity as you'd have at any other uni, just on a smaller scale. We definitely have a higher percentage of students from North America than any other (I think!) uni in the UK, but apart from that I'd say we have quite a good mix!

Hope that helps, and I really don't mind answering questions . I'm a tour guide so I like to babble on!