Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

University of St Andrews

St Andrews rejects 2018

Scroll to see replies

It's not that St Andrews doesn't want EU students it's just that there is a cap on numbers, any University in Scotland going over that cap gets fined if they take more than they are allowed, it affects Scottish students too, we have to get better grades than other applicants too. St Andrew's already has the smallest percentage of Scottish students of any Scottish uni. St Andrews is just a very popular but very small university in a very small country which can't pay for every one who wants to come.

University of St Andrews

Reply 21

alicekronqvist

Lol it feels so sad being a part of this thread..

Course: Psychology MA (Bachelors)
Predicted Grades: IB 38+ (not given my exact predicted grade)
Other Offers: Uni of Edinburgh (accepted w/ 38 condition), Uni of Glasgow (accepted w/ 38 condition), Edinburgh Napier (rejected- but weird bc grade requirements were 28 :/ ), Heriot Watt (waiting)
Where are you from?: Sweden

St. Andrews was definitely one of my top choices but now I'll aim for Uni of Edinburgh I think.

I also emailed St. Andrews for feedback so I'll see what they say...

Anyone else get rejected for Psych?

Reply 22

username3720230

Course: Maths
Predicted Grades: A*A*A* (Maths, Further Maths Physics)
Achieved Grades: AA at AS (598/600 UMS), 6A* 2A GCSE with an A in FSMQ additional maths
Other Offers: Cambridge, Imperial, Durham, Warwick (all offers)
Where are you from?: England (EU Fee though)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 23

Rohan77642

Original post by sameactuallylol

Course: Maths
Predicted Grades: A*A*A* (Maths, Further Maths Physics)
Achieved Grades: AA at AS (598/600 UMS), 6A* 2A 2B GCSE with an A in FSMQ additional maths
Other Offers: Cambridge, Imperial, Durham, Warwick (all offers)
Where are you from?: England (EU Fee though)

hahahaha what??
That is the weirdest thing I have seen today. You got into Cambridge, Imperial, Warwick and Durham for maths, and yet St Andrews decides to reject you??
Wtf.

Reply 24

username3720230

Maybe if I was royalty they wouldn't have rejected me :/

Original post by Rohan77642

hahahaha what??
That is the weirdest thing I have seen today. You got into Cambridge, Imperial, Warwick and Durham for maths, and yet St Andrews decides to reject you??
Wtf.

Reply 25

Rohan77642

Original post by sameactuallylol

Maybe if I was royalty they wouldn't have rejected me :/

I aint no royalty and am from the EU and I got in. But was rejected from Oxford and will soon be rejected from Imperial. So you can probably understand why I am so suprised.

Reply 26

la_banane_verte

Original post by ayten63

There is limited space for home students and no one can deny that they choose Scottish applicants over EU applicants. There are a lot of scottish people who get offers with lower grades than EU applicants. It's a fact and everyone knows how it is harder for EUs to get in.

If it's a fact then you must have some proof for it.

Reply 27

hysterria

Original post by la_banane_verte

If it's a fact then you must have some proof for it.

Of course universities aren't going to straight up admit this, but from what I've heard from other EU students and experienced myself, it's most probably true!

Take my Glasgow offer for instance, they're asking for a grade that was only achieved by 3 people in my whole country last year, and those people all went to places like Oxbridge and Ivy League on full scholarships. I sent Glasgow an email explaining the situation, but they just said "sorry, entry's very competitive this year". If Glasgow demanded grades this high from Scottish applicants too, no one from Scotland would go there anymore!

I also have an offer from Aberdeen with the same conditions as my friend's Oxford offer.

Reply 28

la_banane_verte

Original post by hysterria

Universities are subject to freedom of information (I found a table for someone looking for application and offer numbers that was released under it), so if it is true, then there must be evidence of it which you can find by asking them via freedom of information.

Anecdotes that are subject to confirmation bias aren't good evidence.

Reply 29

ayten63

Original post by la_banane_verte

If it's a fact then you must have some proof for it.

The proof is the experience of many EU applicants like me and one of my best friends who got rejected with grades that were way higher than a scottish applicant while the scottish applicant i am referring to got an offer. There is limited space for Home students and they would like to use the space for Scottish applicants who are their own people and will most probably have benefits to their own society. It's common sense and you can see all the evidence if you choose to listen other people's experiences.

Reply 30

Pxtrycja

Course: Mathematics MA
Predicted Grades: A*A*A in A Levels (Maths, Further Maths, History)
Achieved Grades: 7 A*s, 4 As and 1 B in GCSEs AAAB at AS
Other Offers: Bath, Exeter; Edinburgh (waiting) and Oxford (rejected)
Where are you from?: England (but classed as EU student since im from Poland

But seriously Edinburgh is taking agessss

Reply 31

St A Philosopher

Original post by hysterria

Course: Neuroscience
Predicted Grades: 8/10 on the Dutch VWO (idk what the A-level equivalent of that is, my friend who's predicted the same has gotten into Oxford so I think it's pretty good)
Achieved Grades: irrelevant
Other Offers: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen (offers), Dundee (still waiting)
Where are you from?: Netherlands (I think Scottish unis disfavour EU applicants because we don't pay tuition fees)

Scottish Unis have much more competition due to limited places for EU and Scottish applicants. When people quote 8% offer rates, this is for Scottish and EU students, who it is much harder for, (8% is I believe for Economics and Management.)

Reply 32

Gluefiend

Original post by ayten63

Course: Psychology BSc
Grades: 3 A Levels with A (predicted), have one A Level with A and my IELTS score is 7.5
Other Offers: Glasgow, Exeter, Bristol (offers) and Edinburgh (still waiting)
Where are you from? Cyprus (EU applicant)
ı only think my rejection had to do with my nationality my grades were over the typical offer and both my personal statement and referance was really great. St Andrews doesn't want EU applicants cause it's free for us.

No offence, but I think you got rejected because of your grades.. not because of your nationality.

If people from England who have better predicted grades than you are getting rejected, when there are no quotas on rUK students, then it'd be a bit absurd for you, an EU student, to get an offer when you only have A+AAA predictions..

Reply 33

Victoria.j.m

Original post by Gluefiend

I don't know if I can agree to that, I am a EU student too with already achieved grades of A*A*AA (none of them an EPQ, 4 full A Levels, with one A* in Psychology) and an 8.5 IELTS score. And I got rejected for Psychology, while I know of at least 3 english students got offers for Psychology with predicted grades of AAB.

Now obvs you can argue that my personal statement/reference wasn't good and theirs was better, I mean I can't judge that myself, but all my teachers thought it was really good and I got into for example Durham, so I don't think it was bad. I had lots of work experience and extra readings, too. Also, there is a reality aspect that just cannot be ignored: grades are the most important thing when it comes to uni applications. Or why else do schools make us work so hard? Why else can you only get into the best unis with the best grades? Of course grades are not everything, there are other factors as well, but they still remain the most important component of an application. This is what the unis themselves say as well.

I know I sound bitter, and tbh I actually am bitter right now. I think it's understandable to feel angry that after all this hard work we did to achieve outstanding grades, us EU students get rejected whilst other's who are significantly less academically excelling get offers, because of their nationality. I know unis have caps blablabla, I know it's not all about academic grades blablabla, but none of that is gonna change the feeling that we've been treated really unfairly and just simple sadness for being rejected from a uni I would have chosen at any time over the likes of Durham or UCL, which are objectively higher ranked and have a higher reputation.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 34

username3821834

Original post by alicekronqvist

Also got rejected for Psychology :frown:

Reply 35

russ1234567

St Andrews was my first choice and was really the only university I loved. I am so distraught. I know that for Durham, after being rejected you can change to a less popular course if they still have places, is the same possible at St Andrews?Course: International RelationsPredicted Grades: A*AA (French Politics Economics)Achieved Grades: GCSE 10A*s A in English AS that I took a year early. Other offers: Bristol Leeds Birmingham (unconditional) and a rejection from Durham Where are you from? London

Reply 36

la_banane_verte

Original post by russ1234567

I've never heard of anyone doing it, but you can always email/ring admissions and ask. I'd be concerned that your personal statement won't be focussed on the subject you ask to change to though.

Reply 37

Salenite

Course: French (w/ year abroad)
Predicted Grades: AAAB (AH Music, H French, H RMPS at A, H Geography at B)
Achieved Grades: AABCC (H Music and English at A, H Biology at B and H Maths and Chemistry at C), 6xA and 2xB at National 5
Other Offers: Glasgow, Strathclyde and Stirling (offers), Edinburgh (waiting)
Where are you from?: Scotland

I'm surprisingly not gutted at all, given that I'm a delicate soul - but then again St Andrews was my last choice and I was pretty convinced I'd be rejected anyway. The good thing is that I got my rejection yesterday though, closer to the 31 March deadline. Gives the impression that I'm not just a UCAS form that they wanted to get rid of, but with those grades I was actually considered :biggrin:

I guess I'll ask for feedback, doesn't hurt to know a little more

Condolences to those who didn't get in :frown:

Reply 38

Vashisthashubhi

Original post by fluorescent24

Also got rejected for Psychology :frown:

Portal still says- Checking application for me! Applied for MSc Psychology Conversion at the St Andrews.
Offers received: Nottingham, Edinburgh, and Essex.

Reply 39

username3821834

Original post by Vashisthashubhi

Portal still says- Checking application for me! Applied for MSc Psychology Conversion at the St Andrews.
Offers received: Nottingham, Edinburgh, and Essex.

When I asked for feedback for Psychology they gave me a generic answer saying how international and popular the university is, and they basically didn't tell me any proper feedback on my application.
I guess it is a good thing you haven't heard back, good luck! :smile: