The Official University of St Andrews Applicants Thread 2021

What course you are applying for: probably International Relations and Economics
GCSE grades (or SAT/ACT score; GPA..): 998A*A*A*A*A*A
A level / IB / Highers, AP predicted or achieved grades: don't know yet, covid pressed pause on our year 12 mocks
Extra curriculars relevant to your subject: Politics society, youth for peace, various sports, piano
UK region or country you are from: London/Wales
Your fee status (Home/EU, rUK or Overseas): Home
Universities you are thinking of, in order of preference: St Andrews, Durham, Edinburgh and two more, haven't decided
Why St Andrews?: I'm not a massively clubby person and love the flexibility of the Scottish uni system

does st andrews have a good night life

My parents went there (so obviously was a while ago!) and from what I can tell, it's not your average clubbing scene but they definitely know how to have fun. Dad was absolutely wild in his 20s and he says St Andrews was the best time of his life - and got very offended when my sister chose not to apply there because she was worried it would be 'boring'!

I’m considering applying to St Andrews this year for Philosophy, it’s 3rd in UK for philosophy and you need AAB so I feel like id be silly not to give it a go but the distance really puts me off! It’s almost 6 hours to get there from me and as I lowkey feel like I’d appreciate the occasional weekend or day home I feel like it wouldn’t be the best? But St Andrews it’s beautiful, everyone stresses about the lack of nightlife but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest....i feel like it’s my perfect uni (aside from the distance and lack of diversity haha, as a black female my other concern is that I’ll stand out a tad😂)

I’m a black female and I have an offer to study at St Andrews this year. The lack of diversity also put me off, so I’ll investigate and then get back to you lol

does st andrews have a good night life

I’m considering applying to St Andrews this year for Philosophy, it’s 3rd in UK for philosophy and you need AAB so I feel like id be silly not to give it a go but the distance really puts me off! It’s almost 6 hours to get there from me and as I lowkey feel like I’d appreciate the occasional weekend or day home I feel like it wouldn’t be the best? But St Andrews it’s beautiful, everyone stresses about the lack of nightlife but that doesn’t bother me in the slightest....i feel like it’s my perfect uni (aside from the distance and lack of diversity haha, as a black female my other concern is that I’ll stand out a tad😂)

These are two of the most common question which I have attempted to answer in the FAQ (see my original post), let me know if you have any other questions

Ah thank you so much - sorry for some reason I didn’t see the FAQ!
Can I ask, about the distance again, how did you move to uni? Did you take everything by train or plane? Also, would you say travelling adds up to be quite expensive? My family honestly don’t have much money at all, I’m not sure yet obvs what I’ll be granted for uni but I don’t really want to blow loads on travel. Also, can you leave your things in your accommodation over the Christmas and Easter breaks or do have to fully pack and move out?
I also heard that breaks at St Andrews are longer than UK unis (Easter break lasts a month) is this true? If so that’ll help with the distance issue as I can be home with family longer.
I found it interesting what you said about black students at St Andrews. I’m quite shy and introverted so I don’t think I’ll end up being one of the extremely popular ones😂 but hey as long as there’s no racism horror stories that’s good at least. I’m just desperate to go somewhere that’ll make me happy - St Andrews ticks all my boxes aside from distance (mainly) and diversity.
Also - a long shot - do you have any opinions on philosophy at St Andrews? I know it’s 3rd (or 4th) in the league tables and I’ve heard it’s just a really good place to study philosophy but it’ll help if you happened to have any insider knowledge (obviously it’s okay if you don’t!)
Thanks again - sorry for the bombardment of qs

Ahh okay. So you managed to travel by train when moving there in September as a fresher even with all of your stuff? Prices aren’t too bad - would be brill if airlines did student discounts😂
Thank you again, you’ve been so helpful

i wouldn't call it managed haha, it would have been easy if i had let my parents come up with me - i had 2 large luggage cases and 3 rucksacks! but there were suitcase racks on the East Coast trains which aren't too busy! and no worries at all

Not going to lie... feeling called out as I'm an American and I was looking to apply to St. Andrews. Saw them at a college fair and thought the college was cool. But I didn't realize how many Americans attend (also the system for courses is oddly like the American one?) so I am reconsidering.

(Not that there is anything wrong with Americans! Just if I am going to move across the world for Uni, I actually want to experience a new culture and not be surrounded by familiarity.)

Not going to lie... feeling called out as I'm an American and I was looking to apply to St. Andrews. Saw them at a college fair and thought the college was cool. But I didn't realize how many Americans attend (also the system for courses is oddly like the American one?) so I am reconsidering.

(Not that there is anything wrong with Americans! Just if I am going to move across the world for Uni, I actually want to experience a new culture and not be surrounded by familiarity.)