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St Andrews University: A Warning

I have an unconditional for St Andies and I have to admit this post has put a little bit of the fear in me, but I am keeping an open mind until I go to the open day and see it for myself. My only worry is that I come from a big city which I love, so I don't know if I'd cope with the downsize :s-smilie:

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atticus92

Hence why I didn't apply to St. Andrews. In fact, even though Uni of Edinburgh and Glasgow are very good uni's, I didn't apply to any Scottish uni's, cos I really don't think I'd have fun there. (Apologies if I offend anyone.)

Aw, you're missing out, Edinburgh's amazing, you should visit it sometime :smile:

! But no worries it's understandable.

Reply 161

Purplestardust

OP

4

ImperceptibleNinja

Sorry I upset you. I didn't mean to.

I'm not saying you were wrong in what you said, but I genuinely do feel that people could take a brief glance at some of the stuff here and take away completely the wrong message. I'm glad some people have read what you said in enough detail to get what you're saying, but some people won't. I'd like to think people think for themselves, but some will read the beginning of a long post, get bored, and only take away some negative messages (I can see tl;dr's). I'd be annoyed if I found information that accidentally made me think somewhere was crap when in fact it would be very enjoyable for a lot of people.

Again, researching would have shown anyone that not everyone thinks St Andrews is in the top 3.

Voicing an opinion is AWESOME, but it's like diplomacy. You can think about how you do it and try to optimise it. If I though my friend was wearing something unflattering, then I can choose whether or not to say anything, and if I do say something, I can phrase it carefully. Telling her she has a massive bum and knobbly knees won't end well, but saying I preferred the other jeans because they give her a lovely silhouette will be more productive. I don't disagree with the core of what you're saying, but I think how you're communicating it is potentially damaging to people who could thrive in St Andrews, and I don't see that action ad being very responsible.

Ummm....I've never met you, you're not my friend or a member of my family and so you haven't the slightest ability to upset me. :rolleyes:

If people don't read what I wrote properly thats their deal- some people HAVE read it properly and also agree with me, some people have read it properly and have disagreed, I just don't like it when people try to police other peoples opinions and statements.....also don't try to draw an analogy about diplomacy- this isn't my friend we're discussing here, its a University, its an instiution no-one needs to protect its 'feelings'. The bottom line is, as I've said before- I can say whatever I want, however I want and people are free either to ignore or dismiss it if they want or take it on board.

Reply 162

Purplestardust

OP

4

runninghome

I have an unconditional for St Andies and I have to admit this post has put a little bit of the fear in me, but I am keeping an open mind until I go to the open day and see it for myself. My only worry is that I come from a big city which I love, so I don't know if I'd cope with the downsize :s-smilie:

.

Definately visit first (as I failed to) and make sure you get a really good sense of not just the buildings/academnic side, but about everything else too. Also- as I stated before be aware of the difference between visiting a place and the realities of actually living there. Just food for thought- good luck, whatever you decide. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Reply 163

ImperceptibleNinja

13

For anyone who is concerned after reading this far:

Here is a thread about whether or not St Andrews might be right for you.

I am unsubscribing from this thread now, so sorry if anyone tries to catch my attention and I miss what you say :smile:

really? expand.

This thread is rediculous.

You didn't like it. Get over it.

I've been here three years and I have very little complaint.

Teaching staff not your cup of tea? Well - they're only human. You are too. Can you do a better job? Apply.

Perhaps your lecturer doesnt know they're not being fully understood. Perhaps you should make your opinion known by sending a polite e-mail to your class rep.

Reply 166

ChemistBoy

16

This is the same university that has built 2 new colleges in the last 10 years and is building an extention to the campus including a new college at the moment? As well as a new biology building I believe.

I think that is where the money has gone.

Reply 167

necessarily benevolent

14

Umiisadorable

Yeah....as I've said like 5 times now- thats part of why I wrote this- I made a mistake I don't want others to make and didn't research enough and didn't visit thinking the student experience was a generic thing that you could have anywhere, no matter how small the place...I was wrong...REALLY wrong and I've said that several times and made it clear that this was a warning to others about what this place is like from MY PERSPECTIVE. (and the perspective of several others including some students who are actually Scottish)...so you don't need to repeat yourself again, I thought I'd made myself very clear on that.

Fair enough, but go state your own ******* perspective, don't be stating mine (RE: 'pretending to enjoy themselves').

Reply 168

Ekpyrotic

13

Who are you? Faculty, at least.

Reply 169

sophie_c

10

...I know this is a bit dishointed now as people are talking about other things, but in an earlier post I said there was the bus that takes people from St Andrews to Fat Sams in Dundee for clubbing... but I also forgot to mention that there is actually now a bus that takes students from St Andrews to Edinburgh and back for a night of clubbing, if you so wish :smile:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?v=wall&ref=mf&gid=186293523986

Reply 170

Hygeia

14

Can we please stay on topic in this thread please - this thread is about St Andrews rather than other places.

Reply 171

CaptainLoop

sharkky

OP: i've applied for med here ... i dont mind the fact that the place is practically dead but as far as education and teaching styles is the uni all THAAATTT bad??

Do not panic:

Firstly, each module has representative students who you can direct your feedback / problems too, and they will pass on any issues to the appropriate people and sort them out.

Secondly, at the end of every module, a feedback form is issued to every student, allowing you to anonymously criticise / praise your lecturers / course content / difficulty etc. This is all taken into account and used to improve the lecture courses.

The problem with university teaching is that...most academics aren't necessarily there to teach, and so they're not all amazing teachers. However, if you think that they're doing a bad job, you shouldn't be afraid to tell them, or your class representative. Lecturers often don't realise! I know of several cases where feedback was so bad that they were "replaced" with an alternative.

In short, (in my experience) the overall standard of teaching is good - but if it isn't what you were expecting, you can make a difference and get it sorted.

Am I making sense?

On another note, I have never had to queue up in the careers centre for the casual job files...and I've found it an invaluable resource - but not the only means of finding a job. There are plenty of jobs in St Andrews if you actually need one and aren't fussy. I get an update pretty much everyday from the jobshop :/

:biggrin:

Reply 172

username350860

2

CaptainLoop could you write something more about how to eke out your budget in St Andrews? Is it hard for a fresher to find a job? Has the evil crisis made it much more difficult? I know there should be some jobs in the student Union, hotels, restaurants, shops, something to do golf (?), where else?

How much time are you supposed to spend on studying per week? I have heard about 10-15h of lecutres plus next 15h alone. Is it true? Even if someone is doing three modules? :biggrin:

Reply 173

duracell

10

Night Mark

How much time are you supposed to spend on studying per week? I have heard about 10-15h of lecutres plus next 15h alone. Is it true? Even if someone is doing three modules? :biggrin:

Most people in their first year take three modules in order to get the 120 credits per year. I remember in the IR module booklet last semester they say you "should" be working the equivalent of a fulltime job, ie 39-40h per week, so divide that into three, 13h per module ans take off 4-5h of contact time, so 8/9h of extra studying, but bear in mind you will use weekends/evenings as well...
I have about 4-5h per module per week contact time, but probably only do about 6/7h in my own time, although this semester I'm aiming to work a bit harder!

Reply 174

Sambo2

10

Night Mark

CaptainLoop could you write something more about how to eke out your budget in St Andrews? Is it hard for a fresher to find a job? Has the evil crisis made it much more difficult? I know there should be some jobs in the student Union, hotels, restaurants, shops, something to do golf (?), where else?

How much time are you supposed to spend on studying per week? I have heard about 10-15h of lecutres plus next 15h alone. Is it true? Even if someone is doing three modules? :biggrin:

40 hours is what you're meant to do.. I think last semester I only did about half that and I did reasonably well in the exams - it depends what sort of hours you can tolerate in revision week..

Reply 175

american101

OP - What are you studying at St. Andrews?

Reply 176

sophie_c

10

Night Mark

CaptainLoop could you write something more about how to eke out your budget in St Andrews? Is it hard for a fresher to find a job? Has the evil crisis made it much more difficult? I know there should be some jobs in the student Union, hotels, restaurants, shops, something to do golf (?), where else?

How much time are you supposed to spend on studying per week? I have heard about 10-15h of lecutres plus next 15h alone. Is it true? Even if someone is doing three modules? :biggrin:

In terms of finding a job, you should be able to, but probably a good idea to start looking before you start... The university also have jobs going, ie serving in the cafeterias of halls etc

Lol, it all depends on what subject you're doing... last semester I had 25 hours of contact time a week, minimum, and had to do at least the same amount of hours of studying outside of that because of work and prep for everyday for French on top of the essays etc fro French, prep before bio lectures, labs and tutorials, going over them afterwards, and of course all the lab reports and essays etc... not to even mention the further reading... was tough...

Reply 177

Meteorshower

14

120 credits is supposed to equate to 40 hours a week, and 1200 hours total for the year.

Reply 178

CaptainLoop

Night Mark

CaptainLoop could you write something more about how to eke out your budget in St Andrews? Is it hard for a fresher to find a job? Has the evil crisis made it much more difficult? I know there should be some jobs in the student Union, hotels, restaurants, shops, something to do golf (?), where else?

I've pm'ed you Night Mark :smile:

Reply 179

Hopefull

9

As far as the first two years being pointless, then this is an issue with the Scottish University system, and not with St Andrews. I can agree to some degree about tutorials, sometimes you do indeed get lumped with a postgraduate who is ,frankly, useless.

What I have found to be helpful is to carefully choose your tutorial time slots (where practical) and you can end up with a PhD holder. You have to be realistic and appreciate that it is NOT Oxbridge and you will not get the intense tutoring associated with such institutions, but then neither is any other top ten University. St Andrews has a reputation as rivaling Oxbridge for which is it slated. It is not the fault of the university for this, rather it is a victim of its own success and is being judged because it has climbed the rankings.

Nightlife is not something I partake much with as I am a mature student and also live in Dundee. However any sensible person, i.e someone who is bright enough to be admitted to St Andrews should know it is not a city centre :rolleyes:

I do know from friends that they love the close nit feeling of the town, leading to a real sense of 'homeness' and also forging great friendships etc.

Work and the lack of it, is again, self explanatory.

If anyone is reading this thread and doubting St Andrews, please visit and make up your own mind. After all, would you really bet four years of your life on the basis of one internet thread? I wouldn't

St Andrews University: A Warning

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