Ultimate St Andrews Accommodation Thread

I really want to be self catered as I follow a specific diet, but I also dont want ensuite so i can only go in albany park, whats the chance ill actually get that? and if i dont will they put me in ensuite self catered instead? i would be so annoyed if i got put in catered as I don't eat a lot of things including bread, pasta, pizza, etc. and like to plan my own cooking and i actually really like cooking too. then theres also the bonus that albany park is so much cheaper and i cant really afford to go in catered as its so expensive.

I was in Albany Park in first year as it was the only place I could afford.
I'm entitled to the minimum student loan (so also not eligible for financial help from the uni etc) and couldn't afford to stay anywhere else even with my dad setting up a direct debit to mainline money into my account every month. I just sent them an email explaining exactly that. They were very understanding and added a note to my application to ensure I was put in Albany.
I would imagine they'd be understanding if you sent an email explaining your dietary requirements - although, as there are other self-catered residences, if you want Albany you may have to explicitly say why Albany.

Menus vary between halls, although there are certain things which tend to be served at most - the ubiquity of potatoes is a running joke in most catered halls, as is that the potato dishes/sides seem to be the only things they can cook well. All good, if you like shepherds pie with mashed potatoes and chips (yes this has happened!).

DRA has a reputation for having really good food, and I can back this up as I've eaten there with friends.

Quality varies day to day; depends on how fussy you are. Certainly not good if you're a fan of veg as it's generally not cooked nicely - Sallies broccoli is infamous for being frozen on the inside and soggy on the outside!


Breakfast is a buffet - choice of cereals, yogurt, fruit; or cooked options varying slightly day to day.

Lunch - salad bar, choice of bread& fillings to make your own baguette; a hot option most days - usually baked potato & filling or pasta etc.

Dinner -
Good salad bar and fruit available at every meal though if you want to be healthy.
Soup and mains were sometimes ok, sometimes inedible (I am not exaggerating).
Not a good place to be a vegetarian - sometimes the veg option was just the normal option with the meat removed, leaving just a few slices of roast peppers in sauce.
Desserts either go-back-for-thirds good, or make-sculptures-out-of bad. Actually we made food sculptures out of a lot of our meals, it seemed the best use of it.

Re: the menu you've linked - it's a decent guide as to the types of things you might get, but don't expect these exact choices, or to have more than one meat and one veg choice at lunch and dinner.

Thanks all the information I saw the menus and thought it was too good to be true. Are portion sizes decent?

Also, how are Andrew Melville, McIntosh and Uni Hall (If you have eaten there or heard of how they are)? I have heard Andrew Melville isn't great (I have still made it my first choice).

Thanks again

Does anyone know what type of photograph we should include on the online application form? (should it be an official ID photograph)

I've applied for self catered en-suite, am I likely to get this? I also confirmed that I'd be willing to share - are there many shared en-suite rooms, if any? I quite like the idea of having a roommate

I confirmed my place at the end of last week and have still heard nothing back about accommodation etc. I've tried ringing and no-one's there!
Anyone else had the same problem? Also how sociable is Albany Park?

A passport type photo; just make sure the number of pixels is correct, I had to play about with the format before it would let me load it onto the form.

Thanks all the information I saw the menus and thought it was too good to be true. Are portion sizes decent?

Also, how are Andrew Melville, McIntosh and Uni Hall (If you have eaten there or heard of how they are)? I have heard Andrew Melville isn't great (I have still made it my first choice).

Thanks again

I confirmed my place in January and they haven't gotten in touch. Don't stress about it, they have a lot of people to get through.

Also, Alex Salmond stayed in Albany park (my brother was chatting to him) and he loved it there!

Alex salmond said to me that even though everyone says (and wiki!) he lived in sallies he actually lived in Melville.......

Perhaps he spent time in both? Or my brother was lying

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Hi,

I am applying for accommodation at St Andrews, but I have heard that they allocate students by race or their nationality? Is that true?

Thank you

Hi,

I am applying for accommodation at St Andrews, but I have heard that they allocate students by race or their nationality? Is that true?

Thank you

Well, looking at the demographic of most halls (i.e. Sallies is very American, ABH and DRA are mostly internationals), that's what it seems like, but in theory, no, that's not the case. It's random allocation based on your four preferences.

Who did you hear that from? It is a load of rubbish.