St Andrew's Acceptance

1

I applied to Andrews for compsci and got an AAA offer in November. After a while though, I began to realise that this course is supposed to have a super low acceptance rate and that Andrews is supposed to be up there with the best. I had no interview, no admissions test, literally just an offer before oxbridge interviews even came around. Sorry if i'm sounding stuck up and naive, I just am slightly on edge as it feels like something seemingly that difficult should be slightly harder to achieve than what it was.

Reply 1

elderwood2002

5

if it makes you feel any better, i got a ABB offer a few years back 🙂 also no interview or admissions test. I’ve had a great time here though so would def recommend the course!

Reply 2

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by manmanladyman

I applied to Andrews for compsci and got an AAA offer in November. After a while though, I began to realise that this course is supposed to have a super low acceptance rate and that Andrews is supposed to be up there with the best. I had no interview, no admissions test, literally just an offer before oxbridge interviews even came around. Sorry if i'm sounding stuck up and naive, I just am slightly on edge as it feels like something seemingly that difficult should be slightly harder to achieve than what it was.

was it direct 2nd year entry or not? if not then that should answer your question, St Andrews degrees are 4 years for a reason :smile:

Reply 3

S1098

8

Original post by manmanladyman

I applied to Andrews for compsci and got an AAA offer in November. After a while though, I began to realise that this course is supposed to have a super low acceptance rate and that Andrews is supposed to be up there with the best. I had no interview, no admissions test, literally just an offer before oxbridge interviews even came around. Sorry if i'm sounding stuck up and naive, I just am slightly on edge as it feels like something seemingly that difficult should be slightly harder to achieve than what it was.

But St Andrews doesn't do interviews (except for courses like Medicine). They base their decisions on predicted grades, refs and personal statements. They must have liked what they saw in your application to give you an early offer - most applicants are still waiting for a decision! A lot of applicants with strong predicted grades are rejected from St Andrews so, yes it is competitive. You've done well to get an offer!

Reply 4

Anonymous #1

Omg I feel the exact same way too! 😂 Got an offer around a month ago for modern languages (unconditional) and I’m honestly still shocked I’ve got in especially since I’ve seen so many other people (past and current) who have far better grades then me. I also thought I made a few mistakes on my personal statement but they must’ve liked something that they saw on there. I’ve always heard too that St. Andrews was super competitive so I was quite shocked that it turned out to be simpler then I expected.

Anyway congrats to both of us, we clearly deserve it!

Reply 5

Anonymous #2

How did your Oxbridge application go?

Reply 6

Picnicl

17

About 1 in 4 applicants there get a place. Of those, some wouldn't have achieved the necessary grades anyway. It's only some people who buy in to the 'St Andrews is super prestigious' idea, mainly based on its age, a few traditions, prettiness of buildings, and William and Kate going there. All Scottish universities look harder to get in to than is actually the case due to the number of Scottish Highers that Scottish students take being higher than the number of A Levels that the average student takes elsewhere in the UK. A lot of people who'd easily get in St Andrews simply don't apply there as the overall quality of its research is good or very good (it's currently 23rd for all subjects as a whole) but not outstanding, and a lot of people prefer the things to do in other cities.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 7

Anonymous #3

Original post by Picnicl

About 1 in 4 applicants there get a place. Of those, some wouldn't have achieved the necessary grades anyway. It's only some people who buy in to the 'St Andrews is super prestigious' idea, mainly based on its age, a few traditions, prettiness of buildings, and William and Kate going there. All Scottish universities look harder to get in to than is actually the case due to the number of Scottish Highers that Scottish students take being higher than the number of A Levels that the average student takes elsewhere in the UK. A lot of people who'd easily get in St Andrews simply don't apply there as the overall quality of its research is good or very good (it's currently 23rd for all subjects as a whole) but not outstanding, and a lot of people prefer the things to do in other cities.

This^. Yeah, St Andrews has been massively overblown in terms of prestige and acceptance rate.

It's not particularly well-ranked internationally, and as the above commenter suggested, Scottish universities look harder to get into on resources like the Complete University Guide because Scottish students generally take 5 'highers', as opposed to the standard 3 A-Levels English and Welsh students take.

I know a few people who went to St Andrews and they're not in amazing jobs, they're not exceptionally intelligent or posh - they're just normal!

St Andrew's Acceptance

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