Is the University of St Andrews considered one of the top universities in the UK?

4

I am an international student and am interested in applying for the BSc(Hons) Biochemistry at the University of St Andrews. However, its QS global ranking seems low (113th), and the admission requirements seem lower than I expected (AAB for the standard offer and ABB for the minimum offer), so I am curious about the reputation of this university among British students.

Reply 1

Blitzlk

8

It’s pretty prestigious, in the uk I wouldn’t say Oxford or Cambridge level but it’s pretty highly ranked, however I’ve heard it’s not the greatest for med and related subjects, have a look around and see what others are saying!

Reply 2

username7864283

OP

4

Original post

by Blitzlk

It’s pretty prestigious, in the uk I wouldn’t say Oxford or Cambridge level but it’s pretty highly ranked, however I’ve heard it’s not the greatest for med and related subjects, have a look around and see what others are saying!

Thanks. If I want to better understand how British universities are perceived by local students, what ranking system should I check?

Reply 3

Wired_1800

20

Original post

by username7864283

I am an international student and am interested in applying for the BSc(Hons) Biochemistry at the University of St Andrews. However, its QS global ranking seems low (113th), and the admission requirements seem lower than I expected (AAB for the standard offer and ABB for the minimum offer), so I am curious about the reputation of this university among British students.

Yes

Reply 4

Wired_1800

20

Original post

by username7864283

Thanks. If I want to better understand how British universities are perceived by local students, what ranking system should I check?

Dont focus on rankings because they differ by league tables.

As an international student, you would need the right blend of local culture and access to international culture. This can be found in the cities and bigger towns. It would be better to go to a slightly lower ranked school and be happy with the community there than go to an elite school and be unhappy.

I would suggest that you give St Andrews a chance and also look at big city unis in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton, Birmingham etc.

Good luck

Reply 5

Physician

21

Original post

by username7864283

I am an international student and am interested in applying for the BSc(Hons) Biochemistry at the University of St Andrews. However, its QS global ranking seems low (113th), and the admission requirements seem lower than I expected (AAB for the standard offer and ABB for the minimum offer), so I am curious about the reputation of this university among British students.

Yes, it is considered to be among the top UK universities overall, but not among the very top ones. There are about 30 UK universities that would consider themselves as top tier, but only about 8 are truly World class: Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Imperial, UCL, Edinburgh, KCL, and Manchester. Glasgow and Bristol would complete the top 10.

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 6

Physician

21

Original post

by Wired_1800

Dont focus on rankings because they differ by league tables.
As an international student, you would need the right blend of local culture and access to international culture. This can be found in the cities and bigger towns. It would be better to go to a slightly lower ranked school and be happy with the community there than go to an elite school and be unhappy.
I would suggest that you give St Andrews a chance and also look at big city unis in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Southampton, Birmingham etc.
Good luck

I would agree that St Andrews is only suitable to for those students that are more than happy to spend 4 years in a tiny, isolated town, with no nightlife, and not much daylife either. There isn't much to do there, and the student body is also small for a multi-faculty university. The upside is that the student body will be posh.

Reply 7

stilllearning123

16

Original post

by username7864283

I am an international student and am interested in applying for the BSc(Hons) Biochemistry at the University of St Andrews. However, its QS global ranking seems low (113th), and the admission requirements seem lower than I expected (AAB for the standard offer and ABB for the minimum offer), so I am curious about the reputation of this university among British students.

All I've ever heard about St. Andrews is that it is a tiny town with no nightlife, full of rich Americans and essentially nothing to do there. It is a very nice looking campus, but that is basically as far as it goes for location.
It is supposed to be theoretically incredibly high ranked in some STEM degrees but I wouldn't sacrifice getting a degree there for missing out on the 'full uni experience' so to speak.

Reply 8

Physician

21

Original post

by Blitzlk

It’s pretty prestigious, in the uk I wouldn’t say Oxford or Cambridge level but it’s pretty highly ranked, however I’ve heard it’s not the greatest for med and related subjects, have a look around and see what others are saying!

The UK league tables aren't very good at measuring the academic prestige of a university. St Andrews sometimes tops these rankings, yet globally it isn't anywhere near some of the academic elite of Sydney, Melbourne, Duke, Manchester, Edinburgh etc. That's before one even thinks about the World's greatest universities, such as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Stanford, Harvard, Berkeley, Princeton, Yale etc.

That being said, rankings aren't everything, and one has to go somewhere that they personally like. As an example, I would choose Edinburgh over Imperial, because it is one of the most beautiful universities in the World, and Imperial is quite an ugly university (with the exception of the School of Mining and Geology building, which is stunning).

Reply 9

Wired_1800

20

Original post

by Physician

I would agree that St Andrews is only suitable to for those students that are more than happy to spend 4 years in a tiny, isolated town, with no nightlife, and not much daylife either. There isn't much to do there, and the student body is also small for a multi-faculty university. The upside is that the student body will be posh.

You are right that the uni may not be suitable for everyone. I have heard different reviews about the place. The OP needs to consider their options

Is the University of St Andrews considered one of the top universities in the UK?

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