Scottish Universities a tad posh ....

[TalkinPeace2]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18317093

St Andrews admitted 13 students from deprived areas out of a total student body of 7370

well yah !

Do we know how many students from these deprived areas actually applied and were their grades comparable with those that were admitted?
Whatever the data though these numbers look very low.

Not all Scottish universities. I went to Glasgow, which is very working class.

I doubt it's the fault of St Andrews.

St A takes about 30% of its UG intake from the USA, though, so its stats are s bit weird. It isn't at all representative of Scottish HE in general, though.

I went to Stirling - they'll take anyone there, clearly

It does say it's the older ones, there ate three tiers of universities, the really old ones, the ones started in the sixties and the really new ones - the old ones do consider themselves better and are more elitist.

Edinburgh was quite 'yah'ish when I was there 8 years ago but I got in so clearly not too elitist!

I think Edinburgh now do a 'points' thing where you get points for certain things eg: if you're the first generation to go to HE from your family. Tbh, this points thing wasn't in place when I applied and although I was the first generation it didn't count towards my getting in and I'm glad it didn't, I got there on merit.

Oh and I was also told by my headteacher not to even apply to Edinburgh because they'd never accept someone from our school....

*tabulahrasa" that's just not true. Glasgow is old and not at all elitist. Intellectually elitist, maybe, but the majority of my friends were from working class backgrounds/first to go to university in their family.

I think the problem is that a lot of schools don't put people forward to universities.

Maybe st andrews don't have that many applicants from working class backgrounds to begin with? Dundee university is only about ten miles away and a much bigger town so I would suspect that it is more appealing to many.

I think it would take a particular sort of person to want to go to university in St Andrews though.

It is not a big city with a lot to offer. It is a small place, a very touristy town, with few shops, nightclubs, etc for students to enjoy.

When I applied for University I dismissed it for this very reason and I am sure many, although not all, do the same.

It also has a reputation that would put many off. It attracts those who consider themselves to be or would like to be elitist. That does not mean that everyone who applies or who goes there is like that but it has that reputation nonetheless.

I went to Glasgow and felt that the people I met represented a broad cross section of society. Entrance seemed to have nothing at all to do with social background and everything to do with academic achievement.

Having taught secondary for years since, I have seen the same.

Maybe things have changed since I stopped working 8 years ago though.

If you come from a very privileged background, your need to go to university in a big city and discover the world might not be as great as that of someone who hasn't had so many life chances during their childhood.

I'm was a working class student at St Andrews. I never expected to get in and only put it on my Ucas application as I wanted to see what ridiculously high results they wanted. it turned out to be the lowest results out of all the unis I applied to (including Dundee). I think lots of working class are put off applying for the same reasons I was plus there is no other options but to rent accommodation as it is out in the sticks. Not many people would live close enough to live with their parents.

There were plenty of yahs, plenty of overseas students but plenty of us less well off folk too. Best time of my life!

I went to Dundee Uni, I would utterly detest St Andrews's University, not my sort of place or people whatsoever.

Ah, the uni itself is nicer than you'd think. We'd lived in Cambridge before coming up, and I really thought (dreaded) it being just like that, but I was really pleasantly surprised. I dismissed it as bring out in the sticks when I applied, but it doesn't feel like that at all now.

Are you saying that no-one privileged should go to Oxford or Cambridge, Bonsoir? They're hardly metropolitan...

I think it would be a lovely place to go to uni! We were there on Saturday and it had a great atmosphere, gorgeous beach and a few nice bars etc.

I love it there now scarlett but I am 40 now.

It is the sort of place I was trying to escape when I was 18

habbibu - where is the logic in that?

I don't know if it's still the case but St A's used to have the unenviable reputation as being where those who failed to get good enough results for Oxbridge went

How on earth can universities really tell if you are "first generation" to attend university in your family ? Is this a question on the UCAS form ? Surely candidates can just make this up how do they verify this information ?

I went to St Andrews more years ago than I'm going to admit. Working class. Decided not to apply to Oxford (despite my school being keen) as when on an open day I had to explain to some undergrads showing us round what a factory was, and that no, my dad didn't RUN it, he just worked in it. (so Shesparkles putting that myth to bed too )

I was by no means the only working class person in my year - though there were plenty of yah types. I came away with lots of life-long friends from a range of backgrounds. And several with (second) family homes in lovely places that we can visit

I picked St Andrews because I loved the place. Yes, touristy, but my god, the beaches! Admittedly I never felt the urge to take a dip. But there's nothing like walking on West Sands at dawn.

St Andrews was pretty posh in my day! Well, the English students were. And, sadly, they were the ones who tended to get noticed.

Just meant that Oxford and Cambridge aren't what I'd think of as big diverse cities either, wrt your post above - just as insulated as St A, in many ways.