St Andrews

[IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere]

DD has received a very good offer from St Andrews. She loves the look of the course and is very keen to go there. Aside from the course she loves the idea of a small town, has no interest in nightlife as part of the "student experience" and loves the quirky traditions.

Does anyone have any experience of being there and the extra expenses that could be involved such as the extra cost of travel, formal dinners and the like?

We are a low income family in an economically deprived area. She is part of a very small 6th form - 12 in the Upper 6th. Her school is not in special measures but is holding on by the skin of its teeth! They are very keen for her to go to St Andrews but she is not going to be their responsibility!

We will support her as much as we possibly can but I am worried that it will be a lot more expensive than a less elite university.

Any thoughts?

That’s great to hear that shank

Def some nervousness here as it gets more real. Very normal feelings x

AChicken - my dd is terrified too. We are on holiday for a week and she has told us we are not to mention uni unless she brings the subject up! She is scared about making friends, getting lost, sorting out stuff on her own. (she is dyslexic/ dyscalculic with organisation / processing issues) . We have had several trips to the town and she has walked from the hall she will be staying in into town to try and boost her confidence but she’s still scared. Ds on the other hand couldn’t wait to start. It’s frightening being a parent!

I dont think there are many shared rooms in University hall, i went on a tour with DS when he applied, so hopefully it'll be like the one Chicken stayed in, i dont remember seeing any in the main bit. I thought it seemed a nice hall, a good mix of old and new. The kitchens had been renovated and were muxh nucer than the ones in Sallies.

This was the wardrobe in the shared room we occupied for one night in University Hall.

Newgirls if your DD happens to end up in the same room, please could you ask her very nicely to let us know whether it contains a real life portal to Narnia?!

And if her room isn't quite so grand, I hope she ends up with a lovely room mate and friend for life.

😂 i think dd is taking enough to fill that wardrobe! She’s now coming round to a room mate and I think it could be good to have an early ally! Lovely comments thank you. Now looking at flights so real now!

@Newgirls those amazing rooms in castle (some have a view of the sea) are in Wardlaw which is all girls, there are other shared rooms in the old bit of Uni Hall. You may be able to see her room number on the financial statement, I gave the details of where the financial statement is a few days ago. DS in University Hall in a single in the modern wing (room numbers begin with L). If it begins with W she will be Wardlaw. When is she moving in?

I did not want to share when I was a student, but was allocated a shared room and room-mate became my best friend.

Would be amazing if she found a new best friend there. How lovely. Nothing on financial statement yet but only accepted it a short while ago.

We are planning sept 6th - looking at travel options. Weirdly the site sort of crashed when she was choosing a slot but there looked like plenty of slots. I think they arrive 5th onwards at university?

Back when we booked you could arrive from 31st Aug, but DS arriving 5th Sep. The accommodation site is very glitchy, it kept having problems when DS first booked accommodation.

Red gown states 47 inches.

This is the measurement from the nape of the neck to mid-calf.

DD is 5ft 7 ish

That sounds perfect piggy. How do we buy it?!

The parent fb page is quite entertaining with all the American students flying in! A few pairs of smart chinos. Very brave/mature of them flying over and then having to quarantine some on their own.

Yes, the American families have had massive stress with visas whilst postal service struggling and lots of offices closed. Makes southern England to St A seem pretty close!

I'm gobsmacked to see how many parents are flying over with their offspring and staying throughout the quarantine period. But equally glad that we "only" have to drive about 400 miles to get DD safely delivered.

What's the link to the fab page @Newgirls? I could do with a few smiles 😁

It’s parents of students at St. Andrews. On fb. No idea how to link but type that in and it will pop up.

I love trying to work out which airports they are coming from - Dallas, Vancouver etc. It does make our journey seem much shorter.

Some are on own, some with parents - aww wish it was all more normal for them.

Just catching up with this thread and all the exciting accommodation news. We are currently on holiday in the north of England, dd not saying much but I think is excited and nervous in equal measures. She has had a lovely group of friends at school and I think is a little scared she wont find her tribe at uni.
Yes the poor international students having to quarantine. My ds has a few friends having to do this and he and some others who are already in St A are providing goffering services.
Dd is going to share her dads old red gown from 30 years ago with her brother so that's one less thing to buy!

I love the students helping each other with food deliveries etc

I've found the fb page - thank you. We live really close to St A's thank goodness - and I have friends who teach there. Couldn't imagine sending a Fresher across the Atlantic - the stress might kill me!

@AChickenCalledDaal

heffapotamus thank you for admitting to nervousness.

All DD's friends seem to be "so excited" and "keen to get going".

She's much more in the "I recognise that I need to do this, but I'm actually really nervous and I don't know how to be an adult" camp.

And I'm doing my best to be upbeat and encouraging, but concerned that I will collapse into a soggy, weeping mess at a very unfortunate moment.

The nerves are definitely there! I don't know how private messaging works on Mumsnet but my DC also in AMH.

The 1 hr 20 flight from Luton now looks a bit lightweight 😂

Piggy I’ve just sent you a private message

Heffa - the 3 dots take you to direct messages 👍

@Newgirls

Heffa - the 3 dots take you to direct messages 👍

Thank you!
I think I'm being thick but can't see three dots. I'm on the app on my iPad.

At the bottom of each post it says bookmark and has 3 dots. On my phone anyway!