St Andrews into 2021 (new thread)

[Newgirls]

Ok can’t think of a catchier title! If anyone can send the other thread over here pls do!

Prospective and existing parents etc all welcome here. Transport, accom, cloaks, choirs, beaches and more to be discussed. Next year will be better surely!

My dd is veggie and likes the food in uni hall. The kitchens there are small with no seating in but have room to prep a small meal, make toast etc. Not a lot of space to cook lots of meals. But the catering bit is sociable and good value so a pretty good option 👍

@Newgirls thank you! The menus do look really good. Maybe better than the menu here at home

Congratulations to her on the offer!

DD is in Andrew Melville Hall which is fully catered. There are three kitchens in the whole residence. They are a decent size and well equipped in terms of fridge space etc. But nowhere to sit and eat together.

I'd say there is a clear expectation that the majority of meals are provided and the kitchens are just for top-ups / late night noodle consumption. And weekend evenings, when they have to fend for themselves - although DD generally just eats as much as possible at breakfast and lunch so as not to have to think about cooking.

Congratulations to your dd on her offer! My dd is not veggie but always chose this option as said the choice and standard is very good. ( Better than the meat options in her opinion)
In her hall Agnes Blackadder the corridor of 12 had a large kitchen with 3 cookers and 3 Fridge freezers and they were fukky catered!! ( think need to make theirvown meals on a Saturday and Sunday evening).
My son was catered in David Russell and said the food was good. He had a flat of 5 and they had a kitchen/ sitting area with a cooker and a fridge freezer.

Hello @LaLaFlottes DS rates the glamorgan sausages as one of the best breakfast offerings.

Can I ask how someone from an immigrant family, first person in their family to go to university, but with no family support, will get on in St Andrews? Will they be a fish out of water? My understanding is that it’s an expensive place to live. Are there opportunities for part-time jobs? The young person, not my DC, has been self-supporting for some time and has an offer from them.

Hi daisypond

Weirdly it can be an affordable place to stay if they stay in uni accom the whole time which many do. Living in private accom can be expensive as it’s a small but popular tourist place.

Not much to do there so they don’t spend a fortune going out and the halls etc do a lot of the social activities.

It’s a very international place so can’t see why anyone wouldn’t find company and conversation.

Travel to get there is perhaps an issue but once at Edin train station or airport the uni has free or cheap shuttle buses to get them to the uni so actually that’s pretty good too.

As it’s a tourist place it’s ok for part time jobs in normal times. Also lots of scholarships etc avail so def worth looking into those

@daisypond St A has a widening access programme and several bursaries etc for students in the very situation you describe. I would suggest them contacting the student support service at the uni they are very helpful.
Before lock down lots of the students had hospitality jobs. So when covid restrictions ease there would be opportunities for part time work I think.
My Ds at the minute is tutoring Nat 5 maths ( even though he is a history student!)
He has 3 students but could easily do more but is concenteating on his dissertation.
That's £45 per week for 3 hours work. I understand some tutors charge a lot more than he does. I think even when schools go back tutors will be in demand for catching up, so that may be an option?

That’s useful info. Thank you. I think the main concern is the expense of travelling to and from it, and how small the city is. They have another offer from Nottingham and are waiting to hear from UCL, Exeter and I think Bristol. Young person already did their A levels three years ago. St Andrews is the highest ranked out of all of them, which is the huge, huge draw. Young person has not visited any of these cities - apart from London, where they live now. But they want a completely fresh start, so UCL may be out of the running. I’m just wondering if St Andrews will be a bit of a shock to the system.

My stepson looked at UCL and St Andrews. He chose St Andrews and it’s suited him well. He’s quite a country/outdoorsy type and didn’t think London would suit him. He’s got ridiculously into polo while at St Andrews. Most of his social life seems to be balls or house parties, but that could be just his social group’s preference. They do go out on organised nights to Edinburgh sometimes. It’s a quirky uni with lots of traditions that are very sociable. It would be very different from London, but not boring either.

Any of those options would be great - Nottingham is a great campus and city in particular.

We found booking a train from king x to Edin quite cheap with a rail card - cheaper than Exeter and Bristol as so many trains. So prob not that much in that.

Can’t go wrong with any of those!

St A is unique in that it is a very magical place with amazing buildings and beaches. If he likes the sound of that great!

Re bursaries, at the open day we attended (in the old pre-covid days) they said that they do not manage to award all the bursaries, so if the student has limited support, they should be able to get something. Having looked at accommodation at other universities for DS2, I no longer think that St Andrews halls are more expensive than other places. Andrew Melville at £6,485 is made up of £3,926 rent and £2,559 for catering. £3,926 for rent is cheaper than anywhere we looked at in Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle, and with almost all your meals provided, a student with the maximum loan of £9,203 is left with £2.7k for travel and fun and that is before any bursaries!

It is so difficult to say whether a friend of a friend's son will like a place! One of my niece's friends from London did not like it at all, so I think the majority of people love it, but some will not. Suggest that they read the first post on this thread on The Student Room. www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6431074

This is all really useful, thank you. The young person lives with me and has done on and off for a few years, so she is like my daughter. She doesn’t need to go to university, as she earns a decent living now and she would be able to develop that, but she wants to get a degree from somewhere prestigious that will open up other careers. She only applied to university at the last minute this year, so it’s all a bit of a new thing that’s taken us by surprise.

Well done to her! It is one of the most international unis so will def give her new opportunities and enable her to make contacts around the world

My DS got a job in the kitchens of his halls to help out with expenses, the uni itself employed quite a lot of students so that's a potential source of income.

@Alittlewornout @AChickenCalledDaal @Newgirls @Monkey2001

Thank you all very much for your thoughts around the catering. It's good to get the inside info! I think hearing that it's nice and social in the catering halls and also that although some kitchens are well equipped, there isn't a seating area really, makes me even more sure DD should go for catered.

I think it would give me peace of mind knowing she doesn't have to think about food shopping and cooking except at the weekend. I think she likes the thought of being all self sufficient and doing it all for herself - but the reality could be very different!!

Thank you!

She will have years to do it herself as a medic (I think you said?) Lala so all to come 👍

@Newgirls that is very true! She should make the most of having her meals taken care of for her

Quote OP: 'although some kitchens are well equipped, there isn't a seating area really, makes me even more sure DD should go for catered'.

The self-catered flats such as DRA have bar stool seating in the kitchen and settees. It is the catered hall kitchens which are small and don't have seating.

Don't know about other subjects, but lots of medics are first to uni in the family. For travelling there on a budget, check out the National Express coach. Can be extremely reasonable, if a bit uncomfortable. Private accommodation is eye-watering, but halls are cheap.

Andrew Melville veggie options got a big thumbs down from my picky veggie DD. She was a carnivore by the end of her first term. But I'm not sure if other veggies had the same opinion.

Feeling sad that even with a negative PCR test, DS is not allowed home for Spring Break because they are dreading them bringing Covid back. He was allowed to go under Scottish law as he was going to be looking after his grandmother who needs company because she is suffering from anxiety and depression following a health condition which affected her mobility and self confidence, it is a university rule rather than a law which is the problem. Doubly frustrating as DS has seen so many covid breaches, but nothing is being done about them. He would not have taken any risks, just does not want to spend 2 weeks in his room with no lectures.

It is awful that they are so restricted, particularly as students in England are all allowed home for Easter. It would have made a lot of sense to shift Spring break 2 weeks so that they could get the final 3 weeks of teaching done and let people go if they want to.

Hi, popping in again to ask some advice. I’m trying to sort out flights/hotel for when I take DD to St Andrews in Sept. The website says orientation week is w/c 6 Sept so would I be right in thinking she will need to arrive that weekend? Or the Friday before? Hotels already seem to be getting booked up and her anxiety levels are soaring!

I think it would depend on when your booked slot for arriving in halls is, if its on Saturday morning you would need to arrive on Friday etc. But if its Sunday you could arrive on Saturday. There are social events scheduled in halls usually on arrival weekend but they are low-key and not vital to attend (pizza deliveries that kind of thing). You can always stay in Dundee and travel in, its only half an hour away and has good shops for buying student kit.

So when will they normally find out their booked slot? Was hoping to book flights now whilst they are cheap but I’m guessing that can’t happen until we get a date.

Not looking like we will have a chance to view before we go either so really hoping DD is happy when we get there in Sept!