@Valleyofthedollymix accommodation is NOT first come, first served. There is a deadline for application (maybe in June?) and as long as you apply by then you have an equal chance with others of getting your first choice of accommodation type. They don't allocate accom until your offer is unconditional, which can mean a scramble for the right bedding at the end of August!
All accommodation has different strengths, my DS loves the historic feeling of University Hall - the large lounges and staircases and grandfather clocks. The shared bathrooms have been great as they have a cleaner (I think every day?) and you are only sharing with a small group of people you know. He had a sink in his room in the first year which he really liked. He was very relieved not be in Agnes Blackadder (ABH) as he did not like it on the open day or Andrew Melville (AMH) which is very ugly but super cheap. However, lots of people love those halls and applied to stay there for second year. One thing at Scottish universities which is odd for English students is that a lot of first years in the old halls have shared rooms. DS REALLY did not want that, partly because he thought his GF would be visiting, although Covid put paid to that! @Newgirls DD had a room mate in the first year, so she can comment on that. I think it would be more of an issue in a normal year than it was for our 2020 starters.
DS has had 2 years in Uni Hall and has found a house for next year - looks like he might have been lucky as it is a house for 6 on or very near South St and at £150/week each a bit of a bargain!
Having been caught out 2 years in a row on over-recruitment I don't think they will over-recruit this year, so very unlikely that anyone will be in Dundee and if they were, there is a bit of movement in the first few weeks of term.
@Stockpot there is a lot of general flexibility, so I expect it is possible to add in a year abroad, but as a medic my son would not really know.
What DS has loved about St Andrews is that it feels like Cambridge by the Sea, it is beautiful and is full of very clever people. The student population is truly diverse, 25% international. When we visit, there are constantly people saying hello to him on the main streets.
His social life is based around friends he has met in hall. He had a choral scholarship last year, but doesn't really socialise with the choir as he finds them a bit posh! They quite like people watching and spotting famous people - there are often a few to spot.