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!

I’ll suggest that she approach the housing office to see if there will be any swaps.

She likes the girls socially, in that regard they are a nice bunch.

How have all the freshers enjoyed their first week of lectures? DD was shocked, shocked I tell you about a group of 15 American boys mucking about in an Econ lecture. I asked about the other boys. She said British lads were acting like grownups and also staring, mouths agape.

Not heard of disruptive behaviour but he’s finding it a change transitioning from teaching to lectures. Enjoying the tutorial where he is the only Brit.

I was being a bit tongue in cheek, I think my DD can be rather prim. I doubt it was too big a deal.

The only Brit in a tutorial! They are lucky to have him to add “local colour!” What subject is it? I thought Brits were about 2/3 of the students. DD has one Scottish roommate which is good, it would seem sad to spend four years in Scotland and not meet any Scottish people.

I forget which subject. Possibly History. One of the lovely things about St A I reckon.

Dd delighted to have her first ever lecture - in her third year…

she did have labs last year but very little face to face. So at long last they are having a more normal uni experience and using the full range of facilities

@Newgirls yes, same for DS! He liked the on line lectures, but they will never really know how much they missed out on making new friends from general contact in the first year, quite apart from all the pub crawls etc which did not happen. It was a good thing that he was F2F for the last two weeks as they had the first 10 days of September without internet as it took a while to get it set up after they moved in. His phone data is enough for basics, but not for watching videos.

Sorry to hear that the accom office have not done well on allocations are being inflexible on swaps. It must be a real scramble for them between A level results day and moving in, they have very little time to get thousands of offers out.

We can all drink to a "normal" St Andrews year.

Yes, I forget how hard it’s been for all the DC at uni the last two years. They missed out on so much!

The Times uni guide has Oxford, St Andrews, Cambridge.

well done St. Andrews again 😀

Don't suppose any of your DC are after tickets for Starfields Wednesday night (today!)? Really annoyed that they moved it from a Saturday to a Wednesday, DS can't make it as he needs to be up in the morning and no offer of a refund.

@Monkey2001
There is some chat about refunds or partial refunds being available on the parents Fb page.

Any experienced parents have suggestions about how to get ball tickets? First one DS tried for he didn’t manage to get a table but was offered a ticket for the disco.

I’ll ask dd

my guess is the acts couldn’t make other weekend dates at this stage? Not ideal is it

Sounds like it was slightly underwhelming. I wonder if it would have been better with the original date.

Really boring question but have any of your DC used the bikepool cycle rental scheme? DS wants a bike to get from his halls to the sports centre - not far, but a faff walking. And I guess to the halls further out.

I've just popped by our local bike shop and can get him a good second-hand one for £180 and take it up when we go in half term. Or he can rent one for about £70. Both have a distinct possiblity of getting lost or stolen...

It would, but it was cancelled as a mark of respect, I don't think they had a choice. They should have delayed to a Friday /Saturday later in the semester or Raisin week. I think they just lost most of their live acts.

Bikes don't get stolen in St Andrews! Insider info, after DS bought a key-operated D lock because they are more secure, one of his housemates told him that you should get a combination lock, because it only needs to be a deterrent, but sand gets in the key operated ones!

Bikes do get stolen in St Andrews there is often posts on FB about bikes having been stolen.

Really? I wonder if they were locked. DS's flatmate said people might pick one up if it was not locked but had not heard of any locked bikes being stolen.

Morning

did you see the Guardian now ranks St A above Oxbridge - with a new term ‘Stoxbridge’. I imagine that might take a while to catch on with so many oxbridge grads in media but we shall see!

St A topping subject many areas such as economics and English.

Wow! Do you have a link?

Found it: www.theguardian.com/education/2022/sep/24/stoxbridge-st-andrews-overtakes-oxford-cambridge-guardian-university-guide

thanks stockpot

there is a lovely video in that link I think with lots of students saying how friendly it is. My friends who went to Cambridge all say it was very intense. They are glad they went but interesting St A students say friendly and happy and Oxbridge say intense.

Though of course it is a PR video - it does seem to match what my DD and her mates think

St Andrews did really well on The Times list as well, Oxford came first, but they beat Cambridge. Obviously these rankings are very crude measures and have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but nice for St A. One reason all the Scottish universities do so well is because the UCAS points system is more generous to scottish qualifications, so scottish students have more points than equivalent english students. Still nice though, particularly for those of us with Oxbridge rejects!

Karen Pirie drama last night was set in St Andrews. Looks dark and gloomy due to the murders etc but otherwise nice to see it 😂

Yes, I asked DS if he was watching and he asked why he would want to see St Andrews on TV when he can go out and see it for real! 😂