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!

Trial shift went well. She is now on her third shift in the East end. Says the landlady is a bit of a legend and very nice to the waitstaff. Phew!

I’m racking my brain for mon desk jobs…Mariner? Military? Something in Energy? Seems like most jobs involve a lot of computer work. Sigh

@Stockpot Me too .... Estate Management? I guess little bit of office would be OK. fingers crossed that Sandy's Careers Dept help a bit by year 3! Glad your DD is enjoying her job - lots of tips I hope.

@Reusername there are a lot of public service non-office jobs, teaching, police, fire service etc. I think most of the high paying jobs are office based though, to progress you generally have to take on more management.

I know, I guess something with travel involved or part of the day out an about would be better.

My DN has a modern flat in Dundee with a friend. It was literally all she could get. I think its sad though that the ordinary kids just dont get a look in and really if you cant afford to live there or even find a room if you can, whats the point of all the hard work in the first place?

That’s a shame, @EachandEveryone . I agree that commuting in, is not the student experience that anyone wants. May I ask what the rent is?

One positive about Dundee is that much of the weekend nightlife is there, so easy and safe to stay in Dundee. It’s prob a similar distance to some students living in large cities getting to uni eg Leeds halls into central campus. Or London of course. But not ideal. Hopefully this will all
improve for future students when the new block is finished

Not bad £550 each it looks like its purpose built. It was near double that in St Andrews its self. It really separates the haves from the have nots which is a shame but at least she has a friendship group. Her friends have had to rent odd rooms so none of them have actually managed to get a place together. At least in Dundee theres a higher chance of getting a student job.

It is not always cost that is the issue, my DS was paying £500/month on the edge of St A (30 min walk to town through lovely park) and the person in the smallest room paid £475. The main difficulty seems to be getting to the front of a queue on any place. Although there are sone madly expensive places in Ayton House coming up on FB.

£550 is a very good price at least! I am glad she is sharing with friends that must help a bit.

Yes one friend but shes lucky she has her as the others have had to split up. The bus stop is right next to the flat and its free so heres hoping she has the best of both worlds.

£500 is a bargain! She could pay for a lot of taxis and still not get close to what many are paying in St. Andrews

DS still doesn't have accommodation. He's going into his final year of a geography degree after being in halls for the rest of his degree.

It seems like there is barely anything available, and the stuff that is available is insanely expensive, goes quickly, or is terrible quality and not somewhere either of us would want him living in.

Even the towns around St Andrews are starting to have many of the same problems as St Andrews itself, although not as expensive.

I thought the uni has bad in previous years about the housing crisis, but there has been silence from this this year. Should be ashamed with themselves.

'Although there are some madly expensive places in Ayton House coming up on FB'.
My DC is a Scottish home student and was in DRA for covid in first year. I have just paid the whole rent on a studio flat in Ayton House upfront for their final year. It costs £2k more than it did 2 academic years ago but is the same small but pleasant room he has had since 2nd Year. Most people could not easily afford these rental levels and as a result most of the residents are overseas students.
The University needs to either build accommodation fast or accept fewer students. It is a ridiculous situation for parents to have to finance.
Commiserations to @Penguin7208 and anyone else still looking. If you want to look in Dundee, the agency RentFlatsDundee were okay to deal with for my other DC.

The uni has been promising new accommodation for years now and nothing has happened (although that is partly due to planning permission). They also apparently reduced the number of entrant students this upcoming year, but this would have to have been a massive decrease to make any difference.

Thank you for the Dundee advice. We know very little about the city, and don't particularly know how to feel about living so far from the town (30 mins not too bad, closer to 60 mins isn't so good).

My niece has a flat in Dundee it’s right next to the bus stop she is looking forward to moving in. £520 each and there’s two of them, she wouldn’t encourage any one to study there for this reason, it’s just not for everyday kids. Who can afford what they are charging in this climate.

Very impressed that St Andrew’s tops the tables this year for both The Times and The Guardian

https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/historic-double-first-for-st-andrews/

with all the debates, drama and passion on the higher education boards about Oxbridge, it feels like we are “sitting pretty” over here with the best kept secret. 😊

Hope all your DC are having a great start to the year!

It can be expensive yes but read elsewhere that Nottingham is £8k for catered halls and my dd in St. Andrews paid £6k so cheaper.

being in halls for 2-3 years has kept the cost down for us. Hopefully when they build the new hall it will be easier for normal students

@Newgirls now that I know more about university accom, the St Andrews shared bathroom catered feels like excellent value! My younger son has just started at UEA and is paying £6,356 for the tiniest en suite room - if he stands between the wardrobe and the bathroom wall, his shoulders fill the space. In comparison St A, particularly AMH which is £7,279 including 19 meals a week with a small double bed and twice as much floor space, looks like a real bargain!

If he is the type who isnt fussy about food then he will be fine. If he's vegetarian then its not good at all. Its just stodge. The rooms are big though.

Good luck to your son as he starts Monkey- I hope he loves UEA!

I’ve been looking at accom for graduation. A boat came up on air B and B - did you stay on one? I have a memory that you did!

Yes! We stayed on a boat through AirBnB and loved it! Not fab for showers but fun sitting on the deck in the sun. We regretted booking The Bothy for our celebration meal though, wish I had gone for The Grange - expensive, but much more of a special experience.

I assume you know that ABH accom with a graduation discount will come up, so no need to stress about whether you will find somewhere to stay.

Ooh will it? Any idea when?

tempted by the boat.. did it get choppy?!

Haha, no, boat was in tidal harbour, so half the time we had no water, but it moved a little when the water was higher. I don't know when St A release the holiday accom. We stayed 2 nights on boat and 1 at ABH, breakfast at ABH was great.

Here here @Stockpot and anyone else who was a parent of an Oxbridge reject.