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!

Is the Edin student in halls? I know loads of English uni students in their own accom. I think St A has more control as they control so much accom so they can simply say not allowed to come in.

@newgirls the girl I know at Bristol doing French and Politics is in halls. I think the Edinburgh student is in hall, she was last term. Loads of Lancaster students over on the other thread who have gone back are in halls.

That could be a positive sign 👍

@Newgirls article in Guardian is encouraging. Says Scotland planning to start letting students back in early March. Talk about it being in line with school returns, which are planned in. Scotland before England. Starting to feel more optimistic about the chance of a return after Spring break.

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/feb/05/gavin-williamson-plans-phased-return-english-universities-march-covid

There is an is odd disconnect for most universities as the article says that up to 70% of students have already gone back anyway, which chimes in with the anecdotal evidence in the university thread here. I think Oxbridge and St Andrews have been stricter than all others.

My DD has been offered a place at St Andrews and one of the worries I have is whether or not she will fit in socially. I know St Andrews came under fire for their elitism and I'm wondering what kind of social mix there is amongst the students. She has grown up in a council house and went to a very average high school and I don't know whether she will fit in or not. She got an interview under their wider access scheme since we live in the same region so I know they are making an effort to be a bit more diverse.

I'm also wondering which accommodation blocks are the best? She will be studying an arts based course.

[quote Monkey2001]@Newgirls article in Guardian is encouraging. Says Scotland planning to start letting students back in early March. Talk about it being in line with school returns, which are planned in. Scotland before England. Starting to feel more optimistic about the chance of a return after Spring break.

www.theguardian.com/education/2021/feb/05/gavin-williamson-plans-phased-return-english-universities-march-covid

There is an is odd disconnect for most universities as the article says that up to 70% of students have already gone back anyway, which chimes in with the anecdotal evidence in the university thread here. I think Oxbridge and St Andrews have been stricter than all others.[/quote]
I hope so!!!! Thanks for sharing.

Stephen Reicher on Twitter is advocating for no f2f teaching until sept. I think he prefers his freelance writing and Sage work to dealing with undergrads.

@Gingerkittykat

My DD has been offered a place at St Andrews and one of the worries I have is whether or not she will fit in socially. I know St Andrews came under fire for their elitism and I'm wondering what kind of social mix there is amongst the students. She has grown up in a council house and went to a very average high school and I don't know whether she will fit in or not. She got an interview under their wider access scheme since we live in the same region so I know they are making an effort to be a bit more diverse.

I'm also wondering which accommodation blocks are the best? She will be studying an arts based course.

It’s her rightful place and she should absolutely take it!

Have you been for a walk around? It’s so pretty. My dd is from a state school as are the majority of the students. She says it is full of posh people but finds it fun and friendly rather than off putting. It’s very international so socially there are so many interesting people to meet from many walks of life. Coming from Scotland itself might be quite novel and I’m sure people will want to chat to a genuine Scottish person!

As per accom - although they can specify what they’d like they tend to just get what they are given. It’s a very small place so easy to walk to wherever she gets too.

I guess I’d say choose a larger hall so plenty of people to meet.

@Gingerkittykat well done to your DD!

I suggest you read the first post on here "(260) The Official University of St Andrews Applicants Thread 2021 - The Student Room" www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6431074

My son also went to a very average state school with a mixed intake and he loves St Andrews. Plenty of normal people among the super rich.

For accommodation, she may well be able to apply for a bursary, check the university website for details, but I expect they will cover it on the on-line offer holders days. The standard catered accommodation is really good value - total for the year £7k or £6.5k for Andrew Melville including £2.5k for food, and they don't need to spend much more, so can live on the standard loan of around £9k fairly easily.

@Gingerkittykat many congratulations to your dd. My dd attended an independent school but is certainly not posh ( couldnt be with a wee mum also brought up in a council house and went to a rough school!). All the students I have met there through my dc have all been lovely whether they have a posh accent or not. Newgirls is right have a walk around, it is very international, as a Scot my daughter is in the minority which she loves.
Try and not be put off by preconceived stereotypes, maybe see if they are doing any virtual talk and tours just to give her a little feel for the place.

@Gingerkittykat best not to get too drawn in to which hall is best as you can't choose the actual hall in first year, just the accommodation type. Although the central halls are slightly better located for arts students, everything is so compact in St Andrews that it really does not matter which hall you are in. People say DRA is so far away, but it is still closer to lecture sites than accom at most universities. DS takes 5 mins to get from Uni Hall to the medical school, takes 15 mins to the music dept, which is about as far as anything.

DS put his 4 preferences as:
1 Standard catered
2 AMH
3 Standard S/C
4 En suite S/C

He did not want to end up with en suite catered, which is very expensive, happy to share a bathroom and very happy to have a cleaner provided! He got his first choice and it worked out well for him.

@Gingerkittykat I think you can choose the cheapest hall (AMH?) as an option. She absolutely should seize this opportunity in the knowledge that she will likely love it; and if the worst came to the worst, she could move elsewhere.

I also agree that walking distance from DRA is exaggerated and especially in Covid times it has been fine for my DS1. Everywhere feels so safe to walk around as well.

In October 2019 28% students were from Scotland.

Thanks for the reassurance, she has grown up in a very different world from a lot of the students who will be there, loads of her peers have now gone on to have a couple of kids by the age of 20 and there are loads of drugs around, in fact one of her friend's from high school lost her mother to a heroin overdose last week. She also left school at 15 with three standard grades and has gone back to FE college and worked really hard to get ber qualifications so I'm really proud of her.

She liked the lecturers who interviewed her and they told her to start applying for scholarships before they officially offered her a place. She has researched them and it seems some are pretty generous so hopefully she will get something. She is also doing transcription work from home right now to build up some savings and it is something she can also dip in and out of while she is studying so she should be fine financially.

The accommodation is expensive compared to what my niece paid at Dundee which was £100 a week for en suite non catered but I'm sure she will manage.

We live about an hour away so will have a drive up at some point, maybe there will even be a physical tour if Covid restrictions ease before the summer.

Have you checked what her maintenance loan would be? Congratulations to her that really is fantastic to restructure things like that.

Great story of your DD taking control of her life, hope things continue to get better and better!

It says the maximum loan is up to £9,488, which is higher than I thought it would be, so she should be fine financially.

She is obviously a resilient hardworking student ⭐️

If no real life tours happen you can just go for a walk around. You can go in the pretty quads etc as they are open to all anyway. I think there is a self guided tour on the website. Halls you can at least walk to the front doors and take a look to get a sense of where they are. Check out the harbour and beach. Great day out!

It’s not like say Cambridge where the quads/halls are closed to visitors - you can easily walk through and get a sense of the place

Good idea @Newgirls, and you can take her to the Toastie Shack for lunch . Although it may be best to wait a few weeks until the lockdown relaxes a little - depends on how you interpret the rules.

Yes the Toastie Shack! Check out the castle and a cathedral ruins, run on the famous sands, walk along the pier and feel very proud your daughter has been offered a place 😀 (end March maybe!)

@Newgirls hope you can do that too at the beginning of April 🤞🤞🤞🤞

Oh I do hope so!!!

@Gingerkittykat

It says the maximum loan is up to £9,488, which is higher than I thought it would be, so she should be fine financially.

My DS is a Scottish student at St A's. I'm a single parent on a very low income and he's been fine financially.