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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Does anyone from down south go to St Andrews university? I didn't realise it was 50 miles away from Edinburgh?

254 replies

UlezSchmulez · 10/09/2023 17:14

Why do they call it At Andrews university Edinburgh when it's nowhere near Edinburgh!

It's 50 miles, 1 hour and 40 minutes by train.
If you're from Southern England do you just accept that you don't return for any weekend during term time.

Just thinking of booking an open day there but wondering if it's just too far?
Which is a shame as it's very highly rated for maths which my son wants to study.
Any thoughts?

OP posts:
SaffronSpice · 16/09/2023 16:53

marcopront · 16/09/2023 16:09

I was once in Warwick and someone asked me how to get to the university. I said I didn't know exactly where it was but to head towards Coventry and there would be signs. They said they didn't want to go to Coventry.

Show quote history

Just looked up University of Warwick. To be fair their address is Coventry.

BackOfTheMum5net · 16/09/2023 18:14

Cascais6 · 15/09/2023 18:15

It is very far north and remote. There is a reason they sent Prince William there. No train station. In London terms, it's almost halfway to the Arctic Circle. It is an isolated place and very grey. The wind can be something else. It's the same latitude as southern Sweden. The bleak weather and isolation can play havoc with mental health, unless you're someone who is used to it - eg. someone from the Hebrides or Shetland etc. Don't forget, you would be 4 years there. That's a looooong time.

The Fife coast gets more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in the UK! St Andrews is a gorgeous place, admittedly with pretty stark weather. You can walk on beaches and cliff tops to cure your hangover, see the Northern lights on your way home from the bop, and be in the countryside within 15 minutes.

It’s not for everyone but it’s an amazing place.

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:25

You can also be in Dundee in about 20 minutes. It's really not the bloody Arctic circle.

Honestly, what some people still think about Scotland is hilarious/frustrating/embarrassing.

Daisyislazy · 16/09/2023 18:30

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:25

You can also be in Dundee in about 20 minutes. It's really not the bloody Arctic circle.

Honestly, what some people still think about Scotland is hilarious/frustrating/embarrassing.

They think we are wandering about in kilts and tossing cabers

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:40

It's like us thinking The Romans are still cutting aboot down there!

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:41

Although actually...I genuinely did toss a caber last week 🤣

PersephonePitstop · 16/09/2023 18:47

SoilTiller · 16/09/2023 08:16

This thread is good value! I did warn my DC against applying to universities in London, because what is there south of there except Brighton, Plymouth and remote areas such as Devon and Cornwall? Plus the only time I've had borderline hypothermia - genuinely - was in London. And it was grey and dirty the whole time I was there. And it's on the same latitude as Warsaw and Winnipeg.

By contrast, Aberdeen had two universities when there were only two in the whole of England.

At the moment I'm on holiday in Sweden, where your average Swede is looking considerably more bronzed than most Brits.

Summers in Sweden are gorgeous.

Will have to pop in to Fisher and Donaldson on my way home to the north for a fudge doughnut, and to enjoy the beauty of St Andrews where one of my DC was at university and emerged totally unscathed.

I love the Cupar F&D shop!

BIL lives near it and we’re due a visit soon.

SoilTiller · 16/09/2023 20:02

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:25

You can also be in Dundee in about 20 minutes. It's really not the bloody Arctic circle.

Honestly, what some people still think about Scotland is hilarious/frustrating/embarrassing.

Absolutely - the hoary clichés are jaw-dropping.

YupIKnow · 16/09/2023 20:07

The first time I went to Canada in 1974 someone asked me if I had ever had ice cream!🙄

Stroopwaffels · 16/09/2023 20:40

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:25

You can also be in Dundee in about 20 minutes. It's really not the bloody Arctic circle.

Honestly, what some people still think about Scotland is hilarious/frustrating/embarrassing.

I am from central Scotland and spent some time after uni living in Wiltshire and the ideas some people had about Scotland were just embarrassing. Very few had ever been, most had never been further north than about Birmingham. They genuinely thought we were under snow from about October - April and that it was never sunny. On a cold January day in Swindon i'd say "Oooh, isn't it chilly" and would be met with a chorus of "You should be used to it" as if we all grow up permanently frozen.

People should be so embarrassed that they know so little about part of their own country but they aren't. Badge of honour never to have ventured into the frozen north (north of Birmingham).

We used to get bridies at the bakers in Edinburgh too.

thaegumathteth · 16/09/2023 20:59

@Stroopwaffels we went on holiday to Brighton a few years ago and a local man asked where we were from. When we said just north of edinburgh we may as well have told them we'd just landed from Mars. and then the local shop wouldn't take a Scottish £10

Poppies26 · 16/09/2023 21:12

Cascais6 · 16/09/2023 07:07

Well it is very northerly and would feel very remote to a lot of people not used to that. As for Aberdeen, I'm sorry, but it's extremely grey and grim even on a sunny day. I was there 48 hours and I found it very depressing to the point I felt quite ill. I'm not saying there aren't depressing places in London - obviously there are - but let's be honest. The weather is southern England is bad enough. I've just been to Iceland. Yes very nice for a few days, but let's get real.

Have u ever been to St Andrews?

It does get the sun and plenty of clear days in the autumn and winter. Also it's a proper little town with good shops unlike a lot of other Scottish towns.

Sortmylifeout52 · 16/09/2023 21:19

Move further North. Then you would be closer to the University! 😊

What about overseas students? Do they go home for a weekend??

Sortmylifeout52 · 16/09/2023 21:21

And why only if you live in southern England??

Daisyislazy · 17/09/2023 09:32

LetMeEnfoldYou · 16/09/2023 18:41

Although actually...I genuinely did toss a caber last week 🤣

What you did in your personal life is up to you 🤣🤣

72EasyLessons · 17/09/2023 09:37

I interviewed for an academic job at St Andrews, but what put me off was all the golf courses in the vicinity. I liked the town and the coast, though (coming from Oxford), the student cohort struck me as distinctly posher.

Could any Scots on the thread who know the vicinity tell me what Dundee is like to live in? A friend is contemplating accepting a (university) job there, but interviews etc on Zoom, so she has never been.

LetMeEnfoldYou · 17/09/2023 09:43

Dundee is great, full of students, a really good union, a city but compact so you can walk most places.

LetMeEnfoldYou · 17/09/2023 09:46

Oh sorry just realised it's not a student you're talking about. Dundee is a great place to live, lots of nice houses around the Perth Road area where the university is, but also nice wee towns in a 20 minute radius; Broughty Ferry, Invergowrie, Newport, Carnoustie, Tayport, even St Andrew’s isn't far for a commute.

SoilTiller · 17/09/2023 11:07

One of my DC was at St A and they're definitely not posh!

AvocadotoastORahouse · 25/09/2023 19:59

Cascais6 · 15/09/2023 18:15

It is very far north and remote. There is a reason they sent Prince William there. No train station. In London terms, it's almost halfway to the Arctic Circle. It is an isolated place and very grey. The wind can be something else. It's the same latitude as southern Sweden. The bleak weather and isolation can play havoc with mental health, unless you're someone who is used to it - eg. someone from the Hebrides or Shetland etc. Don't forget, you would be 4 years there. That's a looooong time.

Oh here we go. The "Scotland is so backward" crowd has arrived. Ever been here? Ever lived for years here? We have electricity and central heating you know. Hmm

AvocadotoastORahouse · 25/09/2023 20:17

Cascais6 · 16/09/2023 07:07

Well it is very northerly and would feel very remote to a lot of people not used to that. As for Aberdeen, I'm sorry, but it's extremely grey and grim even on a sunny day. I was there 48 hours and I found it very depressing to the point I felt quite ill. I'm not saying there aren't depressing places in London - obviously there are - but let's be honest. The weather is southern England is bad enough. I've just been to Iceland. Yes very nice for a few days, but let's get real.

Oh you poor little flower. Stay south, we don't want you pathetic sassenach whinging pommie softies here anyway.

Excuse me, I'm off to wrestle a heiland coo in a vat of haggis. Grin

SaffronSpice · 25/09/2023 20:20

AvocadotoastORahouse have you read the rest of the thread? You are late to the party.

AvocadotoastORahouse · 25/09/2023 20:24

@SaffronSpice yes I have. My first comment was on the day the thread started, the 10th. I just find that particular poster's comments so utterly ridiculously offensive and ignorant that I have to respond.

JaninaDuszejko · 25/09/2023 20:56

Cascais6 · 15/09/2023 18:15

It is very far north and remote. There is a reason they sent Prince William there. No train station. In London terms, it's almost halfway to the Arctic Circle. It is an isolated place and very grey. The wind can be something else. It's the same latitude as southern Sweden. The bleak weather and isolation can play havoc with mental health, unless you're someone who is used to it - eg. someone from the Hebrides or Shetland etc. Don't forget, you would be 4 years there. That's a looooong time.

I grew up in Orkney and didn't bother applying there because it was too small and remote (I'd already had 18 years of that). Of course in the 80s nobody thought of St Andrews as a prestigious University, Glasgow and Edinburgh were where the bright bairns went.

YupIKnow · 25/09/2023 21:00

JaninaDuszejko · 25/09/2023 20:56

I grew up in Orkney and didn't bother applying there because it was too small and remote (I'd already had 18 years of that). Of course in the 80s nobody thought of St Andrews as a prestigious University, Glasgow and Edinburgh were where the bright bairns went.

Show quote history

I can't agree with you on that St Andrews was not thought of a prestigious University in the 1980s. I went in the 1970s and you had to have a Latin qualification to be accepted so that suggests a certain level. In fact it has been since 1413.