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

[UlezSchmulez]

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?

I'm just shutting up and getting on with my sudoku. Safer. 🤣

@Photio when I tried the link from the search results, I kept getting 'page unavailable', but did notice that I could click through from the link when I posted it and noticed no Edinburgh - so wondered if an admin's ears had been burning

I've always thought it was the relative isolation that led St Andrews to be chosen for William. We all know he didn't have to apply or earn his place with grades, so safety and a bit of privacy makes sense.

That may be an urban myth but genuinely I once walked down Princes Street behind a couple of American tourists and one looked over and said to the other "Is that the Castle"?

I resisted the urge to say "No, that's the public lavvies, the Castle's round the back".

To be fair they probably thought castles should look like the Disney one or Mad Ludwig's in Bavaria.

My husband is from alness, there's not that much there to do a road trip too

Too right.

I've always thought this too. Would allow him more privacy to have as near a "normal" student experience as possible and make some stupid mistakes as many youngsters will fo aware from the public glare.
The university and whole student body were very good at protecting his privacy.

It's perfectly normal not to return home for a weekend during termtime, because terms are already very short.... and certainly the students may prefer it!

Family up there. I do agree though, hence making it a road trip rather than just going straight there. Will be taking the two hounds with us as well so look forward to getting out with them. Although I’m from mid wales so the scenery doesn’t do much for me…

When the figures came out, this proved to be true for DS. Turned out he would have had better odds applying to Cambridge for natural sciences than St A for biology. (He didn't apply to Cambridge as the course content didn't lean to biology.)

In the Zoom open day St A said very clearly that home students are offered places first (fair enough), overseas students second (£££ ?) and rest of UK last. I know 4 young people who have applied to St A in the last two years, for a variety of subjects, with fabulous predicted grades. Not one received an offer. A snapshot I admit but they have ended up at other well regarded universities.

We live in South London and dropped my DS there last weekend. It was a long drive but manageable with stops. I'm future he will fly home for reading week and end of term. If you are organised enough flights are often cheaper then the train. In his halls are kids from the US, China, Hong Kong and Australia. I thought it was too far but it was his first choice and we didn't even expect an offer. He is absolutely loving it, only a week in but he's having a total ball!

Fisher and Donaldson scotch pies! Takes me back twenty five years ...

I went in 1998 and had similar experience, I also moved to Dundee for years 2-4. Dundee has improved a lot since then I think, I lived in hill town (I think that's what it was called) and it was not the nicest place. But I had a boyfriend and lots of friends at Dundee University, really had a great time once I got out of St Andrews...

I absolutely think William was there because of the isolated location, that’s the joke I was making earlier. It’s a prestigious university but hard to reach and in a place so small that paps would be much more easily spotted than in a large city like Oxford or Cambridge, which he could no doubt have had a place at due to privilege. But he went to university in the wake of Diana’s death and there was a huge drive to protect him, rightly so.

Perhaps more importantly, we have all learned what coffee towers are. I’m agog.

We visited from northern England where Edinbugh us very quick easy access, but the last leg of the journey from edinbugh to Leuchers on a slow sick making train that stopped at every lamppost and then bus into St Andrew's was a deal breakers.i def wouldn't want my daughter arriving at Leuchers on a dark winter night.Also StAndrews was lovely but apparently some students have to live in dundee

I've be we heard anyone refer to it as associated with Edinburgh- people know it's nowhere near.
I know someone who is in her last year and she's from the Isle of Wight! I think her parents visit her once in the year, they obviously go up for a few days. And of course they do take her up and collect her at start and end of the year.
Many kids don't go home during term time if their university is much more than three or four hours away.

As many have already said St Andrews is not close to edinburgh. To get home, my son would bus to Letcher then train to edinburgh before heading south. Its a long journey so he rarely came home, which was actually a good thing. He made lots of great friends who were all like family. Lots of swimming, football, golf, parties, etc etc. Small tutor classes, and easy to get hold of tutor. Academic families, old fun traditions. All help with settling in. He got a job in the uni halls dining room (got free meals too) during holidays and deliveroo which was so easy to do as town is small. He stayed out and found rooms easily as knew loads of folk. Started in Halls to begin with and enjoyed it.

*Leuchers obvs

Ok ignoring the Edinburgh thing - which is weird, it is a long way for anyone in the south of England but if it's the right place you make it work.

DS has taken his car up - ngl I do stress, it basically takes a working day to do the trip but he then has more freedom when up there. He did a lovely trip round the south coast of Fife last weekend and in the weather it was simply stunning. He flies down for reading week, leaving the car at EDI airport as it's the travel from the airport to St A via public transport that is most faffy. It's absolutely doable but if logistics are a concern, there are easier places.

I've never heard it called that. And it's your son's choice, why are you involved. Surely you want him to be having such a good time he doesn't want to come home during term time, I never did.

My children never came home in term time from university! Those at Oxbridge are usually not even allowed to do so. Also when I went it was just too expensive to go back as people had less money in those days. I didn't know anyone thought St A was in Edinburgh! We all remember Prince William going there to be well away from everyone and have his private life so was a very good choice.

I really want OP to come back and tell us where she read it was St Andrews Edinburgh . So I can then write to the editor 😂

Also, seeing 'University of St Andrews, Edinburgh' on something (obviously something other than the 'location' info on the university's own website), I would probably have been curious to see whereabouts in Edinburgh and had a squint on Google Maps and been disabused of the idea that it was anywhere in that city sooner rather than later...

I'm wondering if she's confused with St Andrew's Square, which is indeed in central Edinburgh. But there;s no university near there, just trams and Harvey Nicks.

Problem solved, then. DS struggles on to StA's for the open day, while the OP recuperates from the journey thus far with a spot of upmarket retail therapy