Freshman Semester in St Andrews, Scotland Past Review

By (Undecided - Pre Med Track, Middlebury College) for

University of St. Andrews: St. Andrews - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
My experience was very worthwhile. I noted the downfalls because I believe other students should have an idea of what they're getting themselves into, but none of the pitfalls were a huge problem for me. I enjoyed my classes, loved the country, and made amazing friends. I highly recommend a similar experience to other culturally curious, independent, highly adaptable students. Scotland is truly a wonderful country and St Andrews is a great mix of historical and college town.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Workload: Minimal to Moderate, depending on motivation of student to do non-required work like reading for lectures. Grading System: Graded on a logarithmic scale 1-20 with 7 passing, and 15/16-20 considered a "first" (equivalent of A,A+) Differences: No one on one time with professors or small classes. 10-15 person tutorials are led by graduate students of varying experience and enthusiasm. Professors are great in lecture but there is little opportunity to get to know them, talk to them, hands on learning etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Virtually no support services offered to students. The independence is refreshing but if you find yourself in a situation where you need help it's virtually impossible to find any kind of staff member who can help you out.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Lived in university-administered apartment buildings - apartments of 5 students ( each student had their own room, own bathroom, shared living room/kitchen). Students expected to provide bedding, majority of kitchen equipement, food, etc. Safe area with a good community (there were about 10 of these apartment buildings in development, with a main facilities/laundry building). Located quite far from main town - about a 30 min walk from town but there are buses and cabs available although that can get quite expensive. Overall, living arrangements were fine.

* Food:

Catered meal plans available but does not cater to dietary requirements and frankly hard for an American student to get used to the food. There is a self-catered option (buying own groceries and cooking own meals) which I ended up doing and it worked out fine.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Nothing was arranged by program as it was direct enrollment. However there are limitless opportunities for travel and cultural experiences for students. St Andrews itself is an amazing historical site with its 12th century castle and cathedral, as well as multiple museums. it's also a short train ride from Edinburgh, a beautiful historical city with attractions such as the Edinburgh Castle, camera obscura, National Art Galleries, The Queen's palace in Scotland and many more. Furthermore, flights within Europe on airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair are unbelievably cheap, and staying in hostels is affordable for a student budget. Many sports teams do big trips over breaks - Snowsports goes to the French and Austrian alps, surfing club to Morocco, spring training for crew in Greece, etc.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

St Andrews is an incredibly safe place. However, there are no student health services - only the local hospital. The UK government runs all the healthcare so while it's free, many students experience frustration with the waiting times and sub-par care, especially Americans. I never had to go to the hospital myself but know many students who did and did not have stellar experiences. Any American student travelling to the UK should bring their own medicine (advil, cold medicine, anything they might need) because the UK allows less active ingredient in their medicines than America so UK over the counter meds will have no effect.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Other
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • The Freedom
* What could be improved?
  • Quality of Support Services for Students
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? A student with a cultural curiosity, desire to travel, and large reserves of self-motivation would benefit from this program, while a student who relies more on hands-on instruction, small classes, and academic rigor may feel a bit lost. Anyone who doesn't have a desire to meet people from very different cultural backgrounds or who is easily offended by people with different values/views may struggle. Furthermore, as St Andrews is a very expensive place to live and the social life is very dependent on how much you have to spend I wouldn't recommend it to anyone on a tight budget.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Great Ideas

Course Department: Inter-Departmental ID 1003
Instructor: Different lecturer from different department nearly every lecture
Instruction Language: English (UK)
Comments: Fascinating class- three lectures per week on a wide variety of subjects including logic and reasoning, economics and society, religion and culture, and technology. Having different lecturers was interesting but meant that there was no relationship between professor and student (common in classes even with the same lecturer). No coursework for the class - the only grade was the final exam.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Spanish Language and Texts

Course Department: Spanish - SP1001
Instructor: Tutor: Manolo Lagares Lecturers: Bernard Bentley, Ricardo Fernández, Javier Letrán
Instruction Language: Spanish
Comments: Course consisted of 2 language and grammar classes per week - depending on level of language class, can be very challenging (not a beginner class, must test in) I was in level A with mainly spanish speakers and it was moderately challenging. There was also a literature component ( a large lecture and a smaller seminar per week) which I found to be extremely fascinating and well taught. Participation in language class and seminars was easy but not applicable in lectures.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Anthropology in the World

Course Department: Social Anthropology SA1001
Instructor: Paloma Gay y Blasco, Mattia Fumanti, Nigel Rapport
Instruction Language: (heavily italian and spanish accented) English
Comments: Fascinating course for students interested in cultural anthropology. Professors and their slides were a bit hard to understand due to their accents and grasp of English spelling/grammar but it certainly made lectures interested. The professors that lectured (each did a section on a different topic) were very passionate and knowledgeable.
Credit Transfer Issues: