St Andrews: One of the Best Decisions Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The Scottish educational system and the American educational system are comparable, and St Andrews is a strong institution in the UK. The courses I took were honors courses, and were challenging for the most part. One could really get out as much as one wanted to from each class. Some of the formatting however left a bit to be desired. I found the lectures in my Art History course, for example, to not be as stimulating as my other courses at Wellesley. Nevertheless, my professor did try to make it a point to get us interested in the material by taking to important sites for closer examination. My other course--St Andrews only lets its students take courses at a ratio based on their difficulty. Since I was taking honors, I was only allowed to take two courses--was structured exactly like my course would have been at Wellesley. Still, while the classes at St Andrews were challenging, I still had plenty of time to enjoy myself and balance my life between work and play.

On-site administration of your program

Since I applied to St Andrews directly, I was on my own for the most part. After a few initial mishaps during the application process, everything went well. I felt like I was able to contact the OIS if I had any problems or I had any questions.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in New Hall, which was one of the dorms farthest out from most classrooms. The food was also terrible most of the time. But I got a full-sized bed which was wonderful, and my own bathroom which is a luxury I am going to miss. The rooms also came with pillows and linen (which gets cleaned bi-weekly), which was really helpful. New Hall also had maids which regularly cleaned my room once a week.

I loved that the dining hall had plenty of fresh salmon and fish and chips every week (I really looked forward to fish and chips Fridays!). And while each student could grab one piece of fruit at every meal, the meals themselves were often not that healthy. The salads were often composed of iceberg lettuce (which has little nutritional value) and many of the vegetables were overcooked. Students are also not allowed to serve themselves, which often left me with little vegetables and too much starch. There are also a ton of rules regarding what one can and cannot have during meal times, which was at times downright silly. For instance, you could not get a yogurt or cold bowl of fruit plus a dessert because the fruit/yogurt counted as a dessert. Still, with all that being said, I'm still glad I didn't have to cook for myself for all my meals (I only had to do so on Saturday and Sunday dinner, which is not covered under the meal plan).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I took a trip to see a couple abbeys near the Scottish-English border with my art history class, which was fantastic. St Andrews also has a range of traditions which are fun to do/see: ceilidh (Scottish dancing), bops (dances), balls, bonfires, the Gaudie (night procession with torch lights), May Dip (running into the North Sea at dawn), as well as others. I also got to meet Kate Middleton and see Prince William during their visit to St Andrews for the 600th Anniversary of the school.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Each student was given full healthcare and directions to their specific medical facility. My only concern was for the transparency regarding security issues around St Andrews. Other than that, the town is very small and safe.

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

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