Freshman Semester in St Andrews, Scotland Past Review

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

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.

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

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• Quality of Support Services for Students