Living in the Bubble: I Will Miss St Andrews Forever Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The University of St Andrews gives a completely different experience from that of an American university. Their grading, or marking, system is fair but takes a while to get used to but their professors are all very dedicated and are not only at the university for their research but also to teach the students and help them with honors projects. In general, professors and students are on a first name basis with one another which creates an amazing, comfortable atmosphere within the classroom and makes it much easier to approach faculty with questions and comments and such. Also, the workload is dispersed differently throughout the year. My home university has much more graded coursework throughout the year while the universities here have few assignments that count towards the final grade and most weight is given to the final exam.

On-site administration of your program

The process of applying and coming to St Andrews through UC EAP was much easier than I expected. There is a lot of paperwork and online forms that have to be taken care of before departure but the staff on both ends of the program help you through all of it and make sure you complete everything on time. Whenever I had questions about the university, the town, traveling, etc. the study abroad office was always able to answer my questions or refer me to someone who knew more. I do wish that we had more planned events throughout the year where the study abroad students at the university or in the country could come together and travel or chat. We met up only 3 times and it would have been nice to see more of the people on the program and also to have a planned trip around Scotland through UC EAP or something similar.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I live in a hall (dormitory) that houses local students and international students including Americans. There was no problem applying for housing and the form was really simple to fill out. The town of St Andrews is a very safe place so even though my hall is on the outskirts of the campus, I never once felt at risk walking alone from town back home, even at midnight. It is quite far away from the center of town but is very close to my classes so it balances out. Also, there are many halls to chose from and I picked this one so there are really no complaints on location. The hall offers a sort of moving-in package that will include sheets and a duvet when you arrive but it is generally better to just buy your own because then you get exactly what kind of pillows you prefer, style of sheets etc. My particular hall is self-catered so we are fed 3 meals a day 5 days per week and then we make our own food on Saturdays and Sundays. They have kitchens for all the students to use and fridges to keep food and such. Also, everyone in the halls is very welcoming and the hall committee puts on many, many, many events that bring everyone together so it is very easy to get to know people and make friends of all cultures and ages.

The halls will accommodate literally ANY food restrictions. If you are vegan, they will make you a special dinner every evening (it won't necessarily be gourmet though) or if you are allergic to something they will make sure to tell you not to eat a particular dish. There has never been a shortage of food and the quality on average is good. Being in the UK, there are lots of potatoes and not a great variety of vegetables but we do always have healthy options available. You also always have to option to skip the meals offered by the hall and to provide for yourself by going to town and buying groceries or eating out. Eating out is fun but can become expensive and St Andrews is a small town so you will eventually eat everywhere over the course of a year. Also, St Andrews only has 1 grocery store IN town at the moment but they are building a second one and there are 2 that are 1+ miles outside of town. It can be a pain to walk all the way back home with bags of groceries every day so I suggest eating in the halls, it's not horrible at all.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

St Andrews and Scotland in general have absolutely amazing traditions! Some of the highlights are the pier walk in the red robes, the Kate Kennedy Procession, May Dip, ceilidhs (traditional Scottish dancing) and golf and so much more. There is never a boring moment and there's something to do every week, if not every night. There is of course the wonderful pub atmosphere in the UK where a group of friends can hang out in town for hours just chatting and bantering away. Also, there are so many places to visit and many of them can be seen in a weekend trip so you do not have to miss classes and such. For example, the Shetlands, the Isle of Skye, local whisky distilleries and more castles than you can count. Unfortunately, UC EAP does not arrange any trips throughout the year but it would have been really nice to have that. However, they did arrange for a Thanksgiving meal in November to maintain the American tradition and held a Ceilidh for us which was extremely fun!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

St Andrews is extremely safe. The locals are all mostly elderly and there is rarely violence or fighting. The most dangerous part of the town are the cliffs which drunk people have jumped off of in the past (there is a fence blocking them off but people climb over still). Also, most people go out in larger groups and never let their friends go home alone. Also a bonus: around April, the sky stays light past 9:30pm so it feels safer coming back from dinner, town, or classes alone. Fortunately, I have not had to use the hospital or pharmacy apart from purchasing cold medicine.

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

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• Dorm

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• Other

• How easy it was to find equivalent classes to transfer from St Andrews to UC credit.
• The social and academic setting of St Andrews as a town and as a university.
• The welcome orientation held by UCEAP in Edinburgh and the orientation by the University of St Andrews.

• There could be more contact with us study abroad students from our home university to check how we are fairing.
• Suggested weekend trips around Scotland that students have taken in the past and enjoyed.