Scotland: My New Second Home! March 07, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The grading of assignments was generally pretty tough which is why it is at a 3. However, I barely had class and the workload for each class was very managable.

On-site administration of your program

St Andrews was great at providing resources once I was there and had many events for students to get to know each other. You also felt very integrated into the larger school. However, the lead up to the program did not provide a ton of information and I was mostly left in the dark

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The hall I was in both semester were great and I felt very comfortable there! Definitely the nicest university halls I've lived in. It should be noted that to get a single you are a bit removed from the town (I was a 10 minute walk away), but I found it was well worth the standard of accomodation.

The food overall was pretty good, and I found that as a vegetarian I was pleasantly surprised with the options. However, if you didn't like the hot food there wasn't much for you to have. Furthermore, the dining hours were very limited so I found I was eating at times I wasn't hungry and it would mess up my eating schedule.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

St Andrews is a small town so it is super easy to get to know everyone. At the same time, there is lots to do so people were out and enjoying themselves, which made the place very social. As well, it was easy to go to other parts of Scotland since the public transport is so good. Overall, I felt very well integrated and I found it was easy to make friends - both other study abroad students as well as locals. Honestly the perfect study abroad school!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There is no on campus clinic or anything like that so getting care does involve going through the public health system. However, the healthcare there is very good and it was always easy to get meds or see a doctor - just a bit more hassle than your typical on campus clinic.

There wasn't a single time when I felt unsafe in the town of St Andrews. I often would walk back to my hall alone at night and never felt unsafe. Furthermore, there were lots of public transport options that were very safe. Overall, I could go for a night out and never have to worry about safety - something I can't often say as a young woman.

I felt that St Andrews had all the things I wanted from study abroad - a town that is more exciting than Middlebury, opportunity to meet local students and enjoy local culture, smaller school that is close to a big city, nice professors and good classes, and other study abroad students to bond with! It was everything I wanted and more, and I'm also very glad I did two semesters instead of one.

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

Overall, the school provided most things for me so I never felt stuck in my financial situation. However, people go out more often there, whether it be for coffee or drinks, so socializing did require you to have some spending money. As well, dinner on the weekends was not provided which was sometimes tough. You can definitely get by without spending tons, but it is an expensive town and taking full advantage of it requires some cash.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• The town of St Andrews
• The people that I met
• Opportunity to travel

• More contact from St Andrews beforehand

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