Edinburgh or St. Andrews.....confused?!?

[Anon.]

hello,
am currently in upper sixth and am looking at unis to apply to study history/arts and cannot decide whether Edinburgh or St.Andrews would be better, so if anyone has any advice that would be great....

what advantages does St.A have over Edinburgh? does it's location affect the social side of uni,and what kind of atmosphere is it.
is it true as to what the rumours say; is it wet, cold and windy ALL the year round?
also, what is the accomodation like; are there many shared rooms, and are the diffent halls modern or slightly more piteresque as they seem?

concerning history; what is the course structure like?

thanks a lot for any info, cheers

[Rob]

[s]Unregisted User Anon. wrote on 13:16, 5th Nov 2004:
hello,
am currently in upper sixth and am looking at unis to apply to study history/arts and cannot decide whether Edinburgh or St.Andrews would be better, so if anyone has any advice that would be great....

what advantages does St.A have over Edinburgh? does it's location affect the social side of uni,and what kind of atmosphere is it.
is it true as to what the rumours say; is it wet, cold and windy ALL the year round?
also, what is the accomodation like; are there many shared rooms, and are the diffent halls modern or slightly more piteresque as they seem?

concerning history; what is the course structure like?

thanks a lot for any info, cheers


Edinburgh. more pubs/bars, more people, not in the arse end of fife, big scary city with big scary people.

St Andrews. Small, close atmosphere. Everyone knows everyone. Small union. isolated.

[hr]
www.statalk.com

[Miz Manda]

[s]Rob wrote on 19:36, 6th Nov 2004:

Edinburgh. more pubs/bars, more people, not in the arse end of fife, big scary city with big scary people.

St Andrews. Small, close atmosphere. Everyone knows everyone. Small union. isolated.

[hr]
God Rob, Admissions should have you do the publicity. Would certainly do wonders for accomodation problems.



[hr]
Any act of anti-social insanity is immediately sanctified by the magic word 'charity'. As someone once said, if Hitler had invaded Poland 'for Spina Bifida' then everyone would have just let him get on with it.

[Scellanis]

In my experience...everywhere you go in Scotland is wet, cold and windy all year round but St Andrews is actually considerably warmer than say Dumfries in South West Scotland. But it is very windy here....bad for umbrellas and hats.

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[floatingonmycloud]

Of course it's not windy, rainy and cold ALL the time! But it is Scotland so the weather does have a habit of changing quickly. But don't let the weather put you off!

There's a variety of halls here, ranging from the very modern, expensive but nice all the same David Russel Apartments and New Hall, to the older ones like Hamilton etc. If you don't specify on your accommodation form for a single room, you're probably guaranteed to get a shared one.

When I was deciding which uni to go for I was torn between Edinburgh and St Andrews, like you and I'm glad I chose here.

[tordenskjold]

I'm doing Modern History here and I think it's great. Am pretty pleased I got in here instead of going ot KCL or Exeter to be honest!

[Jayne]

Hey,
I think it really depends what you're looking for. If you're wanting to go out clubbing loads then Edinburgh is the place for you. Social life in St Andrews is more the pubs and the union. If you're just wanting a bit of clubbing then theres buses every tues and wednesday to Dundee and I think theres one on a friday now.
I was stuck deciding between Aberdeen and St Andrews and I'm so glad I chose here. I'm in Hamilton which is one of the smallest and oldest halls and I love it. In most of the catered halls 1st years share a room (i think) but it really is no problem. It gives you an automatic friend and most people end up getting on really well with their room mates.
Come to St Andrews its great!

[pelopidas]

Depends very much on the type of person you are.

If you need shops, and lots of nightclubs st andrews really isnt for you. Having said that there are lots of parties (though no where near as many as there used to be). If you prefer pubs to clubs then st andrews isnt so bad.

Being honest st andrews can be a very boring place unless you really get stuck into something. Otherwise your life will consist of drinking and lying in bed and/or watching tv/playing computer games.

If I had the choice now, then i would pick Edinburgh. Its larger,more difficult to get bored, the choice and variety of accomodation is much wider and comparatively cheaper than here, as a university its facilities are better. Also its that hour and a bit closer to home than here.

do remember though I am somewhat embittered fourth year, who tired of this town long ago, as a consequence Edinburgh seems like las vegas and amsterdam all rolled in one compared to here.

[The_Farwall]

[s]pelopidas wrote on 15:28, 7th Nov 2004:
do remember though I am somewhat embittered fourth year, who tired of this town long ago, as a consequence Edinburgh seems like las vegas and amsterdam all rolled in one compared to here.

Perhaps that's a good indicator though, by the time I was in my fourth year me and most of my friends where also thoroughly sick of St Andrews. Maybe a good idea to check with Edinburgh soon-to-be-graduates and see if that's the case for them too.

[Guest]

[s]Unregisted User Anon. wrote on 13:16, 5th Nov 2004:
hello,
am currently in upper sixth and am looking at unis to apply to study history/arts and cannot decide whether Edinburgh or St.Andrews would be better, so if anyone has any advice that would be great....


Edinburgh is about to join NUS. Avoid the place at all costs.

[Scellanis]

I'm a fourth year and I'm not sick of st andrews yet...but then again I have a phobia of pubs and hate the union because they happen to be full of people so really I don't count because if I was in Edinburgh I'd probably spend all day online too anyway. But I could picture myself trying to return here if I ever got the chance once I graduate....

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[Humphrey]

If you live in a big city then you tend to hang out in the same small area the whole time and its just as easy to get bored. All of the Edinburgh graduates ive met here (Nottingham) got just as bored -if not more so- as we did by their final year, it sounds like a real case of 'the grass is always greener'

[Humphrey]

Oh yeah St Andrews is the better uni in the league tables and has a great modern history department, if anything thats what you should base your choice on.

[md25]

I'm in fourth year and, while not sick of this place, I'm looking forward to moving on.

[Guest]

[s]The_Farwall wrote on 16:06, 8th Nov 2004:
Perhaps that's a good indicator though, by the time I was in my fourth year me and most of my friends where also thoroughly sick of St Andrews. Maybe a good idea to check with Edinburgh soon-to-be-graduates and see if that's the case for them too.



Well yes it can be a good indicator but I'm a fourth year and I love the place as do many others yet I have friends in Edinburgh who loathe the place..

It just depends on the individual.

[Guest]

St Andrews may have a higher density of prats than almost any other uni but I quite like it here. That is, of course, because I hate nightclubs but do enjoy drinking myself comatose in The Central.

[Guest]

I'm only a second year, but already me and my housemates (and friends) can't imagine being anywhere else. We love clubbing and pubbing as much as anyone else, but that doesn't mean you want clubs right on your doorstep, does it? Oubs in town are varied and you'll find something to suit, and if you want clubs then just head to Dundee. In fact, we're probably closer to the nightlife and shopping in Dundee than you would be if you lived in one of the Dundee/Edinburgh suburbs as a student.

As for the closeness and "bubble" thing about St Andys, you soon get used to it, and if you don't then I guess hard luck to you. But most people I've come across tend to look back at their time here with great fondness, and the people I know here from all walks of life love the place. There's something very special about returning here after a break, returning to somewhere you actually feel a part of and know people's faces, as opposed to just being a "number".

[the-enemy]

The major difference between the two universities in my experience is who will patronize you: when visiting edinburgh i found the staff to be very belittling (sp?), while there is an element of snobbery in the studentship here. If you are from private school you'll love it here, if you are from state school you'll probably love it equally, if you are thick skinned about some attitudes at first. However, if you are gonna need a job to survive university, go to Edinburgh, they are ridiculously thin on the ground here. In terms of halls, if you are looking to make friends the older halls are famed for being more "friendly" than DRA or New Hall, but those 2 certainly make up for being "less friendly" by the fact that there is generally more comfortable living in them. However, everyone I know who stayed / stays in New Hall is friendly enough, it seems to be just a case of what you make it. If you are at all able to cook, opt for Self Catered, because on the whole residence food is rather hit or miss.

[Scellanis]

McIntosh apparently is the best catered Hall (and its right in the centre) or thats what I've heard....the food here is usally pretty ok...Although I still have issues from first year which prevent me from eating some of the food they seem to have fixed...

Flourescent green chicken...mmmm...its not green anymore, they fixed their food colouring problems in my second year...

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[Setsuna]

[s]the-enemy wrote on 11:45, 11th Nov 2004:
....while there is an element of snobbery in the studentship here. If you are from private school you'll love it here, if you are from state school you'll probably love it equally, if you are thick skinned about some attitudes at first.


Im sorry, but that is bollocks.

At uni, noone cares what school you went to. They care for about two minutes at the start of first year. A lot of my friends are surprised when they find out i went to a private school *shock* because we very rarely talk about what TYPE of school you went to. I talk about school like anyone else does, because essentially it was a NORMAL SCHOOL.

I cant believe the attitudes in St Andrews sometimes.

In fact, Marco Biagi did not talk to me for about a week when he found out i went to a private school. For the first two years i was here, i was actually embarrassed to tell people i went to a private school, because some people suddenly have this opinion in their head of what they believe a 'privately educated' person to be like. However, most people dont seem to bat an eyelid... we just laugh about it. They dont care.

There are plenty good people in st andrews, and if some of them went to private schools, it doesnt mean they were brought up to be complete snobs. Yes, there are a few, but the majority are NOT. It is probably the case that most of their parents made a huge sacrifice for them. We spent a year eating nothing but tesco value spaghetti because my parents were adamant i didnt go to the catchment school, which was the worst in the area at the time.

I dont agree with private schools being exclusive as they are now (when I started, there were government assisted places, but they were abolished soon after). But can people please stop jumping on the fecking state school bandwagon? I may seem like a hypocrite after my rant, but we are at university now. School doesnt matter anymore.