Can ne1 give me the lowdown on Life at St Ads?

[Guest]

I'm starting at St Ads at the end of this month, however I'm really worried as loads of students seem to be really negative about it. Is there enough to do? Does it get as claustrophobic as people say it does? Sorry 2b a pain, I'd just like some honest advice cause at the mo I'm really having doubts!

[Greebo]

Really depends what you like.
If you like the big city, chances are you'll hate st andrews and spend your time in scumdee.
If, like me, you prefer wee places then st andrews is great.
There ain't clubbing (phew), but there's tons of pubs to socialise in, plus the union.

It's not claustrophic in my opinion, course others will disagree.

Down to the individual really.

[Paranoid]

Fear not, I had exactly the same doubts for exactly same reasons when I accepted a place at St.Andrews, all my mates headed off to Glasgow Uni and told me how boring it would be in St.Andrews. How wrong could they be! Balls, themed drunken nights, hall life, century old traditions, if anything theres a hell of a lot more to do (variety wise) than there is in any big city uni! Sure we dont have any nightclubs, but theres a weekly bus to Dundee to satisfy your appetite, and theres always loads of flat party's etc into the early hours. Without hyping on too much about St.A (and its St.Ands not St.Ads) I'll end by mentioning that after 2 years being here, all the mates who went to Glasgow, now visit me more than I them, purely because of the social life in St.Andrews and the weird antics we get up to, plus they've all found a new friend or two, compared to me whose found a whole heap of new friends! Trust me, if you approach it in a positive attitude it'll be everything you wanted it to be!

[EviLTwiN]

yeah we may not have nightclubs, but the social life here is much better than the more isolated social life you have in big city uni's.
By the end of first year you'll walk thru the union or where-ever you drink, and you'll see people you know every 10 feet. You can meet so many people on a night out. You go to a big city and you're with your friends, but you probably won't get talking to many complete strangers, and if you do they'll probably be tanked out of their heads in a nightclub.

At st.andrews its much more focussed on socialising with people, rather than socialising with your friends and dancing in a club.

[Cain]

[s]EviLTwiN wrote on 19:13, 2nd Sep 2003:
At st.andrews its much more focussed on socialising with people, rather than socialising with your friends and dancing in a club.


i was told that if you go to Tesco and DON'T see somebody that you know then you are the exception. i can't leave my room without bumping into people that i know. i was in town last saturday for about three hours, and still met half a dozen people that i knew (granted, one of them was somebody that i had hoped to never meet again).

there will always be something to do as long as there are people to do it with.

as for being claustrophobic, you will feel it getting that way sometimes. at the end of term especially, lots of people feel like they really want to get away from the hassle of exams, and other people who are hassled with exams.

it's great. you'll love it

[Thackary]

I was once walking home from a friend's house at about 4am, and happened to bump into 6 different people I knew on the way home.

[Loz]

Hey there,
I'm starting this month too and from what I've heard it's not quite as boring and sleepy as some seem to have depicted it to be. It'll be good craic and at the end of the day your time at Uni is what you make it so enjoy yourself while it lasts!

Are you staying in halls or have you got a flat? I'm in Regs although I don't know which bit yet. Of course I'd probably be able to find that out if I could just locate the letter they sent me ages ago. Hmm, now where did I leave it again?...

[gandhi is my god]

Being a city lad it was really difficult for me to settle into the St. Andrews life style. What made it even worse was that I was an overseas student and the culture was new to me. At first, I travelled a lot to dundee, edinburgh, and glasgow. However, eventually you'll find friends and get into the rhythm of st. andrews life. It's just a bit more routine than the life style in big cities coz theres less to do. So you end up doing the same things in rotation. If you ever feel you need a break, just hop on the bus and go to dundee or edinburgh. Edinburgh has some really nice clubs and always has good concerts. Oh and the MTV European Music Awards are going to be held there in november, maybe you can get a ticket.

[Guest]

Thanx guys, uve made me feel lots better. I know ur probs all finking wot a pathetic person but coming from a big city i know i'll find it tough.

BTW-Is it normal to not hear about accommodation?! Cause I aint heard yet and am gettin a wee bit worried that ill end up homeless!!

[sparkly_pink_tiara]

I'm starting in St Andrews this year too and with all my mates going to Edinburgh, I was a bit concerned bout the social side. But i've been reassured by many reliable sources that its a good laugh so theres no need to worry!

[Paranoid]

From my experience those who gossip that st.andrews is boring and dull havent actually ever stayed around long enough to call it a visit! I mean one of my mates claims he ended up in St.Andrews on a drunken night and couldnt find 1 single pub!!!!! (Theres 30-odd in a 2mile radius!)

[paradise lost]

i have been here for TWO YEARS now and i still have no friends and feel very very lonely, mainly because i have been trapped in a circle for about 20 years now and have not broken free of it:

1. to have friends, you need social skills
2. social skills are obtained through socialising with friends, you can't develop them on your own and you are not born with them..
3. but to have friends, you need social skills,
4. social skills are obtained through socialising with friends, you can't develop them on your own and you are not born with them..

and goes on.

i have to live everyday like this and when i try and make friends they seem to show no interest at all by remaining silent. i have been trying since primary school and still no luck because of this raging circle, and i hate it when i see couples talking and laughing because i want to be like them, but cannot because of this horrible circle i am stuck in. lucky hardly anyone has this problem so it doesn't bother them that much but me i have to live with this everyday of my life, and to feel lonely for so many years - and even feeling estranged and not getting along at all with family - i fear the future will only get worse because job seeking will be hard (failed to get a job at all this summer) and making friends and family an impossibility. yet i see it happen to everyone else so i feel i have been cursed with bad luck because of some missing trait which has made me feel like this. once i felt so lonely i wanted to kill myself because i want to make friends but when trying it just fails - all the time.

but thats my reality, not everyone elses here. they all seem to laugh and have a great time so i am sure you will just be another one of these lucky ones too. me, forever trapped in the darkness, my voice never heard when trying to reach out........

[niall]

[s]Paranoid wrote on 18:18, 3rd Sep 2003:
From my experience those who gossip that st.andrews is boring and dull havent actually ever stayed around long enough to call it a visit! I mean one of my mates claims he ended up in St.Andrews on a drunken night and couldnt find 1 single pub!!!!! (Theres 30-odd in a 2mile radius!)


26.. 23 of which are spread between four streets

[Sabre13]

[s][b]niall wrote on 13:02, 21st Sep
[/i]

26.. 23 of which are spread between four streets
[/i]

Depends if you count all the bars in the various hotels too!

[rae]

http://www.thesinner.co.uk/article-view.php?article=426

Try that for some info.

[heatherl]

It seems to me that you might give off a slightly bad vibe in general with that attitude. Though you may not say these things in public, people have a fairly good sense of it. Try to relax and not be so dark about life. If that doesn't work, maybe some counseling would. Much luck....

[Midget]

This thread seemed really nice, and was making me feel great about St Andrews etc, then that "paradise lost" person did that horrible rant, what the hell was that all about? For god's sake cheer up and don't burden us with your worries, I hate all that negativity it doesn't do anyone any good.

[paradise lost]

[s]Midget wrote on 13:26, 23rd Sep 2003:
This thread seemed really nice, and was making me feel great about St Andrews etc, then that "paradise lost" person did that horrible rant, what the hell was that all about? For god's sake cheer up and don't burden us with your worries, I hate all that negativity it doesn't do anyone any good.




you dont know what its like to be in the situation i am in!!! i have lost so much weight because of this and have lost all and every bit of hope i ever had! it doesnt bother you cause you dont have to live with it, but me, ive been in this for TWENTY YEARS!!!! I WANT SOME CHANGE IN MY LIFE AND FOR IT TO BE HAPPY AND UPLIFTING, OTHERWISE I MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD!

but then, death scares me, so i feel trapped.........

[Abracadabra]

No one will take you seriously if you're so melodramatic 'paradise lost'.

If you genuinely have problems finding friends and it's getting you down, then there are a lot of people who will be able to help (try Student Support Services) but just complaining about them is not going to sort them out.

Good luck!

(PS. I love it in St Andrews)

[Jess]

[s]Unregisted User paradise lost wrote on 19:15, 25th Sep 2003:

you dont know what its like to be in the situation i am in!!! i have lost so much weight because of this and have lost all and every bit of hope i ever had! it doesnt bother you cause you dont have to live with it, but me, ive been in this for TWENTY YEARS!!!! I WANT SOME CHANGE IN MY LIFE AND FOR IT TO BE HAPPY AND UPLIFTING, OTHERWISE I MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD!

but then, death scares me, so i feel trapped.........


Not to be harsh, but you don't help yourself with that attitude. You don't need fantastic social skills to make friends, you don't have to be perfect, but you do need to lighten up just a tad. If you want change, then change! Make an effort to force yourself to be happy, fake it for long enough and eventually you'll actually feel happy. Join societies, do a sport or something that isn't really based around talking.

What are you afraid of? Rejection? We all get rejected by someone, and most of us get rejected by a lot of people (whether we fully know it or not.) Throw yourself out there, I absolutely guarantee that with some initiative and ignoring your fear (and maybe alcohol if all else fails) you will eventually make friends. There are friends for everyone out there.

K, I'll stop ranting now, but it needed to be said. Don't worry, be happy.