How difficult am I going to find this...

[rossanne]

I'm coming to St.Andrews in september, but I will be 17 ( and 6 months off my 18th birthday). I heard how strict they are on i.d in pubs etc and I'm a little worried about being left behind a bit. Will be pretty horrible not getting in somewhere and having to go back to halls alone, and not being able to enjoy myself! I live an hour away from St.Andrews, and don't have a problemw ith pubs around my local area but from what I've heard they are really cracking down on underage drinking in Fife . I know the whole uni life doesn't revolve around drinking, but I'm used to going out and having fun and it'll be hard not to be able to, and probably make it more difficult to make friends! Any advice?

[Cain]

If you drink in the Union and you're underage, you'll be banned, either for three(six?) months or until you turn 18, whichever is sooner.

Trying to sneak it is seriously not worth it; it happened to my son and he went through the rest of his first year with the nickname Banned Andrew to differentiate him from the other Andrews in the year.

For other bars, I'm not sure.

[hr]

I hold an element of surprise

[Registered User]

It's worth noting that the Union still lets you in even though you can't drink (and they'll notice when you come in that you're not old enough to drink - your date of birth is on your matriculation card).

You could try to get served alcohol, but you have to think if it's worth the ban from the union rather than waiting a few months and drinking coke instead!

As you point out, there's other things to do, and probably quite a few folk in your halls will be in a similar position. To be honest, I don't remember many other folk apart from me being 17 when they arrived in my year, but I found it didn't make a difference for me. (Pubs may have also got more strict in the mean time, I'm not sure)

Other pubs don't seem to bother all the time, on Friday it'll be more difficult to get into places, but on other nights you might only be asked for ID if you buy drinks.

In freshers weeks there's lots going on in the union, halls etc, so don't worry about meeting folk and all that - there's more going on than just sitting around drinking!

Don't expect to be able to buy drink in any of the off licences or shops. Most places seem to have a rather annoying policy of IDing everyone who looks under 25.

I'm assuming your alternative is to come next year instead, but what else would you be doing in the meantime?

[rosanne]

To be honest I don't really have any other option but to go this year, parents moving away. I do really want to go, just this worry thats playing on my mind a bit.

[rosanne]

Quoting registered user from 23:33, 16th Jul 2008
It's worth noting that the Union still lets you in even though you can't drink (and they'll notice when you come in that you're not old enough to drink - your date of birth is on your matriculation card).

You could try to get served alcohol, but you have to think if it's worth the ban from the union rather than waiting a few months and drinking coke instead!

As you point out, there's other things to do, and probably quite a few folk in your halls will be in a similar position. To be honest, I don't remember many other folk apart from me being 17 when they arrived in my year, but I found it didn't make a difference for me. (Pubs may have also got more strict in the mean time, I'm not sure)

Other pubs don't seem to bother all the time, on Friday it'll be more difficult to get into places, but on other nights you might only be asked for ID if you buy drinks.

In freshers weeks there's lots going on in the union, halls etc, so don't worry about meeting folk and all that - there's more going on than just sitting around drinking!

Don't expect to be able to buy drink in any of the off licences or shops. Most places seem to have a rather annoying policy of IDing everyone who looks under 25.

I'm assuming your alternative is to come next year instead, but what else would you be doing in the meantime?

Thanks for your advice I definitely wouldn't drink in the union, had a friend who got banned for 6 months and I definitely don't want that happening to me! Not bothered about buying drink in shops, it's more just not being able to get into pubs for nights out. I'm not actually bothered about not drinking, it would just be nice to be able to sit in a pub and get to know others!

[FuzzyBeans]

I really wouldn't worry about it. I was 17 when i came and didn't turn 18 till end of february and i had no problems. I even drank in the union and nothing happened but that may have just been good luck. There's loads going on and im sure there will be other people in the same boat....

[hr]

If you disagree with anything im saying, you're wrong!....

[Delts]

One of my friends in first year turned 18 the day after his last first year exam and he got on fine. I'd never heard of people being banned from the union for underage drinking before.

General rule, if there is door staff you won't get in, if not then you're fine unless you drink.

[hr]

Quotes: For when you can think of nothing to say yourself.

[HookerBot]

You could always just get trashed beforehand....
...or get someone else to buy you a drink, and give them the money...

..but of course, I don't advocate this kind of behaviour...
>_>
<_<
>_>

heh. I lie. I guess it is kinda rubbish if you're just wanting a drink in the Union on a non-bop quiet night.

[TheUnixKid]

Quoting Cain from 22:55, 16th Jul 2008
If you drink in the Union and you're underage, you'll be banned, either for three(six?) months or until you turn 18, whichever is sooner.

Trying to sneak it is seriously not worth it; it happened to my son and he went through the rest of his first year with the nickname Banned Andrew to differentiate him from the other Andrews in the year.

For other bars, I'm not sure.

[hr]

I hold an element of surprise

Stop being so pessimistic. If you want to drink in the union before you're 18 it's entirely possible and not a massive issue. I know plenty of people that did during fresher's week etc in first year; no one was caught, no one banned and certainly none given a silly nickname.

Bars are different, a lot of them ID but I'm sure you'll be able to sneak into one of them.

[Pacitti]

You'll manage to get into most places no bother. most pubs/bars tend, in my experience, to ID more in freshers week and the weeks to follow than other times in the year. Just try to avoid places with door staff and you'll be fine.

You can always get others to buy booze for you. And if your not bothered about drinking then you'll be fine no matter what age you are when you come!

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37109385

[Cain]

Quoting TheUnixKid from 15:10, 19th Jul 2008
Stop being so pessimistic.

The union seriously likes hanging on to its licence. The council, I believe, is waiting for an excuse to restrict the union's licence.

As such, under age drinkers tend to be more rigourously rooted out and punished in the union than in other bars.



[hr]

I hold an element of surprise

[Black Rose]

Even if you aren't buying alcohol there is a chance that you will be asked to leave some of the pubs in town if you are under 18, many are not insured to have anyone under 18 even on the premises with the risk that the supervisor/manager loses job. So remember that someone's livelyhood is on the line if you do try and drink in such places. On the other hand I was 17 when I came to uni and didn't have any problems, most people end up in the union during the beginning of the year anyway. And parties do continue back in hall which of course has no age restriction.

[Al]

Quoting Cain from 23:23, 23rd Jul 2008

Quoting TheUnixKid from 15:10, 19th Jul 2008
Stop being so pessimistic.

The union seriously likes hanging on to its licence. The council, I believe, is waiting for an excuse to restrict the union's licence.

As such, under age drinkers tend to be more rigourously rooted out and punished in the union than in other bars.

Hmmm. The Union has been saying that its licence - late or otherwise - is under threat for more years now than I care to remember.

[Kat]

You should have no issue getting into most pubs so long as they don't have people carding at the doors, you might have trouble with the West Port(I got carded for a coke there my freshers week) and the Raisin, who aren't insured to have under 18s in the building.

As far as I remember everyone in my hall under 17 was drinking far more than me first semester...so I wouldn't worry about the opportunity presenting itself.

Where there's a will...

[Guest]

Don't listen to these losers! Edit yer passport and get going!

[Catriona]

I was expecting it to be difficult the otehr way round when I came to St Andrews. I was nineteen but didn't drink, cause I just didn't want to - and I thought people might expect me to. Yeah, there were prats who thought if you didn't drink you don't have a life - They're more than ignorable though =]. In my residence block alone, two other people didn't drink just through personal choice as well - and that's out of six people! And by the end of the year, some others who I knew who did drink were not drinking any more cause they had almost run out of money... So there's actually advantages, if you wanna be nice and positive but on the safe side as well =] I'm sure you'd be able to get into some pubs just to sit about and talk even if you're just drinking coke. Me and a non-drinking freind - also under 18 at the time - actually joined in a fresher's pub crawl, except it was an irn bru crawl where we were concerned ^_^. There's also sports and societies and stuff to make freinds through, pubs are by no means the only/best/least expensive(!!!) way to make freinds.

...That whole post sounded far too mature for me... But aye.

[unreg]

Quoting Catriona from 13:42, 10th Aug 2008
I was expecting it to be difficult the otehr way round when I came to St Andrews. I was nineteen but didn't drink, cause I just didn't want to - and I thought people might expect me to. Yeah, there were prats who thought if you didn't drink you don't have a life - They're more than ignorable though =]. In my residence block alone, two other people didn't drink just through personal choice as well - and that's out of six people! And by the end of the year, some others who I knew who did drink were not drinking any more cause they had almost run out of money... So there's actually advantages, if you wanna be nice and positive but on the safe side as well =] I'm sure you'd be able to get into some pubs just to sit about and talk even if you're just drinking coke. Me and a non-drinking freind - also under 18 at the time - actually joined in a fresher's pub crawl, except it was an irn bru crawl where we were concerned ^_^. There's also sports and societies and stuff to make freinds through, pubs are by no means the only/best/least expensive(!!!) way to make freinds.

...That whole post sounded far too mature for me... But aye.

I'm a non-drinker too, just because it was a choice of mine. Whenever I go to pubs I just drink coke. Actually like Catriona I thought I wouldn't fit in but I don't think there was any difference in the social opportunies between drinkers and non-drinkers.