Oldest university in Scotland, and third oldest in the UK, unsurprisingly located in the town of
St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland.
Has a good reputation and I understand has recently undone some of the modularisation that royally fucked up degree structure there. Arts students get to study in the pretty, ancient colleges, scientists are largely exiled to the ugly North Haugh - a windswept 60s hell hole that is slowly sinking, it is at least near to several large halls of residence - a real bonus given the dreadful weather that assaults the place 8 months of the year.
It's tiny (5000 students) and isolated and there's not much to do there. If you're after some big city action you have to convince someone to drive you, or get the bus, to
Edinburgh.
Traditions abound, most of which are as annoying as they are quaint. Foremost among them is 'Raisin weekend' where older students acting as 'Academic Parents' encourage first years (the 'children') to drink themselves into a coma, or at least into their parent's bed.
Small size and isolation make it incredibly cliquey, and heaven for gossip mongers. You have to work very hard to keep anything private, and you won't be able to avoid anyone if you want to, there is no anonymity at all. Probably hell if you go there coming from a large city.
On the up side, it's surprisingly cosmopolitan, pretty when the sun shines, has cool beaches, and is very friendly (so long as you are careful to avoid the disproportionate number of
fucked up people that seem to go there). It's OK for the 4 years an average degree takes but
do not be tempted to stay for a PhD or whatever after it. Go there, enjoy it and leave. Move on.
There's more to life...
For such a small University, it's graduates seem to pop up all over the place, either that or they develop some kind of psychic magnetism that draws them to each other. I can't seem to go a month in
London without bumping into someone I knew there...