Which college is best?

[David Dawnedge]

Hi! I have heard that St Andrews is a collegiate university - I was wondering which college is the best one to apply to, and can you study medicine if you are in any of the colleges, or is it only taught in some of them?

Thanks a lot

[indi]

i dont think st andrews has different colleges. ive got a place there and i think you are mistaken, or either i have seriously under-researched my first choice! lol! i only know of oxford, cambridge and durham.

get a prospectus!
:wink:
indi

[caster]

You are both right, in fact! St Andrews is a collegiate university, however it is not that important any more and doesn't really function like a collegiate university in the same way as Oxford/Cambridge/Durham/London etc...

I'll try to explain.... Historically there have been 4 colleges: St Salvator's College, St Leonard's College, St Mary's College and University College (later called Queens College). However, St Salvator's College and St Leonard's College merged in the 18th century to form the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard, and Queens College became the University of Dundee in the 1960's, and hence is no longer a college of the University of St Andrews. Therefore, the university today only has two colleges: the United College and St Mary's College.

Originally the colleges all operated like Oxbridge Colleges - each offered a variety of different subjects, and students and staff studied and lived in their chosen college. However, for various reasons, St Mary's College gradually reduced the number of subjects it taught, and now teaches only divinity, and hence the term "St Mary's College" is virtually synonomous with the Faculty of Divinity. The United College offers all subjects other than divinity, but as the University grew in the early part of the 20th century, students moved out of the college buildings and into Halls of Residence, and today, although the United College still exists, and all non-divines are members of it, it doesn't have the same meaning as it would have done 100 years ago, and students don't really feel a "part" of it.

In the modern University the only difference between being a St Mary's student and a United College student is the type of undergraduate gown that you wear - United College students wear bright red gowns, whereas St Mary's students wear black gowns (with a purple cross on them). There are also members of staff who are heads of each college: the Master of United College is one of the vice-principals, the Master of St Mary's College is responsible for divinity students, and the Provost of St Leonard's College is responsible for postgraduate students in the United College. However, as a medic you will have very little to do with these particular staff members, and you have no choice - you can only study medicine as a student of the United College.

The part of St Andrews life that is most equivalent to an Oxbridge college is your Hall. A large proportion of St Andrews students remain living in their Hall for their entire time at St Andrews (though this is starting to not be the case as the university are admitting more first years so there's not enough space for everyone), and even if you move out, most students keep a large amount of allegience to their Hall. Halls in St Andrews are very much more than just a place to live - they are whole communities, made up of undergraduate, postgradutes and staff who live their, eat there, have their social life there, etc (this is particularly true of the older Halls), and in this way they are quite different from Halls at certain other universites (which are often more like accommodation for first year students to live in).

[indi]

thanks for that little history lesson!

so caster, from what you have just said, it seems halls are quite important then. i know ive asked u guys before, but what do u suggest i put on my accomodation form then (in order to have the best time) in your opinion? and whats combos of catering and ensuite facilities would give me the best chance of landing a wicked hall?

cheers,

indi

[caster]

what do u suggest i put on my accomodation form then (in order to have the best time) in your opinion? and whats combos of catering and ensuite facilities would give me the best chance of landing a wicked hall?

My personal recommendation would be catered, not en-suite. If you put yes to "ensuite" you will almost certainly end up in New Hall, which although very luxurious, doesn't really have that much "character" to it, is quite big, and doesn't have so much going on in terms of Hall-organised social events. However, some people enjoy living in New Hall - it does depend on you.

Think carefully about whether you would mind sharing a room - if you put "no" to sharing a room, you will not be in one of the old central Halls (St Regulus, Hamilton, St Salvator's, McIntosh, John Burnet). These are small Halls where everyone knows one another, there are lots of Hall-organised events and so on. They also have the advantage of being about 2 minutes walk from the Bute (where lectures/practicals are), shops, pubs, take aways, Students Association building, library, etc. However it depends upon whether you mind sharing - if you think you would find it difficult to share a room, then you probably won't have a very good experience in a "good" hall if you are sharing a room. Shared rooms do tend to be fairly large, and there are also libraries and "study rooms" if you want to work while your room-mate is having a party. You also can put on your form what your interestsare, so that you can be matched to someone who may be similar to you - however they aren't always all that good at getting that right! Some people end up being best friends with their room-mate and moving into a flat with them later on in their course, and other people end up hating their room-mate - most people get on alright but there are always going to be problems with sharing a room with a random person you have never met before. However, if you wouldn't mind sharing, then these are probably the best Halls to be in.

University Hall (which is mainly single rooms and not ensuite) is also a really good Hall if you want lots of community-spirit, Hall-organised activities and so on, but also want a single room - its a little bit further from the Bute (but still only a 10 minute walk).

The main problem people have with the older Halls is that there tend to be quite a few strict rules, which some people find quite petty and say its too much like living in a boarding school - if you think you'd find this a problem you might be better off in one of the newer Halls (eg Andrew Melville or New Hall) which tend to be more relaxed about this kind of thing.

Having said all that, most people enjoy whichever Hall they end up in - to a large extent having a good time in Hall is what you make of it - if you are really friendly and go to lots of events, get involved and so forth you will enjoy Halls whereever you are and get the benefits, whereas if you always stay in your room and never speak to anyone you will probably not really enjoy it that much, even if you're in one of the more popular Halls.

[indi]

you are such a legend caster- i owe u a pint mate! i think ill go for catered and non en suite, cheers for all that!

indi :wink: