@goatgal49 thanks so much for the information! Sounds like the perfect subject to study in the UK ?
Has anyone who has applied visited the school? I’d appreciate your thoughts. Thanks
@kimchifinn, there are a lot of students and parents on CC w/ good info on StA’s- but you need to give more info as to what you would like to know about the school (esp things that are not easily gleaned from the website). I suggest you start your own thread, w/ more specific questions- after you spend some time on the website. I took a peek at your other post, and on the face of it StA’s does not appear to be a good match- they don’t have a Visual Arts program.
Son accepted today. Unconditional offer - International Relations & Modern History. Direct application, visited last fall. First choice!
Congrats to your son, @studytown!
@VickiSoCal I’m a parent of a daughter considering St. Andrews. We will visit in March. How do I join FB page for North American parents? Thanks.
Don’t want to be a downer but my son learned today he did not get into the astrophysics program (5 yr to Masters option). He applied Dec. 10. St Andrews was his top choice.
His stats are pretty good. 1490 SAT, GPA of 4.20 and all the high level math and physics courses eg. AP calc BC, and AP physics C.
Not sure what happened. Maybe just not strong enough. His statement was well done and reviewed by his college counselor. It’s tough because his friends are getting into Stanford, Yale, and one has an interview with MIT coming up.
Good luck to all of you still waiting to hear!
Sad in California.
I’m sorry about your son’s disappointment, @momofjjf - and it does seem a surprise, based on the stats you list. I hope he has some other good options. Did he apply to any other UK unis?
It’s water under the bridge, and doesn’t help at all, but were his AP scores 5s? Also, was his statement UK- style? they are very different from US-style (apologies if you already knew that)
@momofjjf …did your counselor receive any feedback as to why he was denied? Also don’t know if there’s any appeal possible but doesn’t StA have some sort of gateway program into physics or astrophysics if the school is concerned about adequate foundations…and I’m not saying your son doesn’t have good foundations for his major …he clearly took very challenging classes for math and physics but it might give him a way into StA?
@momofjjf for what it is worth I really do believe in things not meant to be. I am third child in and every time one of my children was denied somewhere in retrospect it really was not the right fit for them. Your son is obviously brilliant and meant for another path. I have one son at St. Andrews and while my son is thriving there and loves it, it is not for everyone. My 3rd son was all gung ho and in the end he choose somewhere else and I am glad. He is going to the school that when this all started I felt and still do feel is perfect for him. At St Andrews you need to be super independent academically and in every way, which sounds fine but really is quite different for many Americans. Also the days are short and dark a lot. Lastly I know of far too many kids who have too good of a time, drinking etc. In certain fields it is truly less connected than American universities. It is an amazing school for many but I have also seen many not do well. I wish your son luck and am sure he will end up somewhere wonderful. This process is really so hard…
Thank you everyone for being so kind. He has not told his counselor yet. A little depressed about the college process today but he will rebound. He hasn’t taken his APs this year yet, but last year he did get a 4 in AP Calc. The rest were 5s. They asked for his mid semester grades before our school’s mid semester grades were out so his counselor sent them in: an A in AP physics but a B In AP CALC BC. As in AP euro history and English but that’s the norm for him. Calc has been a struggle to get the A.
So there’s that. I wonder if the five year program was a little ambitious for him. Maybe they did not think he could keep the pace. If he’d applied for the three year perhaps a conditional offer. Not sure. Water under the bridge. His letter did said there were a limited number of spots in the 5 yr program etc… his personal statement did not focus on extra curriculars, eg. Eagle Scout etc. he wrote about why he wanted to study astrophysics and that he had taken a summer school college course in Astrophysics that sealed the deal for himin terms of major.
That was his only international application. I also believe that things are meant to be so we shall see what the future holds. This process is much more difficult than I recall. Good luck!
Thank you!!
The relative weakness in math is almost certainly what scuppered him, imo. Wherever he ends up, he will have to work hard in math if he wants to pursue astrophysics. Good luck to him.
FYI for future readers more than this poster.
My daughter was a little weak in math. She took IBSL and got a 5. She was accepted to the BsC in Chemical Sciences which is a 4 year degree with a bit less math/chem reuirements than the straight BsC in Chemistry.
She took Math 1001 (equivalent to Calc 1 at a US university) followed by Math 2002 (equivalent to Calc 2) and 2501 (Linear) her first three semesters and got excellent grades. She switched to BsC Medicinal Chemsitty and if she gets the required final grades in her second year she is permitted to switch to the 5 year masters in Medicinal. (Not sure she wants to)
So there is some flexibility IF you get excellent grades in your first few semesters.
Has anybody heard back recently? I’m getting a little nervous that I won’t hear back until it’s too late to plan a visit.
@mountainmama19 when did you apply?
Vickisocal, do you mean BSc? I don’t think there is any BsC programme. Also, you can’t major at St Andrews; you apply to a programme and that is what you take. There are limited to no electives. Occasionally you may be able to change to a related course but there is no guarantee of this. St Andrews is not an American college. I am surprised that someone would be turned down by St Andrews with good scores, but applying to the five year course is probably the reason. They would probably want outstanding scores for five years with effectively a guaranteed graduate degree, and only a minority of people would apply for this. If you apply again for the standard BSc I think you would probably have a good chance.
I just checked and the five year astrophysics degree you are talking about is MPhys Hons. This would be a more competitive degree than the standard BSc, and is a graduate level degree.
@lizzzar, @VickiSoCal’s daughter is currently a 2nd year chemistry student at StAs, so she knows how it works 
My guess is that the calculus results were defining- an A at A-level is required, and the astrophysics course is specifically noted as 50:50 math/physics. A 4 in Calc AB and a current B in Calc BC suggests that it might not be the course for that student.
Yes, I realize her daughter studies chemistry, and I assume that VickisoCal has dyslexia due to her difficulty spelling basic words, including chemistry, and apparent difficulty in understanding the correct abbreviation of degrees. Her information, regardless of her daughter’s studies, is often just wrong. However, incorrect information is very frequent on college confidential and I was just trying to correct it. I have tried to do this before, and it is not worth the effect as people just complain. But this website is very unreliable which I do think is a shame as it’s apparent aim is to give information to students. A MPhys may not be the right course, but a BSc would be a different course, with out a integrated graduate degree.