Advantages: Refreshing, friendly, plenty to do for all the family
Disadvantages: Often cold and wet, some activities very expensive

...St Andrews, best known perhaps to golfers the world over, is a beautiful, peaceful place for a holiday. I was lucky enough to go there for two weeks every Summer all through my childhood, since my grandparents lived there; their house was large and accommodated our family easily, giving a great base for trips out to the beach, shopping, explorations, and many other activities. • Climate • Situated in a bay on the East coast of Scotland, St Andrews has some of the loveliest stretches of beach in the country. The West Sands were the scene of the opening shots of the film 'Chariots of Fire', with coastline stretching for miles, the water clear and inviting, the sand perfect for children to make sandcastles and channels to the sea. Being on the coast, the weather is temperate - it rarely freezes in winter, but equally... Read review

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Advantages: Excellant departments, friendly
Disadvantages: Can get claustrophobic

...I'm a second year student at St Andrews at the minute so you could say I know what I'm talking about. St Andrews is a great university, its small and everyone is really friendly. St Andrews is very multi-cultural so where ever you're from its easy to fit in. If you're interested St Andrews has more pubs per square foot than anywhere else in Britain!! But if you're into nightclubs then you'll be disappointed, St Andrews is a nightclub free zone. Its a quiet little town and very conservative but it definitely has something to offer everyone. As St Andrews is so small there are not very many shops, but if you are a shopaholic like me Dundee is only a bus... Read review

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Advantages: For a traditional education there is no better place
Disadvantages: Not all the staff are happy to deal with non-traditional students

...At a time when the government is trying to promote "access for all" in higher education St Andrews insists on offering places to their traditional students. Mainly English students from "well-heeled" homes. As Scotlands oldest university this is very sad. Where are the locals? most universities have a fair proportion of fairly local students especially in todays financial climate for students, not so St. Andrews. Only a small minority of students are from Scotland never mind from Fife and Tayside. If you are a student from outwith the traditional background for St Andrews, think twice before applying you may well find it difficult to fit in. This is a shame because the size of the university, teaching areas and residences would lend itself well to students of all race,class and age being able to work well together. St Andrews... Read review

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Advantages:
Disadvantages:

...Standing on the first tee at St Andrews you look forward onto a vast wide open space. An impossible to miss fairway which seems to stretch beyond anyone’s driving range. Behind you is the Royal and Ancient clubhouse where the rules of this great game are still administered and verified to this day. To your left is the shop of Tom Morris Open champion in the 19th century and a landmark which continues to draw visitors from all over the world. Beyond that the town of St Andrews with the oldest university in Scotland and to your right the waves of the North Sea sweep onto the shore of the beach. For beauty, history and the challenge of the golf course you are as near to heaven as a golfer can get whilst still breathing. The course was used for this years Open Championship and though the winner could easily have been predicted... Read review

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Advantages: Good Bistro and easy to park
Disadvantages: bit far for an evening out

...Lets have an outing a group of us decided. We meet regularly to discuss books, swap books and even sell and buy books, so when 84 Charing Cross Road written by Helen Hanff was coming to the theatre at St Andrews it seemed too good to be true. We fixed on the Saturday 11th November so we could have an afternoon in St. Andrews, then all meet at the bistro within the Byre theatre First snag was my friend was ill and so although she felt well enough for the theatre we decided to give the afternoon shopping a miss and go direct to the bistro. There was a little difficulty in finding the theatre but I managed to park just outside This was good because it was a wet and windy St Andrews if ever there was one. We arrived first and were shown to the booked table where we sat drinking coffee until the others arrived. The menus were... Read review

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Advantages: Loads - but principally the great support network
Disadvantages: small, full of "rich kids" so take your pashmina's

...I ended up at St Andrews thanks to clearing - a very unpleasant and soul destroying procedure. I had originally written it off my list of places to go as it is so remote and small. The town has 3 main streets. There are plenty of pubs, no clubs and about 3 clothes shops that anyone of usual univeristy age would ever consider buying anything from. It is one hour north of Edinburgh by train, but has no station (so get off at Leuchars and take the 15 minute bus ride). It is entirely surronded by nothingness. However, I have already spent three years there and will be very sad to leave. The courses vary in standard in my opinion, as do the schools. But, you'll recieve a good rounded education as in first and second year you have to study subjects other than your "major". Tutors are (generally) there to help and happy to do so... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful location, unique traditions, first class teaching
Disadvantages: Cold weather

...I began my degree at St. Andrews in 1999. Whenever I told anyone where I was studying I would be met with a quizzically furrowed brow and a blank expression. Two years later the Prince William Factor transformed it into one of the most famous universities in Britain. However, St. Andrews has long been one of the most eminent seats of learning in the world, and tends to attract people that are too eccentric / alternative / spirited to want to go to Oxbridge. After 17 years of living in Bournemouth it was time to get far away, and I chose St. Andrews because it is truly unique, if not pretty peculiar. On the surface it may seem frightfully middle (or even upper) class, and definitely is a mini-England in Scotland, but underneath there is a wonderful, singular mixed community, which draws from everyone who becomes a part of it. WHERE... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: St Andrews, America
Disadvantages: Death of Close Relative, Fell In Love

...Not sure who started this one but it looked interesting so I thought I would try it, hope you enjoy reading it. 1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before? Lived independently as I moved to student accommodation at St Andrews University. It’s just an awesome experience being able to do what ever you want whenever you want. Another thing is that I had my first “Legal” pint in a pub. Also the best thing is that the student union sells drink very cheaply, however someone down the road at Victoria’s Café has come up with Boozeday Tuesday, where they sell shots and mixers for £1. For those of you’se that prefer a good old pint there is also another pub that celebrates this most sacred of days, 1 Golf Place, where you can get a stein for £3 instead of the usual £5 And on the downside, I have no job or source of income... Read review

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Advantages: To play on one of the worlds best known courses, to sense the history and know that most of the famous golfers in the world have walked these fairways too.
Disadvantages: A fair number of blind tee shots and tees being too close to the previous greens.

...... Read review

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Advantages: five-star quality hotel, excellent golf and spa facilities
Disadvantages: not all the staff gave five-star service, failure to deliver item to room

...St Andrews is a haven for golfers – and while the student golfers seem happy to stay in their halls of residence and practise putting in the hallway, the rich American ones need somewhere rather more comfortable to stay. Enter St Andrew’s Bay Golf Resort and Spa, the new kid on the block in a town steeped in history and knee-deep in golf shops. Previously, the Old Course Hotel was wher