Scarlet Gowns and Royal Trivia at the University of St. Andrews

Upon arrival in the town of St Andrews, you immediately feel transported back in time. The University that is celebrating its 600^th anniversary this year and there are buildings that have existed for hundreds of years as a part of the campus at the University of St Andrews. Scotland’s first university, St Andrews has the ethos of a liberal arts college but the reality of a research university. I was very lucky to get to spend a few days in Scotland to learn more about this historic university.

The town of St Andrews is about an hour and a half from Edinburgh and is filled with history. My hotel was right on the golf course at St Andrews, which is where the game of golf was started. That would have probably been even more exciting if I actually golfed! The quiet town has about 20,000 residents and it felt like a college town since students make up such a large portion of the population.

Here is a picture of the town:

St Andrews is an extremely diverse university with students from all over the world. Out of the 6,000 undergraduate students, approximately 43 percent hail from overseas and 16 percent are from the United States. Slightly different from other universities in the United Kingdom, students start off studying three subjects and then can graduate focusing on either one or two subjects. You can apply to a particular major and then change your mind when you get to St Andrews. I heard from professors from the departments of Spanish, chemistry and sustainable development and I found the professors to be extremely engaging and focused on helping their students figure out their passions and interests. A few years ago, St Andrews began offering a joint degree program with the College of William and Mary, where students get to spend two years at each of the universities studying international relations and it sounds like a great opportunity for students who would be interested in studying at both schools.

Traditions abound at St Andrews and I thought their traditions were some of the most unique aspects of the university. My tour guide, Victoria, who hailed from Germany, introduced us to the tradition of the scarlet gown. Since 1640, undergraduate students have worn red gowns for special occasions and the wearing of the gown denotes seniority depending on how far off the shoulder the gown is worn.  On Sundays after chapel, the students walk down a pier in their red gowns and it must be an amazing sight to see! Another fun tradition is that students are often part of an “academic family.” First year students get “adopted” by upperclassmen who help guide them through life at St Andrews and often have dinner parties with the extended members of their academic family.

Here is a picture of our tour group and our guide in her red gown:

And the pier:

One of the highlights of my visit was getting to catch up with Visi alum Lizzy Wells, who graduated in 2009. Lizzy is a fourth year at St Andrews and will be heading to London after graduation to attend graduate school in security studies. Lizzy has absolutely loved her time at the university and said that she is happy to speak with anyone interested in St Andrews so ask your college counselor for her contact information if you are interested in getting in touch with her!

Besides being excited to see St. Salvator’s Hall, which is where Prince William and Kate Middleton met and fell in love when they were students at St Andrews, I came away feeling like any student would be lucky to study at such a historic university with a true focus on a top notch academic experience. Thank you to the admissions staff at St Andrews for such a great visit!

Published by: LG