What is St Andrews University really like?  

It’s hard to know what university is like until you get there, and all universities are different.  In some ways it’s easier to describe what university isn’t! Well, everyone says that it is not like school or college, or work, or home. So, what IS university really like? We aim to give you a realistic view, based on things students told us they wish they had known.

You can find out more about this topic by reading these articles:

What to expect in your first week at uni

Things you need to know about uni

Studying at University is a new experience for everybody. Whilst all students look forward to the prospect of becoming more independent; the reality of making new friends and getting used to a new environment and way of studying, can be challenging and takes time to get used to.

One of the best (and in some ways scariest!) things at university is that nobody checks up on you or tells you what to do. At university you will find that a lot of your study is self-directed. This means that you are expected to be an independent learner and you will be responsible for planning when you are going to work, managing your own workload and conflicting deadlines.

Typical challenges that students have told us about are:

• Time management which is one of the biggest problems, especially during the first year when everything is still new.
• Coping with large amounts of learning material, with lots of variation, that needs dealing with quickly and efficiently.
• The new social environment – new tutors, other students, the people you live with, etc…
• Life skills – laundry, cooking simple meals, budgeting, keeping up with uni info (social media channels and your university email once set up – don’t ignore it as it’s the only way the uni will get in touch when you start), sorting out a student bank account, getting a doctor close to uni, managing technology (back everything up!).
• Finding your way around campus – campus maps exist, but sometimes it’s a good idea to use spare time allowing yourself to familiarise yourself with the buildings you need to visit, and getting lost is OK.

How could this affect me?

If you have difficulties with planning, time management and if the idea of ‘independent studying’ seems daunting then you might need some support. St Andrews has a study skills service available to all students and you can work with your Disability Adviser to see if you can access some additional support, such as Disabled Students Allowance (DSA)

You are given coursework, obviously, but often with long deadlines, and while lectures and tutorials may have sign-in sheets or registers, nobody calls home if you don’t turn up.  Therefore it is a good idea to get used to using a calendar and if you use an online one (such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar) you can put everything in that and then you can get reminders on your phone/computer if you link it to your email account.