The University of St. Andrews is the third-oldest university in the English-speaking world. It’s also Scotland’s very first institution for higher education. Because it’s so prestigious, many students from across the globe are enticed to complete a program from it. And this might leave you wondering how you could get into it.
To get into the University of St. Andrews as an American, one must have a competitive application. This is especially true since the school’s acceptance rate is only around 8.63%. St. Andrews prefers applicants with a rigorous high school curriculum and high honor level grades and test scores, too.
As of this writing, the University of St. Andrews has 1,575 students from the US. They make up less than 20% of the entire studentry of the institution.
Thinking about being one of the select Americans earning a degree from St. Andrews? Read on.
Below, you will come across just about everything you need to know to gain admission into the prestigious school in Scotland. By the time that you reach the concluding paragraph, you will have a much better idea of whether adding the University of St. Andrews to your college list is a fantastic idea or a total waste of your time.
The acceptance rates at the most selective colleges and universities in the UK range from 8% to 44%. The University of St. Andrews is one of those with the lowest, accepting only about 8.63% of all undergraduate applicants. Still, more than 45% of the school’s students are from outside the UK.
Some of the most competitive academic institutions in the US have single-digit acceptance rates. This is especially true for the Ivy Leagues and other selective ones such as CIT, MIT and the University of Chicago.
Outside the US, there are many highly selective schools that attract a lot of international students.
Case in point: the University of St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland. As a matter of fact, based on data available online, more than 10,000 students from around 170 countries apply to St. Andrews in hope of getting admitted. Unfortunately, due to the school’s very low acceptance rate, the vast majority of them receive denials.
Needless to say, if the likes of Harvard University and Dartmouth College can only serve as reach schools on your college list, your chances of getting accepted into the University of St. Andrews are slim to none.
The bottom line: If your application isn’t competitive enough for some of the most selective colleges and universities in the country, it’s probably a horrible idea to attempt to apply to St. Andrews.
This is true if you are not 100% committed to being on an entirely different continent far away from your family and friends for four long years.
The sticker price of the University of St. Andrews for undergraduate students, as of the academic year 2021 to 2022 rate, is $53,761 (£39,575) yearly. The tuition alone is $32,314 (£23,787), which is higher than the average for US public institutions: $9,970 (in-state) and $25,620 (out-of-state).
In the UK, colleges and universities charge students anywhere from £10,000 ($13,584) to £38,000 ($51,620) in tuition. The cost can be up to two to three times higher for certain degrees, such as medicine.
Here’s a breakdown of the estimated cost of attending St. Andrews for a year as an undergraduate student:
Unlike many US colleges and universities, the University of St. Andrews has a published minimum GPA requirement applicants should meet. Surprisingly, despite being a highly ranked and selective school, St. Andrews requires aspirants, including those from the US, to have a 3.2 high school GPA at least.
Some institutions for higher education in the US do not require applicants to have a minimum high school GPA.
This is a good thing because it means that you are free to apply to them no matter your GPA. However, this can also leave you with even more stress and anxiety because you have no idea of your chances of getting accepted based on your high school GPA alone. Well, at least until you check out the Common Data Set (CDS) of the school.
Harvard University, for instance, does not have any published minimum GPA aspirants need to have. However, its latest CDS will reveal that as many as 75.76% of its first-time, first-year admits have 4.0 high school GPAs.
Like Harvard, the University of St. Andrews is one of the most popular and prestigious institutions on the face of the planet. But the difference between these two is that even slightly above-average high school students who dream of attending St. Andrews have a shot at getting accepted into it.
In the US, the average high school GPA is 3.0 — the University of St. Andrews expects to see at least 3.2.
Refrain from assuming that meeting the minimum GPA requirement guarantees admission into St. Andrews. No matter how low the minimum high school GPA it likes to see on your application, the fact remains that it’s a highly selective school. Needless to say, your overall application should be strong if you want to be a part of the 8.63% admitted students.
The University of St. Andrews requires applicants from the US to submit standardized test scores. Because the school is competitive, its admissions officers want to see nothing but high SAT or ACT scores. For instance, applicants should have a minimum SAT score of 1320 and a minimum ACT score of 28.
Colleges and universities in the US require the submission of standardized test scores in order for them to have a much better idea of the college readiness of applicants.
As of this writing, the average SAT score of graduating high school students in the US is 1060. Meanwhile, the average ACT score of high school students gearing up for US institutions for higher education is 21.
Based on the given figures, you will need to have an above-average standardized test score if you dream of attending St. Andrews.
Having an SAT score of 1580 or an ACT score of 36 will put you in the top 25% for most Ivy Leagues.
In order to increase your chances of receiving an offer to enroll at the University of St. Andrews, as mentioned earlier, you will have to submit an SAT score of not less than 1320 or an ACT score of not less than 28. At St. Andrews, by the way, the SAT Writing section and the ACT Essay section are both optional.
Everyone knows that some US colleges and universities have a test-optional policy, which means that applicants may or may not submit their standardized test scores.
In most instances, applicants who choose to not submit their SAT or ACT scores are not asked to provide a reason.
Well, it’s a different story at the University of St. Andrews. According to the school’s website itself, international students should discuss in their Personal Statement on their applications why they were unable to take the SAT or ACT. And like test-optional schools in the US, those who do not submit standardized test scores will not be penalized.
By the way, St. Andrews superscores standardized test scores. So, if you took the SAT or ACT more than once, you may submit all your scores across all test dates — the school will only consider the highest section scores.
The University of St. Andrews considers AP exams when evaluating applicants. Needless to say, high AP exam grades may help increase a student’s chances of getting admitted into the school. However, it’s important to note that St. Andrews uses AP exams for admissions purposes only and nothing else.
Nothing can make the college or university of your dreams impressed more with your application by demonstrating that you are as college-ready as you can be.
One way to show just how ready to enter and succeed in secondary education you are is by taking AP exams.
True enough, a competitive institution such as the University of St. Andrews looks for competitive applicants by checking out whether or not they took AP exams and if their AP exam grades are high. As a general rule of thumb, the more challenging the AP courses and the higher the grades in the AP exams, the better.
At St. Andrews, some programs require applicants, including international students from the US, to have a particular background in certain subjects. This is what the school refers to as prerequisite knowledge.
Interested in, say, a Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics program the University of St. Andrews offers?
Then it’s a must that you have an AP exam score of five on AP Calculus BC or an equivalent course. But keep in mind that prerequisite knowledge isn’t all about having a certain AP exam score. Sometimes, the GPA or test score is the one involved. For instance, an SAT Subject Test in French of 700 or higher is required to study French at St. Andrews.
Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, AP exams are used by the University of St. Andrews for admissions purposes solely. So, in other words, they will not allow you to earn college credits.
The University of St. Andrews is just as prestigious as some of the most competitive and elite colleges and universities in the US. But because it’s located on a totally different continent, you can’t just shortlist it as a reach school and consider your college list balanced and realistic.
Above, we established the fact that the requirements to get into St. Andrews are not that different from the requirements to gain admission into top-notch US institutions. But since it’s overseas, there are more things to take into account than meeting everything that the school requires of aspirants.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the College Reality Check.
I graduated with BA in Nursing and $36,000 in student loan debt from the UCF. After a decade in the workforce, I went back to school to obtain my MBA from UMGC.
