[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]St Andrews, the city, is situated on the east coast of Scotland.  St Andrews, the University, is the oldest in Scotland, the third oldest in the UK (after Oxford and Cambridge) and, quite naturally, tradition plays a large part in the lives of the students.  The University buildings reflect the heritage, dating from the 15th century until the modern day, with many [ITAL]tasteful[EITAL] examples from the 16th and 17th centuries.  Neither the city nor the University are very big - in fact, more than a 1/4 of the local population are students.  Apart from making this a university city (as opposed to a city with a university), it means that, although the University buildings are scattered all over the place, they are all still within walking distance of each other.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Tradition is the key feature of all aspects of University life.  It's difficult to brush one's teeth without thinking about how they might have done it 200 years ago.  Everywhere there are rituals, ceremonies, customs and students wearing gowns.  For example, there's the 'family scheme' where senior students take freshers under their wing in exchange for a bottle of wine.  (This is the sort of place where students would rather have a bottle of wine or Pimms than a few tinnies of Foster's.)  Relations between students and the local population are generally good, although there are occasional problems which can perhaps be blamed on the fact that 46% of the students are English.  Amongst students themselves, there's a happy atmosphere, except for a touch of claustrophobia and a rift between those from public and state school.  A proposed expansion into Lanarkshire might affect the situation, but its only an idea at the mo.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 16,000 [BULL] London: 371miles [BULL] Edinburgh: 45miles [BULL] Dundee: 13miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Never mind Florida, this is the world's golfing capital.[EITAL]  There's not only the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the oldest in the world, but 5 others, attracting 1,000s of people in peach and purple plaid pants.  It's not just golfers who come here, though; it's a natural tourist town, like a theme park, with museums, enchanting architecture and scenery to die for.  The cathedral and castle are the most famous of St Andrews' many historic buildings.  For the tourist trade, there are many quaint shops and cafes, but nothing of particular note aimed at students.  The city consists of 3 main streets with interlocking alleys and side streets.  It's all fairly isolated, enclosed by a rock coast to the north, sandy beaches to the east and countryside the rest of the way round.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Leuchars station is 5 miles from the main group of the University buildings with a direct lines to Dundee and Edinburgh, London (5:30hrs, 3/day).  For other services, passengers (or as BR now calls them, customers) must change at Edinburgh or Dundee.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express goes from Dundee, leaving you to get there.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] A915 south, A91 west to M90 (to Edinburgh).[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Difficult to get from St Andrews to anywhere.  Better from Edinburgh (A1) or Dundee if thumbsters can get there.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Buses every 1/2 hour but rarer at night, although they're quite cheap.  In general, St Andrews is small enough to walk round.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] Works out about £1 a mile (£5 to Leuchars)[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD][ITAL] The best way to get around short of a chauffeur-driven limo.  St Andrews is small and flat with limited traffic.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Arts[EBOLD]  2,426  24-28pts[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD]  1,901  18-26pts[BOLD][PARA]Medicine[EBOLD]  304  24pts[BOLD][PARA]Divinity[EBOLD]  176  18pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 750,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 2,500 [BULL] Study places: 600 [BULL] Computer workstations: 420[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]University Library is the main library with well over 750,000 books - [ITAL]massive for a university this size[EITAL].  The North Haugh, the Buchanan Building and St Mary's College areas of University buildings also offer libraries as well as some departments.  The University's Computing Laboratory facilities are available to all students, and courses are on offer in the various classrooms of microcomputers.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 3full [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 5%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]There are a number of different ways of wearing a gown and 25% of students buy their own at a cost of about £60.  Subsequently, they charge tourists £1 to have their photo taken and, whilst wearing it, they can gain free admission to the castle.[PARA][BULL]Every Sunday, students dress in their gowns and walk on the pier, a ritualistic relic of meeting the chaplains arriving by boat.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Sir James Black (Nobel Prize scientist); Sir Bob Reid (BR Chairman); Michael Forsyth MP, John Macgregor MP, Allen Stewart MP (all Con); Madsen Pirie (Adam Smith Institute); Alex Salmond MP (SNP leader); Fay Weldon (writer). Former Rectors (elected by students) include Rudyard Kipling and John Cleese, who advised students not to let their degrees get in the way of their education.[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads.  'Praeco' (alternative prospectus) available from the Students' Association.[PARA][PARA]