[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]St Andrews, the city, is situated on the east coast of Scotland. [PARA]St Andrews, the University, is the oldest in Scotland, the third [PARA]oldest in the UK (after Oxford and Cambridge) and, quite [PARA]naturally, tradition plays a large part in the lives of the students. [PARA]The University buildings reflect the heritage, dating from the 15th [PARA]century until the modern day, with many [ITAL]tasteful[EITAL] examples from [PARA]the 16th and 17th centuries. Neither the city nor the University are [PARA]very big - in fact, more than a 1/4 of the local population are [PARA]students. Apart from making this a university city (as opposed to[PARA]a city with a university), it means that, although the University [PARA]buildings are scattered all over the place, they are all still within [PARA]walking distance of each other.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]Tradition is the key feature of all aspects of University life. It's [PARA]difficult to brush one's teeth without thinking about how they [PARA]might have done it 200 years ago. Everywhere there are rituals, [PARA]ceremonies, customs and students wearing gowns. For [PARA]example, there's the 'family scheme' where senior students take [PARA]freshers under their wing in exchange for a bottle of wine. (This [PARA]is the sort of place where students would rather have a bottle of [PARA]wine or Pimms than a few tinnies of Foster's.) Relations [PARA]between students and the local population are generally good, [PARA]although there are occasional problems which can perhaps be [PARA]blamed on the fact that 46% of the students are English. [PARA]Amongst students themselves, there's a happy atmosphere, [PARA]except for a touch of claustrophobia and a rift between those [PARA]from public and state school. A proposed expansion into [PARA]Lanarkshire might affect the situation, but its only an idea at the [PARA]mo.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 16,000 [BULL] London: 371miles [BULL] Edinburgh: [PARA]45miles [BULL] Dundee: 13miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Never mind Florida, this is the world's golfing capital.[EITAL] There's not [PARA]only the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, the oldest in the world, but [PARA]5 others, attracting 1,000s of people in peach and purple plaid [PARA]pants. It's not just golfers who come here, though; it's a natural [PARA]tourist town, like a theme park, with museums, enchanting [PARA]architecture and scenery to die for. The cathedral and castle are [PARA]the most famous of St Andrews' many historic buildings. For the[PARA]tourist trade, there are many quaint shops and cafes, but nothing [PARA]of particular note aimed at students. The city consists of 3 main [PARA]streets with interlocking alleys and side streets. It's all fairly [PARA]isolated, enclosed by a rock coast to the north, sandy beaches to[PARA]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 [PARA]University buildings with a direct lines to Dundee and Edinburgh, [PARA]London (5:30hrs, 3/day). For other services, passengers (or as [PARA]BR now calls them, customers) must change at Edinburgh or Dundee.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express goes from Dundee, leaving you to get[PARA]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 [PARA]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 [PARA]quite cheap. In general, St Andrews is small enough to walk [PARA]round.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] Works out about ú1 a mile (ú5 to Leuchars)[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD][ITAL] The best way to get around short of a chauffeur-driven [PARA]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 [PARA]Computer workstations: 420[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]University Library is the main library with well over 750,000 books[PARA]- [ITAL]massive for a university this size[EITAL]. The North Haugh, the [PARA]Buchanan Building and St Mary's College areas of University [PARA]buildings also offer libraries as well as some departments. The [PARA]University's Computing Laboratory facilities are available to all [PARA]students, and courses are on offer in the various classrooms of [PARA]microcomputers.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 3full [BULL] Unemployed after [PARA]6mths (1992): 5%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]There are a number of different ways of wearing a gown and [PARA]25% of students buy their own at a cost of about ú60. [PARA]Subsequently, they charge tourists ú1 to have their photo taken [PARA]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 [PARA]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 [PARA]Chairman); Michael Forsyth MP, John Macgregor MP, Allen [PARA]Stewart MP (all Con); Madsen Pirie (Adam Smith Institute); Alex [PARA]Salmond MP (SNP leader); Fay Weldon (writer). Former Rectors[PARA](elected by students) include Rudyard Kipling and John Cleese, [PARA]who advised students not to let their degrees get in the way of [PARA]their education.[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads. 'Praeco' [PARA](alternative prospectus) available from the Students' Association.[PARA][PARA]
