5 Wrong Assumptions People Make About St Andrews University

St Andrews University is a place which inspires a number of misconceptions in people's minds. Here are some wrong assumptions people have made.

Even before arriving at St Andrews University, I had friends, relatives, and particularly friends of my relatives, telling me all kinds of things that I was bound to do or see there. Really, none of them had any idea what I was going to encounter when I moved up to the seaside university town, they just liked to regurgitate (well-meaningly) what they had been told about the place. Some of it was right, some of it was wrong, but the assumptions, gossip, and whisperings about St Andrews were, and still are, endless.

Never before have I been so judged for my choice of residence. I’m now a few months away from graduating and I still meet people who have decided who I am before even talking to me, simply based on the fact that I go to St Andrews University. YES, some of your ideas about the place will be correct, but NO, they don’t apply to everyone.

Here are 5 wrong assumptions that have been made about St Andrews University and my being there:

1. I’m going to meet my prince (or at least a duke).

This is a question that every single girl (that I’ve met) who goes to this university has been asked. Yes, Prince William attended St Andrews. Yes, there have probably been a number of other extremely wealthy students here, possibly ones with grand titles. But no, I have not been on a date with (or even been within spitting distance of) any of them. Since I’m graduating in June I’m kind of running out of time for that sort of luck. But honestly, someone telling me this got old around the second time. Why on earth does anyone think this is realistic? Please, don’t bother asking another student who goes to this university if ‘they’re hoping to find their prince’, because it’s just irritating, and it ain’t going to happen.

2. That I must come from a lot of money.

St Andrews is an extremely wealthy place. For a small town it brings in a bundle of cash every year, what with all the overseas students and the tourists. It takes a lot of money to live here, but this doesn’t mean that everyone who lives here has a lot of money. I have friends who do, and they’re great people, but my parents and I have all worked hard to be able to afford me living here in relative comfort. I go to St Andrews University, but I’m not wealthy. I’m proud to say that I have a part-time job, and have had one for the majority of the four years that I’ve lived here despite not really having the time for it. The attitudes of some people towards students who go to this university are truly appalling. Why is it okay to assume someone’s background because of their choice of educational establishment?

Money or no money, every university has a bunch of shit stuck up people who come from all kinds of families (rich, poor and everything in between), and we’re no different, yet we’re judged far more harshly and all our students are lumped into the rich bitch category without a second thought. Maybe chat to a few of the kids that study here before you make any assumptions.

3. That I love golf.

I hate golf. I did not come here for golf, I do not think it’s fantastic that I can go and play golf whenever I want. Golf gives me no joy. I will never play golf. Enough said.

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4. That I must be ‘posh’.

I suppose this ties into people’s assumptions about St Andrews and money. If you study here, you must have money. If you have money, you must be posh. ‘Oh, it makes sense that you go to St Andrews University, you sound like you would’, or ‘Wow, you’ve gotten so much posher since moving to St Andrews’, are just a couple of the things people have actually said to me. Spoiler alert, I’m no longer friends with those people. Everyone has an accent, and honestly, mine is a little more muddled up than most, but it’s been this way since I was a kid (my parents can attest to that) and I promise you it hasn’t really changed since. I sound nothing like anyone in my family and that’s okay. Though I may sound more ‘well spoken’, as some have called it, than most, I don’t like it when people call me ‘posh’.

Here’s why – nowadays, that word is used as nothing more than an insult. People making a comment about my background, but they’re also, not so subtly, having a dig at it. Or at least, making a dig at what they believe it to be – one of wealth. Get over yourselves. As stated earlier, money doesn’t decide your character, anyone can be an arsehole no matter their accent or background. So whether you hear me and think I’m ‘posh’ or not, stop throwing it at me as an insult, because there’s just no need to be a dick about something I have no control over. Thanks.

5. That I must be very smart.

Firstly, why thank you, you’re too kind. Secondly, nah, I just work damn hard. St Andrews University does have high entry requirements, and so does attract many very smart people, but there’s also a large portion of us that just push ourselves to get the results we want. Trust me, I feel like I’m surrounded by smarties, so there’s some truth this assumption, but there are smart people everywhere. Each university has a number of extremely high achievers, and whether we have a larger number here or not is something I don’t feel able to comment upon. But I wasn’t accepted into this university just for being book smart, I worked really hard and put forward a good application filled with merit that didn’t simply boil down to my grades in school. Getting into any uni is now more competitive than ever, and it’s not solely about being smart.