St Andrews’ Number of US Applicants Rises by Nearly 16%

The University of St Andrews has one of the highest proportions of American students in the United Kingdom.

According to The Times article ‘Uh Oh, America’s East Coast Elite have taken over sleepy St Andrews,’ Americans make up around a fifth of the student body — a striking figure compared with most British universities. The influence is so notable that St Andrews has frequently been dubbed ‘mini-Nantucket,’ a reference to the concentration of East Coast students whose presence has shaped both the social life and wider culture of the town.

A University spokesperson told The Saint: “St Andrews applications from US applicants through UCAS, and other routes like the US common app, are up by 15.9% this year.” They did stress, however, “This is not the largest increase we have seen.”

For international students at St Andrews, the tuition rate for the 2025-26 academic year is approximately £31,670 (about $40,000), with additional living expenses bringing the total to around £50,000 a year. This contrasts with free tuition for Scottish students and around £9,535 for other UK-resident students.

One second-year student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Vassar was originally intended to be my alma mater. However, after considering expenses altogether, it made more economic sense to attend [...] St Andrews.”

A University spokesperson added: “Generally, the trend has been steadily upward for St Andrews in recent years. This is an above average increase, however. It’s across the board, with a slight bias towards social sciences, especially economics, and international relations.”

When asked about the impact of US politics on students’ study choices, one second-year international student told The Saint: “As a woman from the American South, the amount of rights that seem to vanish overnight — predominantly increasing since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022 — genuinely made me feel unsafe staying in the US.”

The University spokesperson said: “There will be speculation that this reflects a flight of liberal America to the UK, but it’s difficult to stand that up from the data alone. In our experience, students choose study destinations for positive reasons, rather than negative, because they believe a university, or a country, can best meet their needs and ambitions.”

Arabella, a third-year English and Comparative Literature international student, explained, “I truly believe that wanting to connect with that part of myself was the main incentive for applying to schools in Scotland.”

The University also highlighted the institution’s long-standing links with the US: “St Andrews has been recruiting selectively from top US schools and colleges since the 1990s and is regarded as a competitor to the Ivy leagues. We now have a mature and supportive alumni base in the States helping our ability to attract some of the brightest and best, so we are already a known quantity amongst those seeking a distinctive and rigorous four-year Scottish education.”

Image courtesy of The University of St Andrews