After traveling 12 hours across 4,949 miles, three seniors, Dea Edington, Alex Waddington and Vanessa Silvera, will attend the Scottish University of St. Andrews this fall, a prestigious school with a 10 percent acceptance rate and 30 percent international population.

Vanessa Silvera

After visiting and conducting extensive research on the prestigious school and coming across photos online, senior Vanessa Silvera fell in love with St. Andrews.   

“I realized it was the perfect school for me. It was small, which was something I liked, since having a sense of community was something that was

important to me. Also, all of its unique traditions made it seem like an amazing place to spend the next four years,” Silvera said.

Due to all the unique traditions St. Andrews and the UK have to offer, Silvera is looking forward to the new experience of living in another country, as

well as traveling around the UK.

Throughout the application process, Silvera applied to two schools in the UK: University of St. Andrews and University of Edinburgh. She was admitted to both, and while she would’ve been thrilled to attend Edinburgh, Silvera felt that St. Andrews was a better fit for her personally.

Although Silvera is excited to attend school in the UK, she is anxious as the school is located so far away from family.

“I’m a little nervous since it’s so far away and possibly the culture shock but it’s going to be a big change, which will take some getting used to.” Silvera said.

Silvera plans to attend all four years at St. Andrews, but will travel back to America during breaks to see family and friends.

Alex Waddington

His German and English descent as well as his familiarity with European culture made his decision to attend St. Andrews very easy. Senior Alex Waddington was initially attracted to St. Andrews when he was introduced to it at a college fair at Dominican University.

“[St. Andrews] is close to home for me since I’m originally from Germany. My dad is English so I have lot of family in the UK and it was a very attractive option since it’s back home,” Waddington said.

However, Waddington isn’t only looking forward to attending college in the United Kingdom.  He is also interested in the diverse social scene that is encompassed within the school.

“I’m looking forward to the social aspect, partying is huge and is part of the social life. Since the community is small everyone just parties with one another,” Waddington said.

Waddington wanted to attend a small coastal school and thus researched colleges located on the west and east coasts of the United States, along with St. Andrews, which is located on the coast of Scotland.  Fortunately, as the school is located within a couple miles of the coast, Waddington was pleased with his decision.

While Waddington believes it may be easy for himself to adjust, he also said that it most likely wouldn’t be difficult for many Americans either.

“Since St. Andrews is such an international school, there’s a lot of Americans. I think it’s especially easy to acclimatize,” Waddington said.

Dea Edington

Upon discovering University of St. Andrews, senior Dea Edington was intrigued by the impressive programs that the school offered.

“It’s one of the best schools in the UK and they have a really good international relations programs that I was looking for,” Edington said.

Since Edington was born and grew up in the United States, he intends to come back, as his degree will be useful in both nations.

Edington will not be behind in the curriculum in either country.

“The Scottish system is very similar the United States’. England does it a little differently but I won’t be behind in anything really, I’ll be ahead,” Edington said.

Edington is excited to be in living in a different country and attending school in Europe. However, he is slightly nervous to be living far away from his family.  

According to Edington, the large population of American students will help him adjust quickly to the European culture.