[user104658]

Originally Posted by TomC

okay guys i need advice

this thread shows i didn't enjoy first semester thaat much and was v ill with glandular fever, yet second semester was waaaay better - so much more fun and made so many great friends.

i just have a problem that i feel like i'm missing out. i go to st andrews, and there's two things bugging me there: it's too small, and the gay scene is ****. i just don't look forward to going back there that much for 2nd year as it's pretty similar to the place i'm from and i just miss the city so much (i spent my school years in edinburgh). also, a lot of friends from where i live are headed to glasgow, and i honestly just worry, as good a time i had in first year, that i'm totally missing out on the university life i imagined: being in a vibrant cosmopolitan city, and having access to a sea, as opposed to a pond, of gay guys.

i am honestly considering applying to glasgow - the **** thing is they don't do transfers, so i'd need to start from year 1 with people two years younger than me. i just don't know if it's worth it, but i'm thinking of just applying anyway, and seeing how second year at st andrews goes

Are you SAAS funded? If so, I say go for it and apply elsewhere if you're not happy where you are. You get a "false start" (or at least, you used to?) which means that you can leave your first course after one year and still get a full 4 year's funding on another course. If you wait any longer, you won't get full funding (and will have to fund your final year yourself).

I wouldn't worry about the age thing either; I started uni at 18 and dropped out after 6 months, then took 18 months out before I started at another University, so I was starting first year at 20. I was only third oldest (out of ten) in my flat in halls, and there were 4 more who were 19, then two 18 year olds and a 17 year old. A lot of people take a gap year these days. Also the one who was 17 ended up being one of my best friends throughout the whole four years at Uni so I don't think these small age differences matter much . It's not like school.