The Rise of St Andrews on Social Media – Is it our newfound status as number 1 uk University?
When I was first considering universities, a staple in my early musings was the YouTube vlog. As a high schooler yearning for the days when I would be a proper college student, nothing was more entertaining than watching what life might look like, particularly at my dream school. Things were sparse on YouTube in terms of St Andrews content, where the only two YouTubers I enjoyed were McKenna Steinbeck and Greta the Greatest.Â
Now, times have changed; the St Andrews page on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and beyond has no shortage of content, some even supplied by yours truly. My YouTube exploits began over four years ago, mostly book and writing related content, however when I got to university I remembered how little I had to go off of when making my St Andrews decision. Thus began my own posting on YouTube and the rest is history.Â
Beyond my own motivations, particularly as I began my second year, I couldn’t help but notice my own views went up on YouTube, as well as more people popping up on my timeline. Admittedly, I had missed the TikTok of it all, with my best friend assuring me that a certain Bateman was a celebrity to her, but my reels feed began to feature some faces promoting the same university I was attending. For one, @sejans_journal popped up quite a few times, showing me the same type of content I often got on reels from other students or lifestyle creators, but this time on my own three streets.Â
Around the same time I noticed my own views going up. My St Andrews videos specifically were getting even more traction, with my first year dorm tour, and other things of the sort, becoming incredibly popular almost a year after being posted. St Andrews used to be a sort of if-you-know-you-know niche, with interested students watching my content, but something even more bizarre was us starting to emerge into the mainstream. This was exemplified perfectly when a video of a woman, probably in her mid 20s, came across my feed, lamenting the fact that she never got to go to St Andrews and experience the picture-perfect slightly culty life so many of us students lead. That was the true realization for me: it wasn’t just academic hopefuls that knew about this university, but people who had already completed their academic careers.Â
Nothing cemented this idea in my head more than us being named the UK’s best university in The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2027, cementing us within the cultural mainstream. While before, the ambitious international students dreamed of potentially gracing the halls of Oxford, a whole new generation of ambitious high school students have begun looking to us. Nothing has proved that to me more than my own metrics, with my YouTube business inbox flooded by hopefuls that remind me ever so much of myself, with questions about how to make it to this tiny coastal town.Â
St Andrews was my dream school all four years of high school; the second my UCAS acceptance came through I knew the decision was made. For all of my first year, it was funny how unique that experience felt, not in the way that I was somehow special, but that most of my American friends had told me they only applied due to its appearance on the common app, mostly on a whim.Â
I can’t claim to know everyone’s experience of making it here, but all I know is that more and more people like me are setting this university as their ultimate goal, spurred on by TikTok and YouTube videos showing how awesome it can be. While there is nuance behind our university becoming increasingly popular, namely existing issues that function as a microcosm of the social conditions at many elite UK universities (such as small percentages of Scottish students and state school representation), I can’t help but feel optimistic about our tiny town getting the recognition I always knew it deserved. While we can always, and should always be improving – after all what else are academic institutions for but making progress – I also feel particularly lucky to have gotten to experience two and a bit years already at the place that’s quickly becoming the dream for so many young people just like myself.