is recognized as study of terroris those held at Am fessors, deans, a various facilities tation we had w students. They w for example “… cans?” “No, m Belgium, and N did you come h Middlebury?” “ and Economics, versity where Jo
A College Counselor in Scotland by Director of College Placement Hugh Meagher
This spring, I was honored to be one of sixty North American counselors invited by the St. Andrews Admissions Office to attend this year’s Counselors Visit. Why was I asked? The answer is obvious: Miller School of Albemarle is on the rise, and we are being noticed by top universities all around the world. Furthermore, Richard Pasztory of the MSA Class of 2010 is enrolled at St. Andrews. Thus, on February 28, I drove to Dulles Airport and flew to Glasgow where I was met by a driver and taken to the Rusacks Hotel in the charming village of St. Andrews, where I soon met my fellow North American counselors.
Founded in 1413, the University of St. Andrews is both Scotland’s oldest university and the third oldest university in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it is ranked just behind Oxford and Cambridge in the UK rankings. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, St. Andrews places 85th; by comparison, the University of Virginia is 135th. Most Americans assume that our system of four years of undergraduate education came from England. In fact, it came from Scotland; the English use a three year system. Finally, three
11 Bell Tower Magazine • Spring/Summer 2012
signers of the American Declaration of Independence attended or received degrees from St. Andrews. In addition to its famous university, St. Andrews is the birthplace of golf, and the Rusacks is located next to the “Old Course’s” 18th green and the famous golf clubhouse. By chance, the hotel is also right across the street from John Burnett Hall where my daughter Maggie, a student at St. Andrews, lives. Yes, I did have another reason to visit St. Andrews. Before the conference began, I walked out on the golf course and posed on the famous Swilcan Bridge (above —do I look a little like Jack Nicklaus?), gazed at the Road House Bunker, and walked around the exterior of the famous Royal and Ancient Golf Club. The next three days were very busy with a variety of meetings. We met with the University’s First Principal (president) Louise Richardson – formerly Dean of Harvard’s Ratcliff Institute. Dr. Richardson explained how her background in international relations, especially in the study of terrorism, led her to St. Andrews, which
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