Holly Govan left New York ready for an adventure abroad at the University of St Andrews in a cobblestone-street town 3,000 miles from home.
Instead, the Upper East Sider got paired with a roommate from lower Manhattan.
“Practically every person you hear sounds American,” Govan says. “You think you’re coming to get this Scottish or international experience, and there’s just so many Americans.”
The picturesque Scottish university, once the secret of private-school students from the East Coast, now boasts a student body that is about 20% American. With more than 2,200 American students, it beat even Oxford for the highest number of U.S. university expats last year, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
It’s not just royal fans wanting to follow in the footsteps of Prince William and Kate Middleton at the 600-year-old campus. Students worn down by the hypercompetitive, expensive American experience are looking overseas, and St Andrews, a top 5 university in the U.K. with a four-year degree structure, often tops the list.
In 2025, applications from U.S. students rose 16.4% from a year earlier.