Is St Andrews elite or elitist?

Members of the Kate Kennedy Club (dressed like idiots)

‘19 YEAR OLD GRADUATED ETONIAN SEEKS social, intellectual and aesthetic equal. Must be pashmina clad, preferably adorning worn ballet pumps, Jack Wills tracksuit bottoms and in possession of a public school education?’

Is The University of St Andrews elite or elitist? Having been labelled last year the 3^rd best university in the UK by The Guardian and the 4^th by The Times Good University guide does its reputation as academically elite extend to its admissions policy?

The university has previously been accused of being elitist due to its poor record for admitting state school students. The university was adamant that it selects its student on the basis of their academic excellence, irrelevant of their educational background.

We are then faced with the dilemma of whether a university should favor state school applicants with lower grades over private school students with superior marks. In 2004 the Government was commanded to “take its tanks off Oxford’s lawns” when it threatened to apply financial penalties if Oxford university if it did not increase state school admissions. Although St Andrews has never received this ultimatum, having been attended by Prince William only a few years ago, it faces harsh criticism over its large percentage of private school students.

The Kate Kennedy club, does nothing to defend this reputation of elitism, similar to the Cambridge University Pitt club this group is ‘penises only’ and is selective in its membership. The University withdrew its recognition of the club earlier this year in an attempt by the female principal to stamp out elitism. Despite their reputation the Kate Kennedy does many productive things for the town, it holds many of the university balls, and regularly gives money to charity.

In practice St Andrews has its fair share of social cliques, nights out are split between social circles and house parties are not unknown to have bouncers at their doors. More common than not, student irrelevant of their background will be clad in the ‘fabulously British’ brand Jack Wills and drunken insults are reduced to ‘Do you know who I am?!’

Although without the openness of the Leeds art student who searched for the perfect husband as part of her art project, St Andrews has previously been coined ‘the English girls finishing school’ and boats the highest intermarriage rates of any university in the UK, its student pairing off with the symmetry of Noah’s Ark and going on to marry in selective St Andrews venues such as St Salvador’s chapel.

What do you think? Is St Andrews just a place for Rahs to meet, marry and then breed? Or is such a viewpoint simply boring old class warfare?