Hi Lauren, It took me AGES to convince my parents to let me go to a UK university, and this was starting out as a first year student, not a junior year abroad thing! Like Mindy said, tell them it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity--- which is true!!! Also, make sure to tell them that it will broaden your horizons, teach you about other cultures, help you become more adaptable to new environments, give you a diverse educational experience, help you appreciate other customs and traditions, and it'll look
great on your resume. Those are some of the tricks I used, and they worked, eventually!
I don't know much about living in Scotland because I haven't actually
lived there, but I have visited St. Andrew's, and it's a pretty place. I believe it's very focused on golf, because I remember seeing a lot of golf shops around everywhere and people playing golf. I'm not into golf at all, but I thought that was pretty interesting. The downside of being in Scotland is the fact that it's almost always overcast and rainy, but the upside is it has beautiful rolling hills and breath-taking scenery.
Hope this helped!!!!