Founded in the fifteenth century, St Andrews is Scotlands first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in 1410 and the University was formally constituted by the issue of Papal Bull in 1413. The University is now one of Europes most research intensive seats of learning - over a quarter of its turnover comes from research grants and contracts. It is one of the top rated universities in Europe for research, teaching quality and student satisfaction and is consistently ranked among the UKs top five in leading independent league tables produced by The Times, The Guardian and the Sunday Times. According to the Sunday Times, St Andrews is "now firmly established as the leading multi-faculty alternative to Oxford and Cambridge." Its international reputation for delivering high quality teaching and research and student satisfaction make it one of the most sought after destinations for prospective students from the UK, Europe and overseas. It is Scotlands most cosmopolitan university – a third of the student body of 7,200 is from overseas. It has a staff of 1,800 and maintains one of the strongest records in the UK for teaching quality, good degrees and student support. In the four years it has entered the UK National Student Survey, St Andrews has ranked as the top mainstream university for student satisfaction. In 2009 the University received on average 11 applications per place. St Andrews has not entered clearing for several years and sets highly challenging asking rates to attract only the most academically potent students in the Arts, Sciences, Medicine and Divinity. As it prepares to celebrate its 600th anniversary in 2013, the University is pursuing a varied programme of capital investment, including a New School of Medicine, the refurbishment of its Main Library, a new Biological Sciences Research Centre and the provision of new student accommodation. The University pro