Durham colleges

I am thinking of applying for Engineering at Durham, but this college system is a bit confusing.
I have done some research and found that the offer will be independent of which college I choose, and lectures will be taken in the same place for all students regardless of their college. Also found out that the nearest colleges to Engineering lectures are the 'Hill Colleges'(Whatever they are ).

What I want to know is which college is best for me. I want it to be close to my lectures(Engineering) so I don't have to walk half an hour to reach there. I would prefer self-catering accommodation, and en-suite availability would be a really good addition. The college preferably should be 'modern' and not too traditional/formal. Also I would like a college with decent music facilities, like practice rooms, but this is not very necessary.

I know I asked for a lot of stuff and it could be kinda hard to find a college which meets all the criteria, but something close to what I want would do

Thanks in forward for everybody who helps

you can be self-catered at cuths too.
There are price lists somewhere on the internet if you google. Can't remember where, but you should be able to find it if you search.

When I went on a Durham campus tour one of our guides was a Collingwood student and he said he was self catered for his first year. I think you can choose to be self catered in any of the colleges but some have better facilities than others.

When I went on a Durham campus tour one of our guides was a Collingwood student and he said he was self catered for his first year. I think you can choose to be self catered in any of the colleges but some have better facilities than others.

There is like a little kitchen thing on each floor (in Collingwood), but that only has a microwave, sink, fridge and kettle. You could live off that, but I think you'd probably have to still pay for the catered accomodation as that is just there to supplement the meals provided.

I think all colleges actually provide the option for you not to have to pay for your meals, though most don't actively advertise this.

At Trevs, at the start of each term they would give us a sheet and if we didn't want to have lunches on certain days (for example if you wanted to make your own packed lunches) then you could opt out of lunches on those days, and you would be refunded for those.

If they do offer it, they don't tell you about it. At Collingwood, if you didn't want lunch in college they will prepare a packed lunch for you or you can get a meal deal for free in a Yum outlet so you can't really say that you want to make your own packed lunch as that is provided for you aswell...but I'm not sure if you can opt out and be refunded...It'll be interesting to see if it is and if anyone does it.

I think all colleges actually provide the option for you not to have to pay for your meals, though most don't actively advertise this.

It's definitely not an option at Collingwood. We did install a kitchen in one room last year to meet the needs of a student with a disability but those are the only circumstances in which self catering in Collingwood is an option (except for the postgrads who have separate facilities to get them through the vacations) - the facilities just aren't up to self-catering and it makes a huge difference to the social life of the community that we eat together. That's not what everyone wants, of course, but alternatives are available at Josephine Butler and Cuth's - we don't force anyone to join our community but that's the way we work if you do want to join us.

To any prospective students reading this: do not underestimate the point in bold

I went self-catered and I'd still agree with this. You just have to decide how much avoiding questionable college food is worth to you.