Historians applying for Durham

I know that Durham are usually quite late in answering. That's why I'm a bit surprised that your friend heard from them three weeks ago, vavavoom.

Anyway, I intended this thread to be an application tracker, so that we can see when who got in etc.

I met someone at the RHUL open day who had been rejected in Oct on the basis that his GCSE grades weren't good enough (I think you need all A*-A if you haven't already proved yourself by A-level results). Like everyone knows, I am going mad waiting because they are my first choice at the mo. However, I have got an offer from LSE and am toying with the idea of going there as my first choice instead. Out of interest what does everyone think I should do? Obv, I have to wait for my Durham offer-if I indeed get one, I will prob get rejected knowing my luck...........
The fact we haven't heard means we are on the maybe pile! Woohoo!
xxx

I got my offer a week ago Bookworm (for Psych)! Also my IGCSE (international GCSEs) grades were crap but I still got in (my predicted were pretty good though)! Probably because i'm international though. But my friend who got rejected was also international.

Yeah, no news = good news... Wait for the reply from Durham, if you get an offer, take it, if not, go to LSE (that's what I would do if I were you).

I've got a rejection from Exeter today, so RHUL is now my third choice, after Cambridge and Durham, both of which are pretty unlikely to accept me...

Why not? of course they will, one rejection doesn't mean everywhere will! Trust me, I was rejected by UCL and then LSE accepted me, and they are much better both for History and generally! Good luck x
With regards to my decision, I have a gut feeling about Durham coz it looks beautiful and has a really wide course, yet my boyfriend studies in London and LSE has a better reputation. Guess I'll have to wait for Durham to reply-any chance anyone knows when they will?
xxx

Thanks for cheering me up, claire1985, I needed that... We'll see, it's just a fact that getting into the Bridge and Durham is very hard, and my interview at Cambridge was ok but I sucked really badly when I had to discuss the source they gave me to analyse and they didn't look very impressed after that. The only good thing is they interviewed me, i.e. I'm not just a piece of paper to them and I got the feeling that everything was going reasonably well before that gd source...

Well, I see why your decision is hard now. I haven't got that problem Can't really advise on that I'm afraid.

Durham might reply after Cambridge, i.e. maybe early to middle of January? They're amongst the latest to reply, partly cos many Oxbridge people apply there Including my own self...

I'm not one of them! I pulled out @ last minute, I kinda wish I stuck it out for the hell of it but would have rejected the place anyway I reckon!

Oh, don't say that! Have you ever been there? Hell, after I went there for the first time, I thought that this is where I wanted to go to uni! Besides, the place is gorgeous and has a nice feel to it, I just love it!!! The workload must be very hard though.

Yes I went for an interview there (Peterhouse) and although it was a lovely city, the Uni was not my scene! Butlers and tea on lawn?!?

What do you mean, "Butlers and tea on lawn"? Sorry I didn't get that...

When I went for my interview the students/fellows were having tea on the lawn served by a butler-I know this is not 'typical Cambridge' but it epitomises the kind of upper class snobbery I may or may not encounter there, and I just know I wouldn't fit in with those kind of people. I am well aware that not everyone at Camb is like this but I just didn't get the right kinda feeling about the place!

Well, I suppose everyone has slightly different perceptions of Cambridge. I had (and still have) doubts over whether I'll fit in or if I'll be able to cope with the academic pressure and all the rest. But I definitely felt that it was worth going for it, if you don't try you can't find out, I met so many nice people there, who were perfectly normal (except being very clever of course). So I thought I'd give it a try.

Yes, I understand that, I would try but I had a mock interview there so I know I probably could have got through that with tons of extra reading etc but I didn't like it enough to do it! I can understand why people do though, it's a fab history dept and a gorgeous city!

What kind of interview was that? Did a student give you a mock interview? A history student at Fitz gave me one, which was very helpful.

You don't need that much reading, I only needed "What Is History?" and some bits from another book. I did much more than that of course, but it didn't help.

You had a gut feeling not to go there, I had a gut feeling to go I think it's good to follow these instincts, if you're not comfortable there's not point in going for it. I didn't apply for Oxford because of a gut feeling and I'm glad I went for Cambridge instead (no offence to Oxford intended)!