The Big 'Recommend Me A College' Thread

Chad's - do they offer rooms for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates or only for 1st years and postgrads? As it's a small college I am concerned they don't have enough space for those who which to live in. Also, are house rentals available near hill colleges or only in the Bailey / town area?

Hiya, 3rd year get priority to go back in college and they were able to offer rooms to everyone that asked. For 2nd year is a bit more difficult because they get the rooms that are left but this past year, I believe, they were able to also get a room for everyone that asked

Reply 1781

VRSVRS

1

Trevelyan college - I have seen several posts saying that students are required to move rooms each term! Is this true ? Is this for all students or those that are sharing? What would be the reason as this seems so disruptive and unsettling for the students - having to pack up and unpack 3 x a year, as well as have to make new friends each time. Any info especially from current students would be great thanks. Also does this happen in any other college? Submit reply

Original post by Anonymous

I recently got an offer for law and am trying to figure out how to rank the colleges. Could please recommend some colleges to me?

A non-negotiable criteria for me is that the let/tenancy agreement should include Christmas and Easter (as a low-income international student it would be extremely difficult for me to always go home during the holidays). Additionally, I'd like a catered college where I preferably don't get stuck sharing a room with someone else.

Hi there

Based on your preferences, here are some college recommendations:

1. St Johns: it's a catered college on the bailey, about 15-20 mins from the science site where law lectures are held. It has mostly single standard rooms (i.e., you only share a bathroom with others) and allows you to stay in your room during vacations. As will be the case with all catered colleges, catering is only provided during term time but you will have access to a kitchen to meal prep for yourself during Christmas and Easter vacations. They also have free formals and free laundry (unlike the majority of the other colleges), so you can save a good amount of money through that.

2. Collingwood: Catered hill college, about 7 mins from the science site. It has standard and ensuite rooms so no scope for sharing rooms but again with standard rooms, washrooms will be shared. If you opt for a standard room, you can stay there during vacations as well and this won't be possible if you choose an ensuite. It's a nice sporty college and has a big drama/theatre room, so lots of extracurricular involvement.

3. St. Marys: Also a catered hill college, just 3 mins from the science site. It has standard single and ensuite rooms and irrespective of which one you choose, you can stay in your room over the vacations.

4. Grey: Catered hill college, also just 3 mins from the science site. You have to opt in for a standard let instead of a short let so you can stay in your room over vacations. Only 13 out of 310 rooms are shared and even if you get allocated a shared room, you only have to share for one term.

5. Trevelyan: Catered hill college, 10 mins from the science site, most of the rooms are single but a few are shared. You can stay over during vacations.

There are other catered colleges like Hatfield and Van Mildert but I'm not sure if you can stay in your rooms over vacations so haven't mentioned them here. If you do like any other colleges but can't find some important information about them, feel free to email them and ask :smile:

-Himieka

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1783

ajl1972

8

Original post by VRSVRS

Trevelyan college - I have seen several posts saying that students are required to move rooms each term! Is this true ? Is this for all students or those that are sharing? What would be the reason as this seems so disruptive and unsettling for the students - having to pack up and unpack 3 x a year, as well as have to make new friends each time. Any info especially from current students would be great thanks. Also does this happen in any other college? Submit reply

My son is in Trevs this year, moving rooms each term was a thing before covid, and my son was expecting it this year, but they have NOT moved rooms. Think it was previously so the same people didn't have to share all year, like my son has had to do. But given that sharing rooms has been brilliant for him, built in buddy etc, and he wouldn't have changed it. When they did moved rooms you could request what wing you wanted to move to, and who to move thing, so it wouldn't involve having to make friends all over again. Any more questions about Trevs feel free to ask

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1784

Anonymous #33

Please can someone recommend me a college! My accommodation needs to have catered meals and formal balls, but I also like going to the gym. I have an offer for accounting and finance and don't mind if it is a long walk to the business school. I love the old buildings in the city so would quite like to be there.

Reply 1785

Anonymous #34

Im hoping to go to collingwood, also accounting and finance offer. Collingwood has a cool low cost gym, we can always drive to the main gym. Collingwood is the sporty college.

Reply 1786

Anonymous #29

Original post by Anonymous

Im hoping to go to collingwood, also accounting and finance offer. Collingwood has a cool low cost gym, we can always drive to the main gym. Collingwood is the sporty college.

Highly unlikely you'll be given a parking permit if you're in college in first year, unless you have extenuating circumstances

Reply 1787

Anonymous #28

Original post by Anonymous

Highly unlikely you'll be given a parking permit if you're in college in first year, unless you have extenuating circumstances

That’s so true and to be honest I know a lot of people in collingwood who just walk or cycle to Maiden

Reply 1788

acondliffe20

1

Hi! I’ve just had an offer to study History and I have no idea what colleges to choose. I would prefer catered and to not share a room; an en-suite would also be nice but not essential. Gowned formals also sound cool but not a deal breaker. Could someone recommend me a few places to look into?

Also, I would love to visit Durham before deciding whether to firm it. Obviously I’ve missed the offer holder days and I’ve heard that Discover Durham tours are still running, but I can’t seem to find any information about when they are or how to book them. Does anyone know where I could find this information?

Reply 1789

Squiggles1238

20

Hi, could anyone give me a general overview about John Snow and South college? I just want to know what the college is all about eg do they focus more on sport, what are the members of the college like, what are some cool features of it etc

Reply 1790

Anonymous #28

Original post by Squiggles1238

Hi, could anyone give me a general overview about John Snow and South college? I just want to know what the college is all about eg do they focus more on sport, what are the members of the college like, what are some cool features of it etc

Hey I think I could help with that. I’m a first year at John snow. To be honest John snow and south are pretty similar because we share all the same facilities (apart from our college bars/common rooms and south has a study room attached to its bar). Both colleges don’t really have a stereotype like sports or drama in my opinion (like how collingwood is regarded the sporty college). Most people did tell me before joining that these are the two most diverse colleges and in my experience this year I’ve found that to be true and as a BAME student I’ve really appreciated that. Some cool things about snow are the events and things they do to continuously include the students. For example, every year we have something could snow day in March to celebrate Dr John Snow (the man the college is named after). This year they through a “party” giving us free cupcakes and did a vintage clothing sale. Also every Wednesday we’ve been receiving free food from vegetable/fruit boxes (which helps to reduce the cost of food shopping) to pancakes and waffles. It’s mainly to help us get through the exam/dissertation season. All the porters for John snow are very friendly and literally help with any problems you have. John snow I would say is pretty laid back and fun as well. I’ve made a lot of friends within the college not only from my flat but different blocks. If u have any more questions lmk

Reply 1791

Squiggles1238

20

Original post by Anonymous

Hey I think I could help with that. I’m a first year at John snow. To be honest John snow and south are pretty similar because we share all the same facilities (apart from our college bars/common rooms and south has a study room attached to its bar). Both colleges don’t really have a stereotype like sports or drama in my opinion (like how collingwood is regarded the sporty college). Most people did tell me before joining that these are the two most diverse colleges and in my experience this year I’ve found that to be true and as a BAME student I’ve really appreciated that. Some cool things about snow are the events and things they do to continuously include the students. For example, every year we have something could snow day in March to celebrate Dr John Snow (the man the college is named after). This year they through a “party” giving us free cupcakes and did a vintage clothing sale. Also every Wednesday we’ve been receiving free food from vegetable/fruit boxes (which helps to reduce the cost of food shopping) to pancakes and waffles. It’s mainly to help us get through the exam/dissertation season. All the porters for John snow are very friendly and literally help with any problems you have. John snow I would say is pretty laid back and fun as well. I’ve made a lot of friends within the college not only from my flat but different blocks. If u have any more questions lmk

thanks for replying, that was really insightful :smile:

What is the accommodation like? there's like no pictures of the rooms online

Reply 1792

Anonymous #28

Original post by Squiggles1238

thanks for replying, that was really insightful :smile:

What is the accommodation like? there's like no pictures of the rooms online

The accommodation is really modern (the layout is the same for both snow and south). Every room in the cluster flats has an en-suite. In the townhouses you share a bathroom with one other person. I would recommend checking out these videos. They were really helpful when I was making my decision between which one to rank first:

https://youtu.be/-6I7996cYUU (John snow townhouse)
https://youtu.be/6L-Ibkih5Xw (John snow cluster flats)
https://youtu.be/WKWWI8jy2g8 (South townhouse)
https://youtu.be/TOR8ONDMVQQ (South en-suite)

Original post by Squiggles1238

thanks for replying, that was really insightful :smile:

What is the accommodation like? there's like no pictures of the rooms online

Hiya

I've attached some Youtube links here for the John Snow room tours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6I7996cYUU ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L-Ibkih5Xw&t=70s

-Himieka

Reply 1794

Squiggles1238

20

Original post by Durham Students

Hiya

I've attached some Youtube links here for the John Snow room tours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6I7996cYUU ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L-Ibkih5Xw&t=70s

-Himieka

Perfect, thank you!!!!

Original post by acondliffe20

Hi! I’ve just had an offer to study History and I have no idea what colleges to choose. I would prefer catered and to not share a room; an en-suite would also be nice but not essential. Gowned formals also sound cool but not a deal breaker. Could someone recommend me a few places to look into?

Also, I would love to visit Durham before deciding whether to firm it. Obviously I’ve missed the offer holder days and I’ve heard that Discover Durham tours are still running, but I can’t seem to find any information about when they are or how to book them. Does anyone know where I could find this information?

Hi there

Since History is taught on the Bailey, I would recommend choosing a Bailey college. All of them are catered and many of them have single rooms. This includes Castle, Cuths, Hatfield and St Johns. Since Chads is a very small college, there is a higher possibility of getting a shared room so you can avoid that. The others also have shared rooms but they are less so there is less risk of getting one. Out of these, Hatfield, St Johns and Castle have gowned formals. St Johns has free laundry and free formals unlike most other colleges and has a nice new library as well. The comparison table on this page will be a helpful resource: https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/

Also as far as I'm aware, the Discover Durham tours only ran until 14th April. You can visit Durham and see around some colleges from the outside but it wouldn't be possible to see the inside unless you know a student who's staying in there.

-Himieka

(edited 1 year ago)

Original post by Anonymous

Please can someone recommend me a college! My accommodation needs to have catered meals and formal balls, but I also like going to the gym. I have an offer for accounting and finance and don't mind if it is a long walk to the business school. I love the old buildings in the city so would quite like to be there.

Hiya

If you like the old buildings in the city, you can go for Castle, St Johns, Hatfield, Cuths and Chads. I'm pretty sure all of these have some form of a gym but college gyms can be tiny so there is always an option to go to Maiden Castle. Formals and balls are two separate events- balls are like prom and are never gowned while formals are dinners that take place in the college. All colleges have balls and formals, the only difference is whether the formals are gowned or non-gowned. You can find that info in this comparison table: https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/. You can also decide depending on whether you want a bigger or smaller college- Hatfield and Castle are the biggest on the bailey while the others are smaller.

I would also suggest looking into the catered hill colleges- they might not offer the old building look but would ultimately be better in terms of distance to the business school and maiden castle. Sometimes distance can be crucial, especially when you are running late, so keep that in mind. I would recommend living within 20-25 mins walking distance as that's been very appropriate for me and most other students I know. But if you have a bicycle, then the distance wouldn't be much of a problem.

-Himieka

Reply 1797

JMarlb

8

I have an offer for PG study at Durham, Classics Dept, and I am not sure about college choices. Are colleges at Durham as important to your degree as they are at Oxbridge? Also, I am not going to live on Campus (have dogs), and I am an older student. My main interests are a more traditional college with a nice vibe and good socials. Any recommendations?

Reply 1798

Anonymous #5

Original post by JMarlb

I have an offer for PG study at Durham, Classics Dept, and I am not sure about college choices. Are colleges at Durham as important to your degree as they are at Oxbridge? Also, I am not going to live on Campus (have dogs), and I am an older student. My main interests are a more traditional college with a nice vibe and good socials. Any recommendations?

Colleges are just accomodation no traching takes place there. Ustinov is a pg only college if you dont want to be surrounded by UG students. The other colleges have mostly UG with some PG students.

Reply 1799

Anonymous #35

Hi, I have an offer for computer science and I need help choosing a college.

My essentials are: female only flat, self catering allowed and stay during holidays (not have to move out each term).

A diverse college is preferable as well.

The Big 'Recommend Me A College' Thread

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