Durham: Pros and Cons
Welcome to the University of Durham forum: where prospective and current students can discuss everything from the differences between colleges to the nightlife, an abundance of Rahs to the Stockton campus.
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80% of the people I talked to at the Castle open day were state schoolers and 80% were from places other than the south-east which surprised me given that Castle Rah stories. So either I have a very finely tuned fellow state schooler sensor or it's all widly exaggerated.
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Being a fellow law wooder I would have to agree with you. I only noticed a very slight rah stuck-up aspect to Durham (in the law department), so it really isn't as stuck up as everyone thinks it is. I agree on the Hill Colleges part.(Original post by iiikewldude)
in my experience oxford was was seriously more stuck up than durham. Only a small part of Durham is oxbridge style stuck up - hatfield, the law department and the castle.
The colleges up on the hill are full of pretty decent people
(ok i know im being very stereotypical) -
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English Lit. All comments are welcome, subjective or otherwise! I've pretty much made up my mind to go there though. When I went to the open day I saw no evidence of its being stuck up, and the English Department is fantastic. I have to choose between Durham and Birmingham, and I get the feeling that if I chose Birmingham I'd always be thinking "what if...?".(Original post by theECONOMIST)
My comments probably wouldn't be welcome, so I'll stay out of it.
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I love the breathtaking bit about Durham being on an equal footing with Imperial/ LSE-who themselves apparently are on the same level as 'Nottingham...Warwick, and many others..' (ie a long way behind God-like Oxbridge)...(Original post by kingslaw)
On the train on the way back from Newcastle after doing some work, I saw that it stopped at Durham. I have to say it is a beautiful place, especially on this clear winters day. I was prepared to accept that it wasnt going to be as exciting as Manchester, or as violent as Stockport on a Friday outside McDonalds and Superbowl.
I then went home and took another look at Durham Uni prospectus (I was just starting to think about applying for law courses at the time) and was greeted with the bold statement 'usually considered the prime alternative to Oxbridge'. Obviously this impressed me.
However, Durham is a place that begins to show a different side when you do some research. Firstly, its famous (and rightly so) for its public school boy image. However, many people are willing to overcome this if it means a good degree at the end. Secondly, and more importantly perhaps, it has an incredibly inflated sense of its own importance. It is a good place, but it is not THE alternative to Oxbridge whatsoever. It is on an equal footing with Bristol, Nottingham, UCL, Imperial, Kings, LSE, Warwick, and many others.
This was only reinforced when on my work-experience I was asking a lady who was regional manager of a large law firm how she views various universities. She described Durham students as 'distanced from real working life' and 'occasionaly stuffy and hard to get on with'.
One small question: have you got any objective evidence for this drastic assessment (ie not just league tables compiled by hacks but real knowledge of all these institutions)? -
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If you'd actually look at other threads, you'd see that Durham is a really good Uni - it just gets dragged down by the Stockton campus, which is new and still hasn't got the same kind of reputation as the City campus. Anyway, league tables mean very little - I don't really care if the Greek Philosophy is bad, as long as the one I'm doing is good, which I know it is.(Original post by kingslaw)
Actually, if anyone going to Durham listened to league tables, you would probably see that it is behind many of the univerisities it is supposed to be superior to! -
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Woohoo! Let's kick these haters' arses!(Original post by interiority)
Exactly. The course I'm doing at Durham is just right for me, I visited and think I'll have a great time there, and I believe I'll be able to get a job when I graduate. People seem to forget, hanging around with rahs is NOT compulsory. And league tables vary so widely, you can't go by them alone.
Just kidding! -
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You sound like Britney Spears. Actually, I'm ashamed to admit it, but her new song is pretty good (for a Spears song) - good to dance to in the clubs. *listens to Toxic*(Original post by interiority)
Don't screw with the Durham crew, y'all...
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well said! i totally agree.. i had such a good time, its definately my first choice, and its as fun as you make it.. what do people expect? a ready made group of friends waiting to whisk them off to a VIP club with britney spears and the rest of the american rap scene?!!(Original post by Thom18)
My law open day was really good too! Whoever decided to let the offer-holders come for the night and encourage them to use the bar and go out on the night-time was a genius. -
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Not for English it's not, fool. 5th best in the country, behind Oxbridge, which i didn't want to go to, some London uni, ditto, York, which is grey and put me off, and oh wait... There's Durham! So shut your mouth!(Original post by kingslaw)
Actually, if anyone going to Durham listened to league tables, you would probably see that it is behind many of the univerisities it is supposed to be superior to!
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You could say teh same for Oxbridge, so, no.(Original post by Peapod)
Does anyone els ethink that the open days "seduce" people a bit?
I mean if no othe runi gives you the opportunity to stay over aren't you naturally going to be biased towards them? -
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Exactly. If all Unis did that sort of thing it would be much better. We can only go on what we see, and if Durham is willing to genuinely invite people to the Uni to have a good time and see what it's really like, then I'm all for it.(Original post by serendipity)
You could say teh same for Oxbridge, so, no. -
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Will people stop claiming that Durham has a collegiate system. Any University could call its halls of residence colleges and claim to have a collegiate system. In fact that sounds like a clever scheme to make an average University sound better.
The fact that Durham and its students constantly feel the need to compare themselves to Oxbridge, even in their prospectus, proves their inferiority. Top universities (read Oxbridge, LSE, Notts, Warks, UCL, Imperial) compare themselves to the best in the world and show that they are really in a different league. -
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I think that's an issue you need to take up with the University themselves. We only speak of what the University says. The earliest Universities all have collegiate systems, and because Durham is one of them, that's what it is universally accepted to have.(Original post by house badger)
Will people stop claiming that Durham has a collegiate system. Any University could call its halls of residence colleges and claim to have a collegiate system. In fact that sounds like a clever scheme to make an average University sound better.
I think Durham is one of the top universities in Britain. It's true that Oxbridge is superior, but Durham is seen to be the alternative to Oxbridge, and is definitely up there with the others you've mentioned, whether you believe it or not.(Original post by house badger)
The fact that Durham and its students constantly feel the need to compare themselves to Oxbridge, even in their prospectus, proves their inferiority. Top universities (read Oxbridge, LSE, Notts, Warks, UCL, Imperial) compare themselves to the best in the world and show that they are really in a different league. -
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Have you visited there?(Original post by house badger)
Will people stop claiming that Durham has a collegiate system. Any University could call its halls of residence colleges and claim to have a collegiate system. In fact that sounds like a clever scheme to make an average University sound better.
Why such harsh and biased criticism?
