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Durham University

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2007 Applicant - Just spotted durham - some questions.

eggman

Hi there, im an 2007 applicant and ive been to newcastle today as my first visit to a uni.
On my short list are the following uni's for BSc Computer Science:

Warwick
Newcastle
Bristol
Durham
Sheffield

(no specific order)

my grades so far are:
B in GCSE Maths
A in A level german
distictions throughout first year of national diploma

id like to know where to start off with durham uni since ive just noticed it.
can someone fill me in please :biggrin:

am i late applying, i don't really have any teachers takeing me throught the UCAS procedure atm so i have no clue when i am applying.

Cheers. pete

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Reply 1

Turdburger

The deadline for Durham applications is the same as all the other unis (expect for oxbridge) 15th January, though I think it is advisable to apply earlyish if you want to go to a popular college. (If you didnt know already, Durham is a collegiate university and you have to apply to a college, (under campus code in ucas apply.)

How did you like newcastle btw (I live there :smile:

)

Durham University

Durham

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Reply 2

eggman

newcastle campus/city was great, however, the accomodation/catering really put me off :<

which is a good catered college at durham?
cuth's looks popular :wink:

most important question, what's the damage for a pint :p:

when would i have to apply to get a firm place?

cheers

Reply 3

Turdburger

All colleges are catered apart from Josephine Butler.

At Cuths you can choose between catered, semi-catered, and self-catering.
Im not sure wether or not if you are guarenteed to get your first choice on that option, youd have to ask a cuths student.

For a pint, depends on the college I suppose: Here the prices for St.Chads, which I think is one of the cheaper college bars though there isnt a massive difference.

Carlsberg - £1.20
Tetley’s - £1.20
XXXX - £1.20
Ale (Old Peculiar/IPA) - £1.30
Guinness - £1.40
Red C - £1.40
Blackthorn - £1.20
Carlsberg Export - £1.40
Snakebite - £1.40

Had a look at Castle (University College) prices as well -- slightly more expensive at 1.40 to 1.55 a pint

Reply 4

eggman

cheers for that, sheffield sounds like a bargain at £1. newcastle, however, rob you of £1.70.

i won't have any tutors to go through the ucas procedure with me for over two weeks :mad:

has anyone applied yet?

Reply 5

Turdburger

I have, though I had to apply by october 15th as im applying to Oxford.

Reply 6

eggman

well durham looks like a really good uni, what's the catch? there must be a catch!

Reply 7

arkbar

We all sleep with our families.

Reply 8

Turdburger

I promise you :rolleyes:

Reply 9

iliketurtles

Hi,

I'm a 2nd year Computer Scientist in Cuth's so I suppose I can answer any questions you have about either!

I was seriously considering going to Newcastle Uni to do Computer Science (G400), and I went on several open days and campus tours. From what I saw and was told the course really didn't interest or suit me at all, it has far too much emphasis placed upon the mathematically side of things and wasn't what I was expecting. The lecturers really did a poor job of selling the course and university, which was quite a shame when I was initially really enthusiastic about going there. Even the CS lecture theatres I saw were dim, uncomfortable and not easy to concentrate in.

The accommodation in Newcastle was generally really really poor, with some student accommodation being really quite far out from the city, leaving you to get a bus into the centre. When you compare that to the college structure in Durham, you'll know what to choose!

The CS dept in Durham has just been awarded national centre of excellence (or something), so they got given loads of money some of which was used to build the Technocafe which is amazing. You should really come and see it for yourself, I can't really explain how good an environment it is to work in. Imagine a room filled with laptops, tablet PC's, and 42' plasma screens in little boothes where you work on group projects.

Newcastle is a great city, I love it there. I'm originally from Whitley Bay so I'm relatively local, so I know Newcastle like the back of my hand. Remember Newcastle is still only 12-15 minutes away from Newcastle by train, so if you get a bit bored of the nightlife in Durham (which is generally quite good) then going to Newcastle is easy. There are two late trains back, around 2am and 4am.

Durham is a fantastic city, everything is within walking distance and everyone is really friendly. Come on a CS open day, they run loads of mini-open days throughout the year (loads more than any other dept), and I might even be the one showing you around and demonstrating projects! There are also normally campus tours run by the university on the same days, although you'll definitely need to book these in advance as they fill up quickly.

Oh, and apply for Cuth's, you won't regret it. If you apply for Durham, you'll be invited to come for an overnight stay in your chosen college, which involves a amazing welcome meal, a piss-up, and a further introduction to your course the following day. In Cuth's this was really one of the most amazing nights of my life, and you'll love it straight away. There really is no catch, Durham is really that awesome.

Alex

Reply 10

eggman

wow that's amazing, thanks for that. durham is really working it's way up the list!

BigRed, what kind of grades did you get at GCSE/College?

cheers

Reply 11

Turdburger

Remember Newcastle is still only 12-15 minutes away from Newcastle by train,

Trains these days :p:

Reply 12

iliketurtles

eggman

wow that's amazing, thanks for that. durham is really working it's way up the list!

BigRed, what kind of grades did you get at GCSE/College?

cheers

I've got 11 quite average GCSE A*-C grades and a distinction in GNVQ ICT (equiv to 4 GCSE A's). I got AABC at A-Level (Computing, Business, Economics, General) after taking things a bit more seriously.

One of the C grades was in GCSE Maths (due to a major f'up in the coursework), supposibly you require at least grade B in GCSE Maths for the Durham CS course - so evidently they are quite lenient. I don't think they take GCSE stuff too seriously (although I've heard some depts in the uni expect at least 6 A's at GCSE :confused:

)

Although the offical uni handbook says AAB-BBB is a typical offer, loads of people I know were offered much lower than that. My ex-gf was even offered BBC for the exact same course.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions and I'll do my best to answer. If you want a bit more info about Cuth's take a look at www.cuths.com which is immensely useful :smile:

Alex

Reply 13

eggman

had a look at cuths.com, it seems like a weird society since the two accomodation sites are no where near each other. and south bailey seems to have all the good stuff (by that i mean the bar)

hmm?

Reply 14

Itchynscratchy

Heartbreaker

Trains these days :p:

hahaha, good one

Reply 15

arkbar

since the two accomodation sites are no where near each other

In Durham, nothing is far away, seriously.

Reply 16

Mellie

arkbar

In Durham, nothing is far away, seriously.

Besides which, there is only five minutes between Parson's Field and South Bailey anyway

Reply 17

iliketurtles

eggman

had a look at cuths.com, it seems like a weird society since the two accomodation sites are no where near each other. and south bailey seems to have all the good stuff (by that i mean the bar)

hmm?

Well you get the choice between living on the Bailey or at Parsons Field. It's a trade off between modern accommodation and being near the bar.

Cuth's Bar is the most popular student bar, and there's also a second bar at the PF site, which is actually quite good. If you include the new bar in the pool room, that's three bars. I wonder if there is a correlation between the amount of bars in Cuth's and degree failures/classifcations :biggrin:

Alex

Reply 18

umarf786

bigred

Alex

Hi mate, Im applying to St Mary's for LAW, so some infor would be appreciated. Its surprising to head that you got a lower offer than that in the prospectus. For 2007 entry for Law, grades are AAA, do you think that some people will be given a lower offer ?

Thanks.

Reply 19

arkbar

Some people will probably be given a lower offer
a) if the department wants your babies
b) if they're trying to boost their quotas of something unofficially
but it's very,very unlikely.