Durham Medicine Offer Holders 2015

Offer woop! Interview finished after 25 mins as well, I was convinced that I was going to be rejected cause it was so short.

I'm having to choose between Durham 5 year course or a GEP 4 year program now. Are any current Durham students willing to sell the uni to me? I was quite impressed from what I've heard/seen but still not fully decided since Durham would be a year longer and would cost more.

Law, cool! Will be interesting to hear what triggered your interest in medicine

Fundung-wise I will certainly have to look into loans etc but need to be careful given that this is my 3rd. Hopefully I will sort it in time!

I don't suppose anyone knows the official start date for induction week?

Freshers' week starts September 28th. During that week you'll have your social activities every night provided by your college, and during the day you'll have induction activities provided by the medical school. Classes don't start until the week after freshers' week. :-)

Lots of love,
MedSoc xx

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Hi there
I was looking on the Durham website for term dates yesterday, just to see what they were and it says that induction weeks starts on October 4th? can you check this?? The link for it is https://www.dur.ac.uk/dates/
Don't want to turn up on the wrong day :P

Thanks!

Just like to say congratulations to everyone who received an offer. I got 4 Rejections, post-interview rejection from durham , but i'm just glad it happened to me rather than the guys who got offers . I wish you all the best at durham - most of you just get the grades now!

Think they missed out with a character like you. Don't give up - this could be a good thing! It will give you a chance to obtain some experience and reapply with more knowledge. Good luck for the future!

Hello!

I got an offer from Durham but just wanted to ask a bit more about the course and stuff:
1. How do students cope with the transition from Durham/Stockton to Newcastle?
2. How does the university help with the transition?
3. What are the surroundings like (around Stockton)?
4. How is the course mainly taught?
5. What do you study in your first two years at Durham?
6. Which college is better and more convenient, Snow or Stevenson?
7. So, do you get a degree from Newcastle? But what distinguishes the fact that you spent two years at Durham?
8. Do you do dissections?

Thanks in advance!

1. I've heard the transition is fine as you transition with your year group that you've spent the past 3 years with.
2. Both Durham & Newcastle MedSocs have plans to do more events together this year to promote integration. We had a huge social with them this year where we all mingled and it was great!
3. The surroundings are fine, not as bad as everyone makes out. The High Street has just been given a huge revamp and a lot of money is being put into improving Stockton's image & appealing to students.
4. It's a lecture based course, taught in different strands (pharmacology, anatomy, physiology etc) using a case led approach. So you'll be given a case at the start of the week, for example a heart attack. You then learn the anatomy of the heart, the physiology of the heart & how the cardiovascular system works, and the pharmacology behind the drugs used to treat heart attacks. The cases are really relevant and interesting, also unique to Durham & Newcastle.
5. See above. The first two years are about building a solid foundation of scientific knowledge in a pre-clinical setting that you can apply in a clinical setting from 3rd year onwards. Biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, medicine in community, personal & professional development and life cycle are some of the strands that are taught alongside each other.
6. There is no "better" college, both have pros and cons. Snow is a 7 minute walk away from class, Stevo is less than 2 minutes away. Snow have gowns & formals, Stevo don't. However, there are usually more medics in Snow compared to Stevo. Both have their pros and cons and whichever one you are in you will love. Snow are very into traditions and are formal, much like the Durham colleges on the main campus, whereas Stevo are a more casual college & don't do the whole tradition thing. Both colleges are great.
7. Your degree is from Newcastle but will say you spent 2 years studying at Durham University. Having two very highly rated universities on your degree is nice.
8. We don't dissect the bodies ourselves, they're dissected for us. When we go into the dissection room once a week, the bodies are already cut open for us so we can poke and prod at the bodies ourselves. In my opinion it's just as good as dissection for learning anatomy effectively.

Most of the answers to your questions are on the Durham Medical School website, and a lot of your questions have been answered on the offer holders page on Facebook already. I suggest you join it as you'll get a faster response from various members of the MedSoc exec. rather than waiting for me to check TSR once a day!

Lots of love,
MedSoc xx


Posted from TSR Mobile

Thank-you for clarifying my queries! I looked at Durham's website but I didn't quite grasp certain things so I just wanted to ask! I don't have Facebook either, so I'm afraid I couldn't see any of the previous asked questions etc. but thank-you so much! I hope I haven't wasted your time!

What happens on post-offer day? But like open days but with extra talks?

Has anyone thought about accommodation that isn't provided by the university?
I was thinking about a house/flatshare with other students maybe ?
As a graduate on the 5 year course I'm finding the prospect of funding myself quite daunting at the moment so rather than paying £135+ a week I was looking at houseshares around the £50/£60 a week mark... not too sure though

I almost certainly won't be going into student accommodation, based on cost like you. Not sure if I'm going to go to Durham, still waiting to see if I get an offer from my first choice. Think it would be a bit weird going back to halls anyway, I'd feel really old (I'm 23!), though obviously it would mean missing out on a lot of the advantages of the collegiate system.

I'll be 24 in April so I'll probably be feeling old when it gets to September too.. I'm hoping that the societies and other college activities like sports teams and the formal meals will make it feel like I'm still part of a college.. I just dont think I can justify paying so much money for a single room in halls..
I hope you do get an offer from your first choice (they can only keep you hanging on for a few more days), but if you don't, let me know and maybe we could think about a houseshare or something?

Unfortunately it's Warwick 4 year GEP that I'm waiting for and they don't respond until the end of April. However, I will potentially be looking at house sharing with fellow grad offerees (it's weird not having to say applicants now, I feel like I'm actually in the club ). Will try to keep in touch if I start looking at making arrangements. Will you be at the offer holders day on 23rd April?

I will be there, yeah.
I thought all decisions from the universities had to be out by the end of march?