Durham Colleges
Just asking some current or past Durham students - which colleges, would you say, are the best/better colleges?
Gal here has to make an educated choice and I don't feel like doing it on a whim like I usually do.
Gal here has to make an educated choice and I don't feel like doing it on a whim like I usually do.
Original post by JA03
Just asking some current or past Durham students - which colleges, would you say, are the best/better colleges?
Gal here has to make an educated choice and I don't feel like doing it on a whim like I usually do.
Gal here has to make an educated choice and I don't feel like doing it on a whim like I usually do.
Hiya!
I know there's a natural desire to look for the best in everything and the same goes for when ranking colleges at Durham. I was in the same dilemma so let me tell you that there will be no objectively best college, but there can be one best or better suited for you. In order to decide this, I would recommend starting by deciding whether you want a catered or self-catered college. Once that's decided, see which type of room you want- some will have more shared than single rooms so you can avoid that based on your preferences; some like the self-catered hill colleges have majority ensuites. After that, check the distance of the college from where your contact hours will take place- it's ideal if it's within a 20-minute walking distance. After that, think about whether you wanna be part of a bigger or a smaller college- Johns and Chads are the smallest, all others are pretty big; Castle, Hatfield and all hill colleges are pretty big. You can then consider whether you like the appeal of gowned formals, not all colleges have those but you can see on the table here which ones do: https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/
This table also mentions the stats for rooms so have a look at those. Finally, you can look at the societies each college has, which you'll find on their respective JCR pages (just google [college name] JCR and it should pop up). There are also optional costs associated with being a college member like JCR membership, gym membership, etc and these can vary a lot. For instance, a gym membership at South college is about £90 for the whole year but it's only £20 at Josephine Butler (although I've never visited the Butler gym so can't comment on the quality, but South's gym is super nice). You can also find these types of costs on the JCR pages as well.
Also, ultimately, everyone ends up loving the college they go to so it doesn't have to be a big deal at all!
Feel free to drop more queries
-Himieka
(edited 1 year ago)
heyy!! thank you so so much this is really helpful!
this is really helpful! Original post by Durham Students
Hiya!
I know there's a natural desire to look for the best in everything and the same goes for when ranking colleges at Durham. I was in the same dilemma so let me tell you that there will be no objectively best college, but there can be one best or better suited for you. In order to decide this, I would recommend starting by deciding whether you want a catered or self-catered college. Once that's decided, see which type of room you want- some will have more shared than single rooms so you can avoid that based on your preferences; some like the self-catered hill colleges have majority ensuites. After that, check the distance of the college from where your contact hours will take place- it's ideal if it's within a 20-minute walking distance. After that, think about whether you wanna be part of a bigger or a smaller college- Johns and Chads are the smallest, all others are pretty big; Castle, Hatfield and all hill colleges are pretty big. You can then consider whether you like the appeal of gowned formals, not all colleges have those but you can see on the table here which ones do: https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/
This table also mentions the stats for rooms so have a look at those. Finally, you can look at the societies each college has, which you'll find on their respective JCR pages (just google [college name] JCR and it should pop up). There are also optional costs associated with being a college member like JCR membership, gym membership, etc and these can vary a lot. For instance, a gym membership at South college is about £90 for the whole year but it's only £20 at Josephine Butler (although I've never visited the Butler gym so can't comment on the quality, but South's gym is super nice). You can also find these types of costs on the JCR pages as well.
Also, ultimately, everyone ends up loving the college they go to so it doesn't have to be a big deal at all!
Feel free to drop more queries
-Himieka
I know there's a natural desire to look for the best in everything and the same goes for when ranking colleges at Durham. I was in the same dilemma so let me tell you that there will be no objectively best college, but there can be one best or better suited for you. In order to decide this, I would recommend starting by deciding whether you want a catered or self-catered college. Once that's decided, see which type of room you want- some will have more shared than single rooms so you can avoid that based on your preferences; some like the self-catered hill colleges have majority ensuites. After that, check the distance of the college from where your contact hours will take place- it's ideal if it's within a 20-minute walking distance. After that, think about whether you wanna be part of a bigger or a smaller college- Johns and Chads are the smallest, all others are pretty big; Castle, Hatfield and all hill colleges are pretty big. You can then consider whether you like the appeal of gowned formals, not all colleges have those but you can see on the table here which ones do: https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/
This table also mentions the stats for rooms so have a look at those. Finally, you can look at the societies each college has, which you'll find on their respective JCR pages (just google [college name] JCR and it should pop up). There are also optional costs associated with being a college member like JCR membership, gym membership, etc and these can vary a lot. For instance, a gym membership at South college is about £90 for the whole year but it's only £20 at Josephine Butler (although I've never visited the Butler gym so can't comment on the quality, but South's gym is super nice). You can also find these types of costs on the JCR pages as well.
Also, ultimately, everyone ends up loving the college they go to so it doesn't have to be a big deal at all!
Feel free to drop more queries
-Himieka
Fabulous response from Himieka above, not much to add other than look online for alternative Durham college guides, and for YouTube videos. Each college has its own personality. My son is at Trevs , which is known as the friendly college, and it has lived up to its name! He loves it!. I have a cousin who went to Collingwood, and he hated it, he is quiet and it was too ' lads lads lads' for him, (he said he thought it would suit someone who is sporty and outgoing).
Original post by JA03
Just asking some current or past Durham students - which colleges, would you say, are the best/better colleges?
Gal here has to make an educated choice and I don't feel like doing it on a whim like I usually do.
Gal here has to make an educated choice and I don't feel like doing it on a whim like I usually do.
just avoid south college 😅
Original post by Anonymous
just avoid south college 😅
Why
Hello! I've accepted my offer for MSc management at Durham so now I'm in the same dilemma i guess- choosing a college
This whole system is kinda confusing
I'm someone who loves to workout to take away my stress and also plan to work part-time. So i need to choose a college also preferably an ensuite cuz I can't share my bathroom (bit hesitant about that don't know why but I'll probably change i guess) that would cater all these needs:/
This whole system is kinda confusing
I'm someone who loves to workout to take away my stress and also plan to work part-time. So i need to choose a college also preferably an ensuite cuz I can't share my bathroom (bit hesitant about that don't know why but I'll probably change i guess) that would cater all these needs:/
My son is in trevs and loves it. It is known as the friendly college and lives up to its name. All the accommodation is under one roof, so you can go to breakfast in your slippers/sliders!! Formals every 3 weeks, events on most weeks, lots of societies to join. He also shares a room, don't rule it out, ready made buddy and someone to go to meals/events with. My son has never felt lonely. My cousin went to Collingwood, he is quiet and found it too 'lads lads lads' and didn't enjoy his time there. Think it would suit someone more outgoing.
(edited 1 year ago)
The principal is quite controversial, invited one of his racist friends to our formal to give a speech and its also less organised as a college. Its the newest college though so the rooms are lovely and new (by far the nicest at uni), there's a nice gym and music room! I would recommend Collingwood though if you want to get involved with societies and have nicer formals and balls and perhaps Hatfield if you're interested in networking.
Original post by tbest3769
Why
I've had an offer and I've selected my college preferences. If it helps anybody, what I did was to create a table in a Word Document, listing the different colleges, whether they were hill or bailey, the number of students living in college per year, whether they were catered or self catered, and whether they were gowned for formals or not, because these were the main factors for me. I then immediactely ruled out the self catered ones, because I want to go catered. Then, I began to think about the differences between each college, based on the above factors, and numbering them in order of my preferences. I also highlighetd them in differernt colours, because I see things visually. I was also very fortunate that I live locally, so I was able to get tours of the final few that I couldn't decide between. In the end, I have chosen Trev's College, and Mary's as my second choice, but that might not be the same for you. I hope that helps a bit, and I've attached a link from Durham University's website with very helpful information.
https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/#d.en.467132 (Click on "compare colleges")
https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/#d.en.467132 (Click on "compare colleges")
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