Should I take dramatically take a gap year because of my Durham college allocation?

I can understand why you'd be upset. You'll process it over the summer and eventually accept it. For now just focus on A Levels. Also, remember that people are usually reallocated in the summer as far as I'm aware after results day. Maybe you could contact Durham then and ask if you could be moved to one on the Bailey. I know they say that they don't let people choose but maybe they'll realise how much you want to be on the Bailey if you take the time to call and ask. Nonetheless, ppl say you'll end up liking your college even if it wasn't your first choice. There's hopefully some truth in that seeing as so many people say it

I think you can audition for a choir without being a member of that college, so that would give you the choir experience you seek and I suspect you may be entitled to attend formal dinner if it takes place after a choir commitment.

After the first year, you can be in a house anywhere you like in Durham, so it is a very short term issue.

It is definitely not the end of the world. There will be people studying the full range of subjects in Van MIldert with a wide range of interests. There is no need to think you will have a terrible time.

If you take a year out, you would need to withdraw from your offer and re-apply; otherwise the college allocation carries over from this year. There is no guarantee that you would get an offer next year and even if you did, it would not mean that you would necessarily get a Bailey college.

In your shoes, I think I would check that I was happy with the course etc and then spend my energies finding positives about Van Mildert. If there isn't one already, you could start a thread for offer holders and maybe start to find some people that sound like they might share your interests.

There will be lots of things about going to Uni which will be different and challenging. With an open mind, you may find that you enjoy it more than you think and if not, hold on to the relative shortness of the terms and the speed at which you will be looking for a student house to rent for your second year.

Best of luck!

First of all of course this isn’t the end of your life - at most it’s a minor blip along what will hopefully be a very long road!

A quick google would suggest that VM has a choir and many other music opportunities/ practice rooms / grand piano etc. Durham states explicitly they do not change allocations unless on medical grounds. I mean this gently but rather than focussing on not getting Chads why not contact Mildert to explore their music options?

Also even if your department is based at say Elvert many lectures may be on the science site / T&LC.

Thank you! I guess I just idolised the idea of getting really close to my roommates at a bailey college and living with them second and third year (maybe i've been watching too much of jack edwards's own experience?) and for whatever reason i feel like that won't happen at mildert. i know that makes no sense, but i just feel like the people that will have chosen mildert as one of their top priority colleges will likely be more sporty/sciencey than me.

actually SO annoyed about how i ranked the college, i was so dumb about it. my first 7 were very oversubscribed colleges and then it was van mildert. in hindsight, it was obvious i was going to get allocated mildert - especially since i'm applying for english which seems to be a v popular course for the bailey/traditional colleges... i wish i would've done chads/marys/johns or something a bit smarter. i'm so desperate i would've even applied to hatfield as my first choice...

to be honest though, i think i'm just in a negative headspace/rut about it and i need to face the fact that mildert is where i'll likely be next year whether i like it or not.

My advise is if you feel hesitant, do not go.

And do what instead?

Reapply next year and include other choices you would also be happy to go to.

That’s only good advice if the OP would not be devastated if they then didn’t get an offer next year and if they also had useful things to do in their gap year.

Even if they did get offered a place, there is no guarantee that they would get a Bailey college as there is an element of random allocation in the initial ranking of applicants. If this would then not bother them, that’s fine, but if it would feel like a waste of a year to be no further forward, the risk should be considered.

Yes. I know this sounds incredibly dramatic, entitled, idiotic, etc. But I've genuinely lost all my interest in going to Durham after the college allocation process. I know that it's only for the first year, and I know I'll meet people elsewhere, but I was so unbelievably interested in the collegiate system and being part of my college community, only for that all to dissipate after being allocated to Van Mildert.

I'm SURE it's a great college - do not misunderstand me - it's just not what I was looking for. I was really hoping to live on the Bailey since it seemed like an amazing opportunity since I obviously wouldn't get the chance to live there for my other years of uni, and I loved the idea of living so centrally. Joining a collegiate chapel choir, gowned formals, and living in such a nice looking college were all things I've idolised and I just really feel apprehensive about attending any other college, especially Mildert.

I just don't know how much I'd enjoy durham being 20 minutes away from my subject department (instead of only a 5 minute walk at Chad's - which was also a 4 minute walk from Waterstones), and not having access to all the opportunities offered at Chad's.

I know putting my entire life on hold for a year for the CHANCE to get another college is an idiotic thing to do (I probably won't, especially as it's likely the same thing would happen again) but I'm just so against the idea of attending Mildert over Chad's. The facilities are nicer at Chad's, they have gowned formals, they have a chapel choir, they're way closer to my subject department, it's a way nicer looking college, people more similar to me, etc etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - can someone convince me this isn't actually the end of my life...

Yes. I know this sounds incredibly dramatic, entitled, idiotic, etc. But I've genuinely lost all my interest in going to Durham after the college allocation process. I know that it's only for the first year, and I know I'll meet people elsewhere, but I was so unbelievably interested in the collegiate system and being part of my college community, only for that all to dissipate after being allocated to Van Mildert.

I'm SURE it's a great college - do not misunderstand me - it's just not what I was looking for. I was really hoping to live on the Bailey since it seemed like an amazing opportunity since I obviously wouldn't get the chance to live there for my other years of uni, and I loved the idea of living so centrally. Joining a collegiate chapel choir, gowned formals, and living in such a nice looking college were all things I've idolised and I just really feel apprehensive about attending any other college, especially Mildert.

I just don't know how much I'd enjoy durham being 20 minutes away from my subject department (instead of only a 5 minute walk at Chad's - which was also a 4 minute walk from Waterstones), and not having access to all the opportunities offered at Chad's.

I know putting my entire life on hold for a year for the CHANCE to get another college is an idiotic thing to do (I probably won't, especially as it's likely the same thing would happen again) but I'm just so against the idea of attending Mildert over Chad's. The facilities are nicer at Chad's, they have gowned formals, they have a chapel choir, they're way closer to my subject department, it's a way nicer looking college, people more similar to me, etc etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - can someone convince me this isn't actually the end of my life...

Out of interest, what were your first six ranked colleges? Might be useful for others thinking about ranking strategies in the future.

As for your current situation, there will definitely be others doing your subject in your college; they ensure that there is a spread. I know you are concerned about science bias in VM, but there will be other English students and others doing humanities. Besides this, please don’t assume you won’t get on with scientists; many gifted musicians happen to study science subjects.

You can audition for one of the chapel choirs too which will increase your friendship base and enhance your experience at Durham.

I think you will make friends from your course, your college, a choir (if you join one) and any other societies that appeal. I am certain you will find your people. Please try not to worry.

Hiya

I'm sorry you're feeling this way and I understand where you're coming from, but trust me when I say this- your opinions of colleges as a prospective student changes a lot once you actually start studying at Durham. When I was in your position, I always thought South was the perfect college for me and I never really opened myself up to any other ones; but coming here and exploring the other colleges made me realise that all of them have something good of their own and there wouldn't be any college where I would dread living.

When you say people at Chads will more be 'your type', I think that's a false belief. One, you don't know everyone who's going to either Chads or Van Mildert. Two, it's true that Chads is closer to your department, but all colleges have a fair share of students from all departments so Chads will also have science-y students, as much as VM will have students from your department. As for chapel choirs, you can join the one at Chads without needing to be a Chads student. In fact, that's true for all colleges that have chapel choirs- you can find more info here. You can also attend gowned formals at other colleges if you have a friend there.

When it comes to the prospect of meeting people who you'll potentially get a house with for 2nd and 3rd years, students from literally all colleges do that so I don't think that's something bespoke to Chads. You will find your people, no matter what college you go to. In fact I'd say it's more likely for it to happen at VM because it's bigger so you're not restricted to a small group. I can't help with you thinking that VM has an ugly building, but I personally don't agree with you. Ultimately you're only going to be there for about 6 months because the rest goes away in Christmas, easter and summer breaks so don't let the looks of the building put you off.

I'm not sure if this has been helpful at all, but I do hope you're able to put yourself at ease about this college decision. I know it seems hard right now but it's really not going to matter once you're here and a year from now, you'll probably be thinking how much time you wasted thinking about this for no reason. If you wanna have a chat, feel free to reply below or send a PM

-Himieka