Durham PPE offer

Hi, I'm an international student who recently got an offer from Durham for PPE. I did IB and got 39 and HL 666. I was wondering if anybody could give me any tips (any and all will be appreciated) because I don't know anybody else who went/got into Durham. How's the course like? Any advice on colleges? I'm only interested in self-catered colleges. How does accommodation work after first year? What is the international school body like? Thank you in advance!

Original post by haohhhan

Hi, I'm an international student who recently got an offer from Durham for PPE. I did IB and got 39 and HL 666. I was wondering if anybody could give me any tips (any and all will be appreciated) because I don't know anybody else who went/got into Durham. How's the course like? Any advice on colleges? I'm only interested in self-catered colleges. How does accommodation work after first year? What is the international school body like? Thank you in advance!

Hiya

Congratulations on your offer! While I can't give any tips on the course, I can talk about college life/accommodation and being an international student in Durham 🙂 The self-catered colleges are mainly located on the Hill (with exception to Cuths Parsons Field), and are definitely more modern in terms of accommodation. International students also tend to gravitate towards Hill colleges like John Snow or South, so you'll definitely find a lot of international students there (but also Bailey colleges)

There are so many student societies for students from all around the world, and there's also a society dedicated to International students (International Students Association) and they run various events throughout the year for International students to get together and socialise. Also, colleges have their own International societies within college so you can also meet a lot of people through there.

In terms of accommodation after Year 1, students tend to either 1. Stay in college. 2. Sign a house/flat with friends/other groups or by themselves, or 3. Move into Private accommodation.

I hope this helps 🙂

-Ghala

Reply 2

haohhhan

OP

Original post by Durham Students

Hiya

Congratulations on your offer! While I can't give any tips on the course, I can talk about college life/accommodation and being an international student in Durham 🙂 The self-catered colleges are mainly located on the Hill (with exception to Cuths Parsons Field), and are definitely more modern in terms of accommodation. International students also tend to gravitate towards Hill colleges like John Snow or South, so you'll definitely find a lot of international students there (but also Bailey colleges)

There are so many student societies for students from all around the world, and there's also a society dedicated to International students (International Students Association) and they run various events throughout the year for International students to get together and socialise. Also, colleges have their own International societies within college so you can also meet a lot of people through there.

In terms of accommodation after Year 1, students tend to either 1. Stay in college. 2. Sign a house/flat with friends/other groups or by themselves, or 3. Move into Private accommodation.

I hope this helps 🙂

-Ghala

Hi, thank you so much for the reply! I have a few more questions. Hope you can help me with them:

1.

I'm also curious about how close my (hopefully) chosen college would be to the buildings I'll have my classes in, and the city centre. Unfortunately I can't find much about which buildings and where they're located, so I'll be asking here.

2.

I'm also curious if say, I go to a college without gowned formals -- could I also attend formals at the college of a friend's?

3.

I've also heard specifically that St. John's has free formals, free laundry, and guaranteed Bailey accommodation, even though I'm not really sure what the last one means. How can I find out similar arrangements in other colleges?

4.

How much do you spend on average in a month for things like food and transport, excluding rent and tuition? I'm looking for a gauge

5.

Are there part-time jobs available during semester time eg. being a librarian, a barista at the local coffeeshop, cashier/restocker at the local grocery store etc., and are these available to international students?

Thank you so much for your help!

Original post by haohhhan

Hi, thank you so much for the reply! I have a few more questions. Hope you can help me with them:

1.

I'm also curious about how close my (hopefully) chosen college would be to the buildings I'll have my classes in, and the city centre. Unfortunately I can't find much about which buildings and where they're located, so I'll be asking here.

2.

I'm also curious if say, I go to a college without gowned formals -- could I also attend formals at the college of a friend's?

3.

I've also heard specifically that St. John's has free formals, free laundry, and guaranteed Bailey accommodation, even though I'm not really sure what the last one means. How can I find out similar arrangements in other colleges?

4.

How much do you spend on average in a month for things like food and transport, excluding rent and tuition? I'm looking for a gauge

5.

Are there part-time jobs available during semester time eg. being a librarian, a barista at the local coffeeshop, cashier/restocker at the local grocery store etc., and are these available to international students?

Thank you so much for your help!

Hiya!

Q1- Almost all Durham students have classes in different parts of Campus, and some students rarely have classes in their actual department buildings so it is hard to say how close it will be. However, almost all colleges in Durham are within walking distance to the Science Site and Elvet Riverside, so it won't be too far. In terms of information on the buildings themselves, us students don't no either :smile:

It depends on what is on your timetable and Learn Ultra. PPE is located in the Business School which is up the Hill (Close to the Hill Colleges) so its not very far but it depends on whether your lectures particularly in first year are there.

Q2- You can attend other college formals, but for some colleges you would have to pay to attend or have to be invited so it does depend- But usually, you can.

Q3- I would say check the college websites and JCR websites, they'll usually have that information available. If not, you could speak to students at those colleges on UniBuddy, and they could help you out with that.
Unibuddy – Chat with a student from Durham University - Durham University

Q4- It's hard to say as spending and finances differs with each student, some spend more and some spend less but I would say most students would spend an average 300 a month or less. But finances and spending are very subjective so its hard to give an estimate.

Q5- Yes there are a range of University and Part Time work you can get involved with and they are available to international students, you just have to make sure you're not working more hours than the legally allowed. Both University and Part Time jobs around Durham are advertised by the Careers & Enterprise sector at Durham in a weekly newsletter which you can sign up to when you get to Durham. Also, they can help with job interviews, CV's and Cover letters :smile:

Hope this helps!

-Ghala

Durham PPE offer

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