Durham Applicants Thread 2012

Ive got an offer for international relations for durham yeah the contrast between the city and the country is pretty huge, but i like both places a lot, i know london pretty well and have a group of friends who are going to uni there, and no one at durham I'm wondering whether i should pick somewhere where i'll be comfortable or somewhere i would be excited about and that i would get used to. i don't like going out that much at all :/

i think you should keep talking me into it, the deadline is the ninth!

oh wow, you've only got a week!
where are you from, by the way?
if you come to durham, I'll be your friend
i can see you've got a hard choice. what do your parents think? do you want to do a masters?
i think you should write yourself a list of pros and cons for each.
i was put off london because it's expensive for very basic things - accomodation, food, clothes, entertainment, and you don't get to get to know people so well. but then again, you might get a job afterwards without having to move. at durham you might not be able to get a job in durham, so you might have to move to work... but that might actually be a good thing!
talk to some people from king's and see what they say.

i knoooww!! I've been procrastinating way too much I'm from the caribbean, i think thats why i like the city so much, its exciting I've written about 10 pro and con lists but they both come out equal at the end :O i also have offers from exeter and sheffield but KCL and durham are my top two. what are you studying?

the caribbean. I really like the whole collegiate thing, and when i went to see durham it was a really pretty town and the colleges had loads of events ect...ugh. Its just a hard decision i guess, do you go for the course you like or the place you like. which is not to say i dislike KCL, but i don't want to miss out on on the 'student' experience because of being in london. although i really like london

i'm going to study biology, which is good because the department's right next to st mary's! the decision was easy for me because i've lived in london my whole life, but went to a really small school (<250 people) so i wanted somewhere that was a good uni but small with a personal atmosphere. i didn't want to stay in london because then i'd have to stay at my parents house. i didn't want to go to oxford or cambridge. so i picked durham!

i guess the main difference between the two is that durham is more personal. would you actually be going back to the caribbean in the summer?! :wow: i think if you live really far away you're allowed to keep your stuff in storage at uni over the holidays, whereas everyone else has to bring it all home/to their new house in the summer.

is there a king's forum like this one that you can ask questions in?

Oh cool! What Caribbean island are you from? Same same, I like the collegiate idea and it makes it more personal and you really get to know people I'm going to see the uni and college tomorrow Exactly! I'm stuck between the course especially, I like King's course more.

So stuckkkk, but I think I'll have a better idea after tomorrow. I've lived in London all my life but it still appeals to me :P I've been King's 3 times now, I love the campus! But, the thing is I want to live out and living only an hour away from King's, is it worth it getting accommodation when it's so pricey? I'm thinking to get accommodation in halls for at least the first year, though I'm not guaranteed accommodation because I live too close to the uni.

Either way - hopefully I'll be seeing you in King's or Durham

Insured Durham now I know I'd be completely happy at either choice, I can relax!

Your signature

What made you choose Durham over Warwick D:

When I went to Durham I just got a better feel. Plus, it's more of an adventure, and I'm almost guaranteed to get in (after doing some modules early etc) whereas my Warwick offer needed some STEP...

Are you Warwicking then?

There you go! Although I could've sworn I recently saw part of the JCR website about visiting, but can't find it now for the life of me.

Thank you both very much! Very helpful.

Are you going to visit Durham soon!?

yaaa I reckon so, not sure when though! I WILL TELL YOU WHEN I AM GOING AND YOU SHOULD COME TOO xx

I see, I thought STEP might've played a factor.

Oh no, I was just wondering because Warwick's maths department is good. Which college are you heading to for Cambridge?

King's did you do the Oxford? Which college there?

(You're making me paranoid about my choices now, I insured Durham under the assumption that its maths was reasonably close to Warwick's [edit: if you know this to be false please tell me: I can still change it!])

To be honest, it is false. For Maths, Cambridge, Warwick, Oxford and Imperial are the consensus as the top 4, in no real order after Cambridge. Warwick Maths is really one of its flagship courses. No idea, where Durham Maths ranks, but probably not that much lower, maybe on par with Bristol/Bath. I wouldn't let that sway your decision too much though.

I've actually stayed in KCL for a month last year, so i know a bit about it it really all hinges for me on the collegiate experience, if i want to give that up for a bit city thing...



ahhh well maybe if you've lived in london you'd want to leave!! i think coming from a small island its very exciting, but could be overwhelming. i hope you enjoy your visit, i saw trevs when i went up there and it looked really nice. tell me how it goes!! kcl accom is not very nice in my experience, and you'd save loads by staying at home.

Hey - I went Durham yesterday and I really liked it I think I'm going to firm At first I preferred King's course more, but because I got to meet up with the admissions tutor yesterday (the guy who chose to give me an offer, which felt a bit strange meeting him, but good) he told me in depth about the course/the topics you cover/practicals etc. So, I think I'm gonna go for Durham..the only thing is the scene is very quiet for me as I'm used to London but other than that as people have said there's a lot going on in the college etc. The city is tiny! but lovely And Trevs is a good college What college were you accepted for? Have you decided now?

Wow that's amazing that you got to meet the guy, I didn't really get to see anything about my dept so maybe that's affecting my choice. I think I'm going to pick kcl, for the course, but I keep changing my mind :s and the deadline is on Wednesday!!!