TSR Christian Society (X-SOC) Episode IV: A New Hope

I finally got my offer from Durham, the "dream" university. Somehow I beat the system, my background is below common and its a miracle.

Only problem is I don't want this burden and I prayed I would be rejected.

I finally got my offer from Durham, the "dream" university. Somehow I beat the system, my background is below common and its a miracle.

Only problem is I don't want this burden and I prayed I would be rejected.

Congratulations on the offer! If you don't mind me asking, why is it a burden?
Even if you don't want to go there, it might be that God is wanting you to make your own choices in regards to this? I'll be praying for you!

Also praying for you. Well done on the offer, whatever you choose to do!

Thank you. I'm scared because I might accept and not reach the offer and Warwick I'm leaning towards but spending months planning life in one place but then ending up in another seems to big a thing

Indeed it will!

I'm nervous for Lent but otherwise OK. How are you?

I finally got my offer from Durham, the "dream" university. Somehow I beat the system, my background is below common and its a miracle.

Only problem is I don't want this burden and I prayed I would be rejected.

Why is Lent making you nervous?

Thank you. I'm scared because I might accept and not reach the offer and Warwick I'm leaning towards but spending months planning life in one place but then ending up in another seems to big a thing

For the last 6 years, I almost always get very dangerously psychotic and become a threat to my own safety Plus either last year or the year before, I didn't manage to go to a single Holy Week service

I can't pretend to fully understand what you go through but I appreciate it must be a massively difficult situation.

Sorry if I am saying something very obvious but why don't you try and ignore the calender and just treat the week/month, time of lent as just ordinary days. You don't have to get caught up with anything ceremonial (or things done as rituals).

Is it possible to just keep the time simple so that it passes by in an uneventful way?

I do try and keep it as simple as possible and obviously if I'm feeling vulnerable or in danger, I don't observe Lent at all, but it still ends up haunting me and being an awful time of year because even if I pretend it's not Lent, the voices know it's Lent and they play up massively Not sure there's any way around it, tbh - it's just a matter of keeping safe at all times

Sometimes people get in without reaching their offer, but I'm sure you can do so! If they've offered you a place, they clearly believe that you can. I know how getting ahead and planning can feel so daunting, especially if you do end up somewhere else - I did that for my Oxford interviews and looked up everything I could, only to see it shatter in front of my eyes. The thing is though, wherever happens you will bounce back upon, and find other great things to do! If Warwick is your insurance, it's still a great uni, and you'll love it there. Most importantly, you'll have tons of support.
There is a fantastic CU at Durham (second biggest in the country I believe) and there will be a good one in Warwick too, so lots of support, and I bet you'll have some from families and friends too. By advice would be to not overthink it.
Definitely pray about it, and go wherever you think you'll be the happiest - don't worry about the grades, you have a while to work on that! So you might as well give a try to your first choice.

One thing that worked for me when making decisions was to give myself a deadline, then write the decision down into an enveloppe, pretending like that was the real deal and I was definitely going there... you will feel either very happy and relieved with your decision, which indicated it'd be a good decision, or if you're still hesitating then give the other option more of a thought.

Hope that helps, best of luck to you!

Durham is amazing. I loved my time there!

You should be invited to a post offer visit, so don't make any decisions until you've been to that. You'll be able to meet people from the department, and can ask them for advise on your options if you miss your grades.

If it makes you feel any better, I missed my offer and still got in (back in 2007 for archaeology. I've just realised that it's almost 10 years ago now. My goodness I've got old )

What subject/college?

Think I forgot to tell you all: after dithering a lot and being prodded consistently by a friend, I had a meeting with my uni's Anglican chaplain on Weds. Granted, it's only one meeting we've had so far, but I get a good vibe off her and she actually listened to what I wanted to say and let me say it, without necessarily agreeing with everything I was saying.

Hopefully she can keep an eye on me during Lent



Sorry I didn't respond to this earlier: I wanted to think/pray over it a bit, to try and say something helpful! All I can say is if you are leaning more towards Warwick (an excellent uni, probs more prestigous than Durham in many ways, not that prestige should really matter for most subjects), then do not be afraid to go for it! Though as Aula says, maybe wait for this offer holders' open day.

Sorry, that's actually not necessarily as helpful as I was hoping it would be

God bless you and praying for his peace over your heart and mind.

Thank you, it did help

Thank you, I'm so nervous and I need guidance ;(

Hey, Classical Civilisation and I had no preference but I'm hoping for SC college.


Thank you, it did help

Ooh, that involves the archaeology department, right?

SC college?

Self-catered!

Thank you. I'm scared because I might accept and not reach the offer and Warwick I'm leaning towards but spending months planning life in one place but then ending up in another seems to big a thingThank you

I planned for months and months to go to Newcastle, missed my offer and ended up going to Glasgow. Cue lots of tears etc but looking back God put me very much in the right place, and without missing my offer I wouldn't have had so many amazing experiences that I've had including living abroad for a year, completing a Masters at Cambridge and also meeting my now fiancé. God's got a plan even if we can't see it, and missing my offer has taught me so much to trust in Him.

Oh, okay. That's not an specific college, which is why I was confused! I also always forget that people don't get dept and college offer at the same time anymore!

I will say that the food at catered colleges is generally pretty good, and although I applied for Jo Butler, in hind sight I'm pretty glad I ended up at St Aidan's. It was nice not having to worry about shopping or what I was eating - particularly in my final year when I moved back into college. The dining room's also a good place to make friends!