St Chad's vs. St John's?

Hi everyone,

I know this question has been asked here a couple of times before, but I really need some help - I'm really stuck between these two colleges.

St John's looks really beautiful, and the facilities seem top notch. My only worry is the traditionalist social aspect that comes from being a very religious college - how is the social life and bar scene?

St Chad's has a reputation for being the friendliest college in Durham, and also has great facilities, although I think it looks a little less pretty. The students I met from here were super friendly and chilled, which gave a me a good vibe.

Is there any 'insider' info that would make one better than the other? E.g. general accomodation quality; live music scene; social reputation amongst other colleges; etc.?

Thanks so much!

Reply 1

The_Lizard

Everyone I know in Chad's raves about it. They've got loads of little socials and because they're fairly small everyone knows everyone so you get a proper little community. John's is a little less so but still quite small. John's also has the religious aspect (they say grace in Latin before meals and things). So if you're looking for homely and religious then go John's. If you want to feel like you're living in a large shared house with all your friends go Chad's.

Durham University

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Reply 2

ACherry

Anyone else got some advice?

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

I often wonder why Durham even bother with getting potential students to choose a college nowadays - one of my children applied to Chads but got allocated to Cuths, my other one applied to Johns and got josephine butler. Don’t worry about it, you might not even get your choice anyway.

Reply 4

ACherry

Original post by Anonymous

That'll be because of the relative strength of their applications to their first-choice college cohort, no?

Reply 5

goldilocks12

Original post by ACherry

That'll be because of the relative strength of their applications to their first-choice college cohort, no?

Durham no longer uses application strength to allocate colleges (although that might have still been in place when Anonymous' children applied). The system now is a bit more random and focuses on having a good mix of subjects across all the colleges. You can read the whole process here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/experience/colleges/allocationprocess/howthisworks/
The first run of allocations for September starts was around the start of February this year. Everyone who already had an offer by then was allocated a college and was contacted by them and as more offers were given, the applicants were contacted a few days after being made an offer. Good luck with your application x

St Chad

There's not a lot between Chad's and John's. Chad's being smaller has more of a community feel, with lots of Chad's-only social events and activities, although John's does too. In fact, they work together on events such as a Chad's vs John's day in summer, and welfare events are shared between the colleges.

Wherever you choose out of the two you'll have a great time, maybe try and visit again if possible to make the most informed choice. Also note that John's has a new library currently being built, but Chad's also has plenty of library options, and that's all beside the central University library too.