Can't choose between Durham & Exeter uni?

Durham is more prestigious, but as you are coming from France, would you be OK with the cold and the darker evenings in the winter? On a damp/cloudy day, it can feel dark before 4pm in December and January. In the UK we still have the stupidity of putting clocks back to GMT in the winter (one hour behind France).

I live in London, and notice the difference in evenings and the feel when I visit France in the winter (until recently I had family in the 18th arrondissement).

Durham, duh!

looks like we have a Durham student here? haha
would love to hear more of your views on why Durham is so great!

Ha! Guilty as charged.

I’m an international student as well and I just thought my entire experience there was w o w. From the formal dinners, to the castle, to the cathedral, to the high quality of education, to the superior reputation, well... they just make you feel like you’re somewhere important! Not only, but it pushes you forward academically and socially.

I loved going on bar crawls during the weekend, exploring the bar of every college and meeting students while getting absolutely hammered! Or the night outs in Newcastle, so many memories...

Durham is a beautiful city, or town rather, in general. So peaceful and serene with some f a n t a s t i c scenery! A river, trees, forests, gardens, magnificent architecture, you name it ☺️

Oh, and I studied politics too! (btw)

wow you sell it well haha Thanks for your reply I appreciate it

I forgot to ask you in which college you were

I know right? More like passionate about it though

Castle

yeah you're cheating though, you got in the most beautiful college in Durham What's the reputation of St Aidan's? A bit worried about that hill walk

Haha, I got lucky.

Actually, St. Aidan's is the closest college to the School of Government like a 1 minute walk... that type of close

And they're both a short walk to the library, even closer to there than the Bailey colleges. Durham is a somehow hilly place at a lot of points... It used to take me 20 minutes from Castle to SGIA, with a 3 hill trek. Yet, I must admit that I did advantage was being closer to the supermarkets and the city centre.

Haha, I got lucky.

Actually, St. Aidan's is the closest college to the School of Government like a 1 minute walk... that type of close

And they're both a short walk to the library, even closer to there than the Bailey colleges. Durham is a somehow hilly place at a lot of points... It used to take me 20 minutes from Castle to SGIA, with a 3 hill trek. Yet, I must admit that I did advantage was being closer to the supermarkets and the city centre.

well that's reassuring (not so much for the city centre though...) Thanks a lot for the insight

Hi! I'm a French student looking to study politics in the UK this coming year and it's hard for me to choose between going to Durham or Exeter. When it comes to the course in itself they seem to be quite similar, but I'm a little bit worried about the reputation of Durham being a 'dull' university compared to Exeter. But at the same time, Durham seems far more prestigious and is well ranked among top UK universities.

ps : I'm accepted at St Aidan's in Durham so if someone from there sees this message, your feedback would be very much appreciated )

Salut! Durham is a more traditional university situated in a small, historic town. It is true that it's very cold there in the Winter! Exeter is in a much warmer part of the country and you can travel from the university to the beach for £3.00 by train. The accommodation at Exeter is generally a lot nicer and you can choose not to share a room, whereas at Durham sometimes you have to share. (Check the details for St. Aidan's to see how many single and shared rooms there are as each college is different.) Both universities are amongst the top ones in the U.K. and whichever one you choose will have plenty of activities for you to do as both have hundreds of sports clubs and other societies you can join. Both places have pubs and clubs you can go to nearby.Good luck deciding! My daughter is currently deciding on her university too so I appreciate how hard the decision is when you are unable to visit places for application days and meet the staff. I believe that Exeter has webinars set up for each of its departments in a couple of weeks time so you could get a feel for what the staff and courses are like. Also, South College had a webinar for students yesterday showing the rooms and facilities available and the key staff members, so there might be one for St. Aiden's too if you look. Bonne chance!

thanks a lot!!