Best college at Durham??

Reply 20

right kids, i'll tell you everything you need to know about Durham colleges:

first of all there are 2 types
1)The Hill colleges
these are all the new 'modern' colleges that are up on the hill above the city, they are popular with people who think that being near the science site is a good thing, until you realise that it is a ridiculous trek to get to any of the things in town ie, train station, bus station, clubs, bars, shops. The accomodation is all quite modern, but it depends if you like that, personally i find a room that is identical to everybody elses and looks like a cheap motel to be a bit dull.
my knowledge of these colleges is based entirely on the people who i have met from there and what they think of it:

Grey: have a great firework display every year,people say its nice but the accomodation isn't good.
Van Mildert: have ducks, this is all they talk about, the fact they have a duck pond, you have to ask yourself what kind of people they are really to get excited by this.
Collingwood: everyone i've met is really cool and they seem to have a lot of fun!
Aidans: apparently quite nice, but too far away from everything and a hardcore trek up a hill.
Marys:all female, everybody i have ever met from there hates it with a passion and wants to leave, although it is close to everything.
Trevs: i have never met anybody from trevs which tells me one of two things, either it doesnt exist or everyone there never leaves there college, doesn't join any societies and wont talk to anybody in lectures.

2)Bailey Colleges
traditionally the bailey is where all the public school people go because these colleges are older and generally nicer to look at etc, this aint true anymore though! can be a bit of a trek to the science site but its through the woods so it is a pretty trek! very close to everything in the town etc etc

University(castle) college : basically everybody applies here because they think ' wow i get to live in the castle' lets face it you dont, very few ppl get a place in the castle, and the ones that do are the v. posh rich ones, the rest have to live in Moatside, possibley the worst accomodation slum flats in the whole of durham. Great bar admittedly, but anybody from any college can go into the bar so its not special.
Hatfield: used to be the servants quarters to the castle, and we dont let em forget it, all colleges indurham are united in their hatred of hatfield, but it isnt really that bad, the rooms arent very nice but it has a chapel if you like that sort of thing.
Johns: very very religious, apparrently if you are not then people dont talk to you! have been told that the accomodation is awful aswell, but it has a fair trade shop which is great! the bar is like a small dark hole in the ground.
Chads: also very religious but it is so small and apparently has one of the best communities in the Uni as everybody knows everybody. accomodation is alright but nothing special apparently. again bar is stupidly small and dark.
Cuths: i have no idea why people think Cuths is an awful place to be put, it has the reputation as the party college because basically we know how to have fun, our bar opens a full 8 hours before any other college and is cheaper, we aren't a collge but a society so all decisions are made by us and don't have to be approved by the Uni first, and we have the best accomodation! Ok first years tend to live outside the college, but in great houses, eg my house has 16 people in it and is huge!! i think people are too quick to dismiss Cuths because they dont understand what society means!

oh and Hild Bede, which is miles from everywhere, not on the bailey or the hill, they tend to keep to themselves and not socialise because it is so far away!

if there is anything else you wanna know i'm sure i can help haha

Reply 21

AveHan

4Ed

Can anyone tell me why University College is so popular? it's sumthing like 12-1 while all the others are 3/4-1....

The reason that everyone wants to go to University College, or Castle, is because they think that they get to live in the castle. However, actually there are very few rooms in the castle and most of these are allocated to 3rd years. Most other freshers live in Moatside, which is amongst the worst accomodation in the University, and looks like a prison. So now you know. NB. There are also a lot of very snobby people there, affectionately known to those in Durham as "Rahs".

Reply 22

AmyBlue

oh i love rahs

Reply 23

Hannah

i've got a place at st aidans and am deciding whether to put durham or warwick as my second choice at the mo. what is the the atmosphere and the people like at st aidans? I dont want to put it as my second choice if im going to have a miserable time when i get there.

Reply 24

koolstar

katiyakat

koolstar - which colleges (Cambridge and Durham) did you apply to for Geography?

hi. i applied to collingwood and selwyn at cam. i didnt even expect to get an offer or be pooled, so its came as a surprise to me, however i dont want to go to cambridge, i simply cant see myself fitting in there, plus i'm soooo lazy and have quite a poor work ethic. how about you?what college did u apply to at cam?good luck with the pool. just wondering actually, are you more of a 'human' or 'physical' geographer?

Reply 25

katiyakat

I applied to Jesus at Cambridge and University at Durham. I can't see the pool working out somehow so I've given up on the Cambridge idea and am looking forward to Durham (2As and a B providing)! Definitely more of a human geographer myself, although I like most physical topics (apart from rivers, which I absolutely loathe). You? Couple more questions... Is Durham your first choice? Are you going to any of the open days?

Reply 26

koolstar

katiyakat

I applied to Jesus at Cambridge and University at Durham. I can't see the pool working out somehow so I've given up on the Cambridge idea and am looking forward to Durham (2As and a B providing)! Definitely more of a human geographer myself, although I like most physical topics (apart from rivers, which I absolutely loathe). You? Couple more questions... Is Durham your first choice? Are you going to any of the open days?

i cant see the pool working out either. durham is my 1st choice AAB, and i'm gonna go to an open day, just not sure which one but i've got to decide soon. how bout you?? i'm 99% a human geographer, and i know what you mean about rivers! i like the theory of what i can learn in physical geog, but its does my head in sometimes, and technically i'm not that good at it.

Reply 27

AveHan

Hannah

i've got a place at st aidans and am deciding whether to put durham or warwick as my second choice at the mo. what is the the atmosphere and the people like at st aidans? I dont want to put it as my second choice if im going to have a miserable time when i get there.

Aidan's really isn't too bad, it's one of the nicer hill colleges, most people i've met from there seem to be quite nice. Esspecially considering the fact that a lot of people in the hill colleges are quite strange! Also the bar's not too bad, just a little bit small, and more expensive than the bailey bars, but then most hill ones are. Also, if you don't like your college, it is possible to transfer when you get there, or even before if the other college quotas aren't full. I would personally recommend Cuth's. I'd definately choose Durham over Warwick, it's much nicer, and has a better reputation.

Reply 28

AmyBlue

oh god i agree, Warwick is dire, and i am actually not biased about this one as a lot of my family come from coventry and so i was very interested in going and had a lot of time to look around the campus and uni and to see for myself, it is indescribably awful.

Reply 29

Hannah

Thanks guys :smile:

Reply 30

Unregistered

AveHan

I'd definately choose Durham over Warwick, it's much nicer, and has a better reputation.

haha that is *highly* debatable...

Reply 31

Alexander

12

Can anyone tell me how it is decided whether you get an offer from your first choice college or somewhere else, if your first choice has above-average applications? Is it done on the strength of your academic profile, or is it just first-come first-served? Or is it random?

Reply 32

Leeroy

OP

koolstar

unlucky about oxford.i'm in the pool for cam. i've applied to do geography. durham is my 1st choice at the mo, n-ham is second, both want AAB

yeh thats the only good thing about not getting an offer from oxford, shouldnt need to get 3As which takes the pressure off a bit.

Reply 33

emzie

amyblue - i applied to hatifield for geogo then was shoved in marys - take it it is as bad as I tought then!

Reply 34

xaviars

I'll probably put durham(hatfield!) down as first, A and two B's for physics. Unless I change to UCL! Oh the decisions..

P.S. I made and open app, didn't pick the college!

Reply 35

AmyBlue

i don't suppose being in Mary's can be that bad, its just the same as being in any all girl place i assume, and they have a lot of their socials with Cuths so there is some variety. Also if you are doing geography i'd say it was one of the best because it is about 3 minutes walk from the science site!!!

being put in a certain college shouldn't put people off coming to Durham because at the end of the day if you don't want it to have an effect on you time at uni then it won't really. There is just lots of college rivalry and everyone loves their own place best i suppose!

Reply 36

hildabeast

7

Are Durham colleges not just basically glorified halls of residence??? I heard that no actual teaching goes on there, so are they purely domestic??? I don't get it...

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Reply 37

claire1985

kildare

Nope (for History)

Same here, for History

Reply 38

lilsunflower

7

When you say some colleges in Durham are 'religious'... what sort of religion do you mean? I applied to St. Johns for law but apparently it is extremely religious. I'm assuming religious to be Christian, but Catholic or Protestant?

I'm so bloody skrewd.

Reply 39

vavavoom

10

I applied to Collingwood because it puts on it's own musical theatre production :biggrin:

. It also has lots of ensuite rooms AND its own pizza bar. Hee hee. Some ppl say it's the best, but hey, everyone think's their own college is the best!

I'm putting Notts as my first choice though coz Durham isn't very high in the rankings for Psychology. However, I loved the place so much when I visited there i'm making it my insurance.

Best college at Durham??

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