The Big 'Recommend Me A College' Thread

Is a bigger college better? Chads seem very small. I don’t know if being in the Bailey is better and nicer. Collingwood seems nice but far from town, so I don’t know if this is an issue. What’s your view?

It depends what you like Bigger can be better in terms of opportunities, for instance you wouldn't find the theatre and sport opportunities you get at Collingwood at a significantly smaller college because they just couldn't afford it! Imo the Bailey isn't nicer particularly, a lot of the hill is a lot more modern so you don't have the issue with shared rooms etc. which people always seem to try and avoid. Better is subjective too, it's nearer to town, but the facilities are often considered less good so it's all a toss up. I wouldn't say being far from town is a major issue, being catered you don't need to be regularly carrying shopping back or anything, and ultimately everything you may want could be bought online nowadays so it's not an issue in that respect. The only thing with town being a distance is potentially clubbing, but people do walk the distance if they like it, and who knows if clubbing will be a thing next year!

Thanks for the reply. I've now chosen my college, which is St Cuthbert Society. I have chosen Cuths due to location and recommendations from people I know at the University. I don't know what reputation St Cuthbert Society get. I know this college may be popular, but I'm crossing my fingers I get it. I only want a single room on the Bailey in Cuths. I hope I have made the right choice.

Thanks for the reply. I've now chosen my college, which is St Cuthbert Society. I have chosen Cuths due to location and recommendations from people I know at the University. I don't know what reputation St Cuthbert Society get. I know this college may be popular, but I'm crossing my fingers I get it. I only want a single room on the Bailey in Cuths. I hope I have made the right choice.

If you want a larger college on the Bailey Cuths is a good one. If you look on youtube there are plenty of videos re Durham, accomodation and Cuths. If you choose catered at Cuths you are likely to be on the Bailey as the self catered accomodation is in another location nearby but I think the Bailey rooms have a higher chance of being shared rooms. I wouldn't agonise too much over your choice as you may get reallocated no matter what college you choose and everyone loves their college once they settle in to student life even if it wasnt their first choice.

Glad you've made the decision and are happy with it

While they ask for your preference, there often are cases where people asked for catered and got self catered or vice versa, so while yes catered is on the Bailey it's quite competitive. And yep, with regard to shared rooms, I believe it's only about half single rooms on the Bailey so you have nearly twice as many students in shared rooms there! But totally agree, everyone ends up loving their college

I've change my mind and now have sent my UCAS application in and I have applied to St Chads. I know St Chads is over subscribed, but I'm crossing my finger and toes that I get in. I like the fact that St Chads is quite small, and also the location of it. I hope I can get a single room in St Chads, but I know I may have to share. I wouldn't mind sharing if I get St Chads, but I would definitely prefer a single room due to personal reasons. Maybe I can get a single room on medical grounds. If I don't get St Chads and get reallocated to a college I don't like I'll definitely go to St Andrews. I'm torn between both St Andrews and Durham university at the moment. What college I get a Durham will hugely affect my decision to accept it. I'm currently holding a place at St Andrews due to deferring my place this year and due to medical and Covid reasons.

What does everyone think of St Chads vs St Cuthbert Society (Bailey site) vs Collingwood colleges? I’ve narrowed it down to these colleges, but I now cannot make up my mind. I’m submitting my UCAS for Business and management & Economics with management soon.

Hey! Hope you’re well, I’m applying for History & Combined honours this year. So torn which college I should apply to. I want to be near the Bailey & want traditional - gowned college?

Don’t wanna apply for castle cause you don’t actually live in the castle & will most likely to be allocated elsewhere ... same with Chads.

I’ll be 20 when I start, is it normal at Durham for people to be 1-2 years old in first year?

whats the reputation / cohort like in the two? Heard Hatfield is v posh - private school educated etc

Hey! Hope you’re well, I’m applying for History & Combined honours this year. So torn which college I should apply to. I want to be near the Bailey & want traditional - gowned college?

Don’t wanna apply for castle cause you don’t actually live in the castle & will most likely to be allocated elsewhere ... same with Chads.

I’ll be 20 when I start, is it normal at Durham for people to be 1-2 years old in first year?

Wondering if anyone could help me choose a college? Here's who I am and what i'm looking for:
- I'm planning to study Computer Science
- I'm more academic than sporty (I've heard Collingwood is very sporty; not sure how true this is)
- I'm not too interested in the traditional/gowned dinners (having been at a boarding school for 5 years, i don't particularly wanna go through all that stuff again) but then again if the college was really cool I'd brace the formal dinners
- I would prefer not sharing a room
- I'd like to be close to other colleges
- Certainly want a catered college
- Would rather a more spacious college than a small one (in terms of college size and room size)
- Would also like to be close to town, but if I wasn't it wouldnt be the be-all and end-all
- I'm indifferent to whether it's a Hill or Bailey college, from what I've heard Bailey seems to have more picturesque surroundings but Hill is more fun (true or not?)

I;m so indecisive I can't choose; thanks in advance!

What is Esher College like?

Right so let's start by listing the non-gowned colleges as a starting point. Collingwood, St Aidans, Cuths, Hild Bede, Stephenson and Van Mildert. Stephenson is fully self catered and Cuths is about 75% self catered, so let's remove them. Hild Bede is the only college out on it's own and not near other colleges so let's get rid of that too.
So now we're left with Collingwood, St Aidans and Van Mildert. Those are all fairly large colleges, so let's ignore that point for now. It's worth noting all of these are hill colleges, so unfortunately none are particularly close to town, however hill colleges do tend to be more spacious and have less shared rooms, so I'd say a hill college is still a better choice for you.
Collingwood is very near the new computer science building (which should be complete by the time you start) if that's a factor for you. While Collingwood has a reputation for being sporty, this is really only because they're a large college so offer a lot of sports teams, where maybe other colleges might only have a couple per sport, so it's not a major thing, also they have some good places for practice (eg. a football pitch which a lot of colleges don't have) so people who like sport are perhaps more encouraged to apply there. If you don't want to be involved in sport then there'll be plenty of people there that aren't too!
St Aidans is probably the one of the three least near other colleges, and it also has the most shared rooms and is the smallest, so I'd possibly say out of the three it isn't the best choice for you.
Out of collingwood and Van Mildert it's really up to you There's not a great deal between them and I'd say they meet all your criteria apart from the close to town bit

Thanks very much for this; I reckon Collingwood might be the way to go!

What is Esher College like?