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Whats so great about Durham.
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serendipity
Out of (non-argumentative) curiosity, why?
Ahh, as I said, it's not impossible, actually presebjenada does rather well. It's just that Durham has rather more in common with Oxbridge than many other universities, i.e. it has time honoured traditions, it has the collegiate system, also it's a fairly quiet place as compared with a major city. That's basically it. In the U.K. people do take the shallow view that the best go to Oxbridge, personally I think this is just silly, and as I've stated I do quite literally know of crack addicts with academic potential who grew up alongside with me, and who're not even contemplating university at all, and have no hope in getting there. With Durham, because it has a greater set of similarities with Oxbridge, people feel, and in cases it's reasonable to assume that Durham students will find it MORE difficult to offer a set of reasons on how they can claim to be the creme de la creme and NOT be at Oxbridge, as opposed to somebody at Imperial - for whom it is easIER.
J.S.
Ahh, as I said, it's not impossible, actually presebjenada does rather well. It's just that Durham has rather more in common with Oxbridge than many other universities, i.e. it has time honoured traditions, it has the collegiate system, also it's a fairly quiet place as compared with a major city. That's basically it. In the U.K. people do take the shallow view that the best go to Oxbridge, personally I think this is just silly, and as I've stated I do quite literally know of crack addicts with academic potential who grew up alongside with me, and who're not even contemplating university at all, and have no hope in getting there.
Lol....so if you had the credentials to get in, you'd have to be a crack addict not to apply to Oxbridge? (hehehe - yes I do realize that was not quite what you were saying, but it is amusing watching you dig yourself into an ever deeper hole.)
J.S.
With Durham, because it has a greater set of similarities with Oxbridge, people feel, and in cases it's reasonable to assume that Durham students will find it MORE difficult to offer a set of reasons on how they can claim to be the creme de la creme and NOT be at Oxbridge, as opposed to somebody at Imperial - for whom it is easIER.
So, in other words, you are saying it is harder for Durham students to be snobs? No great loss then....I can't say I am in the habit of going around trying to convince people I am the "creme de la creme"
....are you?EDIT: Incidentally, I wouldn't have considered my level of creme-de-la-creme-ness any different even if I had got into Durham (or Cardiff for that matter
)shilling
Lol....so if you had the credentials to get in, you'd have to be a crack addict not to apply to Oxbridge? (hehehe - yes I do realize that was not quite what you were saying, but it is amusing watching you dig yourself into an ever deeper hole.)
You try and be nice, and look where it gets you!?? Ahh well, that's just excellent, clever guy, if only you had demonstrated such a sophisticated level of reasoning during the Cambridge interview, they may not have lobbed your application into the bin.
shilling
So, in other words, you are saying it is harder for Durham students to be snobs? No great loss then....I can't say I am in the habit of going around trying to convince people I am the "creme de la creme" ....are you?
So, in other words, you are saying it is harder for Durham students to be snobs? No great loss then....I can't say I am in the habit of going around trying to convince people I am the "creme de la creme"
....are you?Ahh right, well you know if you were attempting to gain a scholarship or a prestigious employment opportunity and there were a hundred people applying for the one available position, you may just feel the need to convince them of your crème de la crème status. Then again, you can them tell them about 'Durham pride' and those letters you get to put after your name, I'm sure it'll work wonders for you.
shilling
So, in other words, you are saying it is harder for Durham students to be snobs? No great loss then....I can't say I am in the habit of going around trying to convince people I am the "creme de la creme" ....are you?
So, in other words, you are saying it is harder for Durham students to be snobs? No great loss then....I can't say I am in the habit of going around trying to convince people I am the "creme de la creme"
....are you?i assume j.s. is trying to say it is harder for the 'elite' students to justify why they are at durham and not oxbridge, whereas those at lse or imperial could do so more easily.
obviously for students of physics or geography it seems perfectly acceptable they would turn down oxbridge for durham but not so for any other subject.
or something.
rah
i assume j.s. is trying to say it is harder for the 'elite' students to justify why they are at durham and not oxbridge, whereas those at lse or imperial could do so more easily.
Why would it be easier for those at Imperial to justify why they are there instead of Oxbridge?
kenkennykenken
Why would it be easier for those at Imperial to justify why they are there instead of Oxbridge?
Haha.. Yeh and why LSE?
Especially since I'm an international student, LSE was just a big NO-NO.
1. London - too expensive. Intl students' fees are 4000 pounds more expensive than at Durham, not to mention living expenses.
2. LSE is crowded with internationals. Even if I had applied to LSE, after my rejection from Cambridge, I would never have chosen LSE over Durham. And without sounding too arrogant, I refuse to get into the debate whether or not I would have been accepted by LSE because all of my intl friends who were accepted got grades ABBC, AABBB, etc etc.
3. Who wants to live in the city when you can be at picturesque Durham? Honestly, even as a tourist, I was NOT impressed by LSE or Imperial. I thought both of them looked horribly ugly (without offending anyone) and they were in stark contrast to Cambridge - which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
Let's just say I had applied to Cambridge, LSE, and Durham for Law and I got rejected by Cambridge. I think that LSE and Durham would be the next best alternatives, and my choice would depend on which one I liked best. If I liked Durham best, it would make perfect sense for me to be there!
And come on.... it isn't as if lots of LSE students didn't apply to Oxbridge either. My friends who did, didn't even get called in for interview.
Urgggghh... and JS you must be laughing now because I've finally come out of the neutral zone. But yes, I admire your efforts to be nice though the outcome was slightly amusing.
xox Flo <3
Some of my observations when I visited universities for interview:
All but one applicant that I met in Durham had been rejected from Oxford or Cambridge. These people were very likely to have Durham as their firm choice.
Every fellow applicant I came across at Nottingham had also applied to Oxbridge and Bristol.
Every fellow applicant came across at Bristol had applied to Oxbridge and Nottingham.
All but one applicant that I met in Durham had been rejected from Oxford or Cambridge. These people were very likely to have Durham as their firm choice.
Every fellow applicant I came across at Nottingham had also applied to Oxbridge and Bristol.
Every fellow applicant came across at Bristol had applied to Oxbridge and Nottingham.
J.S.
You try and be nice, and look where it gets you!?? Ahh well, that's just excellent, clever guy, if only you had demonstrated such a sophisticated level of reasoning during the Cambridge interview, they may not have lobbed your application into the bin.
Ahh right, well you know if you were attempting to gain a scholarship or a prestigious employment opportunity and there were a hundred people applying for the one available position, you may just feel the need to convince them of your crème de la crème status. Then again, you can them tell them about 'Durham pride' and those letters you get to put after your name, I'm sure it'll work wonders for you.
Ahh right, well you know if you were attempting to gain a scholarship or a prestigious employment opportunity and there were a hundred people applying for the one available position, you may just feel the need to convince them of your crème de la crème status. Then again, you can them tell them about 'Durham pride' and those letters you get to put after your name, I'm sure it'll work wonders for you.
*Grin*...True, and true<--*grudgingly*.....(and shhhh, but I'm not a guy.)
Anway, I might just point out (in case it wasn't obvious) that I wasn't entirely serious in my last post...but I still stand by what I said in earlier posts, which is that I'm totally siked about going to Durham, that I believe I'm actually better suited to the place than I would have been to Cambridge (in my case, because Durham seems small, very friendly and cosy and non-scary, whereas Cambridge did have a high-ish scariness factor for me personally), and that I find the idea of having to "justify" wanting to go there completely ansurd.
lilsunflower
Urgggghh... and JS you must be laughing now because I've finally come out of the neutral zone. But yes, I admire your efforts to be nice though the outcome was slightly amusing.
xox Flo <3
xox Flo <3
That was funny - although totally irrelevant, think you missed my point :P It wasn’t that other universities such as your favoured examples LSE or IC, are fantastic. It was more along the lines that the experiences they offer are in many ways totally different to Oxbridge and Durham
As for the need to make such a justification, it’s just how many people in Britain see Durham. That it’s just so closely association to Oxbridge due to tradition, the collegiate system, and etc and whether you like it or not, it’s going to have this status. Due to this, people will readily assume that there are fewer reasons for an exceptional student to justify being at Durham as opposed to Oxbridge, which is considered in many ways by popular opinion to be very similar and is furthermore, according to popular opinion seen as superior. I think this is in many ways unfortunate, and it’s perhaps even narrow-minded for people think in this way. Incidentally, other universities share a similar relationship with Oxbridge, only it seems stronger with Durham for reasons I’ve given.
Not quite sure why some reason people get all defensive, start questioning why they'd even need to justify it. This is amusing, as it's perfectly natural for one to attempt to justify life's important decisions, even if it's only to your own mind. Although, particularly amusing is when somebody attempts such a justification, and then disputes the very need to do so::P
"that I believe I'm actually better suited to the place than I would have been to Cambridge (in my case, because Durham seems small, very friendly and cosy and non-scary, whereas Cambridge did have a high-ish scariness factor for me personally), and that I find the idea of having to "justify" wanting to go there completely ansurd."
Well, if you find the idea absurd, then why try go along and attempt the justification? Anywayyyyy, on a more serious note, Sunflower: if Hewins sees your previous post, it'll take him a month to recover, and you can expect a whole wide array of LSE’s propaganda to appear all over UKL, rather like gunfire in response to your scathing attack, so lets keep this whole section hidden from him
I hate that I feel the need to defend what I've said yet again, but I can't help myself - *sigh*. I was not offering a "justification" for my choice, as I didn't give anything more substantial than my own subjective impression of and feelings towards the place, as opposed to basing my choice on *hard facts* (if you want to call statistics on teaching quality and entry grade requirements and so on "hard facts", which I know is highly questionable - yet another reason why I wouldn't bother offering any, as I know this argument would inevitably follow in your next post...in fact, I believe it already did, in some previous message, when you finally did make Serendipity attempt to "justfy" her decision) - It therefore doesn't seem possible to "win" this argument, and the truth of the matter is, that it really doesn't matter, as I'm still going to Durham and know I'm going to love it there.
Changing the subject slightly here but what is this thing about letters after your name if u go 2 Durham? What letters do you get? Y? Could someone fill me in on this!
About the whole argument in the thread I think its all really stupid! Sorry! If ppl dont like Durham, dont think its top uni, blah, blah, blah, y are they posting on a DURHAM thread!!! Why don't you go onto an oxbridge thread and slag off Durham ther! I have never heard any1 on this Durham section say that they are equal or would like to be equal to Oxbridge! Only ppl who dont hav any intentions of going to Durham say these things! Also, if you have no intentions of going to Durham and dislike it so much then y bother complaining about it - it doesnt affect u! Why cant you just let the ppl who are going to Durham look forward to it!
I'm going to Durham and out of all of my choices it was my highest by far! I only applied for the sake of it and didnt expect to get in. I had absolutely no intentions of applying to Oxbridge - i firstly wouldnt stand a chance ther but secondly i would hate it. I am not a work orientated person as such and wouldnt like the pressure or workload but that is my personal preference. I am just so pleased that I made it to Durham! So all these treads about 'oxbridge rejects' is sooo stereotypical coz i am actually the total opposite and i know i will not be the only one! To a lot of ppl Durham is not 2nd, 3rd etc best of their choices and they r only ther coz they couldnt get wer they wanted, it is actually something to be very proud of because i didnt think i was good enough to get into Durham! All of my other applications were below!
And all of this talk about jusifying y you're at Durham is stupid aswell - I'm doing Geog at Durham which is top in the country above Oxbridge so by not being good enough to apply to ther (or even remotely wanting to) I have actually done better for myself!
So ther! Sorry for the rant (and if some of it doesnt make sense!) xx
About the whole argument in the thread I think its all really stupid! Sorry! If ppl dont like Durham, dont think its top uni, blah, blah, blah, y are they posting on a DURHAM thread!!! Why don't you go onto an oxbridge thread and slag off Durham ther! I have never heard any1 on this Durham section say that they are equal or would like to be equal to Oxbridge! Only ppl who dont hav any intentions of going to Durham say these things! Also, if you have no intentions of going to Durham and dislike it so much then y bother complaining about it - it doesnt affect u! Why cant you just let the ppl who are going to Durham look forward to it!
I'm going to Durham and out of all of my choices it was my highest by far! I only applied for the sake of it and didnt expect to get in. I had absolutely no intentions of applying to Oxbridge - i firstly wouldnt stand a chance ther but secondly i would hate it. I am not a work orientated person as such and wouldnt like the pressure or workload but that is my personal preference. I am just so pleased that I made it to Durham! So all these treads about 'oxbridge rejects' is sooo stereotypical coz i am actually the total opposite and i know i will not be the only one! To a lot of ppl Durham is not 2nd, 3rd etc best of their choices and they r only ther coz they couldnt get wer they wanted, it is actually something to be very proud of because i didnt think i was good enough to get into Durham! All of my other applications were below!
And all of this talk about jusifying y you're at Durham is stupid aswell - I'm doing Geog at Durham which is top in the country above Oxbridge so by not being good enough to apply to ther (or even remotely wanting to) I have actually done better for myself!
So ther!
Sorry for the rant (and if some of it doesnt make sense!) xx
No1 answered my question about the letters after your name!?!?!?
Sarahgrasso
No1 answered my question about the letters after your name!?!?!?
If I'm not wrong, Durham is one of the 4 universities in which you can put the Latin thingy after your degree.
e.g.
Oxford - B.A (Oxon) = Oxoniesis
Cambridge - B.A. (Cantab) = Cantabrigiensis
Exeter - B.A. (Exon) = Exoniensis
Durham- B.A. (Dunelm) = Dunelmensis
interalia
If I'm not wrong, Durham is one of the 4 universities in which you can put the Latin thingy after your degree.
e.g.
Oxford - B.A (Oxon) = Oxoniesis
Cambridge - B.A. (Cantab) = Cantabrigiensis
Exeter - B.A. (Exon) = Exoniensis
Durham- B.A. (Dunelm) = Dunelmensis
e.g.
Oxford - B.A (Oxon) = Oxoniesis
Cambridge - B.A. (Cantab) = Cantabrigiensis
Exeter - B.A. (Exon) = Exoniensis
Durham- B.A. (Dunelm) = Dunelmensis
i didnt know exeter gets letters?
presebjenada
i didnt know exeter gets letters?
Exeter alumni are not permitted to list the name of the institution after their name. Only alumni of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham are allowed to do so.
So whats it like for people at other unis? Do they just have e.g. Msci...and no one will ever know where they studied for their degree? I don't get it... 
interalia
If I'm not wrong, Durham is one of the 4 universities in which you can put the Latin thingy after your degree.
e.g.
Oxford - B.A (Oxon) = Oxoniesis
Cambridge - B.A. (Cantab) = Cantabrigiensis
Exeter - B.A. (Exon) = Exoniensis
Durham- B.A. (Dunelm) = Dunelmensis
e.g.
Oxford - B.A (Oxon) = Oxoniesis
Cambridge - B.A. (Cantab) = Cantabrigiensis
Exeter - B.A. (Exon) = Exoniensis
Durham- B.A. (Dunelm) = Dunelmensis
But you don't actually have to add those letters, only if you want to. I think it looks a bit pretentious myself.
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