The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

I know that 1st year college accomodation is guaranteed for new ug's but is it comulsory to move out in later years?
how long do you move out for? (I will be applying for 4 years physics) and what is the rent like and how is it paid (can you use your student loans / bursaries)
And can someone give me a brief summary of the expenditure involved when living in private rented accomodation
also how far is private accomation from the university.
Thanks

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Sorry I didnt know where to ask that but if someone need help for a module if he doesnt understand sth are there some private lessons? I am interested about MSc in Finance..I mean maybe some PhD students than can help or somewhat..

Sorry I didnt know where to ask that but if someone need help for a module if he doesnt understand sth are there some private lessons? I am interested about MSc in Finance..I mean maybe some PhD students than can help or somewhat..

Im thinking of St john's or Grey College, I think both look great but actually want to know more about the food! I'm a fitness freak and follow quite a strict low carb, high protein diet , with lots of gym work and a spot of tennis!

Need to know if the food available is very healthy?!

Also, is it ever necessary to stay during holidays? Like would I ever need to do work at Durham during them, or could I still continue work at home?

Im thinking of St john's or Grey College, I think both look great but actually want to know more about the food! I'm a fitness freak and follow quite a strict low carb, high protein diet , with lots of gym work and a spot of tennis!

Need to know if the food available is very healthy?!

Also, is it ever necessary to stay during holidays? Like would I ever need to do work at Durham during them, or could I still continue work at home?

Sorry I didnt know where to ask that but if someone need help for a module if he doesnt understand sth are there some private lessons? I am interested about MSc in Finance..I mean maybe some PhD students than can help or somewhat..

Im thinking of St john's or Grey College, I think both look great but actually want to know more about the food! I'm a fitness freak and follow quite a strict low carb, high protein diet , with lots of gym work and a spot of tennis!

Need to know if the food available is very healthy?!

Also, is it ever necessary to stay during holidays? Like would I ever need to do work at Durham during them, or could I still continue work at home?

Ok, so I'm applying to Durham, yet I haven't visited it yet. Am I being completely naive? Should I visit?

Did any current students visit/not visit? Did you benefit from visiting/not visiting?

What's it like, in your eyes? Comparing to other universities that you visited.

Thanks I would appreciate it if you could quote me too Thanks

Durham is a bit special with visiting as it's so distant from most places - all the open days they run are overnight events with accommodation and entertainment as well as the informative talks, etc.

Most people really find the open days a worthwhile experience, as they can get you really enthusiastic about Durham, or show that actually you're not so keen on the way it works.

Of the universities I visited, it was only Leeds and possibly Sheffield that I really thought matched up to Durham open days - excited student volunteers meeting people at the station, and incredibly enthusiastic people to help wherever you went.

Where in the UK are you from? Because if you come from a big city, I'd particularly advise trying to visit, because Durham is just such a radically different experience - I'm from Birmimgham, and suffer slight culture shock every time I go to and fro at the start/end of holidays.

Ok, so I'm applying to Durham, yet I haven't visited it yet. Am I being completely naive? Should I visit?

Did any current students visit/not visit? Did you benefit from visiting/not visiting?

What's it like, in your eyes? Comparing to other universities that you visited.

Thanks I would appreciate it if you could quote me too Thanks

If the food is relatively identical across all colleges, expect to be buying your own food in addition to what college offers. I'm a gym rat as well (but am on a high calorie/protein/carb) diet. I can get my carbs and calories in, relatively easily (always potatoes). But protein is tough to get in. Don't expect to get more than 20g of protein from the chicken/fish/beef/pork. Sometimes its 10g of protein at best (like pork chow mein, with maybe 3 little pieces of pork). Expect to buy cans of tuna from tesco, the 2 for 5 chicken at tesco, or protein powder.

Taste wise, the food does vary by college. I've eaten in Hatfield, and found that it was **** (no bias). And people from St. Mary's have eaten here, and suggested its quite a bit better.

Thanks for you response. Durham has been a late addition to my options. I need to look into it more, I think.

I'm from Reading, so a big town, nearing city size. I don't really like big cities though to be honest - I find them a bit daunting. I think I'd enjoy the community feel of the colleges too. I visited Manchester, and for a city, I though the university was nice, as you had everything together, so if you didn't want to leave the 'campus' then you didn't have to.

Thanks again.

Tbh, the odd carby dish is fine, a FEW potatoes, a BIT of rice, with lots of veg, chicken etc. So long as I can get to the gym every day, plus I do fasted cardio before breakfast so some carbs are required to keep me alive lol.

What was on menu today for example?

edit: What websites are prohibited? I require access to online forex trading brokers every day, oanda.com , are these websites allowed and would I be allowed to trade over them?

This is at castle, so could be different at other colleges:

Breakfast: Tomatoes, beans, bacon, toast, boiled egg, porridge, yogourt, apples, oranges and bannanas.

Lunch: Usually a sandwhich (panini of sorts, today was bacon and cheese) or pizza (nicer pizza though, like on a flat bread with chicken as a topping) or noodle dish (i.e pork lo mein). Soup of the day (these are always very good--today was cream of broccoli) Sides always consist of potatoes, beans, and a veg of sorts. Sometimes other things as well, like rice. Salad bar is lettuce, tomatoes and various pre-made salads (cole slaw, etc).

Dinner: Examples of main dish include minute steak, pork steak and chicken breast. Soup of the day (will be the same as lunch). Sides include veg, rice (or noodles, depending on the main), and some distinct side (i.e if there's a curry of sorts, there might be spiced rice).

I end up having 2-3 protein shakes a day, a pack of nuts, and a can of tuna or pre-made chicken in addition to college meals.

RE: websites. None are blocked, as far as I am aware. I am able to access all of my brokerage accounts. Coincidentally, I use Oanda as well. I promise you, you won't have time to make any trades. Before I started uni, I withdrew all of my cash from Oanda and put it in long term mutual funds and stocks. If you do encounter any website blocking problems, use a vpn or proxy.