The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

Yeah, I'm a little bit concerned with the money side of things. £800 a month?! I'm hoping that include accommodation lol. I''ll probably join a few societies and go out a few nights a month, but I'm not sure what else I'll spend

Yes that £800 includes everything (including accommodation). I generally got by on about £10 a week for everything not included in the accommodation cost, with extra costs at the start of the year when joining societies and stuff. That includes toiletries and going out etc.

Perfect, that's about how much I had in mind, it's just a few friends were saying I'd need £50+ a week. I wasn't sure how they'd reached this figure though, thank you

I spend about £30 a week, going out a couple of nights (£15-20), takeaways and general stuff like snacks from the shop, smoking supplies, societies, socials, stationary, coffee etc...

Hm, thats a bit over what I'd like to spend ideally. I think I'll have about £1000 on top on my accommodation to spend but I'd like to spend as little as possible. I am a fan of takeaways but I'm trying to cut back, got a good reason now how much do you think you'd spend without smoking supplies and takeaways?

Thanks

I think I spent about £30 per week when I was living in college. I don't smoke but I did eat some takeaways. Think my parents took pity on me at one point and raised it to £35 but I don't remember being poor particularly.

A uni year is 29 weeks at Durham right? I think I'll have about that much a week. How much of this was takeaways and going out may I ask?

Thanks

Can't really remember that well - it's 3 years ago. Not that many takeaways - you are after all fed three meals a day in college. I would go out to clubs once or twice a week but might also drink in the bar on other days. Depends really what work you have on.

Hi,

Can someone just ease my mind please. I just wanted to make sure utility bills, internet etc are included in college accommodation prices?

Thanks!

I generally know everything about Durham, for I am a God. So ask me anything, and I shall answer (within a reasonable period of time).

Hello When does the Master in Social Work start for this upcoming period 2014 ? Read dif info on the website . some say oct 7 , other sept 15 (?) nothing certain. THANK YOU!
And last , do you recommend living in St Chad's College or a shared flat ?

Hi! I'm applying to Durham for entry in 2015. I'll be apply for BA English Literature.

I'm an international student studying the IB. I really enjoy reading and writing about literature, and I'm so excited to be pursuing a degree in English next year!

I heard that the Durham English course is incredibly competitive, and I was wondering whether I would have a chance:

I also want to apply for Castle (I know, very sensible! haha )

My IB Predicted Grades are: Total - 42/45

English Lang and Lit HL-6
History HL - 7
Biology HL - 6
Maths SL - 7
Chinese A SL - 7
Chemistry SL - 7
TOK - 2

My GCSE grades:

6A*, 2A, 3B

(A* in English Literature, English Language, History)

Thank you so much guys!

Your grades won't be an issue in the slightest, nor will the college you apply for due to the pooling system (you have to be accepted by your department before you're considered for a college, and they've changed the system on that now so I'm not 100% sure how it works any more!) If you have a good personal statement, then you'll have a very good chance!

St. Chad's is a great place to live. It's small but great facilities. You're right next to the Classics and History Buildings and not far away from where the majority of Social Science and Humanities lectures are held. It's a couple of minutes into Durham City Centre, which is always nice, especially on days where you need to buy something.

Shared flats are also nice but one of Durham's defining features is its College system so I would make the most of it, if I were you .

I can still be pretty involved in my college right?

Thank you! That's very reassuring haha ?Any tips on writing a good personal statement?

While I can only given general advice (I'm an Anthropology student myself, and my English friends are currently having lives!), the best I can say is to just show your enthusiasm for the subject, which, given your first post, you don't seem to be lacking! Another thing is that if you want to go to Durham specifically, perhaps pick out specific elements of the course there and express your interest in those (but if you're applying to other UK universities, be careful how you do this, as you don't want them to think you're singling Durham out as your only choice!) Otherwise, there are plenty of tips on writing a good personal statement both on TSR and the wider internet, which should give you some guidance