The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

I haven't seen the accommodation in most of the colleges but as far as I'm aware all have some kind of pantry shared between a group of people. At Trevs, shared between a landing of six, they all contain a kettle, a fridge, and a toaster, and some have hotplates and freezer compartments too.

The contents of these rooms will no doubt vary across the colleges but at least at Trevs they are not really designed with fully fledged cooking in mind... only every other has a hot plate and there aren't any ovens, or a huge amount of side space, but they are perfect for hot and cold drinks, and snacks like cereal and toast.

Great, thanks for that incredibly informative reply Fred!

I've heard that further down the hill the colleges are the more posh they are, I'm thinking about applying to either University College or Hild and Bede.
Is this true?
Even so, can it really be that much of a problem?

Reply 5961

Unilad321

1

Hi guys,

I'm applying for PPE in Durham. I haven't decided on my college choice yet, I'm a semi-mature student, already studying at another university abroad, and I'm looking for a traditional and social Bailey college. Would it be wise to skip the popular colleges like University or Hatfield? As in, is there a lesser chance for them to accept a candidate like me? After all there wouldn't be a point to choose a college you have no chance for in the first place and the application will just be sent to another college anyway.

Thanks for answer!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5962

clonedmemories

16

Original post by Unilad321

Hi guys,

I'm applying for PPE in Durham. I haven't decided on my college choice yet, I'm a semi-mature student, already studying at another university abroad, and I'm looking for a traditional and social Bailey college. Would it be wise to skip the popular colleges like University or Hatfield? As in, is there a lesser chance for them to accept a candidate like me? After all there wouldn't be a point to choose a college you have no chance for in the first place and the application will just be sent to another college anyway.

Thanks for answer!

From the way I understand the current application system is working as far as college goes, colleges are allocated randomly from all people who apply there (as opposed to being related to any particular other characteristics), so it's definitely worth applying to the one you want when you choose! If you do, you have the chance of going there and if you don't, then the odds are pretty small, so just go for whichever one you decide you like the most.

Reply 5963

username667907

4

Original post by RichardArmstrong

Great, thanks for that incredibly informative reply Fred!

I've heard that further down the hill the colleges are the more posh they are, I'm thinking about applying to either University College or Hild and Bede.
Is this true?
Even so, can it really be that much of a problem?

The stereotype is that the Bailey colleges are 'posher' than the hill colleges, but on the whole there's no huge difference in reality :-)

Reply 5964

Unilad321

1

Hi guys,

One more question; are there statistics about acceptance rates/application ratios of individual colleges online? Or if anyone knows, which ones of the Bailey colleges are easiest to get into? Thanks.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5965

fifidi

7

Original post by Unilad321

Hi guys,

One more question; are there statistics about acceptance rates/application ratios of individual colleges online? Or if anyone knows, which ones of the Bailey colleges are easiest to get into? Thanks.

Hi, lots of info here.
https://www.dur.ac.uk/ug.admissions/admindocuments/admissions2012-13/

hope it is useful.
edit: colleges don't decide on giving you an offer for your course, they don't work in the same way as oxford for example. The department's admissions team for the course you apply to are those who decide on offers, they then pass your application to your chosen college who allocate based on places available (they do have quotas for courses so as to not have all science students at hill colleges for example). Info on this is in the FAQ section of Durham admissions. Here's a section on colleges.
[h="2"]Does the college I choose make a difference to my chance of getting a place at Durham University?[/h]No. The college you choose will not in any way affect your chances of getting an offer from us; that decision is made by your academic department. All of our colleges strive to achieve a well-balanced, diverse community with students coming from a variety of backgrounds and countries and studying in all departments of the University. If the department you apply to accepts your application there will be a place for you in one of our colleges.
more info on college faqs here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/undergraduate/accommodation/faqs/

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5966

Unilad321

1

Original post by fifidi

Hi, lots of info here.
https://www.dur.ac.uk/ug.admissions/admindocuments/admissions2012-13/

hope it is useful.

Thanks for the link, though couldn't find any information on this specific matter. Though in this link https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ug.admissions/admindocuments/admincycle1213/2-1-2DepartmentalSummary-Offers.pdf, what does the U or C and R or W mean?

Which one is the easiest to get into? St. John's, Hatfield or St Cuthbert, or are they maybe about the same? Thanks for reply.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5967

RumpeIstiltskin

10

Original post by Unilad321

Thanks for the link, though couldn't find any information on this specific matter. Though in this link https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ug.admissions/admindocuments/admincycle1213/2-1-2DepartmentalSummary-Offers.pdf, what does the U or C and R or W mean?

Which one is the easiest to get into? St. John's, Hatfield or St Cuthbert, or are they maybe about the same? Thanks for reply.

Durham have just changed the college allocation system. Colleges used to be able to select people who had an offer based on personal statements but now its done by random allocation by a computer if the college is oversubscribed, which I imagine those colleges will be since they're on the Bailey, so it's basically just luck as to whether you get into them.

Reply 5968

Unilad321

1

Thanks, good to know, changes the game completely.

Reply 5969

fifidi

7

Original post by Unilad321

Thanks, good to know, changes the game completely.

Hi, the letters mean Unconditional, Conditional, Rejected and Withdrawn. There is no one college that is easier to get into. If you get an offer your ucas updates to something like Z instead of the college code you entered and you are allocated your college after January deadline. As previous post said, it's a ballot if they are over subscribed for a particular subject. Only when they have decided / drawn the ballot will your college allocation be known. They do try and allocate your preference. There will be info sent to you about dates and procedures when you get your acknowledgement email, or at least a link to it.

Reply 5970

fifidi

7

Hi, hope this is useful. Copied from confirmation email, regarding college allocation.

Our admissions process, works as follows: 1. Your UCAS application will be sent to the department (or departments in the case of Joint Honours candidates) that delivers the programme to which you have applied. An academic admissions selector will consider your UCAS application and make a decision - some applicants will be invited for interview but most decisions will be made without interview.

2. If the department decides you are to receive an offer, details of this will be communicated through UCAS. If, sadly, we are unable to make you an offer, this outcome will also be communicated through UCAS. If you do receive an offer through UCAS, your campus code, that is the code for your college preference, will change to Z to show that your college allocation is pending. Please note that you will not be able to change your college preference from this point onwards except in exceptional circumstances.

3. The first round of college allocations for applicants who have received an academic offer by 1st February will take place by 1st March and then regularly after this date for applicants who receive an academic offer after 1st February. At this point, should the date not have already passed, you will also be invited to an post-offer open day. The dates of the Post-Offer Open Days at Durham City Campus are: Mon, 16 March (eve) and Tuesday 17 March 2015 Tue, 17 March (eve) and Wednesday 18 March 2015 The dates for the Post-Offer Open Days at Queen's Campus are: Tuesday, 17 March 2015 (non-residential) Wednesday, 18 March 2015 (non-residential)

If your department decides that you are to receive an offer, your application is automatically considered for your preferred college. All colleges have a limited number of offers they can make to applicants from each department. Where an applicant has expressed a preference for a college and the college has space then the applicant will be offered a place there. If the number of applicants with departmental offers expressing a preference for a college exceeds the space available then the allocation will be a blind selection of those applicants. This inevitably means that some applicants cannot be placed at their preferred college. If this happens we guarantee to find you a place at a different college. If you have not nominated a college in your UCAS application, we will allocate one on your behalf. The important thing to remember is that anyone who has been accepted by an academic department via UCAS will secure a place at one of our colleges.

Reply 5971

isoldevanrijn

I submitted my UCAS app in september (27th). When should I expect to hear back?

Reply 5972

tiny hobbit

15

Original post by isoldevanrijn

I submitted my UCAS app in september (27th). When should I expect to hear back?

Depends on how strong your application is. If it's very good or very bad, you should have heard already. If it's middling, they will gradually close in, up until March.

Reply 5973

TheRandomer

18

Hey guys, how do people find the signal with O2?

Reply 5974

Nabbles

Original post by TheRandomer

Hey guys, how do people find the signal with O2?

I'm on orange and I have bad signal at my college (hild bede) but it's decent everywhere else.

Reply 5975

Vanessaw

Hi I'm an international student from Spain. I was wondering if when were being housed in our colleges are we put with fellow international students or are we integrated more?

Reply 5976

pianofluteftw

14

Original post by Vanessaw

Hi I'm an international student from Spain. I was wondering if when were being housed in our colleges are we put with fellow international students or are we integrated more?

As far as I'm aware at every college it's entirely integrated - I can't imagine it being otherwise! Generally international students are well integrated into the college community which is one reason why I think Durham is such a lovely place to be!

The only real difference when living in college is that new international students have the option to arrive a week early, to give them time to sort out bank accounts/ other paperwork and an opportunity to settle in. After that though everyone is fully integrated! :smile:

Hope this helps!

Reply 5977

bethblur

8

I'm applying for Ancient, Medieval and Modern History at Durham,

GCSES:

History - A*
Classical Civilisation - A*
English Language - A
Maths - A
French - A
Biology - B
Chemistry - B
Physics - B
English Literature - B
R.E. (short course) - B

My 3 A-levels are History, R.E and Classical Civilisation.
Got 177/200 (88.5%), 189/200 (94.5%) and 162/200 (81%) = AAA at AS

Durham ask for 3 As for this course, but I read that it is even harder to get into than their straight History course? Is this true?

Do I have a chance of getting in? If it is 50% Classics and 50% History, do both departments read my personal statement etc?

Thanks.

Reply 5978

River85

17

Original post by bethblur

Do I have a chance of getting in? If it is 50% Classics and 50% History, do both departments read my personal statement etc?

No, every single Joint Honours programme has a "lead department", the department who will consider your application and make a decision and are generally responsible for the programme. For V101 it's Classics.

As for the likelihood of an offer, I can't say as I don't know quite how competitive that particular Joint Honours degree is. All I can say is apply as part of a sensible application and best of luck!