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The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

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Hi I'm going to Durham this year studying accounting and finance.I can take an optional module to make up my credits and I want to take Mandarin Chinese.I am Chinese (parents from Hong Kong) but I was born and raised in the UK and only speak English. Will I still be allowed to study stage 1 Mandarin even if I know a little bit of Cantonese?
Anyone able to give an overview of Maths A and B for students of Physics?

Topics covered in term 1, and how much greater is the difficulty compared to A Level Maths/Further Maths?
Reply 6422
does anyone know how to go about getting a student job at the uni (or any places which might be good to work as a student in Durham)?
Original post by meraki123
Hi I'm going to Durham this year studying accounting and finance.I can take an optional module to make up my credits and I want to take Mandarin Chinese.I am Chinese (parents from Hong Kong) but I was born and raised in the UK and only speak English. Will I still be allowed to study stage 1 Mandarin even if I know a little bit of Cantonese?


Contact the CFLS language department to check! If you haven't studied it 'officially' you may well be able to, however you should explain your situation to them as you apply by submitting a form describing any background in the language, and they may think you're over qualified even if you aren't, unless you explain more fully. Try emailing [email protected]

Original post by game well and truly over
Anyone able to give an overview of Maths A and B for students of Physics?

Topics covered in term 1, and how much greater is the difficulty compared to A Level Maths/Further Maths?


Check out the module descriptions here:
https://www.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/module_description/?year=2015&module_code=MATH1561
https://www.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/module_description/?year=2015&module_code=MATH1571

They don't give you much idea of the order I'm afraid, but does show what is covered in each. A lot of it is in Further Maths AS/A level, but you don't need to have done them to do well in these modules (you'd be fine with just Maths A level - I was!). Basically imagine you'll cover pretty much half of each in term one, and then the second half in term 2 (term 3 is finishing off/ revision as exams are 3 weeks into term 3).

For SMB you can see more detail:

Term 1
http://maths.dur.ac.uk/~dma0rag/SMB/SMBV.html

Term 2
http://www.maths.dur.ac.uk/users/j.p.edwards/smb.html

I can't find my syllabus for SMA, if I find it I'll post it :smile:

Original post by 3P2S3
does anyone know how to go about getting a student job at the uni (or any places which might be good to work as a student in Durham)?


Students can be employed in the university/ college - eg. Student Union bar, College bar, college library, college shop, as extra catering staff for big events etc. However these positions tend to go quickly and be competitive, so you want to get in quick. For bar work you almost certainly need experience (as lots of people have it already). These jobs also tend to have few hours available, some as little as 2 hours per week (depends on the job).

Local businesses will employ students (eg. restaurant, retail, cafe, bars etc.), however as it is a small city again these tend to be competitive (particularly as you're also competing with locals, who generally will have more flexible working hours). The university has an employment service that lists local vacancies as well as internships/graduate jobs so you can check on there, or job search or whatever. The university doesn't recommend you work more than about 10-12 hours per week though, as any more will impact on your studies/ ability to join in other stuff like societies. It depends on your course though, as a Physics student I know some people with jobs, but the timetable is pretty full so you don't have as much time as other courses.
Reply 6424
Original post by pianofluteftw

Students can be employed in the university/ college - eg. Student Union bar, College bar, college library, college shop, as extra catering staff for big events etc. However these positions tend to go quickly and be competitive, so you want to get in quick. For bar work you almost certainly need experience (as lots of people have it already). These jobs also tend to have few hours available, some as little as 2 hours per week (depends on the job).

Local businesses will employ students (eg. restaurant, retail, cafe, bars etc.), however as it is a small city again these tend to be competitive (particularly as you're also competing with locals, who generally will have more flexible working hours). The university has an employment service that lists local vacancies as well as internships/graduate jobs so you can check on there, or job search or whatever. The university doesn't recommend you work more than about 10-12 hours per week though, as any more will impact on your studies/ ability to join in other stuff like societies. It depends on your course though, as a Physics student I know some people with jobs, but the timetable is pretty full so you don't have as much time as other courses.


Thanks for the response! Ideally I would like a student job on campus due to the low hours, do you know how these are advertised? I had a look online but I am struggling to find much - or shall I just wait until I arrive?
Thanks pianoflute.... you are wonderful!
Original post by 3P2S3
Thanks for the response! Ideally I would like a student job on campus due to the low hours, do you know how these are advertised? I had a look online but I am struggling to find much - or shall I just wait until I arrive?


They wont be advertised online, wait until you get here! Library jobs in college tend to be about 2-3 hours per week, minimum wage, and are advertised at the start of first term within internal emails. Bar/shop jobs will probably start going at the start of the year, but the process is slightly different, as they are student run services, but you will again almost certainly be informed via an internal email. The format itself depends on the college, but often to get one of those jobs you have to go through an interview process with the students who run each service (who are part of the shop/bar committee - ie. manager, stock manager, health and safety rep etc). Often there are other opportunities to get work in these during the year - by getting a committee position. This involves either going through interview, or actually being voted in by the entire JCR depending on how senior the role is. It will all become clearer once you get here, but the moral to this story is: 1) Stay involved in college life - it's easier to find out about opportunities 2) Read your emails. You'll get loads, lots of people don't, but they often have important stuff in :P

As for university wide opportunities, your best bet is to keep an eye on the weekly employment service emails (under part time internal jobs).

Best of luck! :smile:
Bizarre off-topic question, but if I were to apply to Durham after my A2 results, essentially after a gap year, would there be a chance I might be considered, or are those applying based on AS results given priority? I would be applying for History.
My AS results were less than stellar due to a mixture of reasons, and I don't think there's any point in attempting to apply (BBC), however since I should be able to achieve what I need next year, is it wise to apply the following year?
Original post by korrin
Bizarre off-topic question, but if I were to apply to Durham after my A2 results, essentially after a gap year, would there be a chance I might be considered, or are those applying based on AS results given priority? I would be applying for History.
My AS results were less than stellar due to a mixture of reasons, and I don't think there's any point in attempting to apply (BBC), however since I should be able to achieve what I need next year, is it wise to apply the following year?


It's absolutely worth applying. Bare in mind that history is extremely competitive- you'll really need to work to pull those grades up to AAA. You'll also need to show that you're doing something with your gap year.

The only difference really is that you'll know your grades, so you'll know whether it's worth applying, and their response will either be a rejection or an unconditional offer (unless you're taking extra qualifications in your gap year in which case they might want to see a certain grade for it).
Original post by korrin
Bizarre off-topic question, but if I were to apply to Durham after my A2 results, essentially after a gap year, would there be a chance I might be considered, or are those applying based on AS results given priority? I would be applying for History.
My AS results were less than stellar due to a mixture of reasons, and I don't think there's any point in attempting to apply (BBC), however since I should be able to achieve what I need next year, is it wise to apply the following year?


Durham student here! I initially applied with worse AS results than I would've wanted and got rejected after waiting absolutely ages for a response, admittedly it wasn't for history, and I assume it varies between departments but I took a gap year, reapplied with the grades they actually wanted and got an unconditional offer within about a week. Just make sure you do something productive on your gap year and you've got the same (if not better) chance of getting in as they'd rather have somebody who they know has the correct grades than "bet" on As results.
Original post by Myrtle97
Hi, I'm wondering what people think of the bioscience department at Durham? I don't trust all the league tables and want to know from a student. Is their way of teaching good and do you get much support outside lectures?? Thanks


Better late than never right? Just finished 1st year biology and I'd say there are parts you'll love and parts you'll probably hate. Support is there when you need it as you're given an academic advisor (normally a senior lecturer) who you'll meet up with every term just to make sure things are going well. You can email them any time you need to if you're stuck or you can meet them face to face if needs be. You're also given a college "family" - basically a mum and a dad (2nd or 3rd years) who can help you out in a much more informal way (and buy you drinks). In all truth all lectures are put up online and even if you still don't understand the material course mates are always happy to help.
The first year is really broad in terms of content which is a bit of a gift and a curse (for example I'm switching to the biomed pathway after finding out what I enjoy) however if you're really into one aspect of biology then some modules *cough*ecology* are a complete ballache to sit through. Lectures vary from absolutely brilliant to barely comprehensible but from what I've learnt first year seems similar regardless of uni or degree.
If you havn't done maths or chemistry it's probably a good idea to brush up as they teach you the "basics" but it's basically to A level/early degree standard so it was unexpectedly difficult to see those credits through.
Hope that helped, here if want anything else :smile:
Just wondering if anyone knows what the difference is between the Combined Social Sciences and the Liberal Arts courses? From what I can see they are basically the same degree with a different title. Can anyone shed any light on this??
Original post by peteguy
Durham student here! I initially applied with worse AS results than I would've wanted and got rejected after waiting absolutely ages for a response, admittedly it wasn't for history, and I assume it varies between departments but I took a gap year, reapplied with the grades they actually wanted and got an unconditional offer within about a week. Just make sure you do something productive on your gap year and you've got the same (if not better) chance of getting in as they'd rather have somebody who they know has the correct grades than "bet" on As results.


Wow that must have been great! I feel super motivated now :biggrin: I'm having a look at things I can do now :smile:
Thanks for the response!!
Original post by Oli-Ol
It's absolutely worth applying. Bare in mind that history is extremely competitive- you'll really need to work to pull those grades up to AAA. You'll also need to show that you're doing something with your gap year.

The only difference really is that you'll know your grades, so you'll know whether it's worth applying, and their response will either be a rejection or an unconditional offer (unless you're taking extra qualifications in your gap year in which case they might want to see a certain grade for it).


Thank you for your response! I'm going to make sure I have all my bases covered this year in case bad things happen again and get my grades up! :smile:
Original post by Phoebe-fuller
Just wondering if anyone knows what the difference is between the Combined Social Sciences and the Liberal Arts courses? From what I can see they are basically the same degree with a different title. Can anyone shed any light on this??


Social Sciences are for social sciences (politics, geography, archaeology etc) while Arts is humanities (English, history, modern languages etc).

Up to now they've been fairly similar, and it was easy to switch between the two if your focus changed. However, they're becoming more distinct from this year (I think there was talk of creating a compulsory module for the social scientists) and I believe it's going to become harder to change between the two.
Should I buy any books off the reading list before term or will everything be available from the library? :s-smilie: (for english lit)
Reply 6436
is it worth buying a robe from the actual robe makers (and how does one go about this?)
Original post by cucaracha
Should I buy any books off the reading list before term or will everything be available from the library? :s-smilie: (for english lit)


Most people buy some books (core texts) but I know lots of others borrow from university/college libraries. I wouldn't buy stuff before you get here anyway, as you can then see what you need even as you start the courses - no point buying loads of books to carry up before you get here as you might hardly use them!

Original post by 3P2S3
is it worth buying a robe from the actual robe makers (and how does one go about this?)


If you need a robe for your college, your college will give you instructions how to go about doing this, I think it depends on the college when you actually do this though. If you're not at a gowned college, you don't need to buy a gown (as you wont ever use it :P) Don't buy one until your college tell you though as you might get the wrong type/ its almost certainly better value to buy via college.
Hi :smile:
I've been to an Open Day and looked online, but have found many different answers to my question. How does the university allocate colleges to undergraduates? I know when you apply, you express a preference. Can the admissions tutors see which college you want to go to? Do people at that college decide if they want you or not, or is it all done randomly on a computer, ie names are effectively 'pulled out of a hat' which decides if you get into the college you want?
Original post by LoveToArgue
Hi :smile:
I've been to an Open Day and looked online, but have found many different answers to my question. How does the university allocate colleges to undergraduates? I know when you apply, you express a preference. Can the admissions tutors see which college you want to go to? Do people at that college decide if they want you or not, or is it all done randomly on a computer, ie names are effectively 'pulled out of a hat' which decides if you get into the college you want?


https://www.dur.ac.uk/collegiate.office/allocations/details/

The department may(?) be able to see which college, but it's not something they'll care about, and they'll make an offer dependent on how much they like you/ your merit only (your college preference has no impact). Nowadays colleges have no say over who gets into which college, it's all done via computer to fulfill quotas per subject per college and to ensure a good mix of people (but obviously wont take anything in your personal statement into account).

You may see different answers to this question, up until a year or two ago the process was different and colleges had a say in who got a place in their college, however this was changed to avoid certain colleges seeming elitist and to ensure transparency and fairness in admissions! :smile:

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