The &quot;Ask a Durham Student&quot; Thread :)

Original post by Dylann

When do sports happen during the week? Is there a big day for most of them (i.e. Wednesday) or are they on separate evenings? (college sport that is)

To answer this question:

Wednesday afternoons are traditionally left free for sport at most UK universities. Lots of sports teams therefore use this time to practice and I believe most matches happen on this day too (partly because there is dedicated first aid cover at the main sports venue on these days from St John Ambulance, not just a guy from the sports centre :P). However, at both university and college level, there is obviously sport done at other times - university teams practice more than once a week usually, and college teams will probably practice at different times too (there are a lot of them so they can't all do it at once!). It will depend on the college and the team (some colleges have up to 7/8 football teams!) - I only really know much about Archery (which happens throughout the week), Athletics (which again, can happen on multiple days), hockey (at college level happens on different days, some matches at weekends too) and rowing which just seems to happen all the time (if you do rowing, at some colleges be prepared for serious commitment :P)

If you're interested in sport, go along to both your college sports and societies fair (which will be sometime during freshers week) where you can find out more about the teams and practices, and for university wide sports and teams there is a sports fair that happens on the same day as the university freshers fair, just down the road, so it's worth having a look. You can often sign up for taster sessions too which is worthwhile if you want to try something new! :smile:

Reply 6443

King of the Ring

Original post by pianofluteftw

Haha, I dunno if he's a troll (fairly new account?) or just likes to make a fuss about elite schools and elite universities, but he's one of many that float around TSR. I always reply to stuff like that in case anyone else reads it and wonders though :P

This is the last response you're going to get on this topic from me, but I will fill you in on the history of academic dress if you would like. Although you could have always googled it...

Anyway, academic dress in England and Scotland has varied for a long time. Very few English institutions have kept the use of gowns apart from at formal functions, and then it only tends to be the oldest (hence Durham). It's the same with having a collegiate system at all - many more modern universities did not adopt that style of university accommodation. Durham kept their gowns for traditions sake, and because many people like it as a feature of life at Durham.

Edinburgh is a very good university, although arguing on here about which universities you find more elite is a bit of a waste of time. Edinburgh does have undergraduate gowns (they're red btw) and they're not often used - Edinburgh doesn't have 'formals' for one thing so they would get less use by students. Some students do use them though, for ceremonies or particular events. However, considering another old, elite Scottish university, St Andrew's, they do have undergraduate gowns which are used by students during their undergraduate degree. It depends on the institution as to which traditions they choose to preserve, and what sort of character each institution has. In fact, that's what's good about being able to choose to study at one of many institutions - you can pick which one is right for you which makes the world a nicer, more diverse and interesting place.

Thank you for the detailed response.

Reply 6444

game well and truly over

Original post by pianofluteftw

Haha, I dunno if he's a troll

Durham kept their gowns for traditions sake, and because many people like it as a feature of life at Durham.

you can pick which one is right for you which makes the world a nicer, more diverse and interesting place.

Pianoflute, I didn't realise I could love you more than I already do xx

Reply 6445

cucaracha

Original post by pianofluteftw

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!

Okay! Thanks for replying :smile:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6446

Original post by game well and truly over

Pianoflute, I didn't realise I could love you more than I already do xx

Well geee, thanks :colondollar:

Reply 6447

LoveToArgue

8

What's this whole thing about the second personal statement you can include when you apply?

I had a scary UCAS meeting today at school and my teachers said that if applying to Durham you can send off an additional personal statement when you apply. Is this just for if you are applying for different courses, e.g. music and chemistry, so Durham can see a personal statement that is relevant to the subject you're applying for to study there? I'm curious because my personal statement is written in the 90/10 ratio where I have a lot more about the subject than I do about my extra curriculars, but I've heard that Durham is really keen on extra curricular stuff. Would I be the kind of person who would need to/benefit from writing a second personal statement?

Thanks! (sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm really confused!

Reply 6448

username904959

13

Original post by LoveToArgue

What's this whole thing about the second personal statement you can include when you apply?

I had a scary UCAS meeting today at school and my teachers said that if applying to Durham you can send off an additional personal statement when you apply. Is this just for if you are applying for different courses, e.g. music and chemistry, so Durham can see a personal statement that is relevant to the subject you're applying for to study there? I'm curious because my personal statement is written in the 90/10 ratio where I have a lot more about the subject than I do about my extra curriculars, but I've heard that Durham is really keen on extra curricular stuff. Would I be the kind of person who would need to/benefit from writing a second personal statement?

Thanks! (sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm really confused!

No, you won't need to submit a second personal statement.

It's primarily designed for people applying to different courses elsewhere (perhaps PPE at Durham, but just Politics at other universities, for example).

A 90:10 ratio is about right. Durham likes well-rounded applicants, but your department isn't going to accept you because you played hockey for the school and are grade 5 flute. They're interested in your subject, not in your outside interests.

Reply 6449

Anny Smiles

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??

I've just finished my first year of Combined Honours Arts, and I'm switching to Social Sciences so I can pursue more Education modules... as far as I remember from the email we received, there's an intention to make those 2 degrees more distinct and separate, I think, as for us they're practically one and the same. It may become harder to switch between the 2 degrees as well, I'm not too sure how that will work.

From what I can tell online the main difference is still where you intend to "major" - would you rather do a majority of Arts subjects, or Social Sciences? You can take up to 50% of the other still, but if you want to do 4 modules of arts, for example, you need to be doing Liberal Arts. It looks as though there's a specific "pathway" in Social Sciences which would be optional to follow.

Liberal Arts would allow you to do a 4:2 History :colone:

ducation split. If you wanted to do a 4:2 Education :h:

istory split, you'd need to be on CHSS... does that help as an example?

I'm not sure about compulsory modules (someone else mentioned one)- a few years ago there was a compulsory module in Year 1, but as staff changed, that changed. As I experience it there's no compulsory module (although I am ironically doing the now-form of the old one by choice in Year 2, with the old director of Combined Honours!)... if that concerns you I'd suggest emailing with your potential year of application and asking, though the answer may be "we don't know yet".. keep an eye on the website, too.

Original post by LoveToArgue

What's this whole thing about the second personal statement you can include when you apply?

I had a scary UCAS meeting today at school and my teachers said that if applying to Durham you can send off an additional personal statement when you apply. Is this just for if you are applying for different courses, e.g. music and chemistry, so Durham can see a personal statement that is relevant to the subject you're applying for to study there? I'm curious because my personal statement is written in the 90/10 ratio where I have a lot more about the subject than I do about my extra curriculars, but I've heard that Durham is really keen on extra curricular stuff. Would I be the kind of person who would need to/benefit from writing a second personal statement?

Thanks! (sorry if this doesn't make sense, I'm really confused!

UCAS can seem really intimidating- I promise it's not too bad in the end!
I think it's mostly for different courses: I applied for straight Theology at 4 places, and Combined Honours at Durham, so I submitted a different statement, mainly just editing "Theology" for "Theology & Education" and adding a bit about links between subjects, at the expense of some extra-curricular stuff.
Mine was definitely subject heavy as a result, Durham is an academic institution after all.
Get opinions from teachers at your school/whoever does your reference & stuff (they can help balance out) but I think it's more for different subjects, a focus on the subject over the extra-curriculars is advisable!

Reply 6450

Plug33

Is Durham unis wifi as good as I've heard?!?? Studentcrowd rated it as best in the UK https://www.studentcrowd.com/article/3-best-universities-for-wifi-2015 ! But a direct answer would be more reassuring, thanks!

Reply 6451

Original post by Plug33

Is Durham unis wifi as good as I've heard?!?? Studentcrowd rated it as best in the UK https://www.studentcrowd.com/article/3-best-universities-for-wifi-2015 ! But a direct answer would be more reassuring, thanks!

They did a massive upgrade a couple of years ago now I think? It's really good now - I'm always amazed when I go and visit other unis that it's not as good! Everywhere on the main science site (which has the main library on) and I believe in all colleges now (correct me if I'm wrong!) there's good signal in the buildings, and outside. It's certainly been good for me :smile:

I think in the college rooms they still provide you with an ethernet cable too, it can help make things faster particularly at busy times (I've only had an issue when my device was apparently conflicting with others on the network), but I can quite easily stream videos on the wifi and my gaming friends haven't complained either :P

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6452

Dylann

21

Original post by tc92

As above, recent mega upgrade brought wifi to (almost) all colleges and uni buildings. In my halls in Grey, there was one router every 3 or 4 rooms on the corridor, so it was really fast and didn't have everyone trying to jump on one small router.

What tablet do you have? Thanks for the info too

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 6453

JosephHoneywood

Does anyone know this student membership prices for the local gyms?

I'm looking particularly at Freemans Quay. I've noticed the Maiden Castle one is £20 a month which is amazing but I'm worried it will always be extremely busy.

Any answers would be very much appreciated!

Reply 6454

iano101

9

Original post by JosephHoneywood

Does anyone know this student membership prices for the local gyms?

I'm looking particularly at Freemans Quay. I've noticed the Maiden Castle one is £20 a month which is amazing but I'm worried it will always be extremely busy.

Any answers would be very much appreciated!

Most colleges have their own gyms for extremely cheap rates - e.g grey is £40 for the whole year and they are still pretty good, albeit slightly basic. If you're at collingwood/Hilde Bede they have the best gyms, so there would be little point getting extra gym membership elsewhere unless you played DU Sport.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6455

r055grn

1

If i am applying to biochemistry at other universites, which course would I apply for at Durham as there is no explicit biochem course? Biosciences? As there is no explicit biochem course at Durham would I be disadvantaged applying there for a like course as my ps will be geared towards biochem? Thanks :smile:

Reply 6456

Original post by JosephHoneywood

Does anyone know this student membership prices for the local gyms?

I'm looking particularly at Freemans Quay. I've noticed the Maiden Castle one is £20 a month which is amazing but I'm worried it will always be extremely busy.

Any answers would be very much appreciated!

As previous poster has said, most college gyms are usually about £40 a year. So super cheap, and most have a range of machines (running machines, cross trainers, stationary bikes and rowing machines) and most have a free weights area too - they're all run by students so I know at least at my college members vote on what new stuff they want/ other stuff to replace (I'm at Aidans, this year we invested in a new bench and weight set and a leg press).

Maiden Castle is nice, it's not always super busy as it's a little way out of the city (10 minute walk from science site though so not bad at all). Freeman's Quay do gym only, gym and swim and classes and swim only memberships - they're quite a bit more, but they do offer student rates so keep your eyes open near the start of the year if there are any offers on, as sometimes that can be more convenient! If you play for any university team (ie. DU sport) rather than college sport I believe you get free access to Maiden castle gym too. Not sure what the student rate at Freemans Quay was last year, but I got a swimming only membership one year for £80 for the year I think?

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6457

Original post by r055grn

If i am applying to biochemistry at other universites, which course would I apply for at Durham as there is no explicit biochem course? Biosciences? As there is no explicit biochem course at Durham would I be disadvantaged applying there for a like course as my ps will be geared towards biochem? Thanks :smile:

You would probably be best applying for the Natural Sciences course, which offers a Joint honours in Biology and Chemistry. The way the course is set up you have slightly more flexibility over module choices if it turns out you want to concentrate on one more than the other, however to get the joint honours (ie. named in your degree title rather than 'Natural Sciences') you get less freedom.

See

https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2015/info/?id=7103&title=Biology+and+Chemistry&ucas-code=FGC0&degree=MSci&year=2015
https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/info/?id=7103&title=Natural+Sciences&code=FGC0&type=MSCI&year=2015

Reply 6458

JosephHoneywood

Original post by iano101

Original post by pianofluteftw

Much appreciated, thanks both!

Reply 6459

Anny Smiles