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The "Ask a Durham Student" Thread :)

Reply 1340

NDGAARONDI

16

Rob801

Jeremy Clarkson for PM!!!

Nah wrong Jeremy there. Paxman would be good, as would John Cleese for a good laugh. :p:

Nice to see in my Freshers' handbook that it states I have to pick one module in the school or another department which is open to me to choose without saying which modules are actually open. People will rush and pick a random one come deadline day and many may regret doing that. Will see if a law or politics option is available. :smile:

Reply 1341

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

15

NDGAARONDI

Nah wrong Jeremy there. Paxman would be good, as would John Cleese for a good laugh. :p:

Nice to see in my Freshers' handbook that it states I have to pick one module in the school or another department which is open to me to choose without saying which modules are actually open. People will rush and pick a random one come deadline day and many may regret doing that. Will see if a law or politics option is available. :smile:

Well do you expect them to print an entire list off for you? Just use the Faculty Handbook and Sharry's timetable checker.

Reply 1342

NDGAARONDI

16

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

Well do you expect them to print an entire list off for you? Just use the Faculty Handbook and Sharry's timetable checker.

FH doesn't say unless failing to state any program a course is not tied to means it is not open.

Reply 1343

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

15

NDGAARONDI

FH doesn't say unless failing to state any program a course is not tied to means it is not open.

All modules are open unless they say tied. Though some are over subscribed of course.

Reply 1344

*River

15

NDGAARONDI

Nah wrong Jeremy there. Paxman would be good, as would John Cleese for a good laugh. :p:

Nice to see in my Freshers' handbook that it states I have to pick one module in the school or another department which is open to me to choose without saying which modules are actually open. People will rush and pick a random one come deadline day and many may regret doing that. Will see if a law or politics option is available. :smile:

It would be impossible to say which modules are guaranteed to be open as a lot of students will wish to take electives and the university has no way of knowing what they'll chose. You should be able to take a Politics module as they're pretty large (esp. the core introductory ones).

Reply 1345

NDGAARONDI

16

*River

It would be impossible to say which modules are guaranteed to be open as a lot of students will wish to take electives and the university has no way of knowing what they'll chose. You should be able to take a Politics module as they're pretty large (esp. the core introductory ones).

Thanks. I'm usually interested in core modules of politics courses because I like to learn British politics, other countries bore me to death (esp the unification of Germany and fascist Italy).

Reply 1346

Foxius

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

Nope. Now can you use DSU to oppose the new VC's little pay the rich scheme?

I don't think there's much to oppose. Durham university is big on extra-curricular activities and so wants to consolidate its position in this respect - probably in order to get more funding in the future and improve as a whole. I think it therefore makes sense from the VC's point of view to attract talented individuals in areas of sport, music and peforming arts. Whether those individuals come from privileged backgrounds is largely besides the point, although if they do not, then so much the better.

Prioritising spending is a different matter altogether, and to be fair, when everyone else is spending money for their own ends, there's not much incentive to rock the boat. Besides, how does one rock the metaphorical boat anyway?

Reply 1347

Foxius

That last post doesn't mean to read as pretentiously as it does. Apologies.

Reply 1348

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

15

Foxius

I don't think there's much to oppose. Durham university is big on extra-curricular activities and so wants to consolidate its position in this respect - probably in order to get more funding in the future and improve as a whole. I think it therefore makes sense from the VC's point of view to attract talented individuals in areas of sport, music and peforming arts. Whether those individuals come from privileged backgrounds is largely besides the point, although if they do not, then so much the better.

Prioritising spending is a different matter altogether, and to be fair, when everyone else is spending money for their own ends, there's not much incentive to rock the boat. Besides, how does one rock the metaphorical boat anyway?

The fact that the Durham Grant Scheme has been effectively cut to pay for this is something to oppose. It is effectively taking money from the poor to pay for the rich.

I would not object so much to the scheme if they introduced serious means testing into this scheme, especially for the part effectively funded by university students. Someone who has parents on a high income can pay for their own music lessons etc. Why should the rest of the student body be subsidising this.

As for opposition, I am seriously considering sending a letter both to whoever in the university handle such complaints, cc my MP and the local one.

Reply 1349

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

15

Blunderbuss

How do you know which of the options at http://www.dur.ac.uk/colleges/undergraduate/costs/ you're on? I don't remember getting to choose in the pack I received and the differences in price are quite significant...

By knowing which college you are going to and if at Cuths, what meal package you are on. Contact your college if you are unsure.

Reply 1350

Aula

18

Blunderbuss

How do you know which of the options at http://www.dur.ac.uk/colleges/undergraduate/costs/ you're on? I don't remember getting to choose in the pack I received and the differences in price are quite significant...

You don't get a choice. If you're at JB or Cuths then it might be different, but otherwise you'll be in fully catered option 1. If you want one of the other fully catered options, you'll need to talk to your college near the beginning of term.

Reply 1351

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

15

Foxius

That last post doesn't mean to read as pretentiously as it does. Apologies.

It reads fine tbh.

Reply 1352

arkbar

12

To be fair ,you can be interested in politics without being an active member of any of the student clubs. I'm an active member of the Labour Party (and nowhere near as insane as HMK) but tried to avoid student politics like the plague, due to the large amount of people in it just for themselves.

Reply 1353

quizster

I might have totally missed this, but has the Durham Grant Scheme changed? At the moment I get the full entitlement which is £3145 per year, but I noticed on the website that figure has changed for 09/10, does that mean I'll get less, or I will get the same as I have done previously?

Reply 1354

Hopping Mad Kangaroo

15

quizster

I might have totally missed this, but has the Durham Grant Scheme changed? At the moment I get the full entitlement which is £3145 per year, but I noticed on the website that figure has changed for 09/10, does that mean I'll get less, or I will get the same as I have done each?

You are under the same terms as the first year of your course. Note that they don't bother to adjust for inflation however.

Reply 1355

quizster

Thanks for that, much appreciated, the Durham Grant Scheme is one of the biggest reasons I choose Durham, I know that is wrong in a sense because the money shouldn't be important, but for me personally it was a huge factor, and the thought of not getting that cash was quite worrying.

Reply 1356

tommy.789

1

Is it worth joining the durham students union?

Reply 1357

Aula

18

you're automatically a member of the student's union. Do you mean the Union Society? (that's the one that will have sent out the booklet recently)
If that is what you mean, take a look at page 63 onwards in this thread :smile:

Reply 1358

sidekick

12

quizster

Thanks for that, much appreciated, the Durham Grant Scheme is one of the biggest reasons I choose Durham, I know that is wrong in a sense because the money shouldn't be important, but for me personally it was a huge factor, and the thought of not getting that cash was quite worrying.

lol i remember seeing it was going down and getting QUITE freaked out. my friend and i sent outraged emails to the uni, but they replied and said we'd be getting the same. so that's ok, although yeah it's not going up to match the fees... huh. they said that it wasn't intended to match the cost of fees, which is clearly a lie, as it went up exactly the same amount last year. then they got a bit shirty and were like, well, we dont have to give you as much as we do, we're really generous etc... sad for the new students though, who dont get as much. it's still quite good but it was much better for us. plus the whole postcode thing is absolute crap anyway. chuh.

Reply 1359

Vesta

18

Hi, I'm back :p:

Should I go for Chads? I like the idea of a small, communityish college near the city centre and (from what I can see) has lots of formals. But would I have to share a room? :s-smilie:

Or should I go for Hild Bede? I like the idea of it having big grounds and from what I can gather from the website it is mostly made up of single rooms. Also I'm worried I'd feel claustraphobic in a small college.

Realistically I'm not sure how likely a visit is before putting my application through..

Thanks! :love:

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