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Parents of Durham University 2022 Applicants

Following on from the suggestion on the Durham 2022 Applicants Thread, would it be useful for parents of Durham applicants to have their own thread in order to share information and offer advice to better support our young people?

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Original post by Anonymous
Following on from the suggestion on the Durham 2022 Applicants Thread, would it be useful for parents of Durham applicants to have their own thread in order to share information and offer advice to better support our young people?

Sounds good to me - thanks. I’m not sure I’ll be any use for advice but happy to share experiences (and probably ask lots of stupid questions!)
Chemistry Research, Durham University
Durham University
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So let me begin! I'm a dad whose son is an Oxbridge reject (UK student, non-contextual). He's had 2 offers from other uni's since the "early" application deadline but now has his heart set on Durham.

I was a bit pissed off (to say the least) given their latest email with "Update on application decisions" as the Subject - when all they basically said was "we're working on it".

Unbelievable !!
It seems to vary widely by department then.
My son didn’t get his UCAS form in till 18th December and had all offers by 19th Jan (Newcastle and Durham were his last two)
Original post by EnterTheDragon
So let me begin! I'm a dad whose son is an Oxbridge reject (UK student, non-contextual). He's had 2 offers from other uni's since the "early" application deadline but now has his heart set on Durham.

I was a bit pissed off (to say the least) given their latest email with "Update on application decisions" as the Subject - when all they basically said was "we're working on it".


Exactly the same for my son also an Oxford reject .
Original post by Anonymous
Sounds good to me - thanks. I’m not sure I’ll be any use for advice but happy to share experiences (and probably ask lots of stupid questions!)


There's no such thing as a stupid question, we're all in a similar position and it's nerve-wracking! I've been following threads on TSR for a while and have found it really useful and interesting. I am the mother of teenage twins and this whole process of waiting for offers is difficult for me so I can imagine how incredibly stressful it is for our children. Nice to be able to chat to you all on here🙂
Take this from a dad (parent of a Cambridge reject and now a Durham hopeful) who had to endure weeks of utter nonsense/bullsh1t on the Cambridge TSR thread (which I have since left)...

DON'T pay ANY attention to the Durham offers spreadsheet because:

= most Durham applicants are NOT on TSR, and even if they were, there is no telling who fills out the form
= it's TOTALLY unrepresentative of ANYTHING - it's not official, and ANYONE who has access to the internet can ENTER ANTHING, whether an applicant or not (4.66 billion people currently have some sort of internet access)

So...

Hopefully we can all give each other some support/advice as parents.
Original post by Anonymous
Following on from the suggestion on the Durham 2022 Applicants Thread, would it be useful for parents of Durham applicants to have their own thread in order to share information and offer advice to better support our young people?

Great idea! I don't want the prospective students to feel like their parents are gatecrashing their private space so I tend to stay quite quiet but it's made me feel a lot better to see so many other parents on here.
Reply 8
Original post by Anonymous
Following on from the suggestion on the Durham 2022 Applicants Thread, would it be useful for parents of Durham applicants to have their own thread in order to share information and offer advice to better support our young people?


Original post by WILLOWTREE98
Great idea! I don't want the prospective students to feel like their parents are gatecrashing their private space so I tend to stay quite quiet but it's made me feel a lot better to see so many other parents on here.

Thanks for starting this thread.I agree it's very frustrating following the Durham applicants thread and seeing other students receiving offers when your own child's application has been in for a while. My daughter already has her A levels and we think eligible for a contextual offer which matches requirements on the website. Having already got her A levels I just assumed we would hear quickly particularly as her other 4 had all offered within a week. All this waiting has made her anxious and O do think if they don't offer by 23rd Feb when she has her York Applicants day she will end up firming York and just withdraw from Durham as you can't do anything until all your offers are in. The fact accomodation portals are now open really doesn't help either. Rant over lol
Presumably your kids are all applying for the most competitive and over- subscribed courses if they’re still waiting - is that how it works?
My son is a geography bsc applicant - I believe Durham has a relatively large geography department so this could be why he heard quickly? He’s not contextual - just standard/hone.
This is great, Thankyou for starting this parents space.

Ok so thoughts please, my son applied beginning of November (not a Cambridge or Oxford applicant) is predicted A*AB, applied for Business, is in the ‘contextual’ camp. Heard nothing but holding out for Durham, all the other ones he has applied for he has offers and they are opening their accommodation allocation etc (York being one of them)
Do you think he has a chance of getting in as has waited so so long. He is worried he will miss out on his other choices if he does not act soon but his heart is set in Durham. Looking at the table the offer rate for Business is 53%.
Hi. Thank you for starting this thread. I'm glad to have a place to chat to Durham parents!
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My son is already at Durham, he's a first year at Trevs and loves it there. If you've got any questions about last year's fiasco don't hesitate to ask.

I think Durham's caution this year is to not have a repeat of last year. From asking everyone to defer to not giving anyone's colleges out till 1 week before going was a nightmare! They really got themselves in a pickle.

It's nice to meet you all. Good luck to everyone applying. It's the most nerve wracking thing the wait. This year I'm watching for a good friend of my son's whose also applied to Durham and I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed for her.
Reply 12
Morning all & thanks for this ! My daughter also Oxford reject - gap year as got better than predicted & wanted to change course …. Has grades already , applied for physics has all other offers apart from here which is her top choice !
Yes similar. Son is a Cambridge reject so desperate to get an offer from Durham. No idea how the process works as some have offers, others don’t. He has applied for Engineering.
Hi everyone, I set up the thread. Pleased so many parents have found their way to this discussion. Those of you who read the applicants thread will see an almost identical post which I somehow managed to post on the wrong thread😂 (something to do with the preview post page I think). Obviously setting up the thread in the first place was more luck than judgement - I do just about mange to function in the 21st century, honest!!

My son is applying for Computer Science at Durham and is my eldest child so we are new to this process. I have found it really interesting and useful to follow some of the applicant threads but it seemed obvious that many other parents were following too, so our own thread will be helpful I think. My son applied back in October but has only received the generic emails many others have mentioned. I think yesterday's update email was particularly unhelpful, as he is now worrying that a late offer will cause him to miss out on an in person offer holders day or to potentially miss out on his first choice of accommodation at his second choice of university. Does anyone know when Durham will start allocating colleges? Hope those receiving a late offer don't get pushed to the bottom of the pile in relation to this.
I've noticed a few of you have mentioned York, I'm in the same position with regards to their accommodation allocation policy ( first come, first served) however I wouldn't panic as I know of so many students that didn't get their first choice accommodation/ college last year and they applied after firming immediately ( I think I watch too many student vlogs on YouTube 😬). There will always be accommodation available for first years so don't panic but I expect alot of students will be applying for the 2 new accommodation/ colleges on East Campus. Have your Young people had all offers from other unis yet? Mine have had 2 offers so far and I've told them to just focus on their mocks next week and not check ucas track obsessively but I have to admit the waiting is the hardest part! Especially as I have identical twins and they want to stay together.
Original post by WILLOWTREE98
I've noticed a few of you have mentioned York, I'm in the same position with regards to their accommodation allocation policy ( first come, first served) however I wouldn't panic as I know of so many students that didn't get their first choice accommodation/ college last year and they applied after firming immediately ( I think I watch too many student vlogs on YouTube 😬). There will always be accommodation available for first years so don't panic but I expect alot of students will be applying for the 2 new accommodation/ colleges on East Campus. Have your Young people had all offers from other unis yet? Mine have had 2 offers so far and I've told them to just focus on their mocks next week and not check ucas track obsessively but I have to admit the waiting is the hardest part! Especially as I have identical twins and they want to stay together.

Thanks. That's useful to hear. My son does have an offer from York but I think will go for Sheffield as his insurance. Their accommodation opens for booking in March I believe so fingers crossed we hear from Durham by then. It must be really stressful waiting for offers for twins. Hope they manage to stay together. Are they applying for the same course?
Original post by Physics Mum
Hi. Thank you for starting this thread. I'm glad to have a place to chat to Durham parents!
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My son is already at Durham, he's a first year at Trevs and loves it there. If you've got any questions about last year's fiasco don't hesitate to ask.

I think Durham's caution this year is to not have a repeat of last year. From asking everyone to defer to not giving anyone's colleges out till 1 week before going was a nightmare! They really got themselves in a pickle.

It's nice to meet you all. Good luck to everyone applying. It's the most nerve wracking thing the wait. This year I'm watching for a good friend of my son's whose also applied to Durham and I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed for her.


A few parents have mentioned the so-called "fiasco" last year in terms of the Durham offer process. This is all news to me as obviously my son was in Y12 then so I would not have heard anything about it. What exactly happened?
The latest email seems to suggest that not all decisions will have been sent before the offer holder days seems a bit ridiculous.
Original post by EnterTheDragon
A few parents have mentioned the so-called "fiasco" last year in terms of the Durham offer process. This is all news to me as obviously my son was in Y12 then so I would not have heard anything about it. What exactly happened?


They had more acceptances than they could manage- there were last minute changes of college, late notification of college, and some first years (at Hild I think) were housed out of town.

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