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Durham colleges??

Hello everyone!! I'm fulfilling the prophecy of an Oxford reject looking towards Durham. I haven't managed to go to an open day but I have an upcoming offer holder day so I'd like to have some ideas of colleges that might suit me before I go as obviously I can't visit them all!!

A little bit about me to help:
- history applicant (any suggestions as to which are close by to places I'd be are welcome!)
- northern state school student
- I love old architecture but I'm willing to give that up since it's superficial
- ideally want somewhere with a friendly and social atmosphere
- I haven't decided between catered/uncatered yet but if catered ideally somewhere with nice food
- I don't care that much about sports I'm more into theatre and art stuff
- at Oxford I applied to Wadham if that helps to understand the vibes I liked (although I know it isn't totally comparable)

Any help is greatly appreciated because going through the whole college selection process again feels so overwhelming :smile:

looking forward to exploring my options

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Something to consider is that as I understand for Durham some colleges (like University College aka Castle I believe) have shared rooms for first year (i.e. US style where there are two beds in a single room on opposite sides, with two students sharing the whole room with one bed each; this was the case for a friend of my sister's who was at Castle albeit some time ago). This may not be appealing for everyone so could be a major consideration/something to investigate before making any choices!

I also gather in general a disproportional number of students put Castle as their first preference college and end up getting placed in their second or third choice as a result. Although obviously if you want to have a chance at Castle, you would need to put that as your first preference I believe. Unlike Oxbridge I don't believe the colleges themselves make decisions on admissions and I believe academic teaching is even more centralised, and you just put a ranked preference of colleges rather than "applying" to a single college in the same way as for Oxbridge. So I think overall don't worry so much about college choice if you like the university in general and just pick a "best fit" option?

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Original post by Erinlol&lt

Hello everyone!! I'm fulfilling the prophecy of an Oxford reject looking towards Durham. I haven't managed to go to an open day but I have an upcoming offer holder day so I'd like to have some ideas of colleges that might suit me before I go as obviously I can't visit them all!!
A little bit about me to help:
- history applicant (any suggestions as to which are close by to places I'd be are welcome!)
- northern state school student
- I love old architecture but I'm willing to give that up since it's superficial
- ideally want somewhere with a friendly and social atmosphere
- I haven't decided between catered/uncatered yet but if catered ideally somewhere with nice food
- I don't care that much about sports I'm more into theatre and art stuff
- at Oxford I applied to Wadham if that helps to understand the vibes I liked (although I know it isn't totally comparable)
Any help is greatly appreciated because going through the whole college selection process again feels so overwhelming :smile:

looking forward to exploring my options

I am in the same boat as you sadly!! I’ve firmed for Ancient History and Archaeology and also wanted an Oxbridge adjacent college so went for Chad’s/Mary’s/John’s as my top choices. I believe Collingwood has both the best sports and drama facilities from what I have gathered and my friend went there when she studied at Durham and loved it! Hope this helped :smile:

Reply 3

DurhamRep Lesath

Official Rep

Original post by Erinlol&lt

Hello everyone!! I'm fulfilling the prophecy of an Oxford reject looking towards Durham. I haven't managed to go to an open day but I have an upcoming offer holder day so I'd like to have some ideas of colleges that might suit me before I go as obviously I can't visit them all!!
A little bit about me to help:
- history applicant (any suggestions as to which are close by to places I'd be are welcome!)
- northern state school student
- I love old architecture but I'm willing to give that up since it's superficial
- ideally want somewhere with a friendly and social atmosphere
- I haven't decided between catered/uncatered yet but if catered ideally somewhere with nice food
- I don't care that much about sports I'm more into theatre and art stuff
- at Oxford I applied to Wadham if that helps to understand the vibes I liked (although I know it isn't totally comparable)
Any help is greatly appreciated because going through the whole college selection process again feels so overwhelming :smile:

looking forward to exploring my options

Hi!

Well done on getting accepted to Durham!
I just wanted to give my two-cents (or two-pennies) about colleges since I've been through all the stress myself so I hope that this can help!

A few important things to note about colleges is that whilst they are super important to your experience here at Durham, in terms of academics, it doesn't really matter because all teaching is done centrally at the university level so it doesn't really matter in terms of your degree. Where it does matter is for your first year accommodation (colleges don't guarantee second or third year accommodation at Durham), whether its catered or not as well as the sports and societies that each college has.

In terms of location, it depends on where your lectures and seminars are held (which unfortunately can change from year to year). This map shows where all the colleges and university sites are located. Generally, the colleges are split into the "Hill Colleges" and the "Bailey Colleges". The Bailey colleges are the old, "Hogwarts-y" colleges, and they are probably what you think when you think Durham (more traditional, older buildings, et cetera, et cetera). However, the Hill Colleges are the new, more decked out colleges with generally more facilities (i.e. more modern, bigger rooms, en-suites etc.)

First year accommodation also really varies as some colleges have different numbers of twin rooms (you share a room and a bathroom with one other person), shared-bathrooms and en-suites. This document here shows all the details about the amenities each college has and is probably worth looking into if you're really picky about your rooms. I should point out that there are different charges for different rooms (which you can see here so that is probably something you should keep in mind.

As for catering, some colleges are self catered (i.e. there is likely a shared kitchen where you can cook) or catered (where the university provides your meals at a dining hall). I personally believe that the food at all catered colleges are identical so if you are dead-set on a catered college, you can just ignore all the self-catered ones and filter on based on other factors! Your accommodation cost does also increase if you are catered so it is important you keep that in mind!

Finally, some colleges have gowned formals and some do not. Gowns are a tradition some colleges have at some colleges, which are type of cloak/robe that we wear to some events, primarily matriculation (our ceremony where we are formally accepted into the university). Some colleges have gowned formals (Durham-speak for fancy dinners) which require you to wear gowns and some don't. Just to clarify, all colleges have matriculation, formals, balls and all the bells and whistles that is Durham so the gowns are a pretty minor difference but again, most of the differences between colleges are pretty minor!

Extracurriculars also really do vary by colleges. Some colleges are much bigger than others so they tend to have more societies but even if the college you choose doesn't have the society you want - which you can check on each college's JCR website, you could always start one or alternatively you can join one of the many university-level societies (you can check out all the ones offered by the Durham Student Union here) There is also the Durham Student Theatre which might be something you would be interested in!

All in all, your college is important but it isn't at the same time. You'll love your college regardless of which one you get (I've never met a Durham University student who doesn't) and with the benefit of hindsight I can definitely say it seems to be much bigger of a deal than it really is. But if you still really can't decide, just choose the best college which is my college, John Snow. :smile:

Hope this helps! x
– Lesath (DU Rep.)