Durham College Ranking

Pls can people tell me if this is a good ranking of the Durham colleges (Ideally, I want a self-catered college that is friendly, and I really don't want to run the risk of being in a shared room)

1. St Hild and St Bede
2. St Cuthbert’s Society
3. Castle
4. John Snow
5. Josephine Butler
6. Stephenson
7. South
8. St Mary’s
9. Van Mildert
10. Collingwood
11. Grey
12. St John’s
13. St Chad’s
14. St Aidan’s
15. Trevelyan
16. Hatfield

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Hey, I’m a current Durham student.

Your ranking looks good 🙂 Just as something to mention, both Cuths and Castle have both self catered and catered accommodation, and whilst you can express a preference be mindful that there is a small chance you may not get your preferred choice. Hild Bede is certainly a nice college, but be aware it can be quite a way from lectures and social events as the only college not on the hill or the Bailey (although if you don’t particularly mind about that it is a solid top option). Chads is the college where you are most likely to share a room, as 70% of their accommodation is shared, if this is the thing that matters most to you.

Ultimately don’t stress on it too much! I’m sure you’ll be happy and make good friends wherever you may end up :smile:

Reply 2

Ameliejasmine

OP

10

Original post by Anonymous

Hey, I’m a current Durham student.
Your ranking looks good 🙂 Just as something to mention, both Cuths and Castle have both self catered and catered accommodation, and whilst you can express a preference be mindful that there is a small chance you may not get your preferred choice. Hild Bede is certainly a nice college, but be aware it can be quite a way from lectures and social events as the only college not on the hill or the Bailey (although if you don’t particularly mind about that it is a solid top option). Chads is the college where you are most likely to share a room, as 70% of their accommodation is shared, if this is the thing that matters most to you.
Ultimately don’t stress on it too much! I’m sure you’ll be happy and make good friends wherever you may end up :smile:

Thank you so much! Do you find that Hild Bede students struggle with the location or is it just something they get used to (I don't mind walking at all but just wouldn't want to feel socially restricted / isolated because of location)?

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Original post by Ameliejasmine

Thank you so much! Do you find that Hild Bede students struggle with the location or is it just something they get used to (I don't mind walking at all but just wouldn't want to feel socially restricted / isolated because of location)?

I don’t know many students from Hild Bede personally I’m afraid (I’m at Aidans), but I imagine they’d get used to it soon enough, just like I’ve got used to the Aidan’s steps (sort of 😅) and if you find yourself having more lectures at Elvet Riverside than the Mountjoy site it wouldn’t be that far at all. The only restriction I can see in terms of socialising is if you were to make more friends in hill colleges, but then you could still see them most of the time in lectures and socials which often happen nearer town centre, so not too far from you. Besides, I’ve heard Hild Bede have a good bar, which can be good for socialising 🙂 I wouldn’t let its location impact too much in your decision making overall, your college is like your community so you’re bound to make friends with fellow Hild Bede folk, who seem like a friendly bunch :smile:

Reply 4

Durham Rep Ghala

Official Rep

14

Original post by Ameliejasmine

Pls can people tell me if this is a good ranking of the Durham colleges (Ideally, I want a self-catered college that is friendly, and I really don't want to run the risk of being in a shared room)
1. St Hild and St Bede
2. St Cuthbert’s Society
3. Castle
4. John Snow
5. Josephine Butler
6. Stephenson
7. South
8. St Mary’s
9. Van Mildert
10. Collingwood
11. Grey
12. St John’s
13. St Chad’s
14. St Aidan’s
15. Trevelyan
16. Hatfield

Hiya,

If you're specifically wanting a self catered college then it may be worth moving John Snow, Josephine Butler, Stephenson and South College further up as they're exclusively self catered and have ensuite rooms whereas St Cuthbert's and Castle do offer self catered options/ensuites but they are very limited and incredibly competitive making getting allocation rare. 🙂 Other than that, your ranking looks great! Best of luck and if there's anything I can help with, do let me know.

-Ghala
(Official DU Rep)

Reply 5

Anonymous #2

Original post by Ameliejasmine

Pls can people tell me if this is a good ranking of the Durham colleges (Ideally, I want a self-catered college that is friendly, and I really don't want to run the risk of being in a shared room)
1. St Hild and St Bede
2. St Cuthbert’s Society
3. Castle
4. John Snow
5. Josephine Butler
6. Stephenson
7. South
8. St Mary’s
9. Van Mildert
10. Collingwood
11. Grey
12. St John’s
13. St Chad’s
14. St Aidan’s
15. Trevelyan
16. Hatfield

i've also put hild bede first!! the accom looks sooo nice

Reply 6

Anonymous #3

Original post by Anonymous

Hey, I’m a current Durham student.
Your ranking looks good 🙂 Just as something to mention, both Cuths and Castle have both self catered and catered accommodation, and whilst you can express a preference be mindful that there is a small chance you may not get your preferred choice. Hild Bede is certainly a nice college, but be aware it can be quite a way from lectures and social events as the only college not on the hill or the Bailey (although if you don’t particularly mind about that it is a solid top option). Chads is the college where you are most likely to share a room, as 70% of their accommodation is shared, if this is the thing that matters most to you.
Ultimately don’t stress on it too much! I’m sure you’ll be happy and make good friends wherever you may end up :smile:

I'm the parent of a prospective student and we went up to the recent holders' day event. Really liked the university and daughter is definitely tempted. One thing that puzzled me was the oft-quoted hatred of Hatfield! Is than an actual thing or more a panto thing? It can't just be because it's full of posh people. Can it? There didn't seem to be a shortage of Public School kids in the other colleges. Genuinely intrigued. Also, is St John's a religious college? When I asked the on the tour they said no.

Reply 7

hatfieldcollege

1

Original post by Anonymous

I'm the parent of a prospective student and we went up to the recent holders' day event. Really liked the university and daughter is definitely tempted. One thing that puzzled me was the oft-quoted hatred of Hatfield! Is than an actual thing or more a panto thing? It can't just be because it's full of posh people. Can it? There didn't seem to be a shortage of Public School kids in the other colleges. Genuinely intrigued. Also, is St John's a religious college? When I asked the on the tour they said no.

Full disclosure: I studied at Hatfield and now work there (hence the handle). I did some of the Open Day tours, so if you came on one, you might have seen me! I think it's generally a show, although some students do take it too far, but I would not worry about this more than anything else about having a kid at Uni. While Hatfield has had the reputation of having Public School kids, it's largely overblown because University College (Castle), John's and Chad's all have comparable traditions and things which people take digs at Hatfield for. Even Cuth's with its 'not a college but a society' does too...
The College itself is trying its best to rebalance the reputation. We've got various support schemes- financial (Hatfield Bursaries and four UG Scholarships, trying actively for more) to provide substantial support for students from Lower-Income households to integrate into college life, as well as a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior on campus. The staff at Hatfield are no different to any other college either, qualified, grounded and approachable (if I may say so myself)... we have our quirks but no more than anywhere else!

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 8

Anonymous #4

Do you what the deadline is for submitting college choices and can you do this before you have firmed the offer from Durham?

Reply 9

Anonymous #3

Original post by hatfieldcollege

Full disclosure: I studied at Hatfield and now work there (hence the handle). I did some of the Open Day tours, so if you came on one, you might have seen me! I think it's generally a show, although some students do take it too far, but I would not worry about this more than anything else about having a kid at Uni. While Hatfield has had the reputation of having Public School kids, it's largely overblown because University College (Castle), John's and Chad's all have comparable traditions and things which people take digs at Hatfield for. Even Cuth's with its 'not a college but a society' does too...
The College itself is trying its best to rebalance the reputation. We've got various support schemes- financial (Hatfield Bursaries and four UG Scholarships, trying actively for more) to provide substantial support for students from Lower-Income households to integrate into college life, as well as a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior on campus. The staff at Hatfield are no different to any other college either, qualified, grounded and approachable (if I may say so myself)... we have our quirks but no more than anywhere else!

Thanks very much for this. You clearly liked it if you're working there! I will pass all this on to The Daughter.

Reply 10

tired-satellite

5

Original post by Ameliejasmine

Pls can people tell me if this is a good ranking of the Durham colleges (Ideally, I want a self-catered college that is friendly, and I really don't want to run the risk of being in a shared room)
1. St Hild and St Bede
2. St Cuthbert’s Society
3. Castle
4. John Snow
5. Josephine Butler
6. Stephenson
7. South
8. St Mary’s
9. Van Mildert
10. Collingwood
11. Grey
12. St John’s
13. St Chad’s
14. St Aidan’s
15. Trevelyan
16. Hatfield

If you want to be absolutely certain that you'll be allocated to a self-catered ensuite room, I'd suggest moving the colleges in #4 to #7 over Castle and St Cuth's. I myself have the same considerations as you and have put Josephine Butler, John Snow and South on the top of my ranking :smile:

Reply 11

tired-satellite

5

Original post by Anonymous

Do you what the deadline is for submitting college choices and can you do this before you have firmed the offer from Durham?