Durham colleges

Which colleges do people recommend? I'm trying to narrow it down to 3 to look at at the offer holder day but still so stuck and would love some help! (I'm too indecisive for this i still dont know which uni to go to 🙏)

I heard some can have a lot of private school people in so I don't want to stick out/feel super awkward

also if anyone has been is the food ok with catered?

Reply 1

Physician

Original post

by Anonymous

Which colleges do people recommend? I'm trying to narrow it down to 3 to look at at the offer holder day but still so stuck and would love some help! (I'm too indecisive for this i still dont know which uni to go to 🙏)
I heard some can have a lot of private school people in so I don't want to stick out/feel super awkward
also if anyone has been is the food ok with catered?

My advice is to apply to the four "colleges" that are actually that (the rest are halls of residences). Most students at Durham are not privately educated.

Reply 2

DurhamRep Rosie

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

Which colleges do people recommend? I'm trying to narrow it down to 3 to look at at the offer holder day but still so stuck and would love some help! (I'm too indecisive for this i still dont know which uni to go to 🙏)
I heard some can have a lot of private school people in so I don't want to stick out/feel super awkward
also if anyone has been is the food ok with catered?

Hi there!

Choosing a college can definitely be tough. I’d recommend thinking about what’s important to you, and what you’d like to prioritise. For instance, considering whether you’d like to be self-catered, what area you’d like to live in and what facilities you’d like (e.g shared/ensuite bathroom).

‘Bailey’ colleges are situated closer to the town centre, whereas ‘Hill’ colleges are nearer the to Science Site and library. Generally speaking, most colleges will share aspects such as bars, societies and events, ensuring no college is a bad choice! Personally, I didn’t rank my options and was allocated St Aidans, which I now love! 😊

It’s a great idea to narrow down some choices for the offer holder day - you can check out different properties of colleges online here if that could help your decision. If you want to read about student experiences, here is an account of life at Van Mildert college, or here is one about Hatfield. In terms of food, if you choose a catered college, menus are created to ensure diversity to meet the needs of both students and staff, including vegetarian and vegan options.

I understand the worry about some of the stereotypes about Durham, being a working class first-generation student myself! I hope it reassures you to know that my experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and there are endless opportunities to make friends and meet likeminded people in things like societies (e.g the 93% club).

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions!

-Rosie (DU representative)

Reply 3

squashedpanda

I would recommend deciding whether you'd prefer self catered or catered to begin with. Then pick a couple you really like the sound of and visit those but then also visit one of the least popular ones that you think would still be ok (you can google some stats or just look on threads for how distressed people seem when they get their allocation). Because of the way they allocate if you put all the popular colleges at the top and your name doesn't come up near the top of the random selection you run the risk of not getting anywhere near what you'd want(could end up not getting your catering preference)...hence the unluckiest ending up at their 15th preference but plenty seem horrified by their 8th choice. If you can consider something not so popular that you'd still be ok with and put it say 3rd on your list they will hopefully still have places at your 'backup" if you aren't lucky enough with your 2 favourites rather than risk missing out on your catering preference(or whatever is most important to you) altogether. So...consider which you feel is the best of the least popular to you and visit that as well as a couple you love the sound of. Of course if you like all the least popular ones then you should be fine 🤣

My son wanted catered, we visited Johns, Chads, Marys Trevs & Aidans(open day & offer holder day). His preferences went Johns(desperately wanted), Chads(liked the look of and fancied the Bailey), Aidans (thought it was ok and liked its location/views & facilities so though it would be ok despite not being Bailey & gowned) He got Aidans so although gutted not to be Bailey he was very pleased he didn't end up self catered. He has actually loved it way more than he thought...and that is a pretty common thing, once they get there the overwhelming majority seem to love their College and can't imagine themselves elsewhere after a couple of weeks.

Hope that makes sense - good luck 🍀

Reply 4

Anonymous #2

Original post

by Anonymous

Which colleges do people recommend? I'm trying to narrow it down to 3 to look at at the offer holder day but still so stuck and would love some help! (I'm too indecisive for this i still dont know which uni to go to 🙏)
I heard some can have a lot of private school people in so I don't want to stick out/feel super awkward
also if anyone has been is the food ok with catered?

Hatfield has a very posh reputation, one year only 19% of people were from state school

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Articles for you

Highest-ranked universities in Clearing 2025

Mathematics degree personal statement example (1r) Durham offer

Anthropology degree personal statement example (1d) Durham offer

Mathematics degree personal statement example (2d) five offers including Oxford, St Andrews

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.

Try out the app

Continue on web

Durham colleges

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Articles for you

How The Student Room is moderated