Opinions on my Durham colleges ranking
South
Collingwood
John Snow
St Marys
Grey
Stephenson
Hatfield
St Chads
St Cuths
Reply 2
South
Collingwood
John Snow
St Marys
Grey
Stephenson
Hatfield
St Chads
St Cuths
Hiya!! Thanks for sharing your ranking - it’s a really solid list, but before getting too deep into specific colleges, I’d encourage you to take a step back and think about what you actually want from the college experience.
A few key things to consider:
•
Catered vs self-catered – do you want the structure and social aspect of formal meals, or more independence?
•
Traditional vs modern – are you drawn to historic buildings, formals, and that classic Durham feel, or newer facilities and a more relaxed atmosphere?
•
Bailey vs Hill – central, picturesque, and often smaller vs larger, more campus-based, and typically more social/sporty
•
Gowned vs ungowned formals – is tradition important to you, or not really a priority?
More importantly: what are your non-negotiables?
For example, do you absolutely want:
•
A central location?
•
A strong social/sporty scene?
•
A smaller, tighter-knit community?
•
Ensuite/modern accommodation?
Looking at your list, you’ve implicitly answered some of these already (which is good!):
•
You’ve put University College (Castle) and St Mary’s quite high → suggests you’re drawn to traditional, gowned colleges
•
Having Collingwood, Grey, and John Snow near the top → suggests you’re also open to larger, hill colleges with a strong social/sporty reputation
•
Including colleges like South and Stephenson → shows you’re not completely against modern accommodation
At the moment, your list mixes quite a few different “types” of college, which is absolutely fine - but it might help to clarify what matters most to you so your ranking feels more intentional.
This list is very similar to mine from last year - I ranked University College, Collingwood and Marys. However, I did end up getting my 8th choice (Van Mildert - which I know love so much!). Therefore, my advice is to not overthink the rankings as you can get allocated anything. All colleges are great at Durham - and once you get here, you will find everyone gets very defensive about their college.
Overall, it’s a strong list - but I’d recommend refining it by prioritising your preferences a bit more clearly. If you have any further questions - please feel free to ask! I would recommend looking at these resources also:
•
I would also recommend checking out the instagrams and social medias of the colleges you prefer - to find out more about events, facilities and day-to-day life and experiences.
-Lacey, DU Student Rep 🙂💜
Reply 3
Reply 4
Hiya!
I believe it is still the same system as last year - You need to rank all 16. If you don’t, the system will randomly rank the remaining options for you, so it’s best to complete the full list to make sure your preferences are reflected. I hope this has helped.
-Lacey, DU Student Rep 🙂💜
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