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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Durham University

998 replies

NotEnoughTime · 04/02/2020 14:18

Hello.

How many of us are waiting for their DC to hear back from Durham? My DS applied back in October last year and is getting very down now he knows that others who have received offers are being informed that they will be told soon re college allocations.

I am usually a 'no news is good news' type of person but even I am finding it hard to be upbeat as I too am fed up Confused

I wish they would just let him me know soon if he is going to get an offer or a rejection and then he can get on with his life and his A Level revision without this hanging over him.

OP posts:
Baytreemum · 28/01/2021 16:44

It's been difficult for all years I think from gap through to finalists. It is so sad to hear about the bad times individual students have been through. There does seem to have been quite a bit of variation in experience. At my DD's college the freps were very active for the whole 14 day pre-term and freshers settling-in week, the parenting scheme was quite lively and there was a chance to get "adopted" by a new family if yours didn't work out. Accommodation does seem to vary a lot between and even within colleges. What I am worried about now is the apparent lack of safety for the girls in Durham at the moment. There have been reports of being exposed to flashers on the river path and a lot of strange men approaching and intimidating the girls in broad daylight in the centre of town. One of my daughter's friends said that she "took her life in her hands" walking up to Gilesgate the other day. It seems wrong to me that the police were prepared to spend so much time and resource terrorising the students during the second lockdown but leave them unprotected and vulnerable when they are just trying to buy food or fetch a book from the library. My DD is afraid to go out after about 12 noon.

chopc · 28/01/2021 16:52

@Baytreemum if you don't mind (and can be bothered) can you elaborate on the safety issues of girls? I wasn't aware this was a thing and it sounds worrying even though I have a DS

Baytreemum · 28/01/2021 18:16

Yes, there have been a few incidents already with girls being frightened when walking around the viaduct area, with guys following them in cars, boot open, following them home etc. Then two girls were subjected to a flasher doing the unmentionable intentionally in front of them on a river path recently. My DD has been accosted by single men and by men in pairs (middle aged men, she said) four times now over the last couple of weeks, even when with a girlfriend, as happened today. After their short walk in town, both girls had to make their way home in different parts of Durham, and the two men were following my DD's friend as she went back.

chopc · 28/01/2021 18:18

Wow! Is this specific to recent times or normal for Durham?

chopc · 28/01/2021 18:19

Hope your DD@Baytreemum and all other DD remain safe and well

Applepieco · 28/01/2021 18:28

Response from Durham from a FOI request regarding number of History deferrals last year. Seems extraordinarily high.

The 2020 target for History was 205. There are currently 35 deferred
applicants holding a place for 2021 entry. Please note that we would
expect this number to decrease over the next year as applicants withdraw,
particularly as this year UCAS have allowed applicants to submit a new
application to 2021 without withdrawing their deferred application first.

Baytreemum · 28/01/2021 19:09

@chopc No it’s totally new - Durham was so safe and lovely before.

Applepieco · 28/01/2021 19:28

[quote Baytreemum]@chopc No it’s totally new - Durham was so safe and lovely before.[/quote]
What do you think has changed?

WinterRobin · 28/01/2021 22:52

@Baytreemum so sorry to hear that. That’s very worrying. Are the university aware? Tbh when my dd was in Durham last term, she only left her room to go to the dining hall or the library so didn’t really experience going anywhere. She did sign up for a walking partner with her college but she was matched with a male and she felt awkward and worried about going walking with a stranger who was male 😐.

Baytreemum · 29/01/2021 00:08

It’s lockdown no. 3 that’s changed things. Not sure why. It’s very worrying.

WinterRobin · 29/01/2021 00:48

@Baytreemum do you have any description of the men who accosted your dd ? Is Durham much quieter than usual? When we went to pick up my dd early December, the streets still seemed quite busy. Or maybe just compared to where I’m from, small rural market town.

Baytreemum · 29/01/2021 04:56

@WinterRobin My DD has written to her college to report it so hopefully something will be done to keep the students safe. Yes, it’s deserted a lot of the time now.

garlictwist · 29/01/2021 05:15

This is off on a tangent, and I'm only reading this thread as I went to Durham (and hated it) but I am quite impressed by how much you as parents seem to know about what's going on at your child's uni. I don't think I ever told my parents a thing. You must have good relationships.

chopc · 29/01/2021 06:17

@garlictwist I am not particularly a helicopter parents but like to think I have a good relationship with my kids. However I do find parents these days are a lot more "involved" in their kids lives - perhaps schools involve them more so that's what we get used to .........

I don't think I told my parents much about my Uni life but they were very interested and we have.a good relationship

chopc · 29/01/2021 06:18

@Baytreemum perhaps Durham was always like this but the students previously dominated the place? Whereas now they are definitely in the minority

chopc · 29/01/2021 06:19

@garlictwist why did you hate Durham?

garlictwist · 29/01/2021 11:05

@chopc - it wasn't all Durham's fault. I didn't really feel ready to leave home and was quite immature and found the transition quite hard. But I also found parts of it quite formal, disliked the communal dining and found some of the people quite pompous. It was 20 years ago now though!

chopc · 29/01/2021 11:37

Thanks for the response @garlictwist . Hope you came out the other end OK though. Best wishes

Baytreemum · 29/01/2021 11:42

Am happy to report that college has been brilliant- speedy and supportive response and taking immediate steps to get something done.

chopc · 29/01/2021 11:51

That's great @Baytreemum

LeiatheSchnauzer · 29/01/2021 14:30

Hi,I was wondering if anyone here could share their knowledge of bursaries? Dd1 has an offer and has put down a catered college as her first choice for accommodation. She is now worrying about the cost of this as it obviously eats up most of her loan.
Her brother is at Bath and when he started he was given a very generous bursary which he qualified for due to our income. I have had a look at Durham's website and I can see lots of individual bursaries which she could apply for but not sure what her chances would be of actually getting one.
The bursary her brother received was fantastic as it meant he has managed without a term time job.
Any advice for how best to proceed at Durham would be very appreciated.

WinterRobin · 29/01/2021 22:53

@Baytreemum, that’s really good to hear, please keep us informed of any developments.

Beetlesand · 30/01/2021 11:31

@LeiatheSchnauzer . Dc and I were looking at these too. Lots of hoops to get through and there aren’t that many I thought. Dc is a bit bruised from jumping through oxbridge hoops and getting a rejection. I’m not sure we can muster the energy.

LeiatheSchnauzer · 30/01/2021 18:08

@Beetlesand, sorry, yes, this part does feel like it should be easier. My ds automatically qualified for one at Bath and I guess I was naively hoping there might be a similar process at Durham. I think we will put some time aside in half term to see if we can figure out what she might qualify for and how to apply.

LeiatheSchnauzer · 02/02/2021 09:46

@Beetlesand, not sure if this helps you but I have found this grant scheme which is automatic, subject to household income. Have emailed to see if this will be available this year.
www.dur.ac.uk/study/ug/finance/uk/dgs/

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