Durham University

[NotEnoughTime]

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

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.

Hi Theo how’s your daughter getting on with the English course and which college is she in...mine got an offer

Still waiting here

@Peaseblossom I really hope you hear soon. Last year's thread suggested many were still waiting in the last week of March. Lots of schools are advising their students to sit on their offers and not rush into firming/insuring which exacerbates the problem.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3505159-Anyone-still-waiting-to-hear-from-Durham?pg=7

DS is also still waiting. He mentioned earlier that he’s had a couple of emails from Durham saying why it’s a great place to study etc which I thought was odd as they haven’t made an offer yet. He checked track and nothing there. Anyone had anything similar? Just wondering if it’s worth a phone call?

I got my Durham offer in late January, although it was 9 years ago. The college allocation system was different back then too, I got second choice and loved it.

I really loved my time at Durham, it's an amazing university and city. I was taught by some incredible academics and basically had the time of my life. Wishing lots of luck to those still waiting on offers!

We are also still waiting and have had the same emails as others.

@truelove we phone about 10 days ago and they said all offers will be out by 31st March.

We're still waiting.

Sage, my impression is that Durham is a different unI to 10 years ago. It has much greater and growing student numbers, several self catering colleges have been built, admissions and college allocation are now centralised. It is joining the ranks of other large unis such as Manchester, Exeter and Bristol with greater focus on student numbers.

Fingers crossed we will all hear today with good news from Durham.

@ofteninaspin yes, I graduated 5 years ago and was getting that impression in my final year. I worked with admissions while I was there and disagree with the new college allocation system.

However, there are still only two-and-a-half self-catered colleges out of them all in Durham City, so hopefully that will stick for the time being! Eating together was such a bonus for me - take a break from work instead of eating over a laptop, spending time with friends etc.

The current website lists a few colleges that aren't actually self-catering for undergraduates - just postgrads. Something to be aware of!

Useful insight- thanks Sage.

Durham have cancelled their offer holder residential visits. That's £88 lost on train tickets.

You should be able to get a refund surely?

Certainly the trainline if you post them back the ticket within a certain time do refund rail tickets bought less £10. I think in some cases you just get a right to travel on a different day and if it is an advance ticket it varies too - see www.thetrainline.com/en/help/question/5221/cancel-my-booking-for-a-refund

I have certainly posted them back and got a refund before now

Durham moved to online teaching last week to enable students to go home early (if possible) as their epidemiological modelling showed a significant preventative impact on coronavirus in both student and wider community body so cancelling open days etc is, whilst inconvenient, a positive action in terms of public health. Hope you can get refunded though.

My eyes have been watering at the cost of the hotel booking for two nights for the Durham July graduation since I paid back in October. I very, very much doubt the hotel will reimburse that.... (Just checked, hotel almost sold out and the very cheapest room is now £323 a night - it does well out of freshers drop off day and graduation when prices spike annually by about £200 a night. Nice hotel though!).

My Bristol booking - 2 nights for the twins and a separate room for me and my son for one night £434 bed and breakfast, not refundable and 226 so £660. Let us hope the graduations continue as usual in July. Bristol's website says "Coronavirus and summer 2020 graduation. We still plan to hold our July graduation ceremonies, unless advice from the UK government agencies indicates .."We regret that the University of Bristol cannot be held liable for any loss or damage, including but not limited to travel and accommodation costs, which may arise from a graduation ceremony that is cancelled or rearranged due to the coronavirus or related Government order."

Thank god I booked refundable. And not too expensive anyway! I think they may poss go ahead, but if not, be moved to Sep/Oct?

Yes, I think so. We just need to wait to see how this all pans out by early July.

So DS got a notification yesterday evening that UCAS track updated. It was something along the lines of no offer from Durham either because the application was withdrawn/unsuccessful/full course. He is gutted. His first question - what did I do wrong? He was straight 9s/8s at GSCE and has the required predicted IB results. No email or communication from Durham. I assume he should get something?

Im sorry your DS is disappointed, it doesn’t make much sense at all.
However I’m wondering if Durham will give out many more offers now anyway.
If students aren’t taking exams then I think there will be more students getting their predicted grades, and that’s a very different model for the universities who typically over offer knowing that many don’t get their grades. I expect Durham have already over offered on all their courses.

My DD is still waiting to hear from Durham, but fortunately for her it’s gone from being her top choice, to wanting to see if she would get an offer for the kudos.
She decided last night that with the ongoing uncertainty and lack of exams, she will firm her first choice today and effectively withdraw her Durham application

I can’t believe they’ll use predicted grades as so many miss them. That would seem unfair.
My DD still waiting, suspect it will take even longer now!!!

I agree it will be unfair to use predicted grades, even with teachers qualifying their decision - how many teachers are honestly going to say they predicted grade x but the student is only working at grade y!
DD took her exams last summer so has already achieved the entry requirements and has a strong set of GCSEs. However there seem to have been masses of contextual offers given out this year judging by social media posts, and it’s a very over subscribed university.

It is a very complicate system with so much at stake judicial review actions may be taken if decisions are unfair or wrong I suspect.

My son was predicted A in his university subject, won a prize in it etc and no one including him got higher than B in the A level in the whole school in that subject. I suspect the teaching might be partly to blame as all his other results were and always have been very good but anyway it's done now - B on his record not that that's that bad. I got AAB in 1979! Had the school issued him with A levels based on predicted grades because exams cancelled he would be sitting on AAA now. Others often do badly during the time and pull it together at the last minute (often boys) and my twins were pretty good at that too which predicted grades then become unfair the other way for A levels.

I am not too worried about their university finals as Bristol is not shut over Easter and term starts on 20 April. If you let people sit in the library all day every day as plenty are doing given the strikes then allowing them an extra 3 hours for an exam is hardly adding to risk of catching it. One of my sons only has one exam this summer and has had loads of assessment. His dissertation deadline has now been extended by a week (it is due in very soon and he might come homr this week to finish it off whilst his twin might stay in Bristol all Easter to avoid London lock down - his priority is just making sure he can be wit his friends). Both of them have pretty consistent assessment results from year 1 so I don't think it would be touch and go as to degree result. I would be more worried about a child with GCSEs and A levels.