Durham University

[KingscoteStaff]

A continuation thread for those with DC at Durham, or applying for Durham or alumni or staff! Share your thoughts and questions on colleges, courses, etc.

Assemble! @Baytreemum @WelshDaff @WinterRobin @janinlondon @MarchingFrogs @ChildOfFriday @tava63 @Terfterfterf @TonTonMacoute @Suki2 @Quair @Greyhair59 @bpisok @Jan069 @999caz @nipersvest @mum2eim @witchend @chopc @alterego2

Who have I missed??

I meant to add that to try to ensure an offer as much as anyone can ensure an offer the applicant needs to demonstrate that they love their chosen course. This will be anything outside of school work, any online courses, MOOCs, summer schools, books they have read, talks or podcasts they have listened to, places they have visited. Not just a list but what they learned from it, where it led them next, what they found interesting. All that needs to be in the personal statement.

Onbench The mental gymnastics of the whole offer process is quite something but what you expect when there are so many strong candidates. DS is not intending putting Durham as his firm but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The uncertainty around it though makes me think Loughborough or Birmingham might be better choices as insurance. Thanks for tips on producing a strong PS, he is doing all of those.

Everyone who applied to Durham from DD's school received similar contextual offers. Durham's insurance offer was the same as Oxford's offer, so we needed to know if there would be any wriggle room if she had (say) 2 x A* & B. They were very clear that there wasn't. None of DD's friends who had Durham as their firm choice but slipped a grade were accepted.

Four from DS’s had offers from Durham (none contextual) ranging from A*AA to AAA. Two missed a grade & there was no wiggle room or discussion - rejected on A level results day.

Dd missed a grade and was accepted by Durham.
However she had missed it by 2 points (and went up on appeal).

The other thing is with Durham is they can take ages to decide. Dd was lucky. She woke upto find she was accepted (although they had only decided the previous evening), but there was someone on here that was kept hanging for some hours, which left them in limbo... They couldn't get on with accommodation etc for insurance until Durham rejected them.

These comments are reinforcing our worry that Durham might not be a good insurance choice. The whole point of an insurance is one you know you will definitely get into, the ‘backup’ where of you miss a grade they will most likely still take you. Although the same could be said for the other two he’s considering. We want to avoid him missing his firm and then missing his insurance as well.

The general feeling is that Durham doesn't like being an insurance choice. I looked up thread and it is @oppie1234 's DC who was accepted by Durham as her insurance so she may have more info

However it is only one of 5 choices. Curious why you are so certain DC will get an offer from first choice? Because otherwise why would you not put Durham down as an option? You can only choose an insurance choice once you have your offers anyway.

DS1 had Durham as an insurance choice in 2019 with an offer of one A star and 2 As.

It was useful to him as it didn't specify which subject the A star had to be in out if his 4 A Levels. He took his place at Oxford after meeting their 2 A star A offer. He'd have been very happy to go to Durham.

Sorry cant really help re Insurance as was for different course with diff grades
On diff topic have people been allocated colleges yet & am I correct in thinking if nothing changed & you still want accom this year you need do nothing? Thanks!

@oppie1234. Dd has followed instructions on email ( that was sent directly to her) and done nothing .
We are visiting Durham on Saturday (just for the day ) so are hoping that by that stage dd might actually be certain which college she belongs to!

Trake which subject is your DS applying for? The grades you cite suggest that it's not one of the more 'dangerous' ones such as History, English, Law or PPE. Four of my DC put Durham down as insurance, and all did that even though the grades required by Durham were the same as those required by their firm. They did that simply on the basis that they'd have much preferred Durham over their next choice down. Another brother wrote to the History department asking what the deal would be if he insured and slipped a grade and they wrote a very helpful reply explaining that when they get results, they look at all those with missed grades who've firmed Durham, select their preferred applicants, then those names go forward to admissions for further approval. Insurance applicants with missed grades aren't considered at all. Had the older siblings known that they might have been less bold. The youngest put Durham as insurance but that was for Classics so she reckoned there might have been more leeway, as others at the DCs' school have certainly got in having insured, but only ever in subjects such as Theology etc, of the subjects listed above.

*not in any of the subjects listed above.

And I have the same query as chopc. It doesn't seem to make sense not to put it as an option on the UCAS form, in case he doesn't get an offer from the place he'd prefer.

Chop I agree with you there’s a strong feeling Durham doesn’t being an insurance choice. I didn’t say however, that we were certain he’ll get an offer from his first choice! although that’ll be nice Quite the opposite. I don’t think anyone can be certain about anything in this current climate which is why I’m querying Durham as one of his possible insurance choices. His other top choices are all quite competitive as well as asking for higher grades in his subject than Durham.

Goodbye it’s Business and Management. I don’t think Durham has quite the reputation with this like they do for the humanities, although it does come up quite high in the subject rankings. It’s been a bit hard gauging where Durham sits with this subject. Unlike he’s other choices It’s a BA, but DS doesn’t mind that.

@Trake if I was him, if he likes the look of the course and Durham itself , I would put it down as one of his choices. You can decide on firm and insurance once you have all options available. It would be a shame not to put a Uni down as you are unlikely to insure it and not get an offer from your top choice

Has anyone had their accommodation and moving in date confirmed yet? And am I right in thinking should be done by 20th (Friday) ? Thanks

@Greyhair59 that's what we are hoping

Business and Management isn't a particularly risky option at Durham Trake. Economics throws up some of those odd rejections but it's a completely different department. If your DS's other choices are asking for higher grades and he likes the look of Durham, it seems a no brainer to include it on the UCAS form.

Durham doesn't like being an insurance. It would far rather people firmed it. That's perfectly understandable. The uni has tried to use strategies to avoid being an insurance choice. With DD3, who insured for Law, Durham sent a letter after results asking for specific reasons why she'd only chosen the uni as insurance (that was when it was working out how to harness its A* offers, some years ago).

Hello new Durham parents, have your children enrolled yet or must that wait until college allocation is determined? Worried that Dd has missed doing something she should have done by now.

Hi @Meery. No not yet. Dd is hoping to get college confirmed on Friday and then hopefully enrolment not long after . Communication not great tbh. Anyway.. I don’t think there is anything to be missed atm😊

Thank you@Longtimenewsee, I’ll pass that on.

I keep seeing various colleges on Instagram inviting students to connect but they aren't likely to do that until they know for sure where they are going.
Dd also hoping that this Friday will bring news.

DS has had email from his college saying they will contact everyone shortly.

@Greyhair59, that's interesting, was his college already confirmed (eg as a deferral) or is this now his confirmation?

@Meery no he is waiting for his college confirmation which they have said is from Friday. I think once that is done then they send the emails out for enrolment.

I am just going off www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/welcome-and-orientation/new-undergraduate-uk-students/

and then this link from that page about enrolment.

www.dur.ac.uk/student.registry/registration/studentguide/#Verification so he is waiting for the emails from Durham with his user ID and password on.

@Trake all your Ds can do is make a list of unis he would be interested in studying at, cull that down to 5 if needed and put them on the UCAS form. Only when he has received all offers and any rejections can he make his firm and insurance choices.

Considering the offer to defer by Durham guarantees their first choice college next year and some unis are offering £10k to defer until 2022, next year will possibly have less spaces on their courses. This year Oxford had a college that was completely full for a particular course and didn't tell any new applicants who named that college.

Sometimes it feels as though there is no rhyme or reason why Cambridge will offer and yet that same student gets rejected from LSE.

He left after the first term last year and got agreement to start again from scratch.