Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Higher education

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

Original poster

Durham 2022 applicants

242 replies

NinaProudman2022 · 29/12/2021 13:25

New thread for those applying to Durham for 2022. What time of year do Durham usually make offers please and do they interview? DS applied early and we are new to all this but are wondering if he has now missed the deadline for ranking Colleges (unlike most of his friends applying who managed not to miss this and did this early on) as he can’t now see this option in the portal or if he hasn’t missed it then is their a deadline for doing this please? I know in previous years college rankings may have been irrelevant. Thanks

OP posts:
Watsername · 28/04/2022 18:45

Yes, college allocations start next week (3rd I think).
DS firmed yesterday for Computer Science 😃with Lancaster as his back up....long journeys for us either way!

oshywatt · 29/04/2022 14:03

So if no offer yet does that mean it's a no?
Personally i think keeping kids waiting until May for a decision when applications went in in September is outrageous.

Watsername · 29/04/2022 17:15

No, there are still offers being made (on The Student Room offers spreadsheet).

chopc · 29/04/2022 18:46

Current Durham parent: DS was allocated his college of choice very early. However after results day they said he may be allocated accommodation at a sister site due to over subscription. He got what he wanted in the end but as a part of going to Durham was the collegiate system being housed in a sister site didn't sit well with me.

Have your DC talked to current students? DS doing history and was affected by strikes both in the first and second terms and Durham are also participating in the UCU action of not marking exams. I would be furious if he is affected by that as well.

It's not all doom and gloom. Socially he is fully settled, loves his college, his corridor is well matched etc etc. But I am just not sure about what he has gained academically.........

NCTDN · 30/04/2022 08:43

I've just looked at that spreadsheet about offers for this year at Durham. I know not all are on here, but for DDs choice of liberal arts, most have been asked for 3 A*.
The requirements on their website are AAA* HmmHmm
Just shows how demand is outstanding availability that they can up the grades so much.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 30/04/2022 11:47

@NCTDN Durham is in the top 6 or top 5 universities in the UK so demand always outstrips supply. For computer science entry is A star AA and Ds achieved 4 x A stars.

We had a parent's evening for Oxbridge and early entry courses at Ds's sixth form. Oxford's standard entry is AAA but they take 42% of applicants with 3 A stars or better. By the time they get to their AAA it is only 6% of accepted applicants who get these grades.

There is similar information on Durham on the What Do They Know website but you have to trawl through the right FOI requests to find what you are looking for. We could see what grades students achieved for Ds's course based on previous entry.

Sadly competition is fierce for the top universities.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 30/04/2022 11:52

Sorry what I was trying to say was that when a university has an entry of say AAA there will be lots of applicants who are predicted or have higher grades. One child could be applying for a course which is aspirational grade wise, another could have it as their insurance.

The Durham student room spreadsheet just lists their predicted grades, not the grades they have been asked for by the university which is usually the entry grades published on their website. Also those students may not achieve those predicted grades and they may not be telling the truth all the time. Wink

NCTDN · 30/04/2022 21:58

Ah I never realised they were predicted grades. I thought it was what the uni offer was.

WhyOhWine · 04/05/2022 19:03

DD has just been given her college allocation. St Hilde and Bede. It was not particularly near the top of her choices so she is trying to find out more about it (she is still deciding between it and one other uni option). Any views on this college? One particular question is that she wanted catered as she thought it would be easier to get to know people, but it looks like it has recently become self-catered. Does anyone know whether they upgraded the facilities when they switched to self-catering? She is a bit worried that it will neither have the sociable communal dining or the decent facilities of colleges which have always been self-catered. She is not too bothered about the location but keen to get a view on this plus general view on how sociable it is (she is a sociable person but takes a while to warm up so keen for things to be as easy as possible to get to know people in the early days). thanks!

GoldenRuby · 04/05/2022 19:21

@WhyOhWine Hild Bede's usual accommodation is closed for the next academic year for refurbishment, so they are using off-site self catered accommodation. An email was sent out to applicants to let them know about this a few weeks ago, sounds like maybe your DC missed it?

Wordlewobble · 04/05/2022 21:53

DS has been allocated his first choice college of John Snow so he is pleased with that. Now to get the grades.

ArticSaviour · 04/05/2022 22:02

WhyOhWine · 04/05/2022 19:03

DD has just been given her college allocation. St Hilde and Bede. It was not particularly near the top of her choices so she is trying to find out more about it (she is still deciding between it and one other uni option). Any views on this college? One particular question is that she wanted catered as she thought it would be easier to get to know people, but it looks like it has recently become self-catered. Does anyone know whether they upgraded the facilities when they switched to self-catering? She is a bit worried that it will neither have the sociable communal dining or the decent facilities of colleges which have always been self-catered. She is not too bothered about the location but keen to get a view on this plus general view on how sociable it is (she is a sociable person but takes a while to warm up so keen for things to be as easy as possible to get to know people in the early days). thanks!

The HildBede accommodation will have full self catering facilities

NCTDN · 04/05/2022 22:41

@WhyOhWine she's got a college allocation even though she's not firmed Durham as her choice?

WhyOhWine · 04/05/2022 23:33

Yes, she got college allocation today even though she has not accepted yet (as did her friend for same subject who also has not accepted). She is a bit miffed because on the main Durham college summary it says it is catered, and she factored that into her preference list (she did quite detailed research on her top 5 or 6 options and after that it was based on the high level summary). It was her lowest "catered" option, and she put at least one SC option above it. Had she known it was SC she would have put it lower in her rankings she says. She probably did get the email a few weeks ago so to be fair she could have revisited her rankings, but she put her preference list in quite early (she got an early offer relative to most!) and when she got the email she probably wouldn't have focused on it as it was quite a low preference on her list.

I did say to her that people who had already accepted were maybe prioritised in the allocation, but her friend in the same position got her first choice at a popular college. I suspect it will result in her deciding in favour of her other option, not because it is SC and she wanted C (because she knows that could happen with her accommodation choices elsewhere) but more because in weighing up the pros and cons of Durham and the other choice, the main pull factor to Durham was that she thought the college system would suit her, but i suspect she will feel she will not get the real college experience if it is offsite accommodation etc. Plus she does not really like the fact that the info is limited. However, i will make sure she finds the email and reads it properly before deciding.

Any views on the college also appreciated!

Fruitygal · 05/05/2022 06:00

Don’t know much about the college but if she reads her emails of which my DD got about five yesterday - one mentions calling a number or emailing if you have concerns it queries Re your alllocation so perhaps getting in contact today or tomorrow might be a good idea.

Fruitygal · 05/05/2022 06:01

My DD wanted SC as loves to cook and got her first choice but would have been unhappy with catered so I get where you are coming from. Just remember it’s only a single year of 3-4 at uni though

Igglepigglesblankie · 05/05/2022 06:38

DS hasn’t firmed yet but got his first choice of Collingwood which he’s thrilled about. I think he is ready to firm his choices now that he knows where he will be….

Wordlewobble · 05/05/2022 07:28

Its all moving fast now and still lots of questions.

Does anyone know when they find out about a list of equipment they need if s/c College, are rent deposits required and if so at what point and when do they find out which flat they are in within a College or does all that not happen until after results day? Appreciate I may be jumping the gun but DS is my first going off to Uni and he can be a little or a lot laid back. Thanks

NCTDN · 05/05/2022 08:21

If your children know they are going to firm or reject Durham, please can they do that? My dd is still waiting to hear (which is really tough when she knows college allocations are being made). My guess is that they won't offer or reject until others with offers decide on their places so they know how many 'free' places there are.
Is there any reasoning to my logic?

ArticSaviour · 05/05/2022 10:30

Wordlewobble · 05/05/2022 07:28

Its all moving fast now and still lots of questions.

Does anyone know when they find out about a list of equipment they need if s/c College, are rent deposits required and if so at what point and when do they find out which flat they are in within a College or does all that not happen until after results day? Appreciate I may be jumping the gun but DS is my first going off to Uni and he can be a little or a lot laid back. Thanks

What you are getting now is a college allocation not an accommodation offer. That won't happen until after results.

Wordlewobble · 05/05/2022 11:13

Ah ok thanks @ArticSaviour so he doesn’t need to do anything else for awhile. @NCTDN - sorry you still haven’t heard anything yet. Must be a nightmare about to go into A levels not knowing, waiting and wondering. DS waited ages for St Andrews to reject him and we heard a few weeks ago about that and that was bad enough. By the way DS firmed Durham as his first choice a few weeks ago.

Valleyofthedollymix · 05/05/2022 15:41

DS accepted St A and let go of the others as soon as he heard from Durham a couple of weeks ago. It was frustrating as he'd heard from the other four by mid Jan so could have done it much sooner but the delays end up having a knock-on effect on everything. The whole thing seems to be that bit later and more of a s**t than ever. As if this cohort needed more uncertainty...

EwwSprouts · 05/05/2022 21:38

@NCTDN Hang on in there. Friend of DS received a history offer this week.

DS pleased to have been allocated to Stephenson which was his first choice.

Fruitygal · 05/05/2022 23:26

@NCTDN we firmed Durham within a day of going to Durham in March as DD keen to put her other offers back in the pool for others as lots if her friends were waiting on Exeter etc - Simone we know got an offer this evening from Durham think some kind of combined degree so don’t give up - it’s ludicrously late and unfair on the kids not to have given decisions by now.

NCTDN · 06/05/2022 07:13

@Fruitygal thank you. It’s the same for dd as I know others are waiting for Bristol and she has an offer for there. It’s like a domino effect!

Swipe left for the next trending thread