Anyone waiting for a Durham offer?

[Annabelnextdoor]

DS has applied for a STEM at Durham. Heard nothing back yet. So thought I’d start a thread so we can share news of offers coming though?
Anyone have any experience as to when offers for STEM are normally made?. The thought of waiting until April seems too much!

My son had an offer for MChem early December. Which was surprising,.given all the internet chatter about them being notoriously late. Offer holder day in Feb half term. There doesn't seem to be a pattern at all!

@Jaxx looking at the Durham offer tracker from last year it looks like the bulk of English and Histiry offers are in April! 🤦‍♀️🥴

@LilacPoet I’ve sent you a PM.

@PossumintheHouse a friend's son (devastated Cambridge reject who then loved his time at Durham) was assigned Hatfield which seems to have a bad rep but had a great time there and made loads of friends and has no regrets.

Hatfield doesn't have a bad rep.

It does - or it did - have a bit of a bad rep for being the most “rah” when I was there. A lot of its bad rep is - was - largely undeserved, but there is no doubt a lot of very posh, rich kids do gravitate towards Hatfield.

DD is waiting for a History and Spanish offer from Durham. Although she says she doesn’t want to go there and doesn’t know why she applied there. In some ways would be quite convenient as DS is at Newcastle and both aren’t too far from us but I think she’s more likely to end up either down South or in Scotland 😃

OK so still not a bad rep rather a rep for being a bit posh.

They send out a log in to a form to rank colleges - from memory it was done May time. They allocate the colleges according to this:

https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/your-college-undergraduate/how-the-allocation-process-works-for-undergraduates/

You get a provisional allocation which is then confirmed / changes after a level results day (this may take 2+ weeks).

My dd is at Chads and there are posters here with dc at most colleges if you have any questions.

This gives a feel for allocation statistics:

https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/colleges/your-college---undergraduate/college-allocation-statistics---undergraduate/

I know some dc worry about sharing - my dd shares (most first years at Chads do) and it’s absolutely fine - it’s just the norm at the college so after the initial week or so no one thinks about it. She has an absolutely massive room with an en-suite so there are definite benefits.

We got a NatSci offer before Christmas 😬. I was expecting a long wait!

Most of the negatively towards Hatfield is undeserved, but it attracts certain individuals who live in a different world and the snobbishness within that subculture is rife.
But yes, it’s super posh and there is definitely a much higher level of private school/very affluent students at Hatfield.
Disclaimer: based on experience nearly 20 years ago.

So probably best left off a thread relating to Durham today.

OK, sure. I’m sure its core has changed fantastically.

Dd says a certain percentage of people at Hatfield live up to its rep - and it was boys from there who’s opening question was “where did you go to school” however she has also made some lovely friends who are at Hatfield. Hatfield is a massive college and seemed to get quite a lot of reallocations this year.

The problem with perpetuating historic reputations is that it seriously influences many students' decisions based on such out of date info and affects unis widening participation schemes. Durham has been actively seeking to widen their intake and when people make sweeping statements about the uni or individual colleges it is harmful.

I have known kids be really worried about going to colleges such as Hatfield and others at Durham because people say it's for posh people and they feel it's not for the likes of them and have seen some dissuaded from accepting offers to go elsewhere. Fortunately the ones that aren't dissuaded and go have a great time and see that there is a wide range of students who attend and that they even like them!

I purposefully pointed out in my posts that Hatfield’s reputation is largely undeserved. Hatfield gets a hard time.
However, despite attending years ago, I keep an eye on the college, its news, updates, alumni, have visited the college etc. I accept that alumni can’t give the most up to date accounts of Hatfield life, but it is a very traditionalist college and it has always attracted privately educated, affluent students. A percentage of which form a subculture that can be frankly unpleasant to deal with for “normal” people.
My statement wasn’t sweeping. It referred to a specific group of students who gravitate towards Hatfield. There are a lot of other students from state schools, private schools, international schools. There’s huge scope to make lots of friends and get involved in the wide variety of activities that Hatfield offers. But it is worth being aware of the element of Hatfield that can be negative, judgemental and closed-off to many students. It is not the majority, but it is there.

@daffodilandtulip
could I be cheeky and ask if you had grades in hand or maybe a contextual offer?
thanks

I think the rep for Hatfield isn’t all historic and in fact all the Bailey colleges colleges seem to have a high proportion of privately educated pupils.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/admission_of_students_from_non_s#incoming-2511513

Durham has done a lot for widening participation, but feel they have some responsibility given the very high accommodation costs for the catered colleges. I think I have also read that they don’t target state schools attendance on its own in admissions which is fair enough. As the parent of a non-contextual state school student I am OK on him being judged on his ability alone.

@Rollergirl11 yeah I know I really wish I had avoided the last year’s TSR thread rabbit hole.

Just Maths a year early, and EPQ. Not contextual.

Can I just say to all those considering Durham my dd is having the most amazing time - it has exceeded her already high expectations. She enjoys her course and just loves her college and its location. She’s made some amazing friends from a wide range of schools and countries and has grown so much in confidence during her first term. Whilst she enjoyed being home at Christmas and had a great rest and time catching up with school friends she was itching to get back.

Re state / private schools - the Bailey is probably more private (dd is state grammar) and yes people do ask you (a lot) where you went to school and dd was shocked by some classism when she arrived. There are cliques but most people are open and welcoming. As dd would say 10/10 definitely recommend. Oh and Durham (or at least Chads) students seem to have an obsession with college stash!

Oh and regarding the distance. The terms are short / no reading week and no one really goes home during term time (quite a few parents visit).

There are an awful lot from SE England and the trains to Kings X are good (for us it’s then over to Paddington and another train home). The Bailey is about 10 mins walk from the station.

thanks. That’s really interesting. Throws my NatSci ideas out of the water! I know my D’s not seen any offers for it on the student room. We will just have to carry on waiting !

@Livingongin I think we're the odd one, not you!

livingongin what are your ds predicted grades? From what I’ve heard for some c competitive subjects, early offers are made to exceptional or contextual students. Whilst the majority of offers (still top students) have to wait until at least after the deadline.

Hatfield still has that rep. So many YouTube videos about colleges (by current and recent students) there say it. My friend's son graduated in 2022 and applied to Hatfield as a friend was applying there (but didn't go in the end). They were, um, both from a posh boarding school...😬. Hasten to add the one I know at least is as far away from the posh public school boy stereotype as one can get! Lovely lad and met some good people at the college.
My daughter also went to a competitive private school but is just your normal middle class girl who works hard. But this sort of thing is not just at Durham. The most complaints I heard about Exeter when we were considering it was that it was full of privileged private school kids.