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!

@KittyMcKitty what course is your DD doing?

We are in the SE too and took the train from Kings Cross for the open day in the summer. Then across London and another train home so journey is around 4 hours on the train. Longer if we’re driving. It is the furthest of all of her 5 options and does make me slightly anxious thinking about her being so far away.

It’s 3 A stars. And already has A star in EPQ. So good but not exceptional

I know my DS was talking to a friend from another similar school. Both have applied to the same London uni for the same course. At the same time. Same predicted grades and no contextual factors but my DS got an offer before Christmas but his friend is still waiting. So I guess there is a bit of randomness generally in the process!

I understood that in previous years Durham had capped the number of students who could take chemistry for NatSci which is probably where I got the idea that Durham looked at all the single science applicants and offers before ‘filling up’ the spaces with NatSci. I know my DS had to fill in a form confirming what subjects they wanted to pick for the first year.

This thread is making me think whether Durham is suitable for my son. He’s shy, autistic and from a normal state school. IF he gets an offer I think we would need to think carefully if it’s the right fit. It’s the only uni we haven’t visited out of his applications.

Is there a quiet college that might be more suited to him? Not into sports, drinking, parties etc just computers!!

@Rollergirl11 shes doing Sociology.

Honestly don’t worry about the about the distance. We must be a similar distance to you - train is much quicker then driving.

LOADS of them get the train down to Kings X at the end of term and then meet up again there to get the train back up.

In DD’s experience Durham lives up to its rep of being full of students from the SE! But I would say a positive of this is that they all stay for all term so your friends are always there and college is full and very buzzy!

St John’s College on the Bailey is a smaller college that is known for being a bit quieter. It is religious, though.
St Aidan’s was always known for being laid/back, friendly and inclusive.

@JediKnightingale i would say do visit. The colleges are all different and there is somewhere for everyone. I would also speak to disability support who I’ve heard are very helpful. Pastorally the college system is amazing dd had something happen when she moved in and college were just amazing. Dd is from a state school.

My dd is a party girl but equally there are very many people there who aren’t and everyone seems to rub along just fine - there is no pressure to do anything or be something you are not. DD’s college had the most amazing freshers week with such a wide range of things to do - it’s not all clubbing / drinking! Also there are quite a lot of 3rd years living in college and all the exec so they are there for support. The college family system is amazing - dd arrived to a letter from her college parents and they have family formals / family what’s app groupetc so it’s another layer of support (also at least one of your parents seems to do the same type of course as you).

if you have any questions do dm me as I’m v happy to talk more specifically about things 😊

If anyone is interested there is an excel spreadsheet from TSR for Durham showing what offers are out. Now, remember that this isn't gospel, no one is checking if the predicted grades of someone who has filled in the spreadsheet is telling the truth or not but it is here if you want to see it. I sort column E, select Data and sort sheet A-Z so it brings up all the "offers" to the top and the "waiting for outcome" to the bottom.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DBvzBTvech_by7llAjnHjZAw35b1HGb8nxggn2o-omo/edit#gid=1327828604

Ds1 is at Durham, loves it. Look Hatfield has students there for one year (some remain for second or third) and as I still have a shared spreadsheet from when Ds was choosing a college Hatfield has the second highest chance of sharing a room. 18.3% if anyone is interested. Boarding school kids are used to sharing, many 18 year olds find the idea abhorrent and it is catered which again boarders are used to. Ds was unfortunate to be in a self catered flat with an ex-boarder, rah rah, thump the table let's do rugby chants with burps and the team in the kitchen type. So they are not just in Hatfield. However he also shared with sporty types, quiet types and from a range of backgrounds.

It is a mix of people, there are just under 20,000 students in Durham, people post content whether written or video of the stuff that gets the clicks, no one is saying hey I know a lot of absolutely lovely people both on my course and in my accommodation, Ds is saying that and it is his final year. Ds2 has applied there, different course.

Ds2, like Ds1 is contextual (POLAR and state school) the POLAR part is a joke for where we personally live, it covers a large area. Pockets of great, pockets of good, pockets of lower priced housing, basically 2 up 2 down terraces, problems parking and it is a rat run cut through used by lots of cars etc. Ds2 is still waiting to hear from Durham, there doesn't seem to be many offers coming out and I think they are waiting for the end of Jan for everything to be in before they start offering out in earnest. They have emailed to reassure him.

Durham are notoriously one of the last alongside a couple of others. Ds1 had a contextual offer but also a put us first and we seriously drop the grade entry. Ds1 was predicted and achieved 4 A stars, it takes the pressure off though. Some unis in the past offer CCC to some much wanted applicants for a put us first knowing that everyone applying has AAA as a minimum and is therefore capable of the work.

@JediKnightingale my DD graduated in the summer. At school she was quiet, didn't socialise and was a late diagnosis autistic. She went to Johns. It has the rep of being religious. It is because it has Cranmer hall associated with it but only the students that want to get involved with the religious side do. There's enough drinking and partying going on to suit those who want that. By the time she finished her degree 4 years later she was out drinking with her friends. Johns is such a supportive college and she had the most amazing pastoral care. The uni has a separate early move in and induction for students with ASD. The college system was key in making my DDs time at Durham a success.

@KittyMcKitty it’s around 275 miles from us so a 5 hour plus drive.

DD is a party girl too and she loves the idea of all the formals. We stayed the night before the open day and the city centre was buzzing in the evening; full of girls in long dresses and guys wearing tux’s having fun. There were obviously lots of end of year parties going on as we could hear music and karaoke playing. DD was excited!

@JediKnightingale one of the real pluses of the Durham collegiate system is that it's really, really easy for everyone to find their tribe, generally within the first term.

There's a real community feel to a college - most have their own, very eclectic mix of clubs and societies, and the students in a college all look out for one another.

Freshers week in particular has a lot organised activities/events etc - almost timetabled - so you're not left to sink/swim on your own.

Another positive aspect is if you select a catered college, you get to sit with people and chat to them at mealtimes.

IMO, if you're shy you'll find Durham much easier to integrate into than a lot of other universities, where you may be living in a self catered flat, and where the onus is upon you to proactively go out and socialise.

@Rollergirl11 were very similar distance quickest we’ve done is 5 and a half hours.

Chads has formals twice a week and free to livers in - dd is at formal tonight. They had two balls last term and the big one Candlemas is next month. Durham has many little clubs all no more then 5 mins from th Bailey.

They all say college is very like a grown up boarding school. Chads is very into joining in. There are various Insta accts with photos showing the different things.

@JediKnightingale Ds1 is introvert, Durham is small, you can get anywhere fairly quickly. He is not a drinker, partier or any of that and is loving it. Goes on some nice walks and sends us pictures. It is very green, lots of old trees and a lovely old city centre. It is a real mix of people, Ds is state school educated with a Northern accent. He is fine.

John Snow college has the facility to request all female/all male etc when Ds1 was applying it also had a quiet flat request too. As far as I know they are one of the colleges that has a questionnaire you fill in so they can fit like minded people together. On their webpage it says "Where there is sufficient demand, we can create a dedicated Flat or Town House where all of the students living in it have the same preference."

It is self catered and the college was relocated and built in 2020 at the same time as the new South College, they share a site so a brand new building then, pretty much all en-suite or a shared bathroom between 2 rooms.

I would visit but if you can go when the students are there the better, so either a weekend or February half term would be good. Easter they are off for 5 weeks so it is fairly quiet. I wouldn't recommend it if I didn't think it would suit your son. You can walk round all the college grounds, some have ponds with ducks.

@JediKnightingale it is the collegiate system that makes Durham so attractive to us. St John”s does sound lovely but my son, who also has autism and a love of trains, firmly believes it is almost his destiny to be at Stevo. He is also very fussy with food, so self-catering won’t work. He isn’t a cook, but the stuff he likes won’t involve much skill thankfully.

To answer OP, DS is now in year 2. He applied mid-Nov and was offered a place for biology mid-Jan.

@Jaxx Stevo will hopefully suit him well. It's got the green space and is relaxed but is supportive.

@JediKnightingale There are lots of former 'normal state school' students. I would suggest one of self-catering colleges might be a better fit. Then he has the choice to eat with others every meal or not. DS is sharing a private flat this year with a friend who doesn't like parties, is usually in bed before 11pm and an introvert, also STEM. The others socialise more but not wildly.

@mondaytosunday my DD is a 2nd year at St John’s (now living out). She loves the college. She is back regularly as she is one of the student welfare team this year, as well as on the Exec of one of the societies. If you want to know more about the college please shout. It has a reputation for being religious, but this is only because the college is the base for Cranmer Hall, for people training for ministry - but this has very little day to day read across to the non Cranmer Hall aspects. It is a lovely down to earth college.

Hello, joining as waiting to hear from Durham too - DS has applied to read Business & Management. We are very aware it's a highly competitive course. He has three offers but his heart is set on Durham...

My DC is currently obsessed with Durham, I think it most likely they'll go here. We're going to the offer holder day mid Feb. And I think there are two more - in March and April.

@SeaofTranquility DD fixated with Durham at the moment too but no offer yet! 😬🥴Fab your DC has an offer already. Which subject have they applied for?

@Rollergirl11 They've applied for chemistry. Super good luck to your DD for the 24th and for Durham.

A lot of offers seemed to come out in March last year. The contextual ones a little earlier. But again this depended on the course!
The wait is long…

There definitely seem to be less offers bring reported on TSR and Reddit than previous years for certain some subjects - History and English are the ones I notice but there are probably lots more - even for contextual and international applicants.

My son is going on a day trip to Durham on the 9th February to meet one of the autism support workers, see the town and hopefully, if it can be arranged, visit Stephenson college and the department. Informal visits for students with autism are a service they offer on their website. They did suggest attending an offer holders day if an offer was made, but he wants to go earlier to reduce some of the uncertainty and see if Durham remains his preferred option from his available choices. No point waiting for an offer that might not come if he doesn’t want it. I think it would be much better anyway for him to go on a normal rather than open or even offer day to avoid the crowds.

Following with interest as my DD has a Durham offer- nice to read all the positive comments.

Anyone heard from IR/politucs? Thanks

Does anyone know which subjects have made a fair few offers so far?

TSR Durham applicants:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DBvzBTvech_by7llAjnHjZAw35b1HGb8nxggn2o-omo/edit

Reddit offers for all applicants:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/103VDt7S19exENVghfjGKsZpgFDImexrBv2fucBAFyaI/edit

Far from perfect, but it is all we’ve got.