Durham Law

[Maggiethecat]

Anyone or their DC have experience of Durham Law?

Dd met grades and is considering deferring her start to next year as she is quite young. She is having a wobble about Durham, think head tells her their degree is better regarded but heart tells her she’d prefer Manchester to live in.

What’s been your (DC) experience?

This thread has reassured me that she’ll be fine either way, pros and cons for each.

The support system at Durham may be good for her if she goes this year because she is so young but I reckon she’ll find her feet eventually whatever she chooses.

@TizerorFizz - will be difficult for her to practise in Scotland initially and I reckon she’ll head for London/down south.

OP I'm a contemporary of Xenia's but went to Durham to read Law, not Manchester.

One of my DC is a recent Durham graduate. Most of my other DC applied to Durham and got offers and all those who attended the Open Days loathed the vibe - for some reason the Durham Open Days are just very poorly done. Your DD should maybe try to look past the Open Day; so many offerees say the same and the son who did actually go to Durham loved it. He was at a state school and his closest friends were a real mix.

As far as law careers go all I can say is that everywhere I applied in the City offered me a job. There was a definite bonus attached to having read Law at Durham. The Magic Circle firm I interviewed at phoned me to offer a job before I even reached home after the interview and made a point about liking Durham lawyers. It's reputation doesn't seem to have declined at all over the years.

I would encourage your DD to think seriously about her future career if she wants to head to London. Manchester is strong enough but Tizer is correct that a lot of its graduates stay local.

FWIW I find the negative comments about Durham and the independent school students up there pretty wide of the mark. It was certainly true in my day (the '80s) but my son's experience was markedly different.

Private school kids are not a uniform group and many are actually nice! No one at my DD's Art Foundation course realised she went to private school (and for sixth form one in Belgravia to boot)! They were disparaging of any groups of private school students they saw when out though, in a way my DD said her private school friends would never be in reverse
She's off to Durham next month - loves the small city (we live in London) and walks by the river and couldn't care less about clubbing. She didn't like Bristol or Exeter at all on the open days.
Oh and a recent white, boarding school educated young man I know (who was even at Hatfield) was the total opposite of the stereotypical posh hooray Henry. He met a lovely group of friends there.

@pivoinerose - open days are a strange one. Older girl hated Bristol the first time she visited, almost changed to MU, but came round on her second visit and has been very happy there.

@mondaytosunday - it’s not private school kids per se that is the issue with Dd, it’s that she would rather be where there is a greater diversity of backgrounds rather than a high proportion of the privately educated. She’ll likely make friends from all walks.

Dd1 had a visceral reaction to Durham she just hated it. Loved Nottingham and Leeds. Shes also doing law but wants somewhere large and lively after bring “stuck” in a girls school apparently! We thought it seemed lovely but is a long way from us so all good.

@Maggiethecat She would be rather silly to take against privately educated people if she wants to work in law in London. I’m afraid I find this not liking sections of society somewhat tiresome and it gets us nowhere. Just take people for what they are. State educated are a majority everywhere. Literally everywhere! ! However at work you meet all sorts. DD was privately educated but has represented all sorts of people in court. That has included Roma people and people who have a very different background from her: it simply doesn’t matter where anyone is educated or if you think they aren’t like you. It’s what they are like as people that matters. Every. Single. Time. I hate prejudice against anyone.

@TizerorFizz - I think you’ve misunderstood me. Dd was privately educated herself and has not taken against that demographic.
However she would prefer to meet people from a wider range of backgrounds at university which is entirely reasonable.
She’s unlikely to rule out Durham, if at all, solely on the basis that it has a high proportion of the privately educated but it’s one of a number of factors that she’s considered.

It has a majority of state educated. Surely she can see that? I’d wonder why it matters. You meet and enjoy the company of people you click with. Finding different people deliberately sounds odd to me: like it’s being added to her cv! Tick. Just be friends with decent people.

What an odd interpretation of a desire to have a more diverse uni experience.

Hi, my DD graduated in law from Durham a year ago. It's a tough course - a huge amount of reading and it requires a lot of self-motivation and application to get decent marks and a whole lot of work if you want to excel. There's no comparison between Durham law and Manchester which isn't even on the radar as far as Durham students are concerned if you are aiming high. It depends what your daughter is aiming for. Most people at Durham want a TC in commercial law, with a few wanting to be barristers, so those are your fellow students. There are lots on international students on the course, all aiming high.
Durham itself is a dream, but not if you love big city life in which case your daughter is better off in Manchester or re-sitting lnat and applying to UCL LSE or Kings if she wants to go into commercial law.
Snow is rather out of town and not part of the main vibe but I think it has good facilities and nice rooms and the kids there seem to form a good group. Music is amazing at Durham and there are tons of great sports and social clubs too. The nightlife is hectic, if small and it's pretty noisy at night if you live in town or in the viaduct. Durham wouldn't let my DD defer but that was for the best in the end because the large majority of students there go straight from school and the gap year ones tend to feel a bit 'old' for the place!

@Maggiethecat I do know what diversity is but don’t see it as relevant to what uni she chooses. She will make friends with people she gets on with - you cannot force friendship. Just because the student body is diverse, you have no idea if those students will be your mates. You might actually not be on the same wavelength at all. You just don’t know. What you do know is that Durham out ranks Manchester for law unless she wants to work in Manchester . My DD is a barrister and probably didn’t have much diversity at uni or afterwards. Does it matter in terms of whom she represents? Absolutely not. Has she a variety of friends? Yes. Poor, wealthy, black etc etc. It’s whom you get on with that matters and good people are everywhere.

I’ll respect that that’s your opinion Tizer and leave it at that.

@Baytreemum - interestingly, she’s not heard back from them regarding a deferral!