Review: Durham University

Hi everyone, the second university I visited on my 'university road trip' was Durham University.

I didn't particularly like Durham University and therefore will not be applying to it. The reasons why are listed below.

Positive

Although I didn't like this uni there were still some positives:

• The college system: I really like the way this university has different colleges and you belong to one college. Although it is a pain to decide which one to go to. I decided to look around Collingwood and really liked their 'family' system similar to Cambridge (where you have 'parents' and 'siblings' and such within your college who you get to know really well. If you want more information on the colleges check out their accommodation page here. Also, I recommend doing their college quiz to get an idea of what colleges would be best suited to you and your needs.
• Course - Education: I really liked the education part of my chosen course (education and psychology) as the course was well thought out, the presentation was interesting and I really liked how they assessed.

Negative

And here we go into the long list of negatives I have compiled together:

• Course - Psychology: The psychology side of my course I did not like largely due to how the course was set out (it was quite repetitive), also that was the first course presentation I actually felt bored which is never a good thing; if I can't sit through an hour presentation how would I survive 3 years?!
• City campus: Like with UCLan the campus is in the city and even more spread apart - you can't really walk from one to the other quickly and I want a uni where everything is pretty much in the same place.
• Accommodation - Rooms: As I said I only looked at one college because that's all I had time for, however I did not what I saw. It was OK but I have seen much better and I didn't like how the college was set out. Here are some pictures I tool of the non en-suite accommodation at Collingwood:

• Accommodation - Prices: I personally thought the prices where a bit too expensive. I know they are catered but 1) I don't want fully catered which is what most of Durham is and 2) I don't have that kind of money. Here is the price list for 2015:

• Accommodation - Catered: As I said just before most of the accommodation at Durham is catered (only 2 colleges are self-/part-catered).
• Grade boundaries: It is a Russel Group uni so a lot of the courses have really high grade boundaries (such as mine is AAA) and although I have the potential to get that it's unlikely that I will because I am crap at exams...
• The area: As I drove through Durham to get to the main site I didn't really like what I saw. If you are one who likes character and culture then this is the city for you but I personally don't really like that.

I hope this was useful for you and helps you decide although I recommend that you do visit on an open day.

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*Disclaimer - these opinions are all my own*