'Open' applications to Cambridge and Durham

Savvy_Sue

I know it's DS2's responsibility to research this, but the school want his application finished by Monday so not a lot of time!

Does anyone know how Cambridge and Durham deal with applications where no college choice has been made?

I'm encouraging him to make a choice, if he can't make his mind up then to go for a college near where the Maths dept is based just to save him trekking all over the city to get to lectures. But if he doesn't, how do they consider his application? Does it go to the dept and then on any colleges with spaces? Or do all the colleges get a look at his form?

For Cambridge, my uncle went to Trinity, and DS2's godfather went to Churchill, but of course that was aeons ago so any advice they can give is not necessarily helpful (although as my uncle's dead there's not a lot forthcoming from him anyway!)

And at Durham, I went to St Mary's, so of course that is the best college, especially as he'd probably be outnumbered by beautiful girls ... but I doubt that will influence him!

The_One_Who

I only know how the Cambridge system works, but probably best to assume that Durham works the same way. At Cambridge it is not essential that you put a college on your application, but if you don't your application is given to the colleges which have fewer applications for the amount of spaces available on the course and then is treated in the same way as any other application.

I would seriously advise him to research the colleges and pick one. Not all colleges do all subjects, and some are more reknowned than others. If he doesn't research the different colleges and goes for the pot luck option he good end up going to a college which he doesn't like at all and then having to stick it out.

Savvy_Sue

thanks, I suspected it would work like that. On one level it probably matters more for Cambridge than for Durham, because I know in Durham your teaching is entirely separate from college, whereas in Cambridge your college tutor does some subject teaching.

However I know from my days in Durham that the colleges are quite distinctive - I suppose it might be a bit more blurred now they're all mixed, but he'd be a bit of an oddball surrounded by the rugby players of Hatfield for example. Not that he minds being a bit of an oddball, as it happens!

I'll get him to bring the Cambridge and Durham prospecti in the car with us on Saturday: we're taking DS1 back to Warwick for his 3rd year and that's one of his choices, so he's coming to have a look round ...

juno

If he has any preference at all, even if it's "I really don't want to go to X", then he should pick. It's less important for boys though, as there's no chance of them being shoved in an all girls college and being unhappy there!

NickiM

I would pick if he could, I presume that for Durham and Cambridge they both put people in where the spaces are. I could give you some information about Trevelyan College in Durham, I'm going there on Sunday.

There are lots of things to consider when choosing a college, I think it would be better to choose, because, they're all so different! I mean, I chose Trevs partly because it had a flute choir and a toasted sandwich bar. But yes, if your son has any interest in sport/music/drama etc etc, then certain colleges are stronger at them at others.

Cambridge
- http://www.cam.ac.uk/colleges/ - the official link to all the colleges
- If you type in the name of the Cambridge college you might be interested in and JCR, then you get the JCR site, which is by the students - often useful

Durham
- http://www.dur.ac.uk/colleges/
- Do the JCR thing for Durham also
- In the prospectus there is a grid where you can compare colleges.
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/student/article2228367.ece


Don't know whether you know, but the college system works differently in Cambridge and Durham. At Cambridge, you get taught in your college (I *think*), but in Durham,it's just a place to reside and you get taught in a department. For Cambridge, your application goes directly to the college and they accept/reject you, and for Durham, your application first goes to the department and then to the college. Whoops, saw you knew that already.

Let me know if you need any help - I applied to Cambridge (Emmanuel College), Durham (Trevelyan College), Warwick, Lancaster, Nottingham and York, and have also seen Leeds, Sheffield and Bristol. I will be happy to look over any personal statements (preferably before Saturday lunch time, as I go up north then)

celyn90

Hi OP, they tend to just assign a college to students if you make an open application, normally one with less appliacnts. The colleges tend to be quite different - even the accomodation offered (how many years you get) and cost of accomodation is vastly different as well as the social scene. My first port of call would be to look at the booklet detailing the college and see if they have places/how many places for students doing your subject, what they offer in terms of accomdation etc etc. Does your son have a preference for an older or more traditional college or a more modern one, any sport/music preferences etc? I would advise going up to have a look if you can, and certainly check out the web-sites.

I think the maths department is a little way out of the centre if I remember correctly.

NickiM is right, supervisions (tutorials) tend to be done by fellows (or more likely post-grads) of that college. They may take place in college, or in the department or in the tutors accomdation depending on the tutor and the space available. I wouldn't worry about this as he will have his supervisons regardless (I used to have students Sidney sussex and Caius as they didn't have anyone for that course and I was at Emmanuel). All your lectures are done in the department still.

For undergraduate applications you will be interviewed by the college - by a fellow/member of your chosen department who is associated with that particular college, so it will still be a subject interview - just in a different setting.

best of luck, let us know what he decides! cel x

Edit to say: feel free to PM me if I can do anything!

NickiM

^ Oh yes, that's a good point, I know for Cambridge, only some colleges did certain subjects.

Also, does your son want to share a room?

Celyn90 - Emmanuel was a lovely college

pinkshoes

I went to Durham, and they'll just put you into a college with the least applications if you don't specify a college.

Some of the colleges are rather different. If he's into sport, then go for Hild Bede or Collingwood, although Trevs and Van Mildert aren't too bad either. If he's quite shy, maybe he'd prefer one of the smaller colleges.

University college usually gets the most applicants due to the prospect of living in a castle in your final year (limited rooms!)

PM me if you want more info!

celyn90

NickiM wrote: »

^ Oh yes, that's a good point, I know for Cambridge, only some colleges did certain subjects.

Also, does your son want to share a room?

Celyn90 - Emmanuel was a lovely college

I chose it initially because I liked the fish in the pond (and it was fairly close to my department), so it was more luck than judgement! :rotfl: Also it was the only college in Cambridge that did its students laundry (and for free - very MSE!) - you handed in the dirty laundry and get it back the next week clean and folded (well, it saves you dragging it all home at Christmas or doing it yourself!). I don't know if they still do it though. Accomodation was also cheap, I was housed for my whole time there and there was no fixed kitchen charge if you lived off the main site. Bar was also one of the cheapest too.

I'm at the other place now and I chose my college here on the basis that it was close to the department, but it suits me I don't have much to do with college life as I live out and I'm kinda shy.

Lavendyr

*another ex-Emmanuelite here* It's a great college - also has a very good recent academic record They do still do the free laundry (I still have friends there) and the bar was still extremely cheap last time I was there.

I chose my college based on the fact that I liked it and felt at home there more than any others I'd seen. It was quite a long way from my faculty and many of the supervisors for my subject were based at different colleges - Jesus, Selwyn, Newnham, Caius, and many were held at the faculty itself (I tended to do fairly "minority" courses), but the teaching was still great. Tell him to look for somewhere that sounds like his "kind of place" and to go on open days if at all possible as that's the best way to get a feel for a college.

By the way, I think it's the case that all students now pay KFC, even if housed off-site at Emma, but may be wrong - I lived in college all the way through!

The most negative thing about Emma though, is that self-catering facilities are dire. A couple of years back they went on an "anti-hob" campaign, basically took almost all hobs out of kitchens leaving only combination microwave/ovens, so in many halls you have no access to hobs at all anymore. So from a MSE perspective it's not actually that fantastic, as hobs are a cheaper way of cooking than oven-cooking in most cases, and eating in hall is not really that cheap either.

Edit: one tip, when asking for college prospectuses, ask also if they do an "alternative prospectus" which is published by the student JCR, which gives the "student view" on life at the college in question.

Savvy_Sue

You're all lovely, helpful people. And confirming what I thought, that he really ought to make a choice, to lessen the danger of being put somewhere he'll struggle to be happy.

Apart from anything else, to me it looks kind of unprepared if you haven't made a choice. A choice at least says you've thought about it!

He's not sporty, he's not musical, he's reasonably sociable but not for the sake of it IYSWIM. On the geeky side, he wants to study maths to satisfy his intellectual curiosity. Didn't get that from me! So, where do the geeks choose to go?

That's about as much work as I'm going to do for him now, the rest is up to him.