(5)·By Rebecca D·Philosophy· Jul 2021 Great. Freshers week was conducted within your college - so all activities and events were organised by older years in the same college, and it was a good way to form close bonds with people who lived in the same accommodation as you. On the other hand, there was only 2 other people studying the same subject as me within my college, so I didn't get to meet anyone from my course until lectures started. Durham Accommodation is amazing. Due to the collegiate system, everyone spends their first year living in a College (either catered or self-catered). It was a great way to form close friendships with people from your College, because you spent most mealtimes with them, eating in a big dining hall - often meeting new people every day. Each college has their own library, gym, music rooms, sports teams and student groups. This means that everything feels more accessible. Because sports can be played at both a collegiate level and a university level (playing for the university team and using the Team Durham facilities), more people are able to participate. There is access to both collegiate facilities and University facilities. So, you can either use your college's library or use the Bill Bryson or Palace Green libraries. Similarly, you can be involved with University-wide groups such as the DSU societies, or Durham Union. The course I did had a lot of flexibility with module choices. I could tailor my degree so that I only took certain types of modules (for example, not taking maths-based modules). Lectures were low-key, they were never overwhelming. Emphasis was placed on independent study and learning - which is much better for me. Durham is a very small city. It can feel claustrophobic at times. Its hard to walk down the street and not see someone you at least vaguely know - this can also be a positive, though. There are lots of cafes, and cheap clubs. And if it does start to feel too small, Newcastle is only a 10 minute train-ride away.