Open days - what attracts you? What puts you off?

[shovetheholly]

I'm interested in hearing about your experiences of open days!

What attracts you and your DS/DD to a course or a place? What puts you off? What kind of information is it good to receive about the course? How much does the city/town of the university matter? How significant are job prospects later on to your decision? Do open days always confirm what you already think, or has one changed your mind (either positively or negatively)?

Am asking because we rarely get honest feedback from parents on the day (for obvious reasons), and I'd love to hear what you REALLY think... and get a sense of what we can do better.

I think that every student is going to respond differently so you can't please everyone.

The other thing is that this site is probably not fully representative of many students and families.

I went to 2 fairly local unis with dd a year early to give her an idea of what to expect. We went to a lecture by someone from the school that she was interested (Don't want to out myself by being more specific!). That lecturer spent 40 minutes talking about her subject matter (probably about 10% of subjects studied in that school) and near the end said "And you can also study x, y and z. If you want to find out more about any subject go to room a where there are people who can answer your questions". DD wanted to study x and had questions so we went to that room and waited in a queue to be told, oh there is no x lecturers here just now but I will see what I can do. They could not answer dd's questions. It gave her a very poor impression of that uni. And her subject interest was not a minority subject. It was probably studied by approx 40% students in that school.

We went back the following year and the lecture was pretty much the same, but we were fortunately able to speak to someone who was knowledgeable.

By contrast we went to another uni and it couldn't have been more different. The lecturers were very informative and very friendly. Decision made.

Re Bobo - I'm not at all sure students are that bothered about "fun". Most applicants I know are really interested in how much they are going to learn at university, and aren't remotely bothered about "fun".

I would just say that I think that some "fun" is healthy for a student. And fun isn't always partying all night every night, it takes many different forms. I think there is a line between a never ending search for the groove * and treating university at circa 18 / 19 / 20 as if it were an e.g. MBA done later in life as a route to a better job.

• just to say this marks me out absolutely as not the coolest. However I hope some will see my point.

Virgils
But it just shows that university staff - academic & administrative - can bust a gut, give up their weekends & family time, talk themselves hoarse, patiently explain & re-explain, try tactfully to deal with helicoptering and/or sharp-elbowed parents, and - candidates will still make seemingly irrational choices.

Don't be so dispondant Maybe some candidates will make irrational choices but most won't. My DC got a lot out of the open days they attended.

I've worked at numerous open days for the university where I work.

We do our best. We think about what we'd like to project. But we can't please all the people all the time.

This year onepotential applicant complained that a certain academic was no longer offering a certain module. Well I, she doesn't work here, love.

Also after each one I swear I'll get myself a tee shirt printed saying 'look at the fecking website'.
But instead, I smile and respond. Rinse and repeat.

I actually quite like open days. I find all that young energy and hopefulness invigorating. The parents don't bother me either. I get their concern.

This year I've been on the other side too as I've been looking around with my twins.

As a family we appreciated good directions and plenty of parking.
Useful maps.
Lots of helpers with smiles and directions.
Lots of places to get drinks and places for parents to sit while we waited for DC.
Interesting and short subject lectures - no one needs to know about modules in year four.
Plenty of opportunity to see accommodation.

But after that it's a vibe really. My two had viscerally different reactions to different places. Same open day, different response.

GetAHaircutCarl With twins, it's almost like you have carried out an experiment on our behalf!
I think your comment sums up the conclusion of this thread: But after that it's a vibe really. My two had viscerally different reactions to different places. Same open day, different response.
Perhaps it's a bit like dating! As long as the basics are covered - eg signage, parking, organisation, university representatives being present and presentable (not arrogant) etc - what makes a university attractive is just a very personal preference. At the end of the day, there's not "the one", after all.

Indeed. I am a one woman test case .

Last year we did Durham, York, Warwick, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, Bristol and Exeter.

Plus several universities in the States.

Plus RADA.

I will sleep when I'm dead!

The main thing I would want would be that what they say will happen at X time will happen then as people will be busting a gut and paying lots of costs to be at that place at that time and are used many of us to 100% efficiency in private schools and our commercial businesses.

How well managed an open day is will send a strong message to families about how well managed the university is as a whole.

Yes, key issue for us. We tend not to queue, not to wait,. Things operate on time. Time is crucial as we charge hundreds an hour etc etc etc When you then suddenly might come into a system where perhaps people don't have the same mentality and you are messed around or lose an hour or whatever then you think wow this is different and not for me.

I have long thought that one of the key teachings of private schools is efficiency and good management. Expectations are set up for life and carried forward into the workplace. When people used to a well-oiled machine encounter a rusty, creaking one they don't think it is their lot to work with its failings but they rather walk away...

Some of us are used to state schools which operate efficiently. There are good and bad in both sectors.

Surveys are only surveys of those who have bothered to answer. So I would always take "student satisfaction" with a large pile of grains of salt - a pillar, even. The poster suggesting that they would view Cardiff favourably in comparison with Cambridge because of student satisfaction - er, yer wot?

Amused at the perspectives of the mature student. When I was at university in the 80s - gosh, how annoying were the mature students! They all sat right at the front with straight backs and asked questions and then monopolised the lecturers. Meanwhile the general mass of students slumped in their seats, barely half awake (if they were there at all). Clearly education is wasted on the young! And, having returned to education on a couple of occasions, I became the "annoying mature student". I could see I was being annoying, but this time round I was so much more positive - and paying!

I think it's useful to visit a university not on an open day, so you can see what the students are like, the vibe etc. I live very near an RG university. The students do not look very... highbrow. In fact it's Eyebrow instead of HIghbrow as the girls have those drawn-on jet black brows and dress as if permanently selfie ready even in this weather. Ds was hoping to find Gail Trimble or Victoria Coren at university, not the cast of Towie.

Another thought, try to find out what current students on the course are doing. I was astonished to hear what dn is doing in English Literature, at another RG university. It is so reduced - GCSE stuff at best.

We spent a mortifying evening as my friend's DD- doing English at a well respected RG uni- tried to convince my DD to apply to said uni. DD nodded politely but I could see the flashes of horror across her face. It really was pitched at GCSE level at her school.
Had the same reaction at a very high tarif uni Open Day (previous post) where the reading list was projected on a screen.

I don't recall any of the open days before no especially inefficient. Everything seemed to run on time. Or near as damnit.

One of the things that impressed me was being able to speak to a real person who offered flexibility. On a couple of occasions we needed to bounce around a couple of talks as we were juggling two visits essentially. A quick call or email to the universities in question resulted in a timely call back from somone only too happy that help.

Time is crucial as we charge hundreds an hour etc etc etc When you then suddenly might come into a system where perhaps people don't have the same mentality and you are messed around or lose an hour or whatever then you think wow this is different and not for me.

I challenge all of you to run a university perfectly on the meagre budgets available. I think we perform way, way above than commercial organisations I work with. We deliver way more performance per pound spent.

I would remind all of you that the academic staff at weekend open days are not paid anything for being there. Academic staff who need to pay for childcare actually lose money by attending. So it's hardly surprising if sometimes the lecturer you would like to see is not available.

Give us the fees that Harvard and Princeton get - or even the fees of a private secondary school - and I'm sure we could all improve our open days. (First step: pay staff for attending.)

But user - some universities do manage to run excellent open days (so do some state schools, incidentally). We were impressed by more than we were disappointed by. The question is why a few let themselves down, and as far as we could see it was more about attitude than resources.

(I've never known a professional in industry being paid for weekend work, btw. And they're not all on huge salaries compared to uni senior staff.)

I would in no way excuse just sheer disorganisation or any form of arrogance , but to some extent I think that if you are applying to a well regarded course then you are , an applicant. It is not quite (even though the move to loans might feel like it ) the same as buying a product , in the way that engaging a top law firm etc might be. Ultimately you can decide whether the experience was so off putting , you don't want to apply. Ds went to 3 open days and they all managed really well. One was dealing with just huger amount of numbers than the other two so there was queuing but to be fair the logistics worked pretty well. What resonated with him was where the student helpers / tutors / admin people were just friendly and helpful and gave an impression of "well if that's the sort of person at this university then I reckon it might be a nice place to be" . That is above and beyond making sure the course appeals and other basic factors.

were all managed

This!

Sorry!! Wrong thread 😳

Ha ha Trooper , at least as good a response to the thread as mine. I think DS would have thought chicken and avocado was a good open day thing (at one he and his mate did seem to ask more questions about the food than others ) In his defence - he had read the website and got the important things taped.

I also work Open Days as an academic and really enjoy them. I'm a sucker for all those young people (some of ) whom look enthusiastic, and like chatting to the parents.

I get asked ALL THE TIME by parents:

What jobs can you get with that degree? Or for the more career-focused courses- how many people get jobs in XYZ?

Usually parents just want to chat through the choices and, for those who aren't familiar with HE or that subject, get some reassurance that this choice doesn't block their prospects in anyway- so they can still be a lawyer without a law degree and so on.

The parents also ask all the time about contact time/hours. They are obsessed by the lack of contact hours on some social science/humanities courses. The irony is that when their children hit the university, about a third of them are really poor attenders and another third never attend any of the 'extras' I put on in terms of additional office hours, extra skills training, one to one academic and employment counselling and so on. A few really make the most of it but I am quite dispirited by poor attendance at times, and I'm ranked well as a lecturer. I never tell the parents that asking about contact hours is a bit pointless!

They obsess about contact hours on MN too! It is because they cannot see their child managing without parental input so the lecturers have to do it - in loco parentis. If they believed in the maturity and intelligence if their children, they would know they can work in the library and research/work effectively. The truth is, their child cannot do this and has to have their hand held. Maybe they should apply elsewhere?

Trooper I enjoyed your post.

Contact hours, yes well ... I tend to answer that question by saying I think it's not the most productive thing to focus on (meanwhile thinking, would you ask that question at Oxford? Where contact might be 2 hours a week, in 8 week terms).

I talk about"reading" for a degree and the level of independence required. And that every contact hour is assumed to require e 3 to 4 hours preparation. So a 2 hour seminar should take them a day to prepare for, plus extra for essay and seminar presentation research and prep.

This is in the humanities.