We’ve done both applicant and offer holder days over the years. The offer holder days have typically been a lot more personalised and enticing.
Apart from Edinburgh, where DC3 is now, they have all pulled out the stops with lunch laid on, sessions for parents, sample lectures, accommodation tours.
Everywhere had had a “what our city has to offer”, as well as a breakdown of the course and modules beyond the first year. They have all had accommodation tours.
It’s nice to have an “Activities Fair”,so that students get a flavour of the culture of the university. Sheffield did well on this.
What students want from an offer holders day depends on the research they have already done via visits to other univerisities and the departmental websites.
DD, now in her first year, did pre-applicant visits to Bristol, Southampton and Sussex. She hated Bristol (against the trend) but could see herself at Sussex or Southampton. What she didn’t like about Bristol was the course itself —and how much they were up themselves—.
When she came to submitting her UCAS form, she picked courses that had similar structures to Southampton and Sussex. She put down Edinburgh for its reputation, and threw in Newcastle and Sheffield (I had visited them on offer holder days for her sister).
She visited Edinburgh for the first time on an offer holders day which confirmed that the course was right. The accommodation talk was useful and removed stress from the process. The activities fair was rubbish. Overall, it was not a great day in that we didn’t have a lot to do. We went shopping and took a very long bus ride just to kill the time.
She still chose it and is loving it.