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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Offer holder days

29 replies

robinwasntred · 04/01/2019 15:05

I'm looking for tips about offer holder days. Dd has 4 offers (Southampton, Birmingham, Durham, Cardiff) and is really unsure about preferences, so is thinking of going to all 4 offer holder days if affordable & if she/we can manage the logistics.

We went to open days at 2 of them, so got a feel for the campuses & departments there, so will obviously aim to do the same for the other 2. She's been sent programmes for some (maybe all) of the days, so there will be organised tours, q&a sessions, etc & I think they all have separate sessions for parents (if I or dh are able to go), but I'm wondering what else is important to ask or look out for, either as a parent or potential student? She has has asked me not to say what subject she's applied for :)

For those of you who've been to offer holder days, what was the most useful aspect? Is there anything you wish you'd found out? Was there much more to learn that you didn't find out at open days?

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BubblesBuddy · 04/01/2019 16:49

My DD went to the one she hadn’t visited on an open day. I went too and it was dismal. Other than the fact they told her not to worry about the results of her third A level and the masters under grad she had applied for didn’t lead to a better job outcome we didn’t learn much. It confirmed she didn’t want to go to that university. Possibly a mistake to go, but if seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn’t one on your list but they didn’t push the boat out to get her and it was desperately underwhelming. She met few other offer holders. Large well respected northern RG university.

The main difference between an open day and an offer day was getting to speak to lecturers and dig down a bit more into the course and the university. You should get more time to chat and get off the open day conveyor belt.

I think she shouldn’t go to 4 though. Can she really spare the time? Of the ones you mention (and it depends on the course as well) Durham is quite different. What hall has she been allocated? It’s a smaller city. Where do the universities sit in terms of employment prospects? For some careers there might be a difference between these.

What course does she prefer (I assume there are differences) and she should aim to get more info on what can be studied and how the course works.

How will she weight up the info from the days? There has to be some deciding factors in her mind. She needs to know what is important and what is not acceptable otherwise more information doesn’t really help. It just adds to the confusion. A list of definite requirements and negative factors might help - and a scoring system!

If also gives a bit more time to look around the city and take stock of whether you want to live there.

defnotadomesticgoddess · 04/01/2019 17:00

Mine went to offer days and used them to get more of a feel for the Unis/courses. It helped narrow down choices for firm/insurance. A couple of the offer days felt very different from the open days and decided it wasn’t for them. Also confirmed that other Unis we were they wanted to be. Both finished their first terms, both are very happy with the course/uni they chose as they felt they’d researched thoroughly and knew that the other options weren’t for them. Good luck

ShouldReadMore · 04/01/2019 19:01

I think they are worthwhile if the DC is undecided, even if they've been to an open day.

DS went to the Durham one which had been a favourite for his insurance. He had been to an open day but the offer day was an overnight stay. He hated it, so it was well worth the visit.
DD went to the offer day at a uni she hadn't really liked on the open day. She loved it second time round and ended up putting it down as firm.

Marmie4 · 04/01/2019 19:56

My DS went to his 2 favorites for offer days, he had already been to all 5 open days. To be honest he was pretty set on his firm choice already but it reinforced his decision. He had a morning in laboratories with students hoping to study the same subject followed by a lunch with current students so he met people who he then connected with on social media. He also explored the accommodation blocks and had a really good look around his department more than on the open day, he chatted to lecturers and other students. It was definitely worth the effort of going. Good luck with the offer days and hope it becomes clearer.

Original poster
robinwasntred · 04/01/2019 20:22

Bubbles that day sounds a bit of a disaster but probably good in a way to have such a strong reaction. And interesting that ShouldReadMore's dd changed her mind between open day and visit day. Tbh I think it would be helpful if my dd would dislike at least one of her choices to help narrow them down.

I don't think Durham allocated her a college, not sure. We didn't go to the Durham open day so she needs to see what it's like, but I think will just go for the day visit rather than the overnight as she doesn't want to miss 2 days of school so close to A levels. The course there is probably a lowish preference out of her 5, but I think it's the highest ranked on most league tables, so she needs to work out how important that is. She doesn't have a particular career in mind so that doesn't help to narrow things down.

I will try and encourage her to work out a decision-making process. We went to 5 open days but two of them she disliked and didn't apply for those, so ended up having to choose two she hadn't visited. I think I need to get her to be more specific about what she liked and disliked at the open days which might help her decide.

Defnot I hope dd will be the same and use the days to be sure she's making the right decision. I think she feels a bit overwhelmed at the moment, which is partly why I'd like her to be able to go to all 4 if that's what's going to help her decide.

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Original poster
robinwasntred · 04/01/2019 20:26

Thanks Marmie4 that's exactly the sort of thing I hope dd will get from the offer holder days, especially meeting students and lecturers and getting a good feel for the department.

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goodbyestranger · 04/01/2019 21:50

I think the Durham Offer Days should carry a health warning. Everyone seems to hate them but almost everyone seems to really like Durham once there. Not sure what they're doing wrong. but it's something.

goodbyestranger · 04/01/2019 21:52

OP if your DC is doing History just a warning that the dept didn't show up at Durham for the planned lecture/ departmental session when DS3 went up. So if you're hoping for a 'good feel' that might not happen!

Original poster
robinwasntred · 04/01/2019 21:58

Oh no, it's not history, but that sounds bad when people have turned up, probably at great expense, in the hope of hearing something to help with decision-making. Did that put your ds off making Durham one of his choices goodbyestranger?

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Original poster
robinwasntred · 04/01/2019 22:02

Oh no, I just read your first message goodbye. That's a shame - I imagine they do some kind of research into the success (or not) of their marketing/welcome events. It's seems odd that they would get it so badly wrong.

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goodbyestranger · 04/01/2019 22:04

Yes it did robinwasntred. It was only for his insurance choice but he put Bristol instead, based entirely on the difference between the two Offer Days (Bristol did theirs well). He didn't need the insurance in the end but I think he'd have preferred Durham over Bristol had it come to it, so the fact that Durham seems to mess up the Offer Days so badly is a shame. With the next DC down I suggested he skip the thing and go to see Durham independently, which he did.

LoniceraJaponica · 05/01/2019 12:48

Which university was it BubblesBuddy?

BubblesBuddy · 05/01/2019 20:06

Manchester. If you mean my comment about the MLang.

BubblesBuddy · 05/01/2019 20:09

I thought the offer from Durham included the college. Otherwise how can you sample your college community with an overnight stay?

Shimy · 05/01/2019 20:38

Are there any useful questions one might ask on offer holders day?

Original poster
robinwasntred · 05/01/2019 20:57

Bubbles no, apparently Durham allocate colleges from February onwards - so maybe if the offer comes through after then it will include a college allocation. The visit days are in Feb and March, but can only stay overnight at the March one, so I suppose everyone will know their college by then.

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Malbecfan · 06/01/2019 11:52

DH has taken DD2 to 2 offer holder days: York and Leicester. Although aiming for a science degree, she is a keen (and good) singer so wanted to talk about whether she would be able to sing in a chapel choir or similar. Leicester called over the "main person" to chat to her and she came away absolutely buzzing. I think Leicester had some parts for both students and parents, and some separate. They were able to look into student bedrooms at both places.

Original poster
robinwasntred · 06/01/2019 19:58

That sounds good Malbecfan. Having other interests that you would like to continue with at uni must be helpful in narrowing down the options. Did she like York? DD's best friend is going to an offer holder day there this month.

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LoniceraJaponica · 06/01/2019 22:17

We have been to two open days at York as DD decided last year to apply for medicine, and this year to apply for biomed. She didn't like York either time. The hideous 1960s council flat-like buildings and the fact that it is an out of town campus meant that it didn't tick any boxes for her. She didn't like Warwick for the same reasons.

choirmumoftwo · 06/01/2019 22:55

My DS went to 4 open days then offer holder days at his 2 favourites. They helped to confirm his choice as it was a close run thing. He ended up at the first place he visited which he loved from the outset.

ifonly4 · 07/01/2019 15:01

shouldreadmore can you let me know why your DS didn't like Durham. It's the one uni didn't hasn't visited on an offer holder or other day.

It's hard getting around all the unis, but it just goes to show you need to visit, contact them to get a feel. DD contacted Nottingham as she had a pre-application query, spoke to two people who didn't know anything about the course (in that it existed) and never got a phone call back. Consequently she didn't apply there.

janinlondon · 07/01/2019 15:24

DD did the Durham offer holder overnight stay. On the plus side she adored it, and was convinced it was the place for her. On the not so plus side, she was so totally wedded to the college she stayed in that no other option would be entertained....

BubblesBuddy · 07/01/2019 17:07

DD wen to Durham for a day at Whitsun in lower 6th as it was in her radar. She couldn’t make an open day but then didn’t go for the offer holders day as they allocated her a college she really didn’t want to be in. So don’t set your heart on anything there!

Malbecfan · 08/01/2019 17:52

Sorry robinswasntred, I'm back at school now so there's a lot less time for being on here. DD wasn't that impressed by York. She liked it when we had a wander around the campus in the summer and said it was ok after the interview. However, the offer is quite high and it has put her off somewhat, especially as other places have sent her much more manageable ones. I think it'll be the first one to be rejected by her.

Original poster
robinwasntred · 10/01/2019 16:37

Thanks Malbecfan. DD's friend really wants to go to an out of town campus preferably near a smaller town/city so hopefully she will like York.

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