How many university open days is your dc planning to go to?

[ChangoMutney]

Dd2 is in year 12 and has given me a ‘short’ list of fifteen universities to visit, clearly that’s way too many but I wonder how many is normal. DD1 is at Uni but knew exactly what she wanted to do and where. DD2 is finding it harder to workout from online research which courses are good. She wants to do joint history and English, we’re looking at Oxford and Durham but need other options.

I think we've spoken on here before in fact - your son sounds very similar to dd in lots of ways (& I think is doing the same subjects). He sounds much further forward than dd though! Maybe the advantage of being no. 2 in the family... I just get a bit alarmed when friends dc are heading off to look at unis completely self-motivated & wonder if dd is really going to get to that stage.

sadi don't worry about Open Days 'filling up' and the prebooking thing. You can turn up on the day even : they don't turn people away. They really only want you to book so that they have email addresses, addresses and phone numbers so they can hassle you in perpetuity market their university.

That's really helpful to know PIggy, thank you. I think they're mainly in June? DD's exams finish by May half term & then she's off for the summer, so she'll have much more time to focus on uni choice (and a better feel for how they went!)

I think we've spoken on here before in fact

I remember discussing A-level choices for Science degrees and whether to take Maths / F.Maths / Physics / Chemistry or Maths / Physics / Chemistry / Biology.

I think anyone choosing Manchester would not see it as a campus university. There is so much going on in Manchester that students can readily access it is very different to small city Lancaster. It’s also a huge university.

dc1 went to 4 (plus the school took them all to the University in our home City, which was useful in some ways, but he was adamant he would move away to University).
I think dc2 went to 4 too.
dc3 (currently Yr12) is FAR too indecisive and can't narrow down the subject she wants to study enough yet, to even start then narrowing down Universities. She is in a slightl different position as she has been and stayed with her siblings at University and also visited (day trips) cousins, so has more of a 'feel' for the differences at different places, than dc1, for whom it was all a lot newer.

It was hugely important for my dc to actually visit though. there is no substitution for the 'feel' of a place.

I think anyone choosing Manchester would not see it as a campus university.

Sorry, my comment was not clear. I meant to say this:
DS2 is looking at Birmingham, Warwick and Nottingham because they are good for Physics and are campus universities.

I realise that there are other universities further north that are also good for Physics e.g. Manchester and Lancaster, but (due to his ASD) DS2 is only looking at places within 150 miles of home.

DD is doing a lot because I am going to tie it in with a couple of UK holidays (or girls road trips as we are describing it).
1 week we are doing York, Durham and Edinburgh. Another week we are doing Bristol and Exeter. Her dad lives near Birmingham so she went to Warwick, Aston and Birmingham with him during half term.
We also in live in London so she will go to some of the London ones too....one of which is a 'front runner'.
DD hasn't even decided fully between staying at home and going to a London Uni, staying in a city or moving to a campus based Uni. I am hoping that physically visiting may focus her mind.
For what it's worth, she loved Birmingham but is concerned about its proximity to her father 😀

However, I would agree with the other posters- I suspect that the campus ones will be much of a muchness and the London ones will also have a similar vibe to each other. I think it will prove to be completely unnecessary but I fancy visiting some of the towns myself (not the Unis but the actual towns) so I am considering it as this years holidays!!