When went to uni in the mid 90s I went on my own altrhkugh some were organised coach trips with 6th form. It wasn’t the done thing to turn up with a parent then, our teachers said the uni admissions tilts would “want to see some independence”. My parents hadn’t been to uni and wouldn’t have known what was good and what was bad anyway, so pointless them being there really.
I think times have changed a lot. When I went it was a time of all tuition fees paid, and student maintenance grants, not loans. Most parents paid very little if anything towards their child’s uni education. It was part of the reason parents just left their children to it.
Now, as other people have said parents are literally invested in it. Some parents are paying a lot of money towards uni costs and want to know that their child is doing a worthwhile course at somewhere decent so that money is not wasted. Especially since the change from polytechnics to universities. There are so many different courses now and not all of them are going to be of use or be a good investment in terms of career options or salary.
And how can a 17 year old know what is good and what isn’t if uni is a whole new world to them? A parent who has been through the system and who has also read up on current provision would be an asset to have as a companion on an open day as a young person these days, I think, just to swap ideas and opinions.
As long as you’re not taking over, not letting your son or daughter get a word in edgewaya or trying to steer them to do something YOU want them to do, I really don’t see the issue these days if parents attend open days. I think they can look out for things that their child may not have thought of, about how student life would be in different places etc.
I didn’t get the “they have to be independent on open days” argument in the old days as there was plenty of time for independence once they actually WENT to uni. A couple of train journeys and an organised tour round a department does not make a child independent overnight! And I especially don’t get it these days, I think parents at open days is totally the norm.
I will be going with my sons when the time comes. They can do the talking and drag me around. My job will be to point out the advantages and disadvantages of certain things and to get them to consider facilities such as the uni library rather than the SU bar prices!