Are UCAS fairs worth it?

[BonnesVacances]

Just that really. As it will involve a day off college to visit one, do the DC get much out of it?

DD1 went to one in Feb 2020 and it turned out that it WAS very useful because then all the open days got cancelled! She visited lots of stalls including the uni she eventually ended up at, and pretty much made her decision about where she wanted to go at the fair. Whether it would have been so beneficial in a 'normal' year with lots of open days etc is hard to say...

Travel to open days is time consuming and potentially expensive. If the unis you are considering are scattered all over and the Fair is closer then it could be a useful first trawl for info. Remember offer holder days are sometimes more useful to focus the mind than general open days.

If students go to the Fair I’d make sure they have a list of questions ranging from what’s the normal offer, any details about course content required, opportunities for year working/travel, bursaries available (if required), accommodation and how it is allocated - in other words all the questions (helpfully!) nosey mums usually ask at open days!

Both of my children went to UCAS fairs with their schools. Tbh the fairs were so crowded and busy, they didn’t get to talk to any of the unis they were interested in and ended up bringing home marketing gifts from the unis they had no interest in. Free pens, pens, water bottles, prospectuses. Some unis had taster courses and summer schools, which were probably more useful, and post offer open days.

They are as useful as you make them. If you go with a long list of places to speak to and the info you want, they’re helpful and can help narrow down open day visits. If you wander round collecting free pens without talking to anyone, they aren’t.

Depending on where you are in the country and the date of your ucas fair, I do think they can be a good way to kickstart the process and get a student thinking about it (assuming your ucas fair is early on!)

Thanks all. Sounds like it could be helpful then as DS is looking at unis at the other end of the country.