Applicant Day - what to ask?

[missmoffatt2705]

Am taking DS to an applicant day. He has applied to study Cybersecurity. That dept will do a talk and there are accommodation tours. What should we ask...am thinking about what has happened with covid and students sat in their rooms with little face to face tuition. I don't want that experience for my DS but am not sure the uni can give guarantees that this won't happen. Are there any 'killer' questions I could pose, either about their uni experience or the course itself? Thanks

Ds reckons that nowhere will admit to teaching still being online!

The most useful piece of info we gleaned when older son was applying was what grades they generally accepted on results day. Eg if the standard offer is AAA, does everyone who gets AAB still get in, that sort of thing.

I would ask about numbers of staff who teach the subject. At one of the open days I attended with DS I asked that question and discovered that there were only two members of staff who taught the subject in question. It did occur to me to wonder what would happen if both of them went on maternity leave at the same time...In the end DS went to a different uni.

Ds reckons that nowhere will admit to teaching still being online!
I think the best way to get this information is to ask very specific questions about what proportion of teaching has been online over the past term, pressing for a specific percentage estimate. A vague or waffly answer or a reluctance to answer the question probably indicates that all or most teaching is online.

@Boosterquery has a good idea. Another approach would be to ask how many hours of F2F are provided weekly for Year 1 students. Staff at applicant day should all know this.

You or DS might also want some statistics and info on first jobs or PG placements. If the School help students with summer internships that would be a plus.