Blitzing it - from Devon to Sheffield AirBnB for half term Uni tour! Sensible or not?

[LingLang]

So, we are driving from home in Tiverton (Devon) to a lovely-looking flat in Sheffield tomorrow (Sunday) for half term. But chilling we are not (although DS’s Xbox will, inevitably, be accompanying us, plus ample wine!). DS vaguely researched courses etc (he is in lower 6th in old money - year 12) and reckons he will apply to Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Nottingham, Leicester and Newcastle (obviously only 5 of those 7). All quite close together, relatively (bear in mind we are in Devon), although Newcastle a bit of an outlier.

We haven’t visited any unis and have been warned off open days (marketing exercises and often overcrowded/shambolic apparently) so have booked a flat in Sheffield and plan to visit all 7 unis in 7 days. Much cheaper, more efficient (and less tiring) than doing 7 day visits from Devon!

The reason we going in half term (rather than Easter or Summer vacations - my original thought) is obvs that unis are open and students are in situ so we’ll get more of a feel. Wish us luck - it will be full on (but hopefully a lot of fun). Pls don’t @ me saying visiting a waste of time as virtual tours on uni websites!

Posting coz I am v interested in what other parents from remote/far-flung areas do when they view unis? We thought blitzing it was best/cheapest but may be wrong?

We did this. No open days as covid times so we did a 5 day tour of the northern unis. We got a really good feel for the cities and universities themselves then researched the departments online and watched subject presentations. A particular uni stood out and dd applied, got an offer, did attend that offer holder day (where she properly visited the dept and attended sample lectures, met staff and students etc) and is now in her first year there. She loves it and we all feel that our impressions from that day were accurate and not clouded by rushing round going to talks and fairs etc The only possible issue is that now she's there it is flipping far away vs ds who is at a southern uni and is physically and psychologically nearer. Dropping off and fetching are major operations, visits aren't easy and when she was quite ill last term I couldn't just go. But that's not what you were asking and I think great way to directly compare and contrast several universities. Have fun. You might need the wine!

Re "the feel". Both mine knew when we'd found the right unis for them from the feel, which you just can't get from the website and ds also felt strongly averse to one that has a great reputation and he was expecting to love.

What’s the course he’s looking at?

This is good to get a feel for the towns but I’d suggest going to open days on top. Unlike school - the same courses at different unis can have very different content and modules. Quality of teaching can vary. Quality if resources can vary.

Also grades will be unclear at this stage and where he wants to go and where he’ll get the grades for may differ. We had to do online open days and outside tours due to covid but managed open/ offer days for the top five.

Definitely a useful exercise for getting a feel for the unis and the cities altho I wouldn't rule out open days. All the ones we went to last year were very good and informative. But this should definitely help to shortlist. Just hope you have a week off to recover booked for when you get home!

I've not done uni visits but certainly understand that "feel".

Ds is a swimmer so often attends camps at uni pools during half terms and you do get a feel for the uni and life there when there is students about.

He's been at Loughborough, Birmingham, Sheffield and Nottingham. He's doing Bath next week.

He's also done camps during Easter when there is no students and it's an entirely different feel and experience.

Hope ds enjoys it and comes away feeling more sure if where he wants to go.

We didn't do open days, just offer holder days at the two DD was interested in.
Hated everything about 1 (from the city itself, to the "vibe" from the students involved in the day) Loved everything about the second one.

If you can, I'd see as many as possible, why not? But holder days are invaluable for both students and parents.

They're all great unis. In terms of cities, I would say there is a bit more going on in all aside from Leicester.
Newcastle and Birmingham are probably the easiest to get to (train to brum or fly to newcastle from Exeter).

This is a good idea to get a feel of the cities and the campuses, but PLEASE don’t expect to meet the lecturers - this is a pretty hectic moment in the term. Piles of marking, plus teaching.

However, you should be able to look at university libraries and student Union or Guild venues, plus sports facilities if that’s important to your DS.

Hi @LingLang, I am a believer in both non-Open Day and Open Day visits. The latter are marketing exercises but useful training for DC in how to look past superficial gloss to the underlying substance.

For non-Open Day visits my DC (either solo or accompanied) have done, these (variously) involved a general walk around the campus/equivalent, a trip on foot or public transport from the uni to the city centre and a visit to one of the more popular student residential areas.

This all may be a bit more involved than you want (and I have been gently and humorously chided on other threads for such an approach!) but, ultimately, these are 'bits of info' that knit together to give an overall picture. Some of these elements could be left until an Open Day but does put more time pressure on that day, when your DC will want to see inside departments and meet students and staff.

I would restrict things to 'one uni city per day' (perhaps even with 'rest days'!) even if that means fewer unis are visited; obviously you'll be guided on how your DC is engaging with all this. I would also gently nudge them to take some responsibility eg print out campus maps before the trip and even 'full planning' if they are up for that.

Other posters will have alternative views about this, which is fine. I have DC who were more laid back and a trip to the city centre only is what we focussed on initially, and other DC where I have taken a back seat or simply been dispensed with altogether. So it is horses for courses.

Could you also use it as an opportunity to get them to travel by train to one or more of the cities and you travel by car and meet them there? I did that as part of a longer term 'flying the nest' process.

Very specific tip: When we were visiting U of Birmingham, we parked (free) at Alvechurch station, near M42 jnc 2, and caught direct train to University station and then, later, into New Street station. That might work for you outbound or return, though do check Sunday timetable, if relevant!

Sounds like a great plan. We did open days with eldest as furthest away was two hour so all feasible in a day. Youngest it was covid so all online. You prob get to see more/speak to lecturers on open days but you can get all that online. This way you see the unis at work and see local area.

I went to Leeds (about 7 years ago) uni was fab and I like Leeds but I didn't live in. We live near Sheffield and know people who been and it's a good uni and fun town centre. Yorks lovely too and eldest went Newcastle and absolutely loved it, she continued to live there after.

As others have said, it’s a nice way to get a feel of the place but you won’t find out anything about courses, accommodation or support services while you’re there. You also might not get a true sense of the campus. Thinking about ours which is possibly one of the ones you mention, there are two campuses with very different feels, so dependent upon your course you could be at either of them.

Also half term might be a little quieter, some courses have a reading week which a lot of students use to go home.

Agree with @BlueHeelers about not expecting to meet with academics ('marketing exercise' or not, though, of course open days are the times that potential applicants definitely can expect to have access to them), but your DS could book himself onto a student-led campus tour, if they are available? For example (just checked the website of one at random from your list) there are tours on at the University of Birmingham on Tuesday and Thursday, for the potential applicant snd up to two guests from the same household.

Sounds like a good plan

We didn't do any open days with DD (all cancelled due to covid) so we did something similar to you although not all squeezed inside a week

I think seeing lots of different Unis in a short space of time will make it easier for DC to compare as all locations will be fresh in memory

I agree that often it is just the 'overall feel' of the place which is the ultimate decision maker rather than specific details of the course etc. You can research the course online easily enough.

That’s a great tip @marchingfrogs. Just booked Nottingham campus tour (student-led) for Weds. Hopping on to other uni websites now! Thank you

You've probably already found that many unis have a self-guided tour you can access from their website, better than just wandering around. But student-led definitely better.

@Geamhradh yes DS wouldn’t dream of missing offer holder days. It’s just open days we don’t want to do.

@tribpot i am tired just envisaging this coming week - will defo need a rest when we are back!

Personally I would put the one that you like the sound of least at the end, as ds was so exhausted by the end of our trip he barely looked at the last one...

@autienotnaughty Newcastle is DS’ favourite on paper. Will be interesting to see if he still thinks the same this time next week after visiting them all!

@PermanentTemporary good idea. That’s Sheffield then - Hallam would be his insurance as lowest offer (all the rest are AAB/ABB). He does like the look of Hallam though - great course with a year abroad

@LingLang Make sure you understand where he’s be studying in terms of buildings on the uni site

You may assume that Open Days are marketing only, but I know that my colleagues and I try to engage frankly and helpfully with potential applicants. I don’t flannel about my department (I don’t need to, it regularly tops league tables) but I will suggest other places/courses if a potential applicant tells me what they’re interested in and we don’t offer it.

Lecturers aren’t particularly interested in a hard sell to the exclusion of all else. We want students who want to study with us and who will thrive.

If he isn't familar at all with Universities it is probably worth early on going to a campus and a city university to see if he has a preference.

I would agree with @BlueHeelers that academic staff and rostered students in departments at Open Days are very helpful. The 'marketing machine' (centrally orchestrated) can go a bit OTT sometimes, but it is for visitors to see beyond that into the relevant department; that is where the real value of an Open Day lies.

The 'North and Midlands' (which is what OP effectively plans to tour) is a huge geographical area. Unless OP's DC is really, really keen on a very intensive exercise, I'd look to do more of a sample to test whether big city or mid-city matters, whether city or campus uni matters.

'Less is more' might be the mantra on this occasion. It also allows the opportunity for DC to do a solo trip to one or more of the outstanding locations by train in the summer and test their tolerance for many hours on a Cross-Country train, which may become a semi-regular reality in the years ahead!

I know Hallam pretty well so if you have any questions about it just shout