Open days - how important are first impressions

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We’re on our way from an open day. DD thought the campus was ok and the course looks amazing on paper but the subject talks were awful - death by PowerPoint and really uninspiring. Just thinking how much weight we should put on this - it’s given us a really bad impression of their teaching but it was only 2 teachers out of a large faculty.

I must say DD was massively put off by an open day talk at one uni for Eng lit where the lecturer started with "put your hand up if you like reading [we rather sheepishly did] - good, because if you do English you need to read a lot of books (!!)"

she said on the way home - not sure I want to go and study English there if they have to tell you that - suggests that no one expects to have to read! (Eng lit degree obv involves reading many books - one to two a week at least). I have to say I agreed with her.

But otherwise, if campus was appealing and other factors are positive - distance, accommodation, city v town, course obvs - then a couple of dull lecturers is not the end of everything. what course was is OP?

Environmental Science - they literally read off the PowerPoint for the whole talk and it was very dry info like ‘here is a list of the modules’ and ‘here is a list of the lecturers’ there was no passion or reasons why it would be good to study the subject.

Ah that sounds a bit disappointing. Science tho - the lab facilities are important here as I understand. what were they like? Which uni (just being nosy now! well not totally )

Ds1 changed his mind on a couple of universities after sitting through the sample lectures. It’s an important part of the decision making process

I think first impressions do count. Mine didn't attend open days, but holder's days and the impression of her then first choice (Exeter) was so negative (the "ambassador" showing them round couldn't have been less enthusiastic if she'd tried, hated it all, couldn't wait to leave) that she ended up not even keeping it as insurance but chose Lancaster for that sight unseen.

Yeah tour was a bit disappointing too - peeking through windows or just through an open door rather than any chance to have a proper look.. they did look good though. We’re at the very start of this process so it’s difficult to know..

Ds was exactly the same. Exeter was first choice after the open day and Lancaster was second. Then the lecture at the offer holder day was so flat and the lecturer seemed so disinterested that he swapped them and has firmed lancaster and insured Exeter. The lancaster offer holder day was incredibly impressive. They did seminars with the kids separately from the parents. Ds loved it.

Yes, just back from open day. Not very organised even though they must have done this many times before including one yesterday. Talks at capacity so couldn't get in. Went to subject talk and left. Really surprised tbh.

In a lot of oversubscribed universities you may find that it's not hugely popular with the lecturers who teach to do open days and offer days, and you may get the sample lectures from postgraduates etc who don't have a big teaching load and don't mind the extra Saturday work. If they're delivering a slideshow about course content it doesn't sound as though it was really intended as a sample lecture. To get an idea of teaching quality look up the people in the faculty and the books they've written and have a read--or look at reviews of their books. The student survey can also be helpful in terms of tracking quality though some universities do game it. Best of all is to talk to an undergraduate in that subject... preferably more than one!

We went to Leeds and Manchester and liked them both. Didn’t sit in any sample lectures, just the bit about how the courses are organised.

We weren’t expecting a sample lecture but we did expect them to ‘sell’ the subject a bit more or at least inject some enthusiasm. It’s not difficult with ES as so many young people are passionate about climate change. We would have loved to have chatted with current student (although recognise most had already gone home).
Ah well have another on Wednesday so we’ll see how it compares.

I do open day subject talks. I get a 45 min slot and have to adhere to a prescriptive university wide ppt format. So a slide on x and a slide on y, etc.

I’d like to think it’s not totally death by PowerPoint as I am passionate about the subject and certainly talk round the slides.

however I also don’t think it’s a good indicator of a normal lecture of mine where I have 2 or 3 hours, free rein over what to teach and how to teach it, the time to do activities to chunk my session up, etc.

Thanks QuintanaRoo that’s a helpful perspective.

It's a bit like house hunting OP. You weigh up the factors, some of which come from the head (course, entry requirements etc) and some come from the heart (the general "feel" you got for the place). Your DD's decision will inevitably be influenced by this experience to some extent, but at the end of the day there's usually not one "right" choice but several options that would work well for her.

I had this with DD at a Uni she really wanted to go to for various reasons. Sat down for the talk and by the end she had a tear running down her face, she so wanted to love it but it was soooo boring. We went to some other Unis that were so inspiring in comparison. DD ended up at her first love (Bath), as soon as she walked on campus she knew it was the one for her and after her first year she was right.

This.

I mean, presumably all the open days have already been chosen with the head.
Now is the time to allow the heart to weigh in a bit too.

That said, none of mine were particularly enamoured by the first one they went to. I think there is just nothing within their experience to compare it to.
Probably a bit late for this year's cohort, but I tend to suggest just going along to a local on, early on, to get a sort of 'benchmark' to compare others to.

I do these talks for my department. We are given ppt slides by the University, but they are so deadly that I never use them and do my own. On some open days I have given the same talk 5 times on the trot because the lecture theatre in the building only seats 100 people. On a hot day like today it is difficult to remain hyper enthusiastic by the time you get to renditions 4 and 5. Remember that there is a UCU strike at the moment and the best ambassadors might not be in to work their magic. Morale in academia is at an all-time low now, not just because of workload or pay.

Just back from an open day. DD was talking about how inspiring and passionate the lecturers were compared to the open day at a different uni 2 weeks ago.

Everything about today seemed better. They got some of their societies to perform on outdoor stages. They had food trucks in and a DJ playing the public area. In her words, today had a better vibe.

It's swung it for her.

DD completely fell in love with a particular place when she saw it in person, and the lecturer was also inspiring. (I do appreciate that's a bit luck-of-the-draw when not everyone is there, plus strikes, repeated talks, etc.) It's where she now is. Happy with that, although others make their decisions in different ways.

Dd also fell in love with a course at an open day mainly because of the course leader and other staff. By the time she started 14 months later the course leader and most of the staff had gone and had been replaced by totally different people.

DS was put off by one turgid open day. Another was not auspicious. Striking staff not letting prospective students cross the road and building works in the department. The department speaker opened with 'these slides will be as new to me as you as I wasn't supposed to be doing this'. However, she was very engaging and the lab session was well organised. The sports facilities sealed the deal. Your DD needs to look at the big picture and I would say follow her gut instinct.

I remember open days when we were looking a sixth forms - some were chaotic and totally off putting, others well organised, thoughtful and informative. They did these a few times a year EVERY year, so they had no excuses.
For uni open days we were bored to death by the 'welcome talk' at one. and sought out the head of department of the actual course, who we liked, was very informative (though what he had to say knocked it off the list).
And frankly @Calcite, if it's your job to sell the university, then sell it. Your job depends on these people enrolling! Your personality and passion will override any dull slide.
Equally, we were put off a bit by the very well spoken PR woman who did one talk - she sold the course very well, but she was not part of the faculty and could not address anything other than facts and figures. As personable as she was, if felt like a sales pitch with no heart.
The best is when you can talk to an actual student. Yes they will be 'ambassadors' but they are not so experienced and polished to gloss over issues and personal feelings.
And for us, one of the biggest questions is: how many of their graduates work within the field? Is the degree instrumental in getting work? How much does the university prepare students for the workforce?

Just back from two open days.

One very organised (helpers everywhere, maps etc) and with an inspiring talk from the course lead.

The other (which had been more organised in advance - required bookings for sessions etc) felt more chaotic, had very few helpers (we got very lost at one point) and (key) the course lead went into quite a lot of technical detail about the subject which I suspect was gobbledegook to anyone not currently studying it. Also batted away any questions about admissions by saying she didn't have anything to do with it (which is true I'm sure but they were very basic factual questions that were eminently predictable - so a shame not to have the answer to hand).

DS had seen this second university as towards the top of his list but is now wondering.

It is hard to judge on the basis of one day, and particularly on the basis of the course talk as you'll obviously be taught by many different people. Interesting to see what he'll make of the next ones.

@SnapPop puts it very well I think!

Very early in the process with my kids, but I can remember doing it myself surprisingly well given that it was quite a few years ago!

I really liked Bristol on paper (happy to name names as it was long ago and totally irrelevant) and was fully expecting to love it when I went to the open day, but I just didn't. It just didn't feel right - the people (both lecturers and my fellow prospective students), the places, the course info - everyone was just a bit off for me and it was off the list having previously been my favourite.

On the other hand, I loved UCL and my heart was very much saying yes! But I didn't go there either because I was worried about the money, so the 'head' stuff kicked it off the list too.

We went to Durham this weekend, at great expense and there was no subject talk because of the strike. Just a general one on humanities. Very disappointing