How many university Open Days did your dc attend?

[wildfellhall]

I am interested to know what parents think is an ideal number which will, of course, vary from family to family.

Also how much & what way did the open days impact the dc's first choice?

I did two with ds which, on reflection, was not enough really. I think even just one more visit would have helped him.

dd is in gcse year now.

My niece's experience of horrible and extortionately expensive accomodation is making me wonder about finding out more about accomodation. It's made her uni experience fairly grim.

As someone who went to uni recently the thing that has the biggest impact on your time there is the people you meet.

@Octocat With the youngest DC we didn’t go to open days, just visited the campus and town / city on a normal day. You won’t get to see inside buildings or accommodation but you can get a good feel for the place.

1 and he chose somewhere else. He had a great time there and got a first and a Masters.

Three. But one is Oxbridge and if DS gets rejected from there then we will go and visit some of the others on his list (they are a bit far away to go ... cost logistics etc so I only want to go if they are serious options)

DD has done loads, at least 7 with 2 more booked. But she had no idea what to do and is a very experience based learner. So 2 of those trips were part of a little weekend away so she could wander round and get a feel for what universities and lecturers felt like. She did another 2 with friends who dragged her talks on their subjects, which was useful to thin down what she was interested in.

Probably about five - we split them up between us all going, DH to some and me to others, and DD1 on her own. We all went to Edinburgh. DD1 and I went to Manchester. DH and DD1 went to Cardiff. We all went to Sheffield. DD1 went to a couple of others on her own. She ended up at Sheffield 👍

You don't have to but it's really the only way to get a feel for the place, the city, the general vibe and hopefully the actual programme(s).

I honestly would attempt two in a day - there's so much to take in and you need time to let the impressions settle in (at least overnight!). But if you could do them a few days apart then yes.

Having said that I ended up putting first and attending a university that I did not visit in a city I had never been to and I absolutely loved it 🤣
But don't do what I did 😊

Honestly would not attempt ** sorry!

Thanks! Looks like we’ll be bracing ourselves for some expense. Eek.

8 for undergrad and 2 for post grad.
Train strikes meant that I drove DD to most of the open days, and I spent a lot of time sitting around waiting for her while I left her to it when she went off to subject talks and tours.

None of her friends were interested in the same courses or universities as her.

I have twins so we've probably done fewer than we might for one but I think they're happy with what they've seen. They've each done three, one overnight stay each and one more local. They went to the fourth together.

It's been useful to see what they like about each course and the university itself, DD top choice has changed from what she's seen. Last one for DS this weekend.

4, two with me and two alone. He chose one of the ones I didn't go to.

6 here - 4 proper open days and 2 where we just wandered round the cities - both a long way from home so decided to do both in one weekend - there were no open days on at either when we could fit the long trip in! It’s helped hugely as some looked great on paper but hated irl (Warwick especially) and vice versa.

It’s helped hugely as some looked great on paper but hated irl (Warwick especially) and vice versa.

Yes, DD hated Warwick and Bristol, not helped that both are a PITA to get to on public transport from where we live.

Only recently realise Warwick is on the outskirts of Coventry. Not sure where I thought it was 😂

My Dd did 4 - two of those were near each other & over one weekend, and one was a local uni that she went to under her own steam with a friend. So only two big trips away.
She had booked a 5th, but decided against it as it was a city centre uni in a big city and by that time she had decided she wanted a campus in a quieter place. A variety of open days was really useful for her to get a sense of the difference and her preference, as mostly the courses were similar.

I’d suggest Offer Holder days are more relevant than Open Days for visits. We found that it’s only really at these that the university staff engage with prospective students and pitch for them to come and study at their university. There’s a much greater degree of ‘tyre kicking’ at Open days so universities didn’t feel to be trying as hard ime
Prospective students get proper sample lectures, department tours, Q & A with existing students & us parents often even get tea and cakes with department staff. So long as your student has an idea of campus v city university and their chosen subject to study I’d suggest saving your money until you’ve got offers and then going to the Offer holders days (& having got all 3 of mine into university now I do feel I’ve got the T-shirt for this area)

Good luck

We have done 4 - all the ones she wants to apply to.

Ds- none
dd- one, but not an official open day, downloaded a self guided tour.
Both were quite clear about where they wanted to go and both went to their first choice.
There is an enormous amount of information online to help prospective students make their decisions.

D1 went on school organised trips to Oxford/Cambridge open days where they did one day in Oxford, stayed overnight in a college and then went to Cambridge the following day. Also a school trip to Leeds open day. She went with friends to the Glasgow and Edinburgh days, our local uni (for comparison purposes) and by herself to York. She wanted to go to the offer holders day at Oxford and for me to go with her but the train and hotel made it an expensive trip and we didn't go. (She graduated from Oxford last year)

D2 and DH went to our local one (again for comparison purposes!) she went with friends to a couple of others not far away and we took her to open days and offer holder days in York and Lincoln. She chose York and has just started there.

DC would like to have gone to the offer holders day but it was the day before one of her exams.

@wildfellhall I think 4 is about right. However if you want to look at accommodation, that will take a lot of the day! It’s info that’s available on line and various unis have different pricing points. I’d say look these up first. Then decide if the uni should be city or campus. My DDs never hated anywhere but did have preferences. I would filter very carefully before you go. Parents throw money at this but having a shortlist is much better financially and time wise. We didn’t have time to over indulge.

I would also suggest offer days may be better, but DD went to one and was utterly underwhelmed! Open days can be very busy. You might meet a few lecturers but they might not teach DC. MN DC take against them too! They might never see them again! At the uni. So be realistic and don’t choose based on one lecturer!

You can get loads of info from the web! I think the city and ambience can be assessed fairly well from a visit but ultra busy open days are a bun fight and can have limited value.

I would also suggest offer days may be better

Offer days can be right on top of exams (especially if you live in Scotland) or even before you get an offer. So I would prioritise open days where possible.

Dd only did one offer holder day because they came in too late and exam pressure was on. It was still partly lockdown so the open days didn't see much.
But with ds we will have done 7 in total. It's confirmed where he thought he wanted to go, grades permitting.

Thank you all so much for all this advice. It's a huge help to me to start planning.