How to get the most out of open days

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

Due to a complicated home situation I only visited universities when I got interviews or offers from them. I never went to an open day.

DS wants to go to LSE, Exeter, Bath and Bristol open days.

Apart from avoiding the Robbie Williams concert crowds in Bath on June 13th as well as we can, do you have any tips to make the most of the open days?

Make sure they sign up for open days and check emails carefully, we went to one where there was an additional requirement to sign up for subject talk - it was full when dc read the email on train to open day! Luckily we got in.

Take a picnic so you don't lose an hour plus in the middle of the day, which is bound to clash with one of the talks or accommodation tours you want.

Wear comfy shoes

The finance talk gives the same information at all places, so go to that one only on the one where you have enough time.

Get your dc to talk to the students who are doing the tours etc. Try to think beyond the first term / year. For example ask them about how easy / difficult it is to get 2nd yr accommodation and the cost of it and what time of year they have to secure it. Ask several of them if they got the first year accommodation they wanted. Ask how many hours contact time they have.

The students are less likely to be trained marketeers as staff are and you are more likely to get a more open answer. that said, if they are there at the end of the year and happy to help on open days, then they will all be enjoying their time there.

Get dc to ask open questions "Why should I put Exeter as my first choice?" as it is quite interesting what they come up with that you might not have thought to ask about.

The accommodation talks can be useful they tended to have a slide with all the prices on.
Take a pen and highlighter to circle things on map.

Work out in advance which talks you want to go to and what things you want to see and make a plan for the day (things will clash!). The subject talk and the "all about x university" are likely to be the main ones (although the latter of these can often be heavy marketing). If you have questions you want answers to, work out how to find out - this could be just asking a random student representative or you might need to go to a specific talk/area.

All universities do the same general talks: finance, how to complete UCAS form, disability support etc. It's worth going to them, but they are basically the same everywhere, so only go once and spread them out over universities to make the most of your time.

We liked viewing accommodation to get a feel for lifestyle, but most universities have virtual tours on their websites so not a deal breaker.

Also worth factoring in some time to look at the local area- where is the nearest shop? What's the bus service like? Where do students socialise of an evening?

Don’t think you can do Bath and Bristol on the same day (their open days clashed when we were looking). Be sure to look around the town the universities are in. Take note of distance of accommodation to classes, not just halls but where they might be living after the first year. Try and speak to a current student on the course - and let your YP do the talking!
I’d also like to know what the realistic job situation is for the subject. The ‘you can do anything with an English (or whatever) degree’ isn’t useful. My DD wanted to know about actual career prospects for her specific subject. We visited the careers department of a couple but it’s something to ask at subject talks.

Good tips, thanks.

We’re going to do Bath one day and Bristol the next, two in one day in different cities just wouldn’t work. DS has booked talks at Exeter and Bath for his subject and taster lectures which I’m pleased about.

He’s also going to a UCAS discovery day with school this week for a few hours. There will be presentations about finance and how to complete the new style UCAS form but they’re not there for very long so I’ll have to see if he gets time to go to those.

Accommodation (particularly the cost of it) is one of my concerns so we definitely need to find out as much as we can about that on each place.

Lots of pre-planning (but that's what makes us feel in control, may not be for everyone). Booking travelodges. Not doing general talks. Many snacks, build in breaks. Decide what are must-do's and what are nice-to-do's, whilst also being prepared to be flexible on the day.

I'd expect first year accommodation costs to be on websites. Obviously bear in mind they are next year's costs, so will have gone up for 2027 start.

Worth finding out about how expensive it is to live in non-university accommodation, where it is (does it involve a travel cost), and how plentiful it is. Ask actual students to find this out :)

Bristol is notoriously one of the very expensive universities.

Thanks.

We’re looking for 2026 entry so hopefully there won’t be too much change in hall fees from this year. It’s the private accommodation costs for the second year onwards that we definitely need to ask more about.

So much to take into consideration! Oxford is his first choice, and would be cheaper to
live than the other places that he’s looking at but with only 10% chance of being offered a place we have to be realistic and consider other options.

From an academic: the main thing is, let your DC do the talking & asking.

Rehearse with your DC the questions they might ask of the academic teaching staff, while you look on from a distance. Better still, leave them to it, and attend a talk on finances. Let your DC take the lead. Don't step in - if they forget to ask something they can go back to talk to academic staff later, or ask at the talk, or ask student helpers.

Make sure your DC has some specific things they want to ask about - my place does one of the earlier Open Days of the season, and I get the question "What's your degree like?" So I then have to spend a bit of time trying to wheedle out of a nervous 17 year old what it is they're interested in about the programme I teach in. So see if you can help them work that out at ho,e, so when they meet a real ive lecturer or current student, they have some specifics to ask about or talk about. I teach in the humanities, so our programme s pretty broad. If they have a particular ambition, or interest, then they can ask "I'm really interested in learning ore about X - what sorts of opportunities will I have in this degree?" Your DC will get a more specific and hopefully helpful answer.

Also rehearse what sort of topics your DC might ask the student ambassadors - they know about.

You are best placed to go to the parents' talk, talks on finances and accommodation, and if your DC needs extra help (learning disabilities etc) go to the student support talk. All of these so you can support your DC.

Things not to do -
ask about face to face teaching hours. It's not really a particularly useful question. My students have a lot of reading to do; STEMM students have lots of labs. Both are necessary for progress & learning. I suppose I could do a "reading lab" two days a week with my students, and that would count as face to face hours - but it would be silly. So the number of face to face hours doesn't really tell you much.

A much better question is to ask about what forms of teaching and assessment they'll encounter in the degree course. eg lectures, seminars, individual tutorials, group work, independent work, placements, etc etc etc.

Another thing not to do is make fun of or in some way neg the subject your DC has chosen (the number of engineer fathers who try to put down my subject as "easy" ...). You & your DC are talking to highly trained and very hard-working academics, who - simply by having university jobs in the current climate - are at the top of the game. Don't treat them disrespectfully! You would be surprised how often this comes from parents. If you have misgivings about the degree choice of your DC, hash that out with them, rather than use academic as your go-between in a debate with your DC.

The students are less likely to be trained marketeers as staff are and you are more likely to get a more open answer

I have never ever received "marketing" training as an academic. I do extra duty on Saturday Open Days because I want to make sure that intending applicants have really good information about what it would be like to enrol in the programme I teach. We want students to find their right "fit" and I often suggest other degrees at other universities which might suit the applicant more.

The students at my place do get training and are paid (I am not paid nor given time in lieu for working extra ... ) I do it because it's important for likely applicants to make their choices with good information.

Although @Muchtoomuchtodo 's DS can't really go wrong with any of the universities on his list. We are lucky in the UK that the majority of our universities offer an excellent education, for excellent value.

Do some proper looking at their websites before you go. No point wasting an hour in, say, an accommodation talk going through slides re pricing, facilities in each block, etc., if all that's available on the website. Likewise the detail of specific subjects/courses - usually pretty good detail of the make up of the course, modules, etc. on their websites.

I'd make sure you spend time doing practical things like accommodation tours, subject block tours, Lab tours, etc., talk to existing students and staff, etc.

You can waste an awful lot of time in generic and subject hourly talks where you can get the same information from their website before or afterwards. Not only the hour of the talk, but also the time between lecture rooms, time waiting for it to start, etc. That's time you could be out exploring the university/campus etc which is something you can't experience from looking at their website.

I’d suggest that your DC also looks at the library at each - they are the same and yet different! Even a brief look in helps them think “can I see myself here? / would I like to work in here?” A lot of this is about the vibe for DC, and it’s their life not the parents so they need to feel comfortable and happy.

Agree about the finance etc talks, they are all the same. In fact open days are a lot like weddings - same structure, similar wording etc.

It’s the course that matters so those are the key talks for your DC to book in advance, go to on their own if possible and engage with the academics and students there. I’d put the accommodation after that as a close second priority, looking at first year halls / flats and asking about location, ease and availability of further years housing.

Understanding second and third year course pathways is something useful to ask more about, which may be important to know if DC have to take x subject to progress to y.

I personally found the accommodation talks at some useful eg one had a headline from £reasonable price a week. On questioning it was a few rooms for care leavers only the main prices were a lot higher. That wasn’t apparent on website.
The slide with accommodation prices all set out in one place wasn’t online and was very good starting point for conversations with dc about affordability and lifestyle.
Also option to speak to disability support and year abroad if that’s something to look at.
I encouraged mine to take a few mins to think can they see themselves here. A few good on paper were immediately no.