Cambridge open day

[KTSl1964]

We have an open day in July - we may not get there until till 11am - can i just head to the colleges hes interested in or do i need to sign in somewhere first and then do the visits. Hes interested in Philosophy. There is an online info meeting but its not till the 5th July and i need to book the train.
Thanks

It’s 8 years since I went with DD2 but we just rocked up to colleges she was interested in, then she went to a talk whilst I did something else. All very informal and we made it up as we went along.
Get your DC to check if they need to book in for any sort of subject talk and work around that.

Thanks so much - thats helpful.

Bump for any other input

You can check in online when you arrive. Check the time of the departmental activity and fit Colleges around that

as a native to Cambridge, try and get a feel for the city too, a trip on a punt, visit to fitzwilliam and the orchard tearoom.

Visit the department if there are any talks or taster lectures. Visit a mix of colleges small/ big, old/new, city centre/ further out. I think you can check in online. Don't try and visit the Fitzwilliam museum or Orchard tearoom or go punting. You won't have time if you want to maximise the usefulness. Plan a route possible if possible as the main way to get around is in foot or by bike. Cambridge gets busy on the open days.
It really does pay to do some research in advance and plan your day.

Cambridge was very busy on Open Day (and we only had four or so hours as we were driving to Durham afterwards). DS started early (we stayed in a Premier Inn the night before) and prioritised department talks as he hadn’t settled on a course at the time. He also investigated the sports facilities (keen tennis player) and visited two colleges. He quickly made up his mind about the course after the talks and went back to Cambridge on another day to see a few more colleges. It was a packed half day and it definitely helps to plan in advance what your DC wants to get out of the day.

Downing, Pembroke and Queens all seem to offer lunch and most colleges will have free or paid for drinks and snacks. They are all quite close to Sedgwick site. Selwyn and Robinson are close and it's worth looking at Kings, Trinity &/or St John's for big rich touristy colleges. Visit the University library (UL) too if you can.

Suggested itinerary:
Department tour and course presentation
Lunch in one of the colleges
Taster lecture
UL
A few more college visits

Try and arrive earlier than 11 if you can so the day doesn't feel so rushed and you have time to see more colleges.