University of Bath open day fully booked, should we still go?

[Jugglingjelly29]

University of Bath open day 10th Oct. Help!

Had booked on to one in June, ended up needing emergency surgery so couldn’t go, thought my husband had rebooked for next weekend, he didn’t and now saying it is full. Do we risk it anyway?

Other uni’s we have visited have been a mix of checking tickets and not!

Or… does anyone have a ticket and now not planning to go they could send me?! 🤞

Don't have an answer on that one but I do know you can do a self guided tour another day. Or you could a couple of years ago anyway. You just use it off the website and take yourself round. Obviously not the same as being able to speak to course leads etc.

Just go. DD went to Bath and our first visit was for her 18th Birthday so we went to the Uni and luckily it was a day freshers were arriving - fabulous atmosphere on campus so we just milled around she already decided before she got home that was where she was going. Returned for the actual open day which was less exciting but confirmed it was the place for her.

All is not lost!

I was worried we were in this position with Warwick as DS couldn't remember if he'd booked.

The decision I made was to go anyway.

At some open days we've been to, they have separated the queue into those who have tickets and those who haven't for talks, prioritising those with tickets, so there would still be a chance.

In others, they haven't checked at all.

And even if they're totally strict about not letting you into any talks, you can still go and get a good feel for the place and visit the information stands and have a good chat with lecturers directly there, which will give your DC much more of an idea about what it will be like studying there, than not going.

Also, you can explore Bath a bit, which is a beautiful city.

And then, if your DC puts Bath down and gets an offer, you can always go back to an open day for offer holders before deciding if they want it to be their firm choice. They do these in February and Apri.

If you just want to look round the campus you can just go. You are unlikely to be able to get onto an official tour or see any of the talks but that will depend on the individual temperament of the people giving up their Saturday to do the admin.

So have also said it is our local uni! So it won’t be a wasted journey! We are 7mins from Bath on a train! But son is stressed that we haven’t booked for the talks!

Have a look on the Facebook group "what I wish I knew about university". It's for parents of young people going to uni and it's very active.

There's a thread on there about exactly this, and the answer seems to be that plenty of talks are drop-in. The popular talks prioritise ticket holders (doesn't seem like they turn you away if space) and there's lots to see even without a ticket.

Lots of people mentioning the park and ride getting busy, but if you're local, not an issue!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wiwikau/

If he's feeling stressed, could it help to explain to him that universities aren't like schools. You can just turn up to campus and walk around, you don't have to be invited? It might not be obvious to him and he might feel stressed as obviously schools aren't like that and he may assume you'd be in some kind of trouble if "caught".

And he can go to the offer holders day if he gets an offer, so he won't have to decide if it's his firm without going to the talks, if he feels they're important.

I have tried to explain! But not listening to mum! We were in Manchester yesterday for the open day, think we are all tired and he admitted to feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. It is a lot isn’t it.

We’ll risk it, and have a mooch. I’ll find him a good brunch and all will be well!

I don’t think you book the talks. Download the app and just turn up to talks.

I do remember that we needed to be registered to attend the brunch, tour and talks for Bath. That was for Business. But nothing stopping you having a look round

Last year Bath was the only uni we had our tickets checked for the talk (engineering)and it was so full they stopped letting parents in. So it may depend on the course but we were able to do see everything else without the need for a ticket

@Lavenderfields08 I hate all these earnest parents taking places away from dc! Same at Exeter when we went. All parents should stay out of popular talks. Who needs 2 parents as well? DH could have gone to Bath with DC couldn’t he?
Open days are SO busy, I’d go on another day and just wander around. You can sometimes make appointments to see halls and talk to staff. You just don’t get the full sales pitches.

Agree taking 2 parents is completely unnecessary. When I was looking at unis in the 90s, students all seemed to go on their own to open days.

Your DS may be let into talks, but be prepared for parents not to be, if space is at a premium. At my place, we prioritise potential applicants. There are other talks which are aimed at parents (finances mostly).

But most universities want to accommodate potential applicants so they’re unlikely to turn you away, if there is capacity.

ETA: booking is generally so we know how much catering to order and pay for in the department! But there are also capacity issues, which are fire safety matters.

Just be prepared to push your DS forward and step back yourself if lectures and talks are crowded. He’s the important person here.

Yup! We loved the independence of getting the day (usually a Friday) off school, and off to another city with your pals. We did take it seriously, but would inevitably end up in the student union, and be racing for one of the later trains home. We were 16 & 17 (in fact, a couple of us might even have been 15 if they were early un the year… Scotland, where we can apply to go after 5th year. ) No mobile phones, and a tenner from your mum!
In fact, the only one I was ‘taken’ to was Durham, (lived not far north of Edinburgh), where my older sister came on the train with me, and we stayed in a B&B overnight! Parents couldn’t get time off from school/NHS jobs. There were no sessions for them to attend anyway, and as I was first in family to go to uni, we were just muddling through it all!!

Anyway, OP - for Bath Open Day, I’d suggest calling them. They will have a number for their Admissions & Recruitment dept online. Explain that you couldn’t come to your booked one because of the emergency surgery. Lay it on thick. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found you a space. If not, just wing it. Someone won’t have showed up.