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Secondary education

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Original poster

how many universities did your dc go and see?

34 replies

brimfull · 11/03/2009 23:06

dd has come back from HE fair with a mountain of prospectuses
she likes the look of quite a few

how many did your dc actually go and see?

OP posts:
ZoeC · 11/03/2009 23:08

My dds are too young, but I went to 5 when I was 18 and at sixth form. Tbh, the train fare gets too expensive after too many - all mine were so far away!

Original poster
brimfull · 11/03/2009 23:20

yes i can see we'll be spending a lot of time and money travelling up and down the country

did you go on your own?

OP posts:
bagsforlife · 12/03/2009 08:22

At my DCs school (where everyone goes on to university, many to Oxbridge - just to put in context) they recommend only going to actually see 2, plus they arrange a trip to Oxford and Cambridge. DD went to 2 others I think, one on her own. DS1 also went to 2, one with me one with DH. They were organised by the universities - proper open days with information, tours etc. I think they got invited once they had applied (or had offer, can't remember now).

atowncalledalice · 12/03/2009 08:27

DS1 (whose school is similar to bagsforlife's DCs', by the sound of it) went to three, one of which was an Oxford one arranged by the school. He went to the others on his own - actually, a friend came with him to one of them because she was thinking of applying there too, but DH and I didn't go.

Original poster
brimfull · 12/03/2009 09:20

Yes,am talking about open days but not the ones for people who have been offered a place,the ones before you put in your choices.

Bagsforlife- Surely you'd want to make sure you like the place before you put it down as a 1st or 2ndchoice .

OP posts:
bagsforlife · 12/03/2009 09:29

Thinking back, they were advised by the school to only go and see 2 or 3, (including campus one and non-campus one, to get the feel of them).

Re 'liking the place before you put it down 1st or 2nd choice'.....I know what you mean but in reality they both (as will your DC) only ended up with a handful of universities in the end that they wanted to apply to, by the time they'd trawled through all the prospectuses(i??!) and so there are only going to be 5 at the most to visit.

The school advised that it's just too much to keep going to see lots of different places. You can find out an awful lot from the prospectus, internet etc and then narrow it down to a manageable number.

senua · 12/03/2009 09:31

DD went to several. Often, somebody else was going too so she hitched a lift and shared petrol costs with them (but this only happened for general Open Days, not subject-specific ones). She has had instances where somewhere that looked good on paper just didn't feel right when she got there and, conversely, places that looked only OK on paper really inspired her.

It helps that she has seen several places through courses that she has been on, so in total she has had experience (however fleeting) of at least 14 Uni that I can think of off the top of my head!!

CoffeeCrazedMama · 12/03/2009 11:27

DD1 is going through this now. Apparently her school only allows pupils 4 'Uni' days through the year. Luckily for her the Oxford open day she has booked for is on a Saturday, and we are going to the more far-flung ones during May half-term. at schools organising the Oxbridge days - I have dd has had to organise all this herself.

mumeeee · 12/03/2009 12:04

DD1 went to 4 and DD2 has ben to 2.

TrillianAstra · 12/03/2009 12:07

You don't put it down as first or second choice until you have offers. When applying you can apply for up to 6 and there is no prefernce set at that time.

I went to see 3, plus a school trip. One my Dad came, one my Mum came, and one they dropped me off at the campus and went shopping in the town.

ZoeC · 12/03/2009 12:08

Yes, I went alone. The furthest would have been York and Manchester - I was in Ipswich then so that was something like 4 hours on the train. I took a book and snacks to keep myself occupied.

I probably didn't need to see 5 really, but I enjoyed the days out so I didn't mind!

Original poster
brimfull · 12/03/2009 12:10

trillian-I thought 5 was maximum and you had to put down first choice and insurance choice

OP posts:
ZoeC · 12/03/2009 13:00

I think I was limited to 5 at the time (years ago so could have changed) - I didn't have to put my first/insurance choices until I was offered places by the universities, which was after the open day/interviews I went to.

TrillianAstra · 12/03/2009 13:02

You're right ggirl it is 5 now, but you do the first and second choice thing after you have offers, because your backup choice has to have lower grade requirements than your first choice.

See here

choosyfloosy · 12/03/2009 13:03

i went alone to 3 - my niece has gone this year to 5 with her mum. seems to be much more normal these days to take/be taken by your parents. a bit about that but I suppose the parents are paying a lot more for it now.

tbh i can't imagine you would get a whole lot from visiting more than 5 or so. what about a medium/shortlist, and arranging to travel through a few places lower down the list on the way to the top choices??

notagrannyyet · 12/03/2009 13:11

Ds1 Went to 3 with DH and 2 local ones on his own. Later he went for 2 interviews.

DD had to go for 6 formal interviews. DH went with her for 5 but she went to Durham on her own. It was an over night trip with night in college and college interview. The subject interview was the next day.

DH went to Exeter twice in 3 years. Both DS & DD had it as their reserve choice.

It did cost a small fortune! DH was self employed at the time and there was loads of travelling. Very necessary though they were the first to go to university in either family so it was a sharpe learning curve for us all!

Lilymaid · 12/03/2009 13:11

DS1 visited a good few - either on official open days or when we happened to be passing that town in the two years leading up to university. He was allowed 3 days off school after AS to attend open days.
DS2 has not bothered to visit any universities, has 5 offers and has decided to apply again after his results to "better" universities.
When I went to university I wouldn't have been seen dead with my parents at an open day (which didn't then exist anyway). Now, the campuses are full of parents for these events.

Simplysally · 12/03/2009 13:18

I went to 2 and was invited to a 3rd but I'd already decided to drop that course so I didn't bother to even look at the uni.

I visited none before I did my UCAS application so I was probably lucky.

Original poster
brimfull · 12/03/2009 14:31

trillian-thanks for clearing that up.So technically she can visit after her application .

OP posts:
piscesmoon · 12/03/2009 14:44

My DS visited 5 before he did the UCAS, it was just as well because he didn't like two of them and could only find 3 that he wants to go to, he wouldn't have found this out without a visit. He now has a firm, conditional offer and an insurance, conditional offer. He is going to an Open Day for applicants on Saturday but I think that would be a bit late to find that he didn't like it. He had to have interviews for all his choices so has seen them at least twice.

piscesmoon · 12/03/2009 14:45

I think it is important to do the ground work first. I think my DS1 saw 6. I told them both to go with their gut feeling.

Original poster
brimfull · 12/03/2009 15:36

Ok another intersting view,I think dd will want to see about 5 to make her decision.
Where's your ds going pisces?

OP posts:
piscesmoon · 12/03/2009 16:27

About 270 miles from home ggirl. That is why I think it is a good idea to do the ground work early. He liked the course best from the prospectus and he went to the Open Day on his own and liked it best. DH and I took him to his insurance place Open Day(less than an hour by car)and we liked it and didn't think it worth him going so far. However he was set on it so we took him to the interview. Parents had a two hour tour-I could see why he liked it so much and I think it worth the travel, I can see that it would suit his personality and way of working. You get much more idea from a visit than the prospectus. A favourite from the prospectus ticked all the right boxes until he went to the talk about his proposed course and it immediately became obvious that it wasn't what he thought.
The Open Days are really good and geared up for parents. When we went to the first one we didn't know whether it was the done thing so we agreed that if we looked embarrassing we would melt away and leave him to it, but practically everyone had parents in tow so we stayed. It is a really good chance to ask all the questions that you want to ask and you can also talk to students and find out what they think. It is expensive to visit but I think it is worth it-it is too costly to end up at the wrong place on the wrong course.
DS1 did all the visits on his own when he applied because it was too difficult to get away with 2 younger DCs, but he was better at asking questions than DS3. I am a great believer in gut feelings and he went with his, he had a great time and has never regretted his choice.

lazymumofteenagesons · 12/03/2009 18:24

ds1's school advised them to only go and see 2 or 3. They feel it is more crucial that they don't miss too much school! Also i think too many can become confusing. Maybe one campus and one in a city. Decision re oxbridge -does it need a visit? Are you academically up to it, is the course just what you want - then go for it.

piscesmoon · 12/03/2009 18:46

A lot of the Open Days are on Saturdays so he didn't miss much school.