Competition - post a photo you've taken of nature >>

Durham University

Durham

Visit website

This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Do Durham really care if you haven't been to an open day?

EnVogue

Hey

So I'm not sure if "Person A" is just trying to put me off applying, but they've just told me that Durham tend to reject people who haven't gone to open days :confused:

Can someone clear this up please, I really want to know whether to apply to Durham or not. Thanks :o:

Reply 1

mmmmmpie

It seems that person A is trying to put you off applying! I know plenty of people there who havent gone to any open days and are at Durham- inlcuding me!

Dont let it put you off applying!

Durham University

Durham

Visit website

Reply 2

EnVogue

aprilterri

How would they know? If you have an interview just lie

My friend showed me this

Reply 3

Formerly LieDown

EnVogue

My friend showed me this

Open days aren't an outreach activity surely?

EDIT: I know a lot of people who didn't go and they made it through fine, why should Durham care?

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 4

pipsi

I don't see why it would make any difference, at the end of the day few people can afford to visit all of the universities they are considering. Nowadays as far as i'm aware, few departments offer interviews at Durham so it is possible to apply for a place, get an offer and turn up at the beginning of term without having previously visited Durham.

I don't see why attending an open day would make a difference. The pre-application open days are really designed for the university to sell itself and the post-application open days are for people who haven't yet had a chance to see Durham and maybe want to spend the night in their college too, but they are completely optional.

Reply 5

River85

EnVogue

My friend showed me this

That makes no mention of open days.

Outreach programmes are something else entirely.

Reply 6

Blankblankblankq

They gave me an offer without my having visited the university, however, I do live >20 miles away, so have spent half my life in the city itself.

Reply 7

Winter Frost

I didn't actually attend an open day until i received my offer. Surely since it says: it "will not confer any automatic advantage or disadvantage in the likelihood of an applicant receiving an offer" it actually suggests that it doesnt matter? I wouldnt even classify an 'open day' as an outreach activity such as a 'summer school'! I wouldnt worry.

Reply 8

Formerly LieDown

Winter Frost

I didn't actually attend an open day until i received my offer.

Same with me. You can't be expected to visit every university open day, particularly if they are far away. Once you have received an offer it's sensible but obviously then it doesn't have any affect on your status.

Reply 9

Zenobia

Lol that would mean they'd reject (nearly) all international applications.

Reply 10

joshlemonsquash

I and others I know didn't go to an open day and we all got places. Don't worry about it. :smile:

Reply 11

EnVogue

Thanks.

I know it sounds stupid, but once I've got a choice to make between unis I think I start getting extremely paranoid about every kind of admissions process ever.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 12

vickiw89

I really don't think it matters whether you have been or not. Warwick rejected me because i didn't go but that was after I turned down an invitation to a post application open day because i didnt want to go there. I doubt Durham would reject you at this stage, although if you do get an offer you may as well go and look round and see if its the place for you.

Reply 13

willow162

Durham does not hold an official open day/s before application/offers. Most people(except interviewees) first visit post-offer and stay over in college for a night to get a proper feel for the place before making a decsion to accept/reject their offer. Your friend is lying.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 14

angelmxxx

willow162

Exactly what I was going to say.

Also how would a uni know if you've been to an open day?! You could register for one (not at Durham, but at unis which have pre-offer open days) and then not turn up and they'd never know!

Reply 15

LastGrape

Many people also go on open days without registering. You can turn up most Wednesdays during term-time, find college/department receptions, and be given a tour without giving your full name. Or you could visit the city and most of the buildings.

I do recommend at least trying to do that if you are highly considering Durham, or if you apply there. Just think, would you move house and commit to live there for at least 3 years if you hadn't seen the place?

All the same, it won't affect your chances of getting it. You have permission from us to now slam 'Person A' or stick your tounge out at them like you don't care.

Reply 16

pipsi

When i applied to go back to uni (i didn't finish my first degree because it wasn't for me, my parents pushed me into a subject that i wasn't interested in and pretty much blackmailed me with a flat to live in so that i'd do what they wanted) i applied to six courses at three unis, i applied quite late in the day possibly just before or just after the UCAS deadline. One uni offered me an interview but i couldn't make the day they gave me so they interviewed me over the phone and then gave me an unconditional offer.

Swansea, the uni i wanted to go to offered me an interview which i went to and was then offered an unconditional place, the third uni didn't get back to me before i accepted Swansea as my first choice, the other uni that gave me an offer was my reserve but with an unconditional from Swansea i was never going to need that. After i accepted Swansea the third uni offered me a place (i think the offer must have crossed with me accepting the Swansea offer in the post).

My point is that i was offered a place with one uni after a telephone interview because i told them i couldn't make the date they gave me, (can't remember the reason, it could have been because it was short notice and i couldn't get the time off work or it might have been because it was around the same time as i spent some time in hospital for an operation). Another uni offered me a place without even getting in touch with me and my uni of choice offered me a place after interview, (but while i was at interview i was told by a postgrad who was showing people around the department that they invite the people they want to make offers to, to interview just to make sure they are genuinely interested in the subject, but unless they screw up royally at interview they have their place).

Obviously my experience there wasn't Durham. At Durham i applied as a post grad and came for an interview for my place, when i was offered my place i was told in the email that my, 'performance at interview convinced us (the lecturers who interviewed me) that you should be offerd a place at Durham'. Clearly the interview was an important factor in me receiving my offer but if they didn't interview, whether i came to an open day or not wouldn't have made a difference. As it happens my interview wasn't on the same day as an open day so technically i haven't attended an open day.

I actually applied for my college without having looked around it, i grew up near Durham so knew a little bit about the college and knew that i would apply for either Hatfield or Castle, in the end i made my decision from what i read on the website, i then visited my college and had a look around after i accepted my offer and just happened to be in Durham one day and emailed ahead to see if someone could show me around.

Reply 17

chazminx

I'm going to Durham in under a week and I never went to an open day :woo:

Reply 18

SergioMZ

angelmxxx

Last week, at the Bristol Open Day, we had to go and register. Basically you had to go to a tent and the scanned a barcode on your confirmation letter, then stamped something, and only then you could have access to the talks you had pre-booked a place. So, at least in Bristol, they do know I attended.
Edinburgh, Cambridge and Southampton, the other three Open Days I have attended during the summer were different though, I don't think I had to register for any of them, just did the booking and nobody asked me anything (especially Edinburgh which was last Saturday so I remember quite well).

Reply 19

Mozz-eyes

I've used myself as an example for things like this before.

I applied to Durham for classics just to fill up one of my UCAS options, originally intending to go to Bristol.

Needless to say I didn't visit the uni, didn't look at the course, didn't go to any open days and have never been anywhere near it :woo:

As things turned out I got an offer from Durham and not Bristol, even though I visited the latter a couple of times and did all my research etc.

So in short, I don't think Durham cares .