What are you looking for at an Open Day?

Hi all,

If you have been to any Open Days or are looking to attend some Open Days, what are you looking for at the Open Day, to get the most out of the day?

Just curious to know what would be your perfect Open Day?

Let me know in the replies
L.B (WolvesRep)

Heya L.B,

I’m a Y13 student with offers to Bath, Loughborough, Manchester and Nottingham for architecture. Advanced apologies that this is going to be a VERY long guide.
When I went to the open days, I usually split my needs into categories and ticked off the list as I went:

ON THE WAY TO THE VISIT
- Please allow for a lot of time before the stated start-time of your open day to leave your house. Take into account that a lot of prospective students will be visiting that uni, so Google maps will not provide an accurate estimate of how long it would actually take for you to reach the uni and find parking since the open days are one-offs and not the usual traffic circulation.

Education/Course/Facilities
- Once you’re there, sign in and make your way to an open talk (some of these need to be booked in advance, check your emails)
- Open days are most likely offering subject presentations by their respective departments to advertise their course. This is often the first thing you go to when you visit.
- The points in this category are often well-covered by the open talk.
- It is important to get out your phone or a pen and paper to write down notes for the day.
- Points you will want to note down include: The application process, the course structure, the opportunities the uni course offers, and the future opportunities you get after graduating. Obviously note down what is important to you.
- Some talks actually follow with a tour of the site and facilities, but this depends on the uni so check your emails to see what you can expect from each visit prior to the day. Some unis send this info the day before so don’t worry if it hasn’t come through yet.
- Writing notes is important in the long run because you’d find that nearing the end of Year 13, like me, I’m trying to compare my notes between open days to make decisions for my applications. The more detailed your notes are, the better - especially when you’ve been there first-hand. I am struggling to make application decisions because I didn’t realise the importance of writing down the notes.

Social
- If it hasn’t been mentioned in their opening talks, ask the existing students there how their social life is like, in terms of what you want to get out of uni. There are usually existing students there who have been tasked to answer any questions from prospective students like you. This part of the visit occurs during or after the opening subject talks that you’ve just seen.
- Ask them about the balance between work and rest, and anything you think is important when thinking about how you’d like to live in uni.

Accommodation/Living
- Most open days allow you to visit some select accommodation buildings on your visit. This allows you to see the price, the vibe, and if the accommodation meets your needs. This often happens near the end of your visit, when all the talks you need to see, and after all the questions you need to ask are done.
- Make sure to visit as many of the accommodations as possible; I made the mistake of not visiting the accommodation for some of my open day visits and now I’m in slight speculation.

Other
- If other questions arise as you go through the visit, you can email the uni, or revisit the departments you’ve been in to ask an assigned student the question. They usually hang out there for a while after the talks have ended for this exact reason.

I hope this have been helpful to you.
Any questions, just ask.

~ Haneul_Sol

Heya L.B,

I’m a Y13 student with offers to Bath, Loughborough, Manchester and Nottingham for architecture. Advanced apologies that this is going to be a VERY long guide.
When I went to the open days, I usually split my needs into categories and ticked off the list as I went:

ON THE WAY TO THE VISIT
- Please allow for a lot of time before the stated start-time of your open day to leave your house. Take into account that a lot of prospective students will be visiting that uni, so Google maps will not provide an accurate estimate of how long it would actually take for you to reach the uni and find parking since the open days are one-offs and not the usual traffic circulation.

Education/Course/Facilities
- Once you’re there, sign in and make your way to an open talk (some of these need to be booked in advance, check your emails)
- Open days are most likely offering subject presentations by their respective departments to advertise their course. This is often the first thing you go to when you visit.
- The points in this category are often well-covered by the open talk.
- It is important to get out your phone or a pen and paper to write down notes for the day.
- Points you will want to note down include: The application process, the course structure, the opportunities the uni course offers, and the future opportunities you get after graduating. Obviously note down what is important to you.
- Some talks actually follow with a tour of the site and facilities, but this depends on the uni so check your emails to see what you can expect from each visit prior to the day. Some unis send this info the day before so don’t worry if it hasn’t come through yet.
- Writing notes is important in the long run because you’d find that nearing the end of Year 13, like me, I’m trying to compare my notes between open days to make decisions for my applications. The more detailed your notes are, the better - especially when you’ve been there first-hand. I am struggling to make application decisions because I didn’t realise the importance of writing down the notes.

Social
- If it hasn’t been mentioned in their opening talks, ask the existing students there how their social life is like, in terms of what you want to get out of uni. There are usually existing students there who have been tasked to answer any questions from prospective students like you. This part of the visit occurs during or after the opening subject talks that you’ve just seen.
- Ask them about the balance between work and rest, and anything you think is important when thinking about how you’d like to live in uni.

Accommodation/Living
- Most open days allow you to visit some select accommodation buildings on your visit. This allows you to see the price, the vibe, and if the accommodation meets your needs. This often happens near the end of your visit, when all the talks you need to see, and after all the questions you need to ask are done.
- Make sure to visit as many of the accommodations as possible; I made the mistake of not visiting the accommodation for some of my open day visits and now I’m in slight speculation.

Other
- If other questions arise as you go through the visit, you can email the uni, or revisit the departments you’ve been in to ask an assigned student the question. They usually hang out there for a while after the talks have ended for this exact reason.

I hope this have been helpful to you.
Any questions, just ask.

~ Haneul_Sol

Hi all,

If you have been to any Open Days or are looking to attend some Open Days, what are you looking for at the Open Day, to get the most out of the day?

Just curious to know what would be your perfect Open Day?

Let me know in the replies
L.B (WolvesRep)