This weeks post is going to be all about university open days, the benefits, my experience of open days, tips about where you can find out about selecting a university and all that fun stuff!
Going to as many open days as possible is going to give you the absolute best variety of universities to choose from, I think it is absolutely vital that you visit your potential university before putting it as one of your choices and heading off in September. There would be nothing worse than turning up to a uni that you're going to be living at for 3 to 4 years and finding it's nothing like the pictures because everything is different and pictures can lie, or even realising that it's not everything you wanted in a university you just chose it because you were rushing and didn't visit any open days. There are no negatives to going to several open days, only positives. You need to see your potential university for a number of reasons:
- You have to live there for 3 years
- You are paying a lot of money to attend university
- It needs to suit all of your needs e.g. close to home/far from home
- It could look completely different to the pictures
- Just because your friends like it doesn't mean you will, do not take someone else's opinion
- You need to work out the halls you want to move into as there are different options.
- Is there any part time work you could sign up for
- Does it have all the facilities you require for both leisure and studies e.g. a gym for leisure and enough computers for studying
- Are the lecturers people you could see yourself getting along with
- Does the course offer everything you want it to
The list is endless really, but there's a few vital things that you need to consider.
My experience of looking round universities is quite minimal. I was very unsure of what I wanted the one thing I knew was that I wasn't ready to be miles and miles away from home I wanted to be close enough that I could commute for my second year if I wanted but I needed to be far enough away to experience freshers properly and living in halls of residence. I picked Bedfordshire and another university however I didn't actually look around the other one I picked which was why I was so happy when I found out I had got into Bedford. I was so unsure of the other university as I had seen Bedford and it fitted every one of my needs and I didn't want to go to an unknown university and have regretted my decision. I think this is why I believe open days are absolutely necessary I should have visited the other university to make sure it was right to put down as one of my options but I didn't which was a mistake because I'd have been so nervous if I hadn't gotten into Bedfordshire.
Tips on where you can find out more about university selection and open are available on UCAS or even the universities websites themselves. My advice would be to scour these websites and find the ones that seems like they would suit you the best, then apply for some open days and get a real feel for the universities, your choices could change dramatically when you actually visit the universities themselves.
Just please do not apply for anything before seeing and looking round it. Make sure everything suits you before making any drastic decisions.
The University of Bedfordshire offers open days throughout the year and this is what they include on the day:
An open day includes the following activities
- Welcome talk and introduction to the University of Bedfordshire
- Course session with academics from the course you're interested in
- Tours of our campus facilities and student accommodation
- Talks on topics including: student finance, application and personal statements and student life
- Opportunities to speak to academics, support services and current students
Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful.
Until next time,
M
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