Anyone attended/attending University open days?

johnswife

We went to Nottingham University yesterday and it was huge!
Lots of walking and it was very hot.

If anyone is thinking of going make sure you have comfortable shoes. I was quite impressed but I'm only the mum! Daughter liked it but others to see.

Wednesday her Dad is taking her to UCL London.

Perhaps others could post about their visits and give their views on the University?

The_One_Who

Not really relevant for summer visits, but I would always recommend going on an 'ordinary' day as well as a specific open day if at all possible. Open days don't really allow you to feel the 'atmosphere' of the place, because they are often held on days when hardly anyone is around. You won't be able to see the halls or the department or get into the library, but you'd be able to see how many people are milling around, what the union is like at lunch time, etc.

I personally found open days incredibly boring, but they were a way to get a day off school.

johnswife

The_One_Who wrote: »

Not really relevant for summer visits, but I would always recommend going on an 'ordinary' day as well as a specific open day if at all possible. Open days don't really allow you to feel the 'atmosphere' of the place, because they are often held on days when hardly anyone is around. You won't be able to see the halls or the department or get into the library, but you'd be able to see how many people are milling around, what the union is like at lunch time, etc.

I personally found open days incredibly boring, but they were a way to get a day off school.

We saw everything? The halls were open, the library, the sports centre, the varioous departments, talks. Wasn't boring.

The_One_Who

Yes, but that would be an open day, right? I was meaning a normal working day (which is why it's not very relevant for summer visits when universities are much quieter), when students are milling around, going to lectures, living their daily lives. Open days are handy, but don't give the same 'feel' of a place.

Oldernotwiser

The main thing to remember on university Open Days is that it's a marketing exercise on the part of the university and that they need students as much as students need places. Just as when choosing anything, one needs to be critical, analytical and (dare I say it?) just a bit cynical.

MrsManda

I didn't visit universities during the summer. All my visits were during term time which allows you to see the university how it is whe you will be studying there. Plus term time open days are generally lead by current students so you get both the academic and the personal knowledge. I took potential students around when they came for interviews last term which was really good as they got to ask questions of the lecturers but also got to ask more personal questions of the students.

I know there's quite a bit of difference between UCL during term time and UCL as it is at the moment and I presume other universities are the same. How your daughter feels about a university is important (I hated Nottingham and Sheffield but my friends loved them) and if possible let her have some time where she's not with you when she asks questions - one of the things we did when we took groups round was separate the parents for about 20 minutes from the students so the students could feel free to ask questions and so could the parents.

johnswife

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

The main thing to remember on university Open Days is that it's a marketing exercise on the part of the university and that they need students as much as students need places. Just as when choosing anything, one needs to be critical, analytical and (dare I say it?) just a bit cynical.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I agree, of course they are "selling the place", they have to compete with the other universities.

I only started this thread as I thought it would be helpful at least to me, to hear what other parents/students thought of certain universities.

johnswife

Thank you MrsManda, that was very helpful.

My daughter booked these visits as her tutor at college said they have to write their application in October? So she thought she better get a move on.

With my elder daughters we did look at Unis in Sept/Oct.

7891368

johnswife wrote: »

We went to Nottingham University yesterday and it was huge!
Lots of walking and it was very hot.

If anyone is thinking of going make sure you have comfortable shoes. I was quite impressed but I'm only the mum! Daughter liked it but others to see.

Wednesday her Dad is taking her to UCL London.

Perhaps others could post about their visits and give their views on the University?

If you have any questions specific about Nottingham I can probably help, I've just finished my first year and I loved it!

johnswife

7891368 wrote: »

If you have any questions specific about Nottingham I can probably help, I've just finished my first year and I loved it!

Thankyou!

Do you live in Cheltenham? We are in the Forest of Dean, not too far away.

ok, 1st question, what accommodation did you have and was it what you expected?

Did you go into Nottinham much and did you feel safe? ( sorry i am a mum!)

what course are you doing and again what you expected and is the teaching good?

7891368

johnswife wrote: »

Thankyou!

Do you live in Cheltenham? We are in the Forest of Dean, not too far away.

ok, 1st question, what accommodation did you have and was it what you expected?

Did you go into Nottinham much and did you feel safe? ( sorry i am a mum!)

what course are you doing and again what you expected and is the teaching good?

[FONT=&quot]I do live in Cheltenham so not far at all! Just to let you know the rail link from Gloucester Station is direct, every hour and takes about 2h 20ish from Gloucester I believe, so if she needs to come home it isn't too bad. I would recommend she got a railcard (last year natwest had them as a perk of their student account), I bought a 3year one offline for about £60, but it would mean she gets 33% off fares. A return Glos to Nottingham would be about £26 with this. Even less if you book in advance.

A lot of the accommodation is catered well I think all is on University Park where I studied, so I stayed in private accommodation which was fantastic. I know it's each individuals choice but I would discourage our daughter from choosing catered as it makes it a lot more expensive than standard self catered and often you will miss half the meals in the week. I stayed here, http://www.unite-students.com/student-accommodation/nottingham/riverside-point, it was a bit cheaper this year but all university accom has gone up. It will be expensive again even though it is a 'cheaper area' of the country. Your daughter should realise even if she goes uncatered it would use up a large chunk of her student finance, so maybe consiider a part time job between then and now to 'save up' a bit. As a general rule I believe private accomadation to be of a better standard and represnt better value. Another option for your daughter would be to live in the city and commute to the Uni (if your daughter likes going out, could save a lot in taxi fares etc; far less than a bus pass to get to uni). Also depending how many contact hours she has, may be more suitable as it is nearer everything. Just so you know the riverside accom I've linked above is about a 30 minute walk to town(£5 in a taxi there/ about £10 back at night)

I wish I lived in Nottingham City Centre, I feel much safer there than I would at home around Cheltenham or Gloucester, constant police presence (you'll be shocked at the amount of sirens), really well lit street and always plenty of taxis. Despite being labelled Shottingham, Nottingham is safe as long as you avoid certain areas such as St Anns and Radford or at least don't go into them at night. Your daughter would have no need to btw. From personal experience, I've only seen lads fights (same as eastgate st every saturday night) but not even so many! Few people mouthing off but nothing serious, I would say honestly I've never felt unsafe in Nottingham.

I have just finished my first year LLB Hons Law at University Park, it was fantastic, but hardly any contact hours, it depends a lot on your course how many hours you have, but don't be surprised how many you have. It's always less than every parent expects The teaching was also good, but again my course has a lot of private study. Lectures are impersonal in MOST unis as they supply information to the masses (in my course about 300) but then seminars (almost like lessons you pre prepare for) are only in classes of 12 or so, so you will get to know these lecturers better.[/FONT]

Just so you know the nightlife is fantastic if she's that way inclined, she will hate nights out back home if that is the case

There is really good shopping compared to home as well, and lots of cafes etc (apparantly Nottingham has the most caafes/restaurants/takeaways per sq mile than any other city)


Feel free to ask anything else, or to pm me (: