As in-person university open day season is upon us, this is a great way to find out more about courses and student life.
Updated: 25 Mar 2026
Open days are your chance to explore the facilities, chat with your potential future lecturers, hear from current students and maybe even get tours of student accommodation.
You may notice that some unis are still running virtual open days, but that shouldn't deter you from registering your place. Either way, these tours continue to be one of the best ways to help you choose a university. If you need some motivation, we've got some pretty convincing reasons below why you should go to open day events.
NEXT: Find open days across the UK and book onto them here.
Attending an open day gives you the chance to quash any doubts and answer niggling questions you may have, so you can finally start your university applications. When trying to compile a shortlist of unis to apply for, there may be one or two options that you're still unsure of. This is where open days come in. Both in-person and virtual open days give you the chance to get a tour of the facilities, attend seminars and in most cases, chat with both lecturers and tutors.
On the flip side of this, attending an open day can also help eliminate universities and cut down that long list of potential places. Don’t feel bad about dumping universities, they understand that students sometimes find a better fit for them and in the long run, it's beneficial for both you and them.
There’s no better way to understand what you’ll be studying than to hear it from the lecturers themselves. A lot of open days are allow prospective students to chat with lecturers, tutors and even current students either through Q&As at talks, or more informal settings such as a subject fair. Not only will you find out about the syllabus but you can also ask questions that you’ve been struggling to get the answers to.
You can also get a feel for their teaching style and figure out whether you’ll be motivated and excited to learn in their lectures or completely zone out and think about what you're making for lunch.
The same subject can be taught in a number of ways through a hundred different modules. Some can be more heavily practical, some more academic, some may rely on coursework and others might have no coursework at all and rely completely on exams.
It’s important to understand how and what you’ll actually learn at the universities you’re interested in so you can pick the one that both interests you and suits your way of learning. This is something that attending university open days can help you with.
Even if you attend a virtual open day, there's likely to still be some information available on the facilities on offer, if not a video tour of some of them. At an in-person open day, you may be able to visit facilities such as labs, the library, the sports centre, the accommodation, seminar rooms and lecture theatres.
The great thing about an open day is you’ll not only get to chat with the staff that may teach you but also current students. This is true for virtual open days too. Not only are they having lecturers and tutors on hand to chat to online, but also current students, so that prospective students can hear authentically about the student experience.
While the lecturers will always tell you how wonderful the uni is, the students are likely to be honest about the good, the bad and the potentially ugly, so you can be confident that you’re fully informed before you start applying.
Just like preparing for exams, doing some research on universities by attending open days means you will have nothing to worry about when you’re on your way there. You can be confident when you’re heading up to your uni accommodation for your first year, in an over-packed car, that you’ve made the right decision. You won't have just relied on prospectuses, uni talks and teacher recommendations, but rather will have taken the time to attend an open day and get a more holistic view of what to expect.
Plus you’ve got a busy few months ahead, and you don’t want to be worrying about whether you’ve applied for the right university when you’ve got revision to do and essay deadlines to hit.
Although you can do as much thorough research on the internet as you like before choosing both where to study and what to study, you won't know everything. Attending an open day gives you the chance to hear from those already at the university talk about their experience, along with what you can expect.
They may shed light on an important part of the university experience you hadn't even thought to consider. If you go to any seminars with a Q&A session, others attending may ask a question you hadn't thought of that's important to you.
In addition to asking questions, speaking to students and touring the uni campus, open days give you the chance to find out more about the local area you'll be moving to. Find out what's popular with students and check those spots out for yourself. It's important to remember that you're not just going to go to classes the entire time. This will be your new home for the next few years so it helps to actually like the area you're potentially moving to.
You know what? Sometimes open days are just fun. You might not choose to go to the uni you're visiting, but it can still be nice to have a look around, get an idea of what university is like, and eat a sandwich. You've got to enjoy the little things every once in a while.
Another great way to find out more information is through our student reviews, as well as city guides over on our Advice page. With all of these resources, even if you end up attending a virtual open day, you can still get a sense of what a city/town is like, along with the campus and its facilities, without having to physically be there.
NEXT: Need to know more about open days? Here's everything you need to know.
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