Open Days

8 mistakes everyone makes on university open days

Nervous about attending university open days? Worried you’ll make a stupid mistake or ask a ridiculous question? Join everyone else in the same boat.

Eleni Cashell
by Eleni Cashell
Last Updated:
16 Oct 2024

Are you feeling nervous about attending a university open day? Fear not, as you can guarantee that everyone else there is just as nervous about making a good impression, and not looking silly, as you are - and that includes the lecturers and uni staff!

However, there are some silly mistakes that everyone makes when it comes to open days...

Here they are, and how you can avoid them...

1. Booking travel last minute

Before you’ve even got to the campus you’ve shelled out half your savings paying for the train tickets on the day itself. You end up focusing on how you’re going to eat more than just bread and cheese for the next week rather than being excited about the open day.

As well as making sure you’ve got yourself a 16-25 railcard to cut costs, make sure you book travel the minute after you’ve got your place confirmed on the open day. The more advance you book, the more monies you’ll save. Trust us, your bank account (and your parent’s bank account) will thank you for it.

2. Not looking at course facilities

You’ve explored the science labs, the mock courtrooms and the fake hospital wards…too bad you’re looking to study a geography degree…

Universities are usually pretty keen beans to show off their subject-specific facilities, especially if they look particularly swanky. While this is great if you’re not sure what to study, if you’re pretty darn sure you want to study English, make sure you make time to see the facilities that are just for you.

3. Letting your parents run the day

If you decide to take the folks, be prepared that as well as embarrassing you with their pride in you, they’ll likely want to make the most of the day. They’re fully expecting a call during fresher’s week asking for help because you’ve spent every penny of your loan… and they’re probably not wrong… so they want to know it’s worth it.

And while they’ll have your best interests at heart when they request that third walk-round of the accommodation blocks to check for mould, make sure you have ultimate control of what you see on the day.  

4. Getting lost on campus

You swear you only stopped for a few minutes at the campus shop to pick up some branded pens as a keepsake, but your campus guide has gone and there doesn’t seem to be anyone around from your open day group. Yep, you’re lost.

We guarantee this happens at every open day, so don’t panic too much. In fact, there’s probably students at the university who got lost on an open day and just decided to stay….

5. Not paying enough attention to the lecturers

University open days can be overwhelming, not only are you in completely new surroundings, but you’ll start to realise this could actually be your future for the next three years, and that’s pretty amazing/overwhelming/daunting.

But while you’re looking around the large lecture halls or focusing a bit too long on the number of books you think are stocked in the library, it’s easy to miss the vital information that’s coming from the university staff’s mouths. So, try to stay alert on what they’re saying and save the gazing around for when you’ve got your own time on campus.

And if you do miss out on any vital information, remember you can always contact the university directly.

6. Focusing too much on the SU bar

Of course, having an active social life is an important part of the university experience (just don’t let your parents know we’ve said that), but make sure you actually walk around the campus and not just sit in the SU bar “trying out” the pool table, chatting up the bar staff or checking the price of each individual drink you can buy there.

7. Forgetting to ask your pre-prepared questions

To make the most of an open day, you’ll of course take some pre-prepared questions with you to ask the lecturers, right?...

But in the haste of packing in the morning and rush-eating a Weetabix you’ve left your hand-written questions on the kitchen table, much to your mum’s annoyance when you let her know when you’ve already been on the road for 50 miles. However specific this scenario may seem, we guarantee that a student somewhere has experienced a similar scenario.

Don’t worry though, we’ve got some questions you can ask right here… no need to thank us!

8. Not taking the freebies

Why wouldn’t you take a free pen, brolly, biscuit, or whatever else the university is offering you on the open day? Massive fail.

For more open day tips and advice, check out our ultimate guide with everything you need to know.

Ready? Want to find and book open days? Browse our open day calendar and find open days across the UK to book onto now.

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