UCAS and the importance of University Open Days

Having decided to go to university the first two points of call you will need to consider are your UCAS application and the university open days. The two elements are interlinked, however, and careful consideration should be given to both. Here is why.

UCAS (the University and College Admissions Service) give you the ability to apply to a finite number of universities, and there is just one application process per year. So, putting the right choices down on your application form is vital, and the only way you can do this, it visit as many open days as possible.

Open days are the universities chance to sell themselves to you. Universities only want the best students with the best grades to fill up their courses, and as there are now more universities and more courses than ever before, the competition amongst them is fierce. So, at their respective open days, they are looking to sell to you. They are looking to tell you why you should apply to their uni, and why their city is the best to study in. Bear this in mind, it means you can ask as many questions as you like, knowing they will be taken seriously.

Open days are often the only chance you will have to go to a certain university to see its inner workings and so they are vital to be taken seriously and used effectively. Often your school or 6th form centre will allow you a set number of days per year to go on open days visits and so you need to do your research beforehand to ensure you go to the most suitable ones (not just the ones your friends are going to!). You may only go to 10 open days before you submit your application, maybe even less than that, so make sure you make the most of the days.

Open days are effectively your last chance to narrow down your choice of shortlisted universities. Prior to going to open days you will (hopefully!) have done all your research into courses and places to study. You should know what you want to study and why you are going to that particular university’s open day, so this is your last real look. Always take notes and try to go armed with all the questions you may want to ask. If you do this at every open day you will make sure you leave with a fair picture of which is the best place for you and which course suits you best. Once you have concluded your open days’ visits you can sit down and make a valued judgement on your choices.

When you come to complete your UCAS form, the open days you have been on will hopefully provide you with all the information you need to make the correct judgement. Remember the university are selling themselves to you, so take them seriously, ask lots of questions, enjoy the experience and do not worry too much about the choices you make, your gut feeling was probably right all along anyway!

ThisUni is the UK’s largest database of University open days providing valuable information to FE students looking to undertake undergraduate and graduate degree courses.

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This release was published on openPR.