University open days can be like the Royal Show. There are a million things to see and everyone is trying to show or sell you something.
4 Steps
Make the most of your open day by taking these 4 steps.
1 Identify Three Areas to Focus On
You might be interested in engineering, education and law for example, so focus on those.
2 Visit the University Website
For each of the 3 areas of interest identify 3 courses that sound good. If one of your focus areas is engineering you might choose to look in more detail at:
- Chemical engineering
- Metallurgical engineering, and
- Civil engineering
Having that plan will give you a good direction for your explorations and you will be less likely to get lost listening to stories about Latvian Clog Dancing.
3 Locate the Buildings on a Map
Locate the faculty buildings on the university website and plan your route around the 3 areas you have chosen.
Plan to go back to visit other things interesting things that you see and take a break at one of the food vans at about half way through to gather your thoughts.
4 Start Your Expedition
Go to the Open Day and talk to current students about what they like and hate and what they plan to do when they graduate.
Find lecturers and ask them about the best and worst bits of their subject/course.
Check the displays.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE
Make an appointment to speak to one of the career advisors or student ambassadors about your favourite course(s).