University Open Days in the UK: Everything You Need to Know -

University open days are recruiting events. Let’s be clear about that from the start. Universities are competing for students—particularly students who can pay tuition—and open days are their chance to sell you on why their institution is the best choice.

That doesn’t mean they’re useless. Far from it. Open days are genuinely your best opportunity to see campuses, meet staff and students, attend sample lectures, tour facilities, and get a sense of whether you can actually see yourself living and studying there for three or more years.

But you need to attend with realistic expectations. What you’re seeing is the highlight reel. The campus is clean, the staff are enthusiastic, student ambassadors are upbeat and helpful. It’s the best possible version of the university. Your job is to look beyond the polished presentation and figure out what the day-to-day reality would actually be like.

Most UK universities host open days during the summer months—typically June through September—when prospective students are free to visit before UCAS application deadlines. Some also run events in autumn or offer postgraduate-specific open days throughout the year.

Since COVID, virtual open days have become common. These involve online campus tours, live webinars with faculty, virtual Q&A sessions, and on-demand video content. They’re convenient if you can’t travel, but they don’t give you the visceral sense of place that an in-person visit provides.

Why You Should Actually Attend

Reading prospectuses and browsing websites only tells you so much. You need to physically experience these places to make informed decisions through university open days.

You’ll understand the campus layout and location.

Is it a compact city-centre campus where everything’s walkable, or is it spread across a large area requiring buses or cycling? How far is student accommodation from the lecture buildings? What’s the surrounding area like—vibrant city centre, quiet suburb, small town? These things matter when you’re living somewhere for years.

You’ll meet the people who’ll actually teach you.

Sitting in on a sample lecture or talking with faculty in your subject area gives you a sense of teaching style, approachability, and whether they’re genuinely passionate about their subjects. A charismatic lecturer in a field you’re interested in can be a revelation. A dull presentation in a subject you thought you loved might make you reconsider.

You’ll talk to actual students, not just marketing materials.

Student ambassadors are helpful, but try to catch students who aren’t working the event—people studying in the library, eating lunch, walking between buildings. They’ll give you more honest perspectives about what’s actually good or frustrating about the university.

You’ll see facilities firsthand.

Photos on websites always look impressive. In person, you can judge whether the library is genuinely a good study space, whether labs are well-equipped and modern, whether the student union is lively or dead, and whether accommodation is actually comfortable or just photographed well.

You’ll get answers to specific questions.

Every student’s situation is unique. You might have questions about specific modules, disability support, scholarship eligibility, or transferring from another institution. Open days give you access to people who can answer these questions directly, rather than navigating phone trees or waiting days for email responses.

You’ll start to feel whether this place is right for you.

This is subjective and hard to quantify, but when you visit a campus, you get a gut feeling. Do you feel energised and excited? Comfortable? Or does something feel off? Trust those instincts—they’re based on dozens of small observations your brain is processing even if you can’t articulate exactly what’s influencing them.

How to Actually Find University Open Days

Every UK university lists open days on its website, usually under “Visit Us” or “Open Days” sections. But manually checking dozens of university websites is tedious.

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UCAS maintains a searchable database of open days across UK universities. You can filter by date, location, and subject area. It’s not always perfectly updated, but it’s a good starting point.

The Student Room and WhatUni aggregate open day information and often include student reviews of open days, which can give you insights into what to expect.

University emails are useful if you’ve expressed interest by requesting a prospectus or signing up for information. Universities will email you about upcoming open days. This ensures you don’t miss events at places you’re seriously considering.

For virtual open days, most universities now maintain on-demand content you can access anytime—recorded campus tours, subject area videos, and student panels. These are useful for initial research but shouldn’t replace in-person visits if possible.

Plan early. Popular open days at competitive universities fill up quickly, especially for in-demand subjects like medicine or engineering. Some require advance registration. Don’t assume you can just show up on the day.

How to Actually Make the Most of Your Visit

Showing up and wandering around aimlessly wastes the opportunity. You need a plan for university open days.

Before you go, research the university and program thoroughly.

Read the course structure, check module options, understand assessment methods, and look at graduate employment data. The more you know going in, the better questions you’ll ask and the more you’ll notice during your visit.

Create a personalised schedule.

Most university open days have multiple concurrent sessions—departmental talks, campus tours, accommodation viewings, and finance presentations. You can’t attend everything. Prioritise what matters most to you. If you’re certain about your subject, spend more time in that department and less on general university presentations.

Prepare specific questions.

Generic questions get generic answers. Instead of “What’s the teaching like?” ask “How much contact time per week do students typically have?” or “What’s the balance between lectures, seminars, and independent study?” Instead of “What’s student life like?” ask “What percentage of students live on campus after first year?” or “How active are the societies in my interest area?”

Take detailed notes or voice memos.

After visiting your third or fourth university, they start blurring together. Note specific impressions—the library was too loud, the accommodation felt cramped, the lecturer in the sample class was engaging, and the campus felt isolated. These details will matter when you’re making final decisions months later.

Explore beyond the official tour route.

Guided tours show you the highlights. Walk around independently, too. Check out the area around campus—where would you buy groceries, get coffee, spend downtime? Look at the notice boards—what’s advertised tells you what the culture actually values.

Talk to multiple current students.

Don’t just rely on student ambassadors who are specifically trained to present the university positively. Find students in the library, common areas, or department buildings. Ask what they wish they’d known before choosing this university. Most students are surprisingly willing to share honest perspectives.

Visit the accommodation realistically.

If you tour student housing, don’t just look at the show room. Ask to see a typical room that’s actually lived in. Check bathroom facilities, kitchen size, storage space, and noise levels. Ask about the application process—is housing guaranteed for first years? What happens in subsequent years?

Attend the finance and student support sessions.

These are often sparsely attended because students find them boring, but they contain crucial information about scholarships, bursaries, mental health support, disability services, and careers advice. This stuff matters when you’re actually studying there.

Assess the surrounding area.

Universities don’t exist in isolation. Is the city expensive? Safe? Well-connected by transport? Are there part-time job opportunities? Cultural activities? The location will significantly affect your quality of life.

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What to Actually Look For (And Red Flags to Watch)

Beyond the official presentation, here’s what you should be observing during university open days:

Teaching quality indicators.

How engaged are students in the sample lecture? Do faculty know students by name? When you ask about teaching, do staff talk about innovative approaches or just describe standard lectures? Are there opportunities for independent research or is everything prescribed?

Facilities that matter.

A beautiful student union building is nice, but is the library adequately sized for the student body? Are there enough computers and study spaces? Do labs have modern equipment, or are they using outdated technology? Is the gym decent if that matters to you?

Student energy and engagement.

Do students on campus seem happy and engaged or stressed and withdrawn? This is subjective, but you can get a sense of campus culture by observing students between sessions.

Diversity and inclusivity.

Look around—is the student body diverse? Are there visible support structures for different communities? Do you see people who look like you or share your background?

Academic support systems.

When you ask about what happens if students struggle academically, do staff describe robust support systems (tutoring, office hours, academic skills workshops) or do they deflect? Universities with good support are transparent about it.

Red flags worth noting:

If staff can’t answer basic questions about course structure or requirements, that’s concerning. Also, if student ambassadors give overly scripted responses and can’t speak freely about negatives, the university might be controlling the message too tightly. If facilities seem run-down or overcrowded, question whether the university is investing adequately. If current students seem unenthusiastic or stressed when you ask about their experience, pay attention.

Furthermore, if the surrounding area feels unsafe or unwelcoming, think seriously about whether you want to live there for years. If accommodation is far from campus with poor transport connections, that will affect your daily life significantly.

Common Mistakes Students Make at University Open Days

Let me save you from errors that reduce the value of your visit to the University’s open days.

Letting parents dominate. It’s fine to bring family, but you’re the one who’ll be living there. Your opinion matters most. Don’t let a parent’s preferences override your gut feeling about a place.

Only attending one open day. You need comparison points. Visiting three or more universities helps you calibrate what’s normal, what’s exceptional, and what’s concerning. The first university you visit often seems amazing simply because you have no reference point.

Focusing too much on superficial factors. Yes, nice buildings and modern facilities are appealing. But focus on factors that affect your education and experience—quality of teaching, support systems, course content, and employment outcomes. A beautiful campus with weak academics is a poor trade-off.

Not asking about the negatives. Students who only ask about positives get a one-sided picture. Ask “What do students commonly complain about?” or “What challenges do first-years typically face?” Good universities will be honest about areas they’re working to improve.

Ignoring your gut reaction. If something feels off—the atmosphere seems unfriendly, the location makes you uncomfortable, the course content doesn’t excite you—pay attention to that feeling even if you can’t articulate exactly why. Your instincts are processing information you might not consciously notice.

Not comparing costs realistically. Different universities in different cities have vastly different living costs. A university with slightly lower tuition but much higher accommodation and living costs might actually be more expensive overall.

Dismissing universities too quickly based on rankings. A university ranked 15th might actually be stronger in your specific subject than one ranked 5th overall. Department quality matters more than institution-wide rankings.

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Virtual vs. In-Person: What You Actually Miss Online

Virtual university open days became necessary during COVID and have stuck around because they’re convenient. But they’re not equivalent to in-person visits.

What you get from virtual open days: convenient access to information, recorded tours you can watch multiple times, easy ability to attend multiple universities without travel costs, and often more time to ask specific questions in smaller online sessions.

What you miss: the physical sense of place, serendipitous conversations with current students, the ability to explore independently, the visceral feeling of whether you’d be comfortable living there, observation of how students actually behave in spaces, and assessment of the surrounding area.

Virtual open days are great for initial research and narrowing your list. But for universities you’re seriously considering, try to visit in person if remotely possible. The difference in information quality and confidence in your decision is substantial.

If you genuinely can’t visit in person—you’re international, financial constraints, accessibility issues—maximise virtual events by asking very specific questions, requesting virtual tours of less-publicised areas (not just the highlights), and trying to arrange one-on-one conversations with current students or faculty in your subject area.

After University Open Days: What to Actually Do

Visiting university open days is just the first step. You need to process what you learned and use it to make decisions.

Write down your impressions while they’re fresh. Not just facts—note how you felt, what surprised you, what concerned you, what excited you. These emotional responses are data points that will help when you’re making final choices.

Compare systematically across universities. Create a simple spreadsheet with the factors that matter to you—course structure, facilities, location, cost, teaching quality, support services, campus culture. Rate each university on each factor. This forces you to think critically rather than just going with whichever one you visited most recently.

Follow up on unanswered questions. If something wasn’t clear during the open day, email the admissions office or the relevant department. Universities are generally responsive to prospective student queries.

Connect with current students online. Many universities have Facebook groups or Discord servers for prospective students where you can ask questions of current students. This gives you additional perspectives beyond the open day.

Consider a second visit if possible. If you’re torn between two universities, visiting again—particularly during term time rather than an official open day—can provide additional insight into what student life actually looks like day-to-day.

Trust your judgment. You’ve done the research, visited campuses, talked to people, and gathered information. Trust yourself to make a good decision. There’s no single “perfect” university—there are good fits and poor fits. Choose a place where you can genuinely see yourself thriving academically and personally.

Conclusion on University Open Days

University open days are valuable but imperfect tools for evaluating universities. They give you access to campuses, people, and information you can’t get any other way. But they’re also marketing events designed to present universities in the best possible light.

Your job is to look beyond the presentation, ask hard questions, observe, and gather enough information to make informed decisions about where you’ll spend several transformative years of your life.

Don’t just passively consume what universities present to you. Be an active, critical observer. Take notes. Ask challenging questions. Trust your instincts. Compare multiple options. And ultimately, choose a university where you can honestly see yourself succeeding academically while also developing as a person.

The university you choose will shape your education, career opportunities, friendships, and life trajectory in significant ways. Open days are your chance to gather the information you need to make that choice wisely. Use them well.