No amount of reading a university's website, studying its prospectus, or checking its ranking will tell you as much as spending a few hours on campus. Open days and university visits are the most underrated research tool available to prospective students — yet many applicants either skip them entirely, attend them passively without prepared questions, or focus exclusively on the official programme without exploring the environment they would actually inhabit for three or four years.
A well-used open day is not a passive experience. It is a structured data-gathering exercise — a chance to test the impressions formed online against the reality of the place, to speak directly with the people you would be taught by and learning alongside, and to build the kind of felt knowledge about a university that league tables simply cannot provide. This guide explains how to make every visit count, whether you are attending in person, engaging virtually, or attending a specialist taster day.
1. How to Book and Prepare for a University Open Day
UK universities typically run multiple open days across the academic year, with the most popular dates falling in late spring and early autumn. Demand for places at popular institutions can be high, and many open days require advance registration. The UCAS open days directory lists events at universities across the country and allows you to search by date, institution, and subject area.
Book as early as possible — particularly for popular universities and competitive courses — and register separately for any subject-specific sessions within the open day programme, as these often have limited capacity. Confirm your registration in advance and check whether your course of interest has a dedicated departmental session, as these are typically more informative than the general university introduction.
Before you attend, prepare thoroughly. Research the course content, the entry requirements, and the department's professional or research strengths. Identify two or three specific questions that you cannot answer from the published information. Arrive with a practical list of what you want to see and a notepad or phone for notes; the details of multiple visits blur quickly if you do not record observations as you go.
Travel planning matters too. Factor in the length of the day, whether you will need overnight accommodation, and the cost of travel, particularly if you are visiting universities far from home. Some universities offer travel bursaries for students from lower-income households attending open days — check the prospectus or admissions pages for details.
2. Questions to Ask Academic Staff and Current Students
The official open day presentations give you the university's best version of itself. The more candid and useful information typically comes from two other sources: the academic staff in your subject department, and the current students who are there as ambassadors or simply around campus.
Questions for academic staff might include: How is teaching organised — what is the ratio of large lectures to small group seminars? How accessible are lecturers outside of formal teaching sessions? What does the research culture in the department look like, and does it create opportunities for undergraduates to be involved? What do the strongest graduates from this programme tend to go on to do?
Questions for current students — who are typically more candid than staff — might include: What did you wish you had known before you chose this university? How do you find the relationship between students and academic staff? What is accommodation like in practice? What support is genuinely available if you are struggling academically?
The responses to these questions will often reveal things that no prospectus describes. A department where current students describe strong staff relationships, genuine intellectual engagement, and good peer community is a different environment from one where students describe large, anonymous lectures and limited individual contact — even if both departments have similar formal rankings.
3. Getting the Most From a Virtual Open Day or Online Tour
Not every applicant can attend in person — whether because of distance, cost, disability, or caring responsibilities — and many universities now offer substantial virtual open day experiences that are worth taking seriously rather than treating as a consolation prize.
A good virtual open day will include live or pre-recorded presentations from the admissions team and subject departments, 360-degree campus and accommodation tours, live chat or Q&A sessions with staff and current students, and digital versions of the same subject-specific talks offered in person. The quality of virtual open day provision has improved substantially at most universities, and some institutions offer virtual experiences that are genuinely superior to a brief in-person visit from a geographical distance.
To get the most from a virtual open day, approach it with the same preparation you would bring to an in-person visit. Clear your schedule for the sessions you plan to attend. Prepare your questions in advance and submit them in the Q&A chat as early as possible, as popular sessions often receive more questions than can be answered in the allotted time. Take notes on the same observations you would record at an in-person visit: teaching style, module structure, staff responsiveness, the sense of community described by current students.
Follow up after a virtual open day if questions remain unanswered. Most admissions teams are responsive to email enquiries from prospective applicants, and a brief, well-formulated question sent to a department's admissions coordinator often receives a helpful, direct reply.
4. What to Look for in Accommodation, Facilities, and Campus Environment
The official touring programme of an open day will typically include a visit to halls of residence and the university's main facilities. Use this time purposefully, because the physical environment you study and live in has a genuine effect on your wellbeing and your ability to work effectively.
When looking at accommodation, consider not just the aesthetics of the room but the practical factors: the quality and reliability of the broadband connection (essential for independent study), the proximity to your department and the main library, the communal kitchen and social space facilities, and whether rooms are en suite or shared-facility. Ask the student ambassadors about the reality of accommodation ballots and whether first-year students are guaranteed a hall place — policies vary significantly between universities.
The library and study facilities are among the most important resources at any university. Visit the library and assess its hours, its quiet study space capacity, and the quality of its digital resources and subject-specialist collections. A well-resourced library with extended or 24-hour opening during assessment periods is a material advantage.
The surrounding town or city matters too. Walk the high street, check the transport links, and get a sense of how student-friendly the local environment feels. Some university towns are closely integrated with their student population; others are larger cities where students are one demographic among many.
For independent comparative information — including student satisfaction scores drawn from the National Student Survey, graduate employment data, and course-level quality ratings — Which? University provides a credible, impartial view that complements the impressions gathered on an open day. Used together with your visit notes, it will help you make the most confident shortlisting decisions.
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