Top Tips for Getting the Most Out of an Open Day!

Open days are so exciting. They are exciting for a prospective student visiting a university for the first time, but they are also equally exciting to work as a student ambassador! I always look forward to the Warwick Open days; it’s great to see campus looking so vibrant and welcoming all students to the university. There are two Open Days coming up this weekend, on Friday 23rd and Saturday the 24th, and I would really recommend going to one if you are interested in studying here. They can be very busy days though, so I have compiled some tips and advice to help you have a great time and get the most out of the day!

1. Plan in advance

Have a look at the open day material online (link here) and plan what talks and areas you want to see on campus. Having a rough idea of the things you definitely want to see will help you organise your day so you don’t miss out on anything!

2. Attend some of the general talks

There will be some talks by the finance department, careers and skills, language centre etc which may be useful to go to at the start of the day. However, you can still probably get a lot of the information online so I don’t think that it is super important to see these.

3. Visit some accommodation

Accommodation is something I would recommend looking at. There will be several types, of varying prices, open on the day, some with en-suites and some with shared bathrooms, so I would say to have a look at a couple of different ones to suss it out. There is also a lot of information about this on the Warwick Accommodation website, as well as on the student blogs, to supplement visiting the blocks in person.

4. Try some of the food outlets!

The SU food outlets will be open as well, so this is the perfect time to refuel and check out what its like to eat on campus as a student! Curiositea is perfect for a coffee break to reflect on the day and gorge yourself on some yummy cake.

5. Do a campus tour

Warwick Welcome Service (WWS) ambassadors will be giving tours of campus for most of the day, and it is a great way to see what campus is like. Routes vary depending on the ambassador, but you will probably get taken through the SU and Arts Centre, into the Oculus, past the Sports Centre and pop into the library. They often only last between 45 minutes and an hour and I would 100% recommend going on one to get your bearings and hear about the campus from a student’s perspective.

Which brings me on to my last piece of advice:

6. TALK TO STUDENTS

This is the most important tip from me, so I’m going to say it again: talk to students! All the ambassadors around campus, whether they are WWS or departmental representatives, will be more than happy to chat with visitors. In fact many of them will jump at the opportunity to tell you all about the university, so ask them as many questions as you want! I believe the best way to find out about a university is through the students, so have a chat with as many people as you can. The moment I realised I wanted to study at Warwick was talking to a student ambassador when I visited on an open day three years ago (!) , and it’s the perfect way to find out what it is really like to be a student here.

I shall be working both open days as part of Warwick Welcome Service, so come and say hello if you see me out and about (see number 6!) Even more excitingly, I will be tweeting from the Open Day twitter account on Friday! Check out the twitter for updates and pictures throughout the weekend.