5 things you should do at a UCA Open Day
28 May 2018
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Worried you’re going to get home after your uni visit without finding out all the important stuff? Student Ambassador, Amber, is here to help.
I don’t know about you, but I like to plan things.
When I came to my open day at UCA, I had a list of things that I wanted to do, when I wanted to do them and the questions I wanted to ask. However, as with most things in life, when I actually got to the university I was so overwhelmed that I forgot everything and had no idea what I was doing.
‘What if this happens to me,’ I hear you ask? Alas, do not fear! To prevent you experiencing the same brain fart I did, and to make sure you get the most out of your day, here are a few things that you can get up to:
1. Campus tour
Doing a campus tour at an Open Day is an essential part of the day and not something you want to miss out on! UCA has such an amazing atmosphere and there is so much on offer to you as a student that I can remember being really overwhelmed by it all. Take my advice, and take full advantage of having someone to guide you through it all. As a student, you have access to all the facilities the university has, so you might as well find out what they all are!
2. Accommodation tour
Let’s face it, the thing most students look forward to is moving out of home and living with other freshers, so you wouldn’t want to go to an open day and miss out on a chance to see your future home! You can take this opportunity to plan the layout of your new room, find out how many people you will be living with and, in my case, find out how far away you are from the nearest source of liquid refreshment and a takeaway!
3. Course talk
Despite what the world tells you, there is only so much information you can find on the internet! Shocking I know. The UCA website is really great for finding out information about the course you want to study, but the best way to find out more is to go to the university and talk to the lecturers. The course talk will give you specifics about the course, and will give you the opportunity to see all the big, shiny and rather expensive equipment that you will get to use when you’re a student.
4. Talk to Student Ambassadors — ask questions!
On your open day you will see lots of people wandering around the campus in bright orange t-shirts… talk to them! The Ambassadors on Open Days are all current students who are there to answer any questions you have, so put them to work and ask anything and everything you can think of! Lecturers and course leaders are great to talk to, but if you want to know what student life is like at a campus, ask the students who are already there. They gave me loads of tips and advice that have got me through my three years here — and it’s time for them to pass the university survival guide down to you!
5. Look at everything
UCA is the second largest provider of arts education in Europe, and it shows everywhere you look around campus. Just walking through campus you will see TVs showing short films, jewellery on display in the corridors and colourful artwork grabbing your eye everywhere you look. Soon, that could be your work on display, so take a moment to become inspired by the work students have achieved while studying here.
Oh, and my last piece of advice? Do it all with coffee*. Trust me, everything is better with a coffee in hand and if you have a university experience that is anything like mine, you will never have a relationship that is as strong as the relationship you will develop with the nearest coffee house.
(*Good news, you and your visitors will get a free drink at the Open Day so you’re off to a great start!)
Find out when the next Open Day is on our website.