Going on Open Days

The best way to get a feel for an institute is to have a look around, so when it comes to open days, we have just one word: go. If you take a sadistic pleasure in leaving the most important decisions to fate and a quick web search, this is not the best time to exercise it.

Universities are competing to attract the best students, and spending more and more money on prospectuses, advertising and sleek PR machines to get you enrolled. Sometimes the glossy sheen of the university prospectus can mask a murkier reality. The only way to get over that is to get on a train (get a young persons railcard), or the coach (they're cheaper), and go to the open day.

University organisers have yet to fully recover from AS-levels, which now mean that year 12 students are heavily involved in exams right in the traditional time for open days, which used to be mid-May. Many open days have been moved forward to the spring; others have been moved back to September and October. Neither is ideal - for many students, they feel either too soon or too late - but that's no excuse for not making the time. To make it slightly easier, some institutions have moved open days to Saturdays and, in at least one case, Sundays.

Some universities will ask for pre-booking, others allow you to turn up on the day once you have requested a programme of events. Schools and colleges may offer organised trips, otherwise attendance individually or with family and friends is fine. If there is no formal open day phone to see if you can arrange your own visit.

A university-organised day will generally include a taster of the courses you are thinking of applying to, the accommodation you will be expected to live in, the library you will study in and the bar you are likely to drink in. The alternative is a 50-word blurb in the prospectus along with a photo of some halls taken on the only sunny day in the previous three years.

If your parents want to go with you do try gently to suggest that since this might be your first step towards fleeing the nest, perhaps you should go alone. It doesn't mean you hate your parents; it doesn't mean there has to be a family argument - just that some things are best done independently. If they insist, or you want them to come along (to give you a lift for example), some universities now arrange for a talk for parents during the open day. This is designed partly to give the worried ones a little peace of mind, and to partly encourage you to escape and roam a little.

During the academic taster, the universities will try to cram the highlights of the degree into half a day. You might get a sample lecture, a look at the options you'll be given and a long list of impressive alumni.

The head of the department will give a talk using his or her best jokes, some of which may even raise a polite titter. Try to have some questions ready and corner him/her afterwards, or even better talk to some of the postgraduate students in the department, who may be closer to your age and have a more honest appraisel.

The next most important step is to make sure you get off the beaten track. Don't just listen to the students whom the university has convinced to escort you on a guided tour of the campus. Get chatting to other students in the union, and try to form a more rounded opinion.

Student union officers will be available and easily approachable for a chat - they are particularly good if you want more specialist knowledge outside of the academic remit. If you have a disability and want to know how accessible the housing is, or if you want to know about creche facilities, they will be the best qualified to tell you. They will also have a list of societies so if you want to know about fencing, capoeira or the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual (LGBT) society, it's all there. If the officer looks at you blankly as you reel off your questions, that might tell you more about the place than the university prospectus ever could.

But if you can't get there on the prescribed day, there's nothing to stop you getting a taste of a university by going it alone and arranging to meet people yourself. If you have friends at the university you might like to organise an evening with them and get a full dose of the student life (just remember your Nurofen for the next morning!).