So here are my tips:
- Take parents for a number of reasons. Firstly, they ask good and sensible questions, Secondly, they care about your life choices! Thirdly - THEY MIGHT BUY YOU LUNCH ;) - I took my parents to all but one of my open days, its nice to have independence, but I realy wouldn't advise going to your first one alone!
- Take a prospectus and any info you already have - it can be easier to annotate these in course/accommodation/finance meetings than to write a whole new set of notes
- Despite the above point... TAKE A NOTEBOOK. In the front or back have a plan of what you want to do when, ad alternative times in case you don't make it! Know the rooms and roughly where they are (when you register for an OD, they normally send you a map). Great for making notes in - Not so much in the course talks as most of this is in the prospectus, but with lots of the unis I visited I found the accommodation pages were a bit skimpy in the prospectus, so most of my notes on accommodation were in my little notebook!
- MAP- Circle all of the relevant buildings and tick them off as you do them
- Ask every question that pops into your head (or make your parents do it) Consider what is important to you
- Accommodation
- On or off campus?
- shared/en suite availability
- catered/ self catered
- layout ('traditional' corridor halls, flats, blocks etc) - how do you want to live
- how many people will you share what with (would you consider sharing ONE bathroom with more than about 5 people - I could maybe stretch to 6...)
- How big is your kitchen - You want to be able to move, and you ideally want 2 or more cupboards (more is ideal but mostly I found you get 2, and maybe a drawer)
- Cleaning - which areas get cleaned, how often
- how far away is it from campus? how far away is it from town? how EASILY can you get there? Is there a shuttle bus or do you have to walk?
- RENT (Very important!) - consider how much student loan you might get if you will have to pay for accommodation out of it. The basic, for people whose parents earn over £62,000 pa is something along the lines of £3757 (I think, don't quote me) , but if you go to the Student Finance England page there is a calculator there so you can see how much you are entitled to. Also see if you are eligible for a scholarship - this alone might be enough for accommodation if you're lucky!
- Your course
- how is it assessed? are you better at coursework/practicals/exams?
- does the first year count towards your final grade?
- What modules are there, and how much is choice?!
