Out of the 5 universities I applied to, I only ended up
going to a true open day for one. Originally I was planning to apply for both
Biology and Natural Sciences at Bath as I was not sure which of the two I
wanted to study, both of the courses looked great. Before I actually submitted
my UCAS, we did a road trip one weekend, going to the Birmingham Open Day, then
onto Bath, and through to Exeter. Birmingham was beautiful, I was truly
surprised by how much I enjoyed it! Amazing sports facilities and music
society, with friendly people and a lovely campus. They were so coordinated
sorting transport and parking for everyone, as well as easy registration and
sign in areas to receive all of the relevant information about the day.
We went on to Bath, and although it was a Saturday
afternoon, we were still surprised at how quiet it was. It was one of those
places for me where you get there and instantly know there’s something you
don’t quite like. The people were friendly enough however as a prospective Biology
student, I didn’t like how the Biology department was this separate, small
group of buildings away from the main centre of the campus. Until I visited, I
hadn’t realised how small the university was, probably brilliant for some
people, but just not for me. We stayed with a family in the city and went out
for dinner in the centre, having visited several times before, it felt very
familiar.
The next morning, we drove on to Exeter. Visiting on a
Sunday morning, we expected it to have even fewer people around than at Bath,
but we found the exact opposite!! People were everywhere, going to their sports
activities or even just seeing friends. The sports centre staff were so
friendly, letting us look around and see the gym, we went out for a Sunday
lunch in the city, it was a much smaller city than I had realised, but charming
all the same. After this road trip, I chose to apply for Warwick in my spare
option which I had been saving for Bath Biology in case I liked it, however I
have never visited the Warwick campus as due to the structure of the course
I’ve never had a real enthusiasm to go.
For my final university, York, I was invited up to an Offer
Holders day. It took 6 hours of trains and a bus each way but it was really
worth it. Their Biology department is like no other, the campus is beautifully
structured, and decently close to the main city. They split students from
parents, giving a chance to meet people you would be sharing a course with, I
in fact met a girl who lives just 10 minutes from me! All of the staff and
students were welcoming and helpful, going into one of the colleges (their
version of halls of residence) was so useful, meeting the student who lives
there and seeing what the facilities are truly like. Walking back through the
city (bearing in mind it was mid-December) it was stunning. I’m not going to
lie, I fell in love with it, and from that one day, I was made up. That was
where I wanted to go.
Going to at least visit the universities (and the cities) is
very important, and often eye-opening!
All the best,
Bea x
