UCAS Fairs are a great place to kick off your university research. They’re happening all over the UK between March and July, so there’s bound to be one happening near you.
If you are in sixth form or college, check with your tutor if you are booked to attend as a group. Alternatively, you can register to attend a fair individually.
Be prepared
Search for courses you are interested in before the UCAS fair. Even if you just have a general course area in mind, it will give you a good starting point.
You may also want to consider where you want to study, for example, do you want to be within an hour’s train journey to your home town? Or do you want to move far away?
Before the day you should plan ahead – factor some time into your schedule to attend any workshops and talks that are on offer on the day.
Be well equipped
Take a notepad and pen with you on the day, you’ll be finding out lots of information and it’s good to keep track of which University said what.
It’s also a good idea to take a sturdy backpack to keep all of the course materials and prospectuses you might want to take home with you, not to mention all of the freebies that will be on offer on the day.
Ask lots of questions
This is the perfect chance for you to get all of those nagging questions answered by representatives from each University you are interested in. Here are just some of the questions you might want to ask:
- Is it a campus or city university?
- When is the next open day?
- What facilities will you have access to in the department?
- Is your course accredited by any professional bodies?
- Is there the opportunity to take a year in industry?
- What links does the university have with employers?
- Are there opportunities to study abroad?
- Are there lots of social activities/sports clubs to get involved with?
- What type of accommodation is on offer?
Keep an open mind
You may have a few universities in mind already, however, try to keep an open mind on the day. You might stumble across a city or university you didn’t originally consider that can offer you the perfect course and lifestyle.
Be independent
Don’t just follow your friends on the day, seize this opportunity to have all of your questions answered from the universities you’re interested in.
After the day
Once you get home after a hectic day of fact-finding, review all of your notes and brochures that you collected. It’s a good idea to create a list of actions for further research such as looking at university websites and booking onto open days.
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