Parents and university open days

Should you go with your child to a university open day?

You can, but it isn’t essential. Your child should take the lead when visiting universities as they’ll be the ones studying and maybe living there.

• If you do go, be there for support, but make sure you take a step back. See our list of suggestions below on how you can help.
• If you don't go, you can always take a peek at what the uni is like by visiting the virtual tours on our sister site, Whatuni.

How can you help as a parent on a university open day?

There are a number of things you can do to help your child get the most out of an open day.

• Remind them to book their visit and pick the talks and tours they fancy attending.
• Get them thinking about questions they might want to ask while they're there.
• Help organise transport if they're visiting a campus – why not team up with other parents whose children are going to the same open day and take turns driving?
• Have a plan – think ahead about what you want to keep an eye out for, such as the standard of accommodation.
• With two of you, you can plan to see things separately and cover more than if you do everything together.
• If there's a queue, save some time by holding a spot while your child's busy with something else.
• Check out lectures for parents – it's a great chance to get answers to any questions you've got.
• Take notes of anything important in case your child forgets later on.
• Stay objective – you can give your opinion but remember that your child's thoughts are more important than yours in this case.
• Stay in the background and try not to embarrass them in front of university staff and other visitors.

What's most important is to be supportive and positive. The role of the parent on open days is to be a calm observer, providing help when needed.