With the UCD Open Day only days away, First Year Commerce student Eilis Kenny takes a look back at why she came to the UCD Open Day when she was in 6th Year and how students can get the best out of the day
I believe Open Days are essential for students in deciding what university is the best fit for them. Deciding where you want to spend the next few years studying is a daunting prospect. I know I was overwhelmed with all the choices available to me and all the information that was provided to me this time last year. It was only when I physically went to the colleges, chatted with the current students and accessed the information that I specifically needed that this decision became clearer.
I’ve summarised the main reasons why I believe prospective students should come along to the UCD Open Day
- Get a feel for the Campus
It’s important to check out your surroundings and see if you’re comfortable with the environment of the university. You want to make sure it’s a place you can picture yourself attending. Explore the campus facilities as much as possible! Grab your friends or parents and make sure to walk around the lake, up to the sports centre, check out the student centre and the main restaurants in the Hopkins building. It’s also a good idea to use the map to locate and visit as many of the individual buildings as possible. UCD is a big campus, there’s always lots going on which makes it a very exciting place to be! You can go on a number of different campus tours on the day with UCD Student Ambassadors leaving from O’Reilly Hall.
- Meet Current Students
You can read up on the university as much as you like but nothing beats the insights you can gather from meeting with and talking to the actual students attending the university. At the open day you’ll meet lots of UCD students willing to share their first-hand experience of studying at UCD. You can ask them all the questions that are important to you (it may even simply just be about the social life in UCD!). Ask them what they’re studying, what they like best about their course and what they like least. Current students can also enlighten you on how they came to choose UCD, this may be extremely helpful to students who are currently considering UCD.
- Talk to the Lecturers
Lecturers are very passionate about the subjects they teach. If you want to truly find out what you’ll be studying if you choose a specific course, this is the perfect opportunity. You may be inspired by them or realise quickly that a certain course may not be for you. Either way this is a valuable opportunity to access information that you cannot get from other sources.
- The Practicalities
Other important factors to consider in making a university choice are transport, accommodation and finance. The Open Day is the best place to find out all this information. There’ll be information stands with lots of staff and students eager to answer any queries/ concerns you may have. Information about special services, grants and loans will also be very accessible at the Open Day
Before you arrive on campus make sure to have a look at the Open Day Booklet for this year to plan your day! You can find it here.
