Open Day Information
Attending university open days is a great way to get a taste of university life.
By booking one of our open day's here at Queen's University, students will have a chance to explore the university as well as Queen's Quarter and Belfast city. Here's everything you need to know to help a young person plan and ensure they get the most out of their open day experience.
Here at Queen's, we offer two open days per year (September and June), but if you can't make it to our open day, you can check out the series of online and in-person events that happen throughout the year, book a campus tour which are available all year round if you can't make it to the open day, or you can take a virtual tour.
A successful open day trip is all about the preparation. Help your young person plan their day by taking a look at our map to get a feel of our campus.
Belfast is an extremely walkable city, and the city centre is only a 15 minute walk from the main campus. Queen's University has limited parking, however visitors can also park in the surrounding areas. It's advised to leave early to ensure you get a space. Bus and train services are also available close to campus.
At this stage, you want to ensure you help your young person have a rough plan for the day, for example, is there a particular school they wish to speak to or do they want to visit our accommodation.
If you or your young person have any special requirements or disabilities, please contact the university.
The university will send everything your young person needs ahead of time including addresses, schedules and more information.
It's only natural that your young person will come away with prospectuses, leaflets and freebies, so take enough bags to put things in. It's also good to advise them to work comfortable shoes as there will be a lot of walking on the day.
It's good for prospective students to have someone come with them to the university open day to help point out things they might miss or ask questions they might not have thought of. However, if you are attending the open day it's important not to ask all the questions on behalf of your young person.
The open day experience can be overwhelming for many students so it's important to factor in breaks and when you are going to stop to eat to digest the information.
All our open days are on campus, so this will give your young person a chance to try out the university's eateries and coffee shops, as well as where to eat in the surrounding area.
An open day is a great opportunity to speak to current students at Queen's. Typically, there will me a mix of students in first, second or third year attending the open days and as they were in your young person's shoes a few years ago, they'll relate more to your young person.
They will also hear first-hand what the course they're interested in is actually like and might find it more reassuring to speak to someone their own age. Students will also be able to answer any questions about what life in Belfast is like and share some of their stories about student life.
Things don't end when you leave the campus.
Once you're back home, it's important to take time to reflect on the experience with your young person to help them understand what aspects of the university they liked or disliked, whether they will feel comfortable living and studying in the university, and also might prompt some further research or questions to ask in any future interactions they have with staff or students at the university.
