When I was in my Leaving Cert year, open days were seen as respite – a break from the books, a trip to the big smoke, a day out with friends. If we happened to stumble upon a future career goal, happy days, but it wasn’t really the priority.

Thankfully, students are more clued in these days and take the whole experience much more seriously than in previous years. Colleges do too, and there are plenty of interesting and engaging elements of open days that not everyone knows about.

"Our open day was the busiest we ever had this year," says Niamh Connolly, marketing officer at NUI Galway. "We saw almost 8,000 students pass through our doors and there was a big increase in interest from people from Dublin and the east coast. I think that can be directly attributed to our move up the world university rankings this year.

“People are also making a full day or even weekend out of their trip; whole families come and explore the campus for the two days, so they get a real feel for what Galway and the university is like.”

Parents are playing an increasingly bigger part in the open day experience, and it is proving a great way for them to get to grips with the real cost and practicalities of sending their offspring to college.

Practicalities

“We have a full programme of talks specifically for parents, where they can find out the practicalities like accommodation costs, career prospects and support services,” says Connolly.

The same can be said for other colleges, too.

"What we have seen over the last number of years is a real symbiosis between parent and student. There is more family involvement in decision-making," says Frank Costello, head of admissions in DIT. "The whole process and dynamic has become weightier – there is more gravitas attached to it."

Sean Reidy, director of marketing at University of Limerick, agrees.

“Behaviour of students at open days has improved over the last three or four years. Students are more focused now and they are taking it quite seriously. They are asking more detailed questions and they are better briefed before they get here.”

“I think students are reading more now and are influenced by the media and the talk around education. They are more informed and we see that in the increase of the really serious, detailed questions they ask,” says Bríd Seoige of NUI Galway.

So, now you’re sufficiently scaremongered into bucking up and doing your research, what is actually out there to ignite your interest at open days?

You wouldn’t expect it but Hibernia College, the online blended learning college known for its teacher training courses, actually has a real, physical open day – and a fully virtual one too, of course. The next real-life open days for their teaching courses are on November 6th and 8th, in their Dublin offices on Fenian Street.

“As well as getting a feel for the set-up and surroundings of the college, the open day will give the opportunity to hear from a programme director and module leader, who will be giving a talk on the day,” says Jennifer Lee, marketing officer at Hibernia College.

They also have virtual open days in the form of webinars, which you can pre-register for on hiberniacollege.com.

College open days often have many hidden treasures, and it’s important to check out what they are before going along so that you can work them into your day (be sure to download any information packs the colleges have beforehand).

“This year [at NUIG] we had a robotic zone in the college of engineering and we also had an experience zone in the college of science where students could try out all kinds of experiments,” says Connolly.

“The physics department also ran a 3D tour of the universe which was a big hit with students.” NUIG has another open day in April.

In Limerick, there was a trampolining demonstration and in DIT the College of Culinary Arts gave guests the red carpet treatment by serving up all kinds of baked delights.

Best of all, though, was the dummy surgery which students took part in at NUIG.

“The school of medicine have an interactive stand with activities which included Simman, a simulated patient and a cardiac simulator, much like a dummy surgery,” says Connolly.

On a more practical note, students were invited to take a tour of an apartment in the student village accommodation at UL, and were guided there by an interactive app simply called “Limerick”, which the college developed to show students where they are on campus.

To give students a more complete orientation of the city, the University of Limerick also runs a shuttle bus between Mary Immaculate College and Limerick Institute of Technology so you can fit all three into one day.

Drama stand

In NUIG, the drama stand was particularly busy this year and that was due in no small part to the college's new partnership with Druid theatre, which gives drama students the opportunity to learn from Druid actors and director Garry Hynes.

“Our Druid partnership, which was launched last year, gives students a great opportunity to interact with people within the industry and gives them an increased awareness of the importance of the audience in their training,” says Connolly.

In DIT, Spin FM broadcasts a show including interviews with past students, while their portfolio workshops are a real success with applicants to their more practical courses.

“We have a special class for students who are thinking of applying to any of the courses which take a portfolio or aptitude test as part of the application process,” says Costello.

“Photography and architecture are good examples of these kinds of courses. At our open day each school runs a special workshop for students to guide them through preparing their portfolios.”

An important element of any open day, and an aspect which takes a little planning, is the series of talks which all colleges offer.

DIT runs a series of talks on Fetac links, an alternative entry route for students who don’t get the Leaving Cert points they need for their course. Others have talks for parents which are focused on practicalities – career prospects, placements and accommodation.

NUIG has a motivational talk, which is focused on sport. This year the motivational speaker was Eamon O’Shea, professor of economics at NUI Galway and Tipperary senior hurling manager, who spoke about sports scholarships and CAO performance points.

Oversubscribed 

It’s important to get in and register for talks you want to attend.

“As the courses vary in popularity, some of our larger talks often end up oversubscribed because there is such high demand,” says Reidy.

But what if you don’t know what course you’re interested in? Now is not a time to fret; having a good plan for your open day and knowing what is available on the day is the first step.

“The open day gives you a chance to really drill down your decisions. Even if you don’t know what you want to do, don’t panic because not everyone does,” says Costello.

So now you know the inside scoop: what to expect, what not to miss and how these days have changed over the years.

I hope you take them more seriously than I did, but don’t get too wrapped up in deciding your whole future in one day’s work, and take Costello’s advice: “Follow what you’re interested in, go to those talks, and there are so many ways to develop on that after – this is just the first step. If you follow what you’re instinctively interested in, you are bound do to do well in that field.”

Open days: Five events to note

Some open day events you might not have known about:

In DIT the school of engineering showcases its award-winning racing car projects, which current students have created as part of their course. See them at its open days on Dec 5th and 6th.

In UL, there is a second open day on Jan 10 th which gives a closer and more detailed look at career prospects and course specifics.

NUIG has a talk on “Women in Engineering”, in which female students give an insight into the courses. Its next open day is on Apr 25th.

At the DCU open day on Nov 15th, the students’ union will host the Student Survival Guide, which will walk you through all of the essentials of student life.

At the NCAD open day on Nov 26 th, there’s a chance to view first-year students’ entrance portfolios, to see for yourself what it takes to get a place in art college.