Students’ Union president Daniel O’Toole gives a taster of what was on offer:

During Open Day we spoke to prospective students and asked them what questions they might have about student finance. We then went off and found the expert to answer those questions!

Earlier today we caught up with prospective student Rod and his father Romilly who travelled down on the train from London today. Rod wants to study International Management with French.

Having visited the campus before on a hockey tour, Rod is impressed with the sports facilities. He  said he likes the campus, as it looks as though “there’s lots of space to chill out” and would love to come here if he gets the grades; Bath is one of his first choices.

Getting here on public transport today, Romilly was impressed with the bus service and the welcoming committee when they arrived.

Asking Rod about his future plans – he says he would like a career in international business. Romilly said “He’s going to be CEO of L’Oréal – because he’s worth it!”

Jayne, her husband and son travelled down from Birmingham this morning. They arrived really early so they had no trouble parking, and had breakfast in one of the cafés on the Parade (the main concourse of the University).

We chatted whilst her son was in the Psychology department taking part in an experiment. Before his talk they visited the information fair and met a member of academic staff from the Psychology department.

Jayne and her husband like the campus and have so far visited the Sports Training Village and Accommodation. Their son particularly liked Woodland Court.

Adding a European feel to our afternoon, we chatted to Laura who has travelled with her mother from Karlsruhe in Germany. Currently attending an international school, she would like to study European Studies and Modern Languages, or maybe International Relations with Politics.

It’s obvious that choosing the right university is really important to Laura and her family – they have also visited Birmingham, UCL, Kent and King’s College London and have a trip to Manchester tomorrow! It’s great to hear Laura say how beautiful she thinks the city of Bath is and that she is impressed with our campus, especially the sports facilities.

We have a large community of international students studying here and it’s always good to meet students who have travelled to the UK to come to open days. Laura is also applying to  universities in Austria, Holland and Germany, but would like to come to England because German universities don’t offer courses in European Studies and Modern Languages (ESML). The nearest alternative is Politikwissenschaften (political sciences) but that doesn’t cover as much ground as ESML.

Studying in English will be useful for her career, which she hopes to pursue in diplomatic services for the United Nations or the European Parliament. She has studied English since first grade in international school, and also speaks German, French, Spanish and Russian.

We attended one of the talks on offer on campus today. This was a talk given by Matt, VP for Education, and David, VP for Welfare and Diversity. The Students’ Union supports student societies, offers opportunities for volunteering, advice and welfare services, and runs the campus bars and student entertainment. It’s the collective voice of students, and being involved in it can gain you excellent skills for your future career.

Continued…

We had a quick chat with Emily Ralph and Lydia Phipps – two friends who have come to the Open Day together.

How are you finding the Open Day so far?

Lydia: It’s good, I actually came to the Open Day in June too.

Do you know what courses you would like to study?

Lydia: I want to study Biology

Emily: I want to study a Sports course but I’ve not decided which one yet. There are lots of different types of courses I could do.

Is there anything specific you’d like to find out about?

Emily: The accommodation definitely.

Lydia: I’d like to speak to some of the lecturers and I’m also hoping to look around the labs.

On Open Day we like to get out and about and find out what our visitors think of the day so far – and find out what makes them tick!

Walking around the campus it’s great to see how many parents have come along for the day. We chatted to some to find out what they wanted to get out of today.

Richard Wright has come along with his son Will.

What do you think of the Open Day so far?

It’s really well organised, nice to be met and greeted with suitable parking!

Why did you want to come along today?

I want to be sure that my son understands the full details of studying such a specialised subject – Chemical Engineering. I want to make sure he’s asked all the right questions  and can make an informed decision.

Is there anything specific you wanted to see today?

I just want to be happy that Will has seen everything he needs to make the right decision: accommodation, how far is it to the local nightlife, and as he’s really into sports we wanted to look at the sports facilities.