The WA University Open Day season is almost upon us. All Western Australian universities hold open days in July/August to showcase their campuses and courses.
These days are an excellent opportunity for potential students to “get a feel” for each campus culture, discuss course options with course convenors and participants. Beyond the courses, there’s an opportunity to find out more about university life, scholarships and extra-curricular activities within each university.
For students who are yet to complete high school, this is an excellent way to introduce university life and get a feel for the different communities working within each campus. The higher education world is a lot different from most school environments and can be daunting for young adults.
Others who may be considering a return to study after a break will also find the “ice-breaker” effect of visiting the open days helpful. It’s one thing to be told that student cohorts are a mixed bag of ages and stages of life, with many having a high mature age cohort. It’s entirely another to see it in action and perhaps meet other mature-age students to discuss their experiences.
If you’re considering higher education, but feel that you don’t have the ATAR or other qualifications to get into a course, there’s plenty of information on offer regarding alternative pathways and highly supportive staff you can discuss your options with.
If you’re interested in attending, the dates for the WA institution open days are listed below, with links direct to the univeristys’ websites:
Be sure to make a day of it. Many campuses are large and the amount of information available can be overwhelming. Visiting the planning pages on the websites in advance can assist in identifying the key learning areas you would like to pursue and planning out your progress through each campus.
I’ve been attending university open days for several years now (often with my children, since they were in primary school). It’s an opportunity to cut through the gloss of websites and prospectuses and talk to convenors and lecturers about the courses they are teaching and students to ask them what they are gaining from their studies.
A final thought, if you can’t make the open days, every campus provides opportunities to undertake campus tours at other times and these can generally be arranged via Student Services within each university.