If you are attending a faculty or subject open day, make a list of colleges you are interested in so that you can see how far away your desired colleges are from where you will be studying every day. If it is a university-wide open day, get out a map of the the city and plan a feasible walking route or circuit from college to college!

The cities will be brimming with applicants and their parents to the point where the limited amount of car park spaces are flooded. To avoid disappointment get there as soon as possible or alternative take the car or train!

You may fall in love with the 15th century architecture, the beautiful chapels and the Hogwarts-esque ambiance, but it’s important to remain shrewd amongst the stunning beauty of Oxford and Cambridge! When visiting specific colleges, make sure to enquire about where you will be living for all three years of your degree. You may find that first year students live in a 1960’s office-style building on the other side of the city!

Academic staff and designated tour guides are definitely a fountain of knowledge from which to draw, but don’t forget to strike up conversations with any students you see.  They will be able to give you a more realistic sense of what is involved at a particular college or within the town itself which is information worth its weight in gold.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the flow of the tourist trail, visiting St. Catherine’s,  King’s, Trinity and St. John’s, and these colleges are beautiful and deserve your time looking round them. Our advice is to think wider than the typical tourist trail and visit colleges that are off the beaten path. Going to Cambridge, give Girton, Fitzwilliam and Churchill a look? If it’s Oxford, St. Hugh’s, St.Catherine’s or St.Hilda’s are worth a shot. It can be really helpful to visit the less well known colleges and there’s always the chance you will fall in love with their spaciousness, rolling fields and thriving communities.

Not to take away from how helpful organised open days can be, but we think it’s important to couple this with visiting the universities on regular days – especially during term time. Seeing students hurrying around on their bikes and heading to their classes and lectures will offer you the most truthful picture of what life is really like at the universities.