All you need to know about Oxbridge Open Days

It’s now that time in the application year when you need to start thinking about Open Days and narrowing down your university choices to five. If you are applying to Oxbridge, you have the added decision of which college to apply to. Check out the College Choice section or the Course Choice area of our free resources for further guidance on this.

Oxford and Cambridge run their Open Days slightly differently. Oxford tends to hold more faculty-based events, whilst Cambridge’s are more college-based. Both universities hold general Open Days when you’ll be able to turn up and pop in on most of the colleges.

However, we strongly advise that you do your research and book onto specific department and college Open Days that interest you so that when you come to fill in your UCAS form, you’re making informed decisions. With over 60 colleges and 80 courses between the two universities, choosing and booking onto the right Open Days can seem like a bit of a headache. We’ve pulled together all of the information you’ll need to make booking as straightforward as possible:

Oxford Open Days

The main Oxford University Open Day this year is intended to be held on Friday 18th September, dependent on current events. The timetable for the September Open Day will be available online closer to the date, where you can book a visit to whichever university department or college you are interested in. An outline of the programme can be found here. Oxford advises visiting at least one department and one college to give you a feel for what it would be like to study there as an undergraduate.

If you’re unable to book onto a specific college or department event due to limited availability, it’s still well worth visiting Oxford during the Open Days as there will be plenty of drop-in events for you to take advantage of. You can read more about planning your visit on the Oxford Open Day webpage.

Cambridge Open Days

The main Cambridge University Open Days will take place this year as Virtual Open Days due to recent current events and will take place on Thursday 2nd July and Friday 3rd July.

You will need to register in advance to attend the Virtual Open Days via the link above. Prospective students will have the opportunity to take a virtual tour of the University and Colleges. Alongside receiving insight into studying at Cambridge through live and pre-recorded webinars that talk about applying to Cambridge, student-life, courses and finance.

You can check out a list of frequently asked questions regarding the Virtual Open Days here.

Cambridge University are hoping to reopen for in-person Open Days later on in the year, allowing for full tours and the chance to meet with admissions tutors. Once these become available, we recommend that you book onto a specific college event. A full list of upcoming Cambridge College Open Days will be available here once published.

And when you get there. . . 

When you arrive in Oxford and/or Cambridge for the Open Days, there will be a lot to take in, dozens of questions on your mind and plenty of current undergraduates and members of the universities for you to meet.

Before you make the journey, have a read through our Open Day Guide and College Selection Shortlist, which are packed with useful tips on what you need to be thinking about when visiting your potential college.

UCAS have also posted a blog on how to get the most out of University Open Days. If you’re looking for more information on Open Days at other universities, the Open Days website is a useful resource.

Finally, for more information or advice on your application, you can get in touch with one of the team at Oxbridge Applications on 0207 499 2394 or by emailing info@oxbridgeapplications.com