Open Day Checklist

Coffee and a Welshcake

Every visitor at one of our Open Days will be greeted by a friendly member of staff, armed with refreshments vouchers for you to redeem a free hot drink and a yummy Welsh cake.  

Head over to registration to grab your voucher, head to one of our catering outlets, and prepare for the day ahead. You could even read this checklist as you’re doing just that! 

Plan your day

At registration, you’ll be given a programme which has timings of subject talks, accommodation tours and campus tours. It’s worth planning, even if it is only in your head, just to make sure that you don’t miss anything important.  

Things to consider:

• Time and Location of Subject Talks
• Time and Location of Accommodation Tour
• Time and Location of Campus Tour
• Locations of Information Stands

Know your goals

It’s a good idea to go to the open day with some things already in mind, such as: 

• Knowing the subject area of what you want to study. Perhaps you know that you’d like to study, but unsure of what specialism to follow.
• Understanding the different study options and what they mean for you, e.g., full time, part-time and sandwich years. 
• Does the course provide placement opportunities? 
• Is there equipment or facilities available to progress your studies? 
• How does the location suit you?

Chat to our student ambassadors

Our Student Ambassadors will be dotted around the campus at an Open Day to help you at registration, lead you through campus and accommodations tours, or delivering a subject or student life talk.  

If you’re after an honest, first-hand account of what being a USW student is like, these are the people to speak to! Ask them how they’re finding their course, student life and what USW is like generally.  

If you have further questions after the Open Day, you can chat to our Students online. 

Ask plenty of questions

An Open Day is a whole day of your time dedicated to a university, so it’s only right to make the most of it. Have a question? Ask it! Nothing will ever be too much trouble for us. 

If you’re attending a subject talk, and don’t feel comfortable to ask in front of others, the lecturer will be more than happy to have a chat afterwards, and they might even pass on their email address so that you can stay in touch going forward. 

If you have some questions in mind already, it might be worth making a note of them so that you don’t forget throughout the day.  

Take a campus tour

Our Campuses are far more than just lecture theatres. With 5 campuses across 3 locations, USW has plenty on offer. 

Reality is, you’ll be spending a lot of your time as a student on campus, so having a good explore is the key to making sure that it is somewhere that you’ll enjoy visiting. 

Our Treforest campus is also home to the Student’s Union which has a bar, night club and even a hair salon.  

View the accommodation

Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations.  

Choosing somewhere new to live may seem daunting and you probably have a lot of questions about accommodation options, how much it costs and how to apply. 

Most of our student ambassadors live or have lived in halls so have those first-hand experiences of what it’s like. Take the opportunity to have a good look at our accommodation on the day and our website has a lot of handy information too. 

Explore the area

Aside from the campus, the local area is also somewhere you might spend a lot of time. 

With campuses in and around Cardiff, you can experience the diversity that South Wales has to offer – the buzz of the cities, the beauty of the coast, and the calm of the countryside. 

Pencil in some time after the Open Day to explore the area and see what’s about. Maybe grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant or scour through the nearby shops.  

It’s also an idea to find out how far away the nearest public transport links are, pharmacies and even the nearest supermarket or corner shop.