Online Open Days vs Campus Open Days

You know you want to attend an open day (good choice!) but you have two options – online or on campus. Making the excursion to the university itself might be a travel dilemma and online events are stereotyped as boring. What do you do?

To help you make a more informed decision, I spoke with two students who attended the open days, about their experiences online vs real life.

Online open days:

Why?

Sophie* is from France and is doing her masters in Nutrition and Health. She decided to attend the online open day as it made it logistically easier, in terms of saving money for travelling to Wageningen and it fitted her schedule better. At the time, she has also already made a final decision on her study choice and did not want to explore any other options.

How?

Before the online event, you can sign yourself up online via the university’s website and keep an eye on WUR’s social media. After signing up you will receive all the details and links regarding the online event by email.

Sophie signed up for a talk that lasted about an hour online. Here, all the basic information was given regarding the university and a general overview of the specific study choice was given. A student studying the programme also told a bit about her experience. Afterwards, there was the chance to ask any remaining questions by using your computer’s microphone or by using the chatbox.

Satisfied?

Sophie says that she enjoyed the online open day because it was so efficient and to the point. She got all the information she needed for planning her study, and also had her questions answered quickly. She liked the fact that there was also a student online who answered and talked about her own experience. This made the experience feel more ‘real’.

 

Advantages of online:

• Easily accessible for everyone, no matter where you are.
• Time efficient, you get an ‘in-person’ version of the overview of the university and your study of choice.
• Practical, as it does not require a lot of time, and your questions get answered live by a student or study coordinator as fast as possible.
• If you live in another country, you can already get an idea of Wageningen University and your study choice, without having to already travel to the Netherlands.

Disadvantages of online:

• You do not get the full impression of the university/ city.
• You only hear a one-sided experience.
• The possibility to look at other options at the university is less spontaneous.
• You do not experience the vibe and feel of the university, the students and the lecturers.

On campus open days:

Why:

Ben* is from Belgium and is currently doing his masters in Animal Sciences. He also already knew that he would like to study this specific master’s, however, he wanted to get an overview of the University – and his family were also curious to know where he would be going!

How?

The same as for the online event, you register online for the open day and you then receive all the information by email. You also get a schedule of the activities and talks throughout the day, so you can plan and sign up for those that you would like to join.

Ben attended a talk hosted specifically for international students covering the general overview of the university ( institution fees, housing, books etc.) and also a meeting specifically for Animal Sciences, giving an overview of the study, structure and related opportunities. At both these talks there were a coordinator and a student present to answer questions.

Satisfied?

“I enjoy the people, they were very kind but also the speaker was very enthusiastic, that was really impressive” – Ben.

Besides getting more information on the university and the different studies, you can also attend a tour through the buildings on campus and also the sports centre, next to the campus. As you are then already in Wageningen, you can easily visit the city center and get an idea of the surroundings here/ make a drive past the student housing complexes offered by Idealis.

 

Advantages of on campus:

• You get the full picture of the university and the city.
• Feel even more motivated to study in Wageningen as you have already spoken to some people – the new ‘student life’ may feel more tangible.
• Your family have a better impression of what you are going to do.
• Easy to explore more of the options the WUR has to offer.
• Even more room for asking questions.

 

Disadvantages of on campus:

• Not flexible, as it is held on a specific date.
• Time-consuming, and may feel less to the point if you are already sure about your study choice and read up already about the university/ study.
• Inconvenient, as you have to travel to the campus itself and this can be expensive/ require a lot of time.

Open days, the breakdown

As seen, you can’t go wrong with either of the two options when it comes to open days. Both have pros and cons, it is just up to you what fits your schedule and what expectations you have. The online days are scheduled short and to the point to avoid a tedious sitting in front of the screen and promote interaction, whereas the on campus open days are well scheduled and provide a lot of possibilities to engage with the university.

Have you been to one of the open days or are you planning to attend one? Which option will you choose? Let us know in the comments!

 

*Fictitious names used.