The offer-holder visit day that confirmed it all

Deciding which university to pick is a massive deal, and it definitely feels quite overwhelming. For me, the turning point was the University of Birmingham’s offer holder day. Even if you’ve already done a general open day, I found coming back a second time invaluable.

What first took me by surprise wasn’t even the academic side - it was the atmosphere! I happened to visit on the day of xpLosION, which is the second largest university sporting event in the UK. It completely changed my perspective on what student life could look like, as I experienced first-hand one of UoB’s exciting events. It feels very full circle to look back on now, as I’m part of the Cheerleading team and have actually ended up being part of that exact event for the last three years!

The most helpful part of the day was definitely the taster lecture. Being able to sit in a real lecture theatre and listen to a professor teach from an actual module from my course made everything feel real. It was really helpful to confirm that the course was right for me, and to get a feel for the style of teaching I would have at Birmingham.

Between the academic sessions, I went on a campus tour and walked around the local area, which is where I got a gut feeling that this was the right place for me! Seeing the accommodations and walking through the Green Heart helped me visualise my actual daily routine. I even went to the Edgbaston Market nearby, which gave me a great feel for the community outside campus. I also spent a lot of time chatting with current students. They were so honest and gave really good advice about my course, the university and student life.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone with an offer, it’s to just show up to the offer holder day. Whether you’ve visited before or haven't stepped foot on campus yet, it’s the best way to see if you can truly see yourself living and studying here. For me, it was definitely the final confirmation I needed to help pick my university.