Open days have a familiar rhythm. You find a park (eventually), grab a map, follow the balloons to a lecture theatre and listen to a very upbeat student ambassador. By lunchtime you’ve got a lanyard, a tote bag of course guides and a sausage sizzle in hand. Then you’re halfway home before anyone realises the questions that really mattered never got asked.
Most families stick to ATAR cut-offs and parking. Fair enough. Neither tells you much about what your teenager’s week would actually look like once classes start, though. A few less obvious questions can, and most of them take under a minute.
What does a typical day look like in first year?
Start with the timetable. How many hours a week are students on campus, and are those hours spread across the week or packed into a couple of long days? How much is recorded or online? A student with two campus days and everything else on a laptop is going to have a very different year from one who’s there most mornings.
Some teenagers manage their own time brilliantly. Others need a bit of structure, at least at first.
Class time is only part of the workload. Ask how much independent reading, preparation and assessment students should expect each week, as the transition from school can take some getting used to.
Who will be teaching them?
This one can feel a little cheeky to ask, which is exactly why it’s worth asking. Some first-year subjects involve large lectures, while others offer smaller tutorials and more direct contact with teaching staff. Ask how large first-year tutorials usually are, how students can contact lecturers outside class, and who typically teaches introductory subjects.
Then find a couple of current students near the coffee cart and ask them the same thing. They’ll usually tell you straight. If their answers differ a bit from the official line, that’s useful to know.
What if the course turns out to be wrong?
Nobody wants to think about this on a sunny open day, but it happens all the time. A course that seemed perfect in Year 12 doesn’t always feel the same by the middle of first semester.
Find out whether students can change majors or move into another degree, and whether completed subjects carry across. There are usually rules, and a switch can mean extra fees or a later finish, so get the details rather than vague reassurance.
Some degrees build flexibility into the first year through electives or shared subjects, which makes a later change simpler. For a seventeen-year-old who feels like this decision is forever, hearing that it isn’t can be a genuine relief.
How is the university run?
Most Australian universities are public, while others are private. Some private universities operate as not-for-profit organisations, meaning their revenue is reinvested into the institution rather than distributed to owners. Asking whether a university is public or private is easy enough. Asking what that means for its students is where it gets interesting.
Bond University on the Gold Coast is one example. It was Australia’s first private NFP University and is known for its small-group teaching approach. For students who value more direct contact with teaching staff, that may be worth considering.[ Fees are an important part of the comparison, so families should look at the total cost of their chosen degree alongside the learning environment and available support. The point is simply that universities are not all set up the same way.[
On fees generally, it helps to ask every university the same questions. What will the whole degree cost? What scholarships or financial assistance are available, and what are the eligibility requirements? Are students eligible for a HELP loan, and which fees would it cover?
How long will it take?
Three years for a bachelor’s degree, right? Not always.
Bond and some other universities run three semesters a year, which can allow eligible students to complete certain degrees in less time. That means more weeks of study each year, not less work, which suits some students better than others. Double degrees go the other way and often stretch to four or five years, and part-time study can make sense for students who need to work.
If your teenager is itching to start earning, or already has a gap year pencilled in, these timelines matter.
What support is there?
At some point, something will go wrong. A missed deadline. A flat tyre on exam morning. A week where everything feels like too much.
So ask what happens then. Is there academic help for first-years, such as writing support or drop-in sessions? How long is the wait to see a counsellor? Do new students get paired with a mentor from a later year? A university that answers quickly and specifically has usually thought about it. A vague answer tells you something too.
What about life outside class?
Friendships, clubs, sport and part-time jobs shape the uni years just as much as lectures do. Ask how first-years meet people and how active the clubs and societies are. If your teenager is moving from another city, ask about accommodation and what help is on offer in those first few weeks.
Could they actually picture themselves there?
Open day is the campus on its best behaviour, with bands, free food and blue skies. Ask your teenager to imagine the same place on a grey Monday morning with an assignment due and nobody handing out lollies. Up here it’s more likely to be a sticky February afternoon, but you get the idea. If it still feels right, that’s a good sign.
Think about the trip, too. Travel time, parking and public transport all add up over a few years, and a long commute can wear down even the keenest student.
Let your teenager lead
It’s easy for parents to take over. You’ve done the reading and you’ve probably got a list. That’s helpful, but try to let your teenager do most of the asking. Agree on two or three questions each before you go, then compare notes in the car on the way home.
No one needs to find the perfect university in a single visit. The goal is for your teenager to walk away knowing a bit more about what they want, and feeling sure that the choice is theirs.
