Event

October Open Day

Undergraduate, postgraduates and family members - everyone is welcome at our on-campus Essex Open Day.

  • Sat 26 Oct 24

    09:00 - 16:00

  • Colchester Campus

    Sports Arena

  • Event type

    Open Days

  • Event organiser

    Corporate events

  • Contact details

    Open Days team

Our Open Day is a chance for you to see the true spirit of Essex, the place you might be calling home.

 

Think street food huts, mocktails, live music and society demonstrations. Head outside to the Squares in the heart of campus and soak up the atmosphere of student life on campus, meet our Students' Union, find a society you'd like to join and chat to it's members.

Academics will be available to chat to one-on-one so that you can learn more about the courses you're interested in, and you'll be able to learn more at a subject talk with an academic teaching on the course. For a real taste of the student experience, pop into a taster lecture too!

Our campus is pretty huge, so it's a good idea to join a Campus Tour which are run by students who can show you their favourite spots. We also have a huge variety of accommodation for you to take a look around, and speak with students living there this year.

Check in opens at 9am and the day finishes at 4pm. Bring along your friends and family and get to know Essex. We can't wait to meet you!

Book onto our Open Day

Book your place for one of our on-campus Open Days and we'll make sure you have all of the information you need to make the most out of your day.

Book your place

Programme

To make sure you don't miss anything on the day, take a look at the programme (.pdf) and get planning.

What you can expect on the day

  • Talks - general talks and subject tasters will run throughout the day
  • Tours - we will be running campus tours and accommodation viewings to showcase our beautiful campus and wide range of accommodation
  • Discover your subject - meet academics from your subject and chat informally
  • Chat with Student Services - in our Sport Arena, speak to teams such as Student Finance, Accommodation and Admissions
  • Experience student life - on our Squares we will have a wide range of activities to show you our vibrant student community and you'll get to meet students and chat with them about their experiences
  • Lots of things to get your hands on - free candy floss, goody bag on arrival and the chance to win a mystery box
  • Get into the Essex spirit - take part in some fun activities and then head to our stage to take a load off whilst listening to live music from local artists 

Quiet check-in and spaces

Alongside our main locations for the day, we also have a variety of quiet spaces and a quiet check-in available - we know sometimes a break away from the crowds is what's needed!

To access the quiet check-in, follow the signs towards the Sport Arena and keep an eye out for a pink gazebo with a "Quiet check-in" sign. This check-in area is specifically dedicated for those who may find our busier "main" check-in area overwhelming or have specific additional requirements for attending the event.

We will have a number of quiet spaces located around Campus which will be signposted on the day, but if you're having trouble finding them, please ask a member of our friendly staff or a Student Ambassador and they will be able to help. 

Accessibility on our Open Day

We've created a collection of short, accessible videos to help you find your way around campus on the Open Day, highlighting step-free access routes.

If you or your guests have any special requirements, please email us in advance so we can make sure your visit is as smooth as possible.

The University is set across various levels, so please check out our Access Guide for further information or step-free routes around campus. Staff and Student Ambassadors will also be based in all main areas to assist you on the Open Day.

Toilets will be located in all main venues and gender-neutral toilets can be found in Students' Union on Square 3.

Ask us anything!

We want to make sure you have the best Open Day so if you have any questions about your visit or need any information ahead of the day please feel free to contact us.

Email us at opendays@essex.ac.uk.

Getting to us

Travelling by car

Whether approaching our Colchester Campus from London and the South or Ipswich and the North via the A12, take the exit marked Colchester (A133). Follow the A133 towards Clacton-on-Sea, ignore the entrance to the Knowledge Gateway, continue along the A133 then take the B1028 for Wivenhoe before turning right onto Boundary Road.

Parking

Please follow the Open Day car parking signs which will lead you to our allocated visitor parking, in Multi-storey car park. Parking during our Open Day is free. Our patrol staff should be on hand to show you where to go. The address of our Colchester Campus is:

University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester
CO4 3SQ

If you are using a SatNav, please use the following postcode, CO4 3FA as this will direct you to the south side of our Colchester Campus, where you'll find Multi-storey car park.

There are roadworks taking place outside of the University, although please use the above postcode and no diversions will be needed.

Travelling by bus or train

There are frequent trains from London Liverpool Street Station to Colchester with connections to Ipswich, Norwich, Felixstowe, Harwich and beyond.

We have three train stations in Colchester: Colchester Town, Colchester Hythe and Colchester North Station (also referred to as Colchester Main Station). Colchester North Station is the largest and has the best bus and taxi links so we recommend using this station. There is a taxi rank and bus stop at the station. The following buses will lead you to campus:

Route 87

Route S1

Further information about bus travel in Colchester can be found on the First Bus website and more information about travelling to our Colchester Campus can be found here.

Free Greater Anglia train tickets

We've partnered with Greater Anglia to provide our prospective students with a free train ticket to attend our Open Day. You can claim one Greater Anglia off-peak day return ticket on the date of the Open Day from your nearest Greater Anglia home station to Colchester. Applications for the train ticket must be made at least 5 working days before the date of the Open Day. You will be able to add on accompanying tickets for any guests you're bringing with you. These tickets will be charged at the correct and current journey price.

To find out more information and apply for your ticket, visit the Greater Anglia website. You'll need to add a discount code at checkout to claim the free ticket - use code 'UoECOL'.

Travel bursary

We appreciate that travelling to university events can be expensive and with rising costs, we want to ensure that as many of our prospective students as possible are able to visit us. We are therefore offering a bursary of up to £75 to help with travel costs to our Open Days.

Take a look at the terms and conditions (.pdf) and travel bursary form (.pdf). You can fill in the form and bring it with you on the day, or we will have some available for you to fill out when you arrive.

Find out how to get to our Colchester campus here.

Discounted accommodation

To allow you to soak up the atmosphere on campus, we are offering discounted student accommodation either the night before the Open Day (25 October) or the night of the Open Day (26 October). Each room is a single en-suite bedroom for single use, costing £40, including breakfast in our Canteen restaurant.

Bookers under the age of 18 years old will need to be accompanied by adult, staying in a separate room.

To secure your discounted room, visit this link and use the promotion code "VIP".

Get in touch
Our Open Days team
Telephone: +44 (0)1206 876818