Niki Chesworth

Once you have selected the ones you want to visit (you may struggle to fit in more than five or six), find out when they are holding open days. These are a great way to get a better feel for what it is like to study at a particular university as you will have an opportunity to tour the campus, talk to the academic staff and existing students. You generally need to book open days, so do not leave this to the last minute.

Plan your journey: this will give you an idea of what it will be like to travel there and back.

Plan your day: find out what tours and meet and greet sessions are being offered. Book up anything you need to in advance — for example, the subject talks, taster sessions or sample lectures. You don’t want to go all that way and find you cannot attend a taster event.

Leave enough time for the campus tours, a tour of the accommodation, facilities that interest you (the gym or perhaps the student union venues) and the town and city itself.