University Open Day Questions to Ask About Studying Sports & Leisure

Whether you’re into your free weights, love a good swim, or you’re happiest on the football pitch, you might have considered a career in the sports industry.

There are a number of different degree subjects that fall under the broader category of Sports and Leisure including:

Sports Science
Sports Therapy
Sports Studies
Sports Physiotherapy
Sports and Leisure Management

Effectively all of these degrees look at how physical activity and sports impacts on our body and mental health. As well as learning about the human body, some courses also look at how to run a business in the sports industry – for example, as a self-employed personal trainer or as the manager of a leisure centre.

Generally these degrees start off giving you a broad overview of the industry and the issues within the industry, before allowing you to narrow down your field of study in the final year of your degree.

Graduates often go into career directly linked to the sports industry – such as coaching, teaching, or sports therapy – but others use their knowledge of the industry and the transferrable skills they’ve gained to go into non-sports related careers such as marketing and sales.

Many graduates also choose to go on to postgraduate study to gain qualifications in a specialism that really interested them during their degree, such as nutrition or sports psychology.

Why attend a university open day?

When you’re looking for degree courses in the Sports and Leisure category it’s important to research each course carefully to ensure that you’re going to be studying something you’re really interested in.

One of the best ways to research a university and their courses is to attend an open day. This gives you the opportunity to have a look around the campus and facilities, as well as talk to academic staff and current students.

Some universities split their open days into two different events – one day is a general open day for all applicants and one day is a departmental visit for applicants who have been made an offer.

Other universities have just one open day where you’ll spend part of the day on tours and talks around the campus and the rest of the day on tours and talks specific to your department.

This is your opportunity to find out things that aren’t in the prospectus, so make the most the day and ask plenty of questions.

University open day questions to ask about studying Sports and Leisure:

General questions about university life

How do the costs actually break down? How much money will you need to survive?
Is a place in Halls guaranteed? What accommodation is available off-campus?
To what extent will you need / be able to find part-time work?
What's on offer in terms of cheap student deals / nights out / places to eat?
How far will you have to travel to get into university and around town?
Can you bring a car?

About the application process

What grades do you need to apply for Sports and Leisure?
Which qualifications and combinations of qualifications do you accept / prefer?
If they use the UCAS tariff, will they count all your qualifications?
How do they select which candidates to make offers to?
What do they look for in your application and personal statement?
Can they recommend any reading or activities to inform your personal statement?
Do they hold interviews or is selection based on your UCAS application?

About your graduate prospects

How will the course make you more employable?
Do they offer or arrange placements within the Sports and Leisure industry?
What have previous students gone on to do after graduating?
What proportion of Sports and Leisure students go on to postgraduate study? Do you need to a postgraduate course to get a job?
Do they know what past students are doing two or three years later?
What careers guidance facilities are there?
Do they run job fairs?

Questions to ask current Sports and Leisure students

What are the best and worst things about the university?
How have you found the Sports and Leisure course?
What are the teaching / facilities / support / field trips like?
Are some halls of residence better than others?
What is the university town / city like?
What are the non-academic facilities like on campus?