Visiting the College
Prospective students are always welcome to visit the College independently. If you are planning a trip to Oxford especially to do this, it’s best to come for one of our open days. However, if you cannot make it to an open day, you’re always welcome to come and look around. Simply let our porters know you are a prospective applicant, and they will let you in. There is no need to make an appointment, unless you would like to speak to one of our admissions staff. If that’s the case, please contact us at admissions@balliol.ox.ac.uk.
For information on how to find us, please go to the Maps and directions page.
Open days
The Open days in 2012 will be held on 27th and 28th June and 14th September.
The open days are the perfect opportunity to get a feel for the College and to meet our tutors and students. Tours of the College will be running all day, and you are welcome to attend talks by subject tutors to find out more about the courses that interest you. There are also sessions for teachers and for parents/carers. Please click here for an example programme. You can also visit our special Admissions Drop-in Surgery where you will be able to ask questions about the admissions process, or simply to have an informal talk about applying to Oxford.
There will be plenty of chances to chat with current Balliol students, who help to run the open days, and will share with you their experiences of studying at Oxford. The student community at Balliol is lively and diverse, and we welcome applicants from all over the world and from the widest possible range of social, cultural, and educational backgrounds.
Our open days are designed especially to give you information about the College, and to help you make your choice of where to study. We invite you to join us, and look forward to meeting you at Balliol.
Please note that our open days coincide with many open days in departments and in other colleges, including the University's Science Open Days. Information about these is published on the University website.
How to book
If you are going to be in Oxford on the dates of our open days, you are welcome to visit us and to join in the talks and sessions that interest you. However, please note that attendance at the main admissions talk in the morning and lunch in College will be available only to those who have booked in advance (with details of any dietary requirements). The timetable of College Open Days allows plenty of time to visit other Colleges and departments while you are here; it is not necessary to book at more than one college, since only a limited number of the various events on offer require booking.
Please click on this link for the Booking Form.
We make every effort to cater for students with special needs and provide appropriate support. Please contact us in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements to make your stay with us enjoyable and useful.
Accommodation & meals
We provide a lunch free of charge for all of those who book. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements when filling in the booking form.
Accommodation is available for a limited number of students and staff, providing dinner, bed & breakfast at £20.00 per person per night. We regret that accommodation in College is now fully booked for the night of 27 June. Please note that we can take up to 8 students per school/college only, and that attendance, accommodation, and any dietary requirements must be booked in advance. Please note that the programme for students will be the same on all open days: there will be no advantage in attending on more than one day. We expect only those people whose journey is long to stay overnight (usually the night prior to the Open Day they wish to attend). The activities on each Open Day end at 3pm allowing most visitors sufficient time to make the return journey. Should your journey be particulary long and require a two night stay, please contact the admissions office at admissions@balliol.ox.ac.uk before booking.
Note for parents and guardians
Parents and guardians are welcome to bring prospective students to our open days, and to attend the parents’ session and a general question and answer session run by the Tutor for Undergraduate Admissions. The sheer volume of students attending, however, means that we are unable to provide meals or accommodation for parents and guardians. For information on where to stay in Oxford, please see Visit Oxford, the official website for visitor information on Oxford and the surrounding area.
Any questions?
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our Admissions Office at admissions@balliol.ox.ac.uk. We are always happy to help with your queries.