An open day ends at four on a Saturday. By Saturday evening, applicants and their parents are sitting at kitchen tables comparing three universities, and the questions start. What grades exactly. Can she do a placement year. What does accommodation actually cost, including everything. Is that course taught on the main campus.
The admissions office reopens on Monday. The decision has largely been made by then.
The teardown: where interest leaks away
An open day creates a short window of high intent. During that window, the institution is closed. Applicants compare what they can find on websites, and the institution that answers is the one that stays in the conversation. Midnight admissions questions are covered in admissions questions that arrive at midnight.
What applicants ask
Applicants usually ask what the entry requirements are and whether equivalent qualifications count, what modules the course includes, whether there is a placement or year abroad, how the course is assessed, what contact hours look like, what accommodation costs in total, whether accommodation is guaranteed, what the deadlines are and how to contact the department.
What parents ask
Parents ask different questions: total cost including living expenses, safety, support services, employment outcomes, travel and how often their child can come home. Both audiences need answering.
Answer from published information
Course pages, fee tables, accommodation costs and deadlines are all published. The problem is that they are spread across dozens of pages and nobody can find them at 9pm. An assistant that answers from them turns a fragmented website into a conversation.
Applicant: Do I need a specific subject at A level for this course? Assistant: The course page lists the entry requirements, including the subjects required and the typical offer, along with the accepted equivalent qualifications. If your qualifications are not listed, admissions staff can check your specific situation, so I can pass your details to them.
Eligibility questions go to people
Whether a particular combination of qualifications meets an offer, whether a non-standard route is accepted and whether contextual admissions apply are decisions for admissions staff. The assistant captures the detail and hands over.
Fees and funding
Money decides many choices. Clear total costs, including accommodation, and links to official funding guidance, are covered in fees and funding questions from prospective students.
Answering from published information at any hour
SpideyChat for schools, colleges and universities answers course, fee and accommodation questions from the pages the institution already publishes, in the applicant's language, and passes eligibility decisions to admissions staff. For an applicant comparing options on a Saturday night, that is the difference between staying on the list and dropping off it.
The follow-up window
Institutions that capture questions on the evening of an open day, and reply first thing Monday with specific answers, convert dramatically better than those that wait to be contacted. Open house events in other sectors work identically, as described in open house questions before and after the weekend.
Clearing and deadline periods
At peak periods, volume overwhelms teams entirely. Routing urgent, deadline-driven enquiries separately protects the ones that cannot wait, using the thinking in after-hours emergency triage.
International applicants
Overseas applicants add time zones and language to the same problem. Replying in the applicant's language keeps them engaged.
Getting started
Make course, fee and accommodation information answerable at any hour, and capture questions during the open day window. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.