Most High School Sophomores Attend Open Campuses; Average of 4.3 Schools Visited - Prepare for the Summer Open Campus Season by Learning from Seniors' Experiences!

Kawai Juku's college entrance exam information site, Kei-Net, has released the results of a survey on university students' participation in open campuses. As the summer vacation, when many open campuses are held, approaches, please use this information to learn from how seniors participated.

[Survey Overview]

● Target Audience: Kei-Net Correspondents* nationwide

* University students, primarily Kawai Juku alumni, who cooperate with the survey.

● Survey Period: July-August 2025. Valid responses: 113. Target: First-year university students.

(Previous survey in November 2024: Valid responses: 190. Target: First to sixth-year university students.)

● Survey Method: Web-based questionnaire

Highlights

1. Most participants attended in their second year of high school (sophomore year). Many also attend in their final year of high school or after graduation.

2. When asked what they expect from open campuses, 85% responded that they want to "confirm the university's atmosphere."

3. The average number of open campuses attended per person is 4.3. More than half of participants attended four or more.

4. Parents were the most common companions. About 40% attended alone.

Survey Results

1. Grade Level When Attending Open Campuses

The most common grade level for attending open campuses was sophomore year of high school, with 71% of respondents. Many also attended in their final year of high school or after graduation, but early participation is recommended for carefully selecting target universities over time.

2. Expectations for Open Campuses

"Confirming the university's atmosphere" and "touring university facilities" ranked first and second, respectively. Open campuses provide information and a feel for the university that cannot be obtained from university brochures or websites alone. Furthermore, having a concrete image of your desired university can boost motivation for exam preparation.

3. Number of Universities Attended

The average number of open campuses attended per person was 4.3, with over half of respondents attending four or more. In addition to visiting universities in person, combining online participation allows for comparison of multiple universities, leading to a better choice of a suitable institution.

4. Companions at Open Campuses

Parents were the most frequent companions, indicating the importance of gathering information from a parental perspective in university selection. On the other hand, about 40% attended alone, which has significantly increased since the 2024 survey, suggesting the efficiency of solo visits. Leveraging the benefits of each approach seems to be key.

[Excerpts from Senior Open Campus Experiences]

• I was able to talk with current students about exams and university life.

• I think writing utensils are essential for taking notes.

• I missed out on events requiring advance registration because I didn't know the registration start date.

• It took a long time to ask questions because I hadn't prepared what I wanted to ask.

• Moving around the vast campus was tight on time because I didn't pre-select the places I wanted to visit.

Attending open campuses is an excellent opportunity to gather crucial information for comparing the characteristics of multiple schools and choosing the one that best suits you.

Kawai Juku's college entrance exam information site, Kei-Net, offers helpful information for attending open campuses on its "Let's Go to Open Campus!" page. It supports a fulfilling university selection process with tips for attending open campuses based on senior experiences and the "Open Campus Search" feature, which allows searching by university name, holding period, and area (see URL below).

Useful Information

Kei-Net "Let's Go to Open Campus!"

www.keinet.ne.jp/exam/tips/opencampus/

This section is packed with information useful for preparation, including a checklist for things to confirm on the day, titled "Before Going to an Open Campus," and the "Open Campus Search," a database of open campus information for over 700 universities nationwide, which supports your open campus utilization.

July 18 & 19: "Unifes University Joint Online Information Session 2026"

www.unifes.jp

This is a joint online information session featuring over 100 popular universities nationwide, held at the beginning of summer vacation. The secret to a satisfactory university choice is to first attend an online information session to compare universities of interest, and then visit the open campuses of universities you are particularly interested in. This approach combines the best of both online and in-person experiences.