Gave a very polite 'F*** you' to an art lecturer after horrible interview experience

[Tulvander]

So last month, I applied for an Art and Design Foundation Course (Level 5) at my local college. I had a BTEC Level 2 Art and Design Certificate from 2014 which I received a D*. Had a GCSE B in English and GCSE C in Math. I even got into a Foundation Course (Level 5) in the same college after completing my Level 2 Art and Design because I was really good at what I did but had to drop out because of family circumstances.

Fast forward 10 years and I have decided to go back to education. For this particular college that I am applying to, my current grades meant that I did not meet the full requirements to enter the course but as long as I can provide a great portfolio, I wouldn't have a problem. I applied and was then invited for an interview which happened a couple of days ago. Prior to this, I had contacted the lecturer to let them know of my circumstances: Mature student, has a kid, need to work part time, require help with student finance, would like to go university to become an illustrator...yada yada. She replied back and her response to my message was pretty blasé and she even told me that I should try doing a Level 2/3 course in art and design rather than applying for a foundation in college. I politely replied and said that I currently have a level 2 certificate and for a mature student such as myself, it would make more sense to enter the foundation course. I explained that I have a portfolio and that I have done a lot of large artworks for companies in the past so I don't get why she wants me to redo my studies to which she did not respond back.

Come the interview day and everything was quite unorganised. We had to be moved from a small room to a larger room because we couldn't all fit. Eventually, students were taken away in dibs and dabs for interviews. This all started at 3:30pm. It was already 4:30pm and I was still not seen to so I patiently waited and even took my laptop out to watch some series to calm my nerves. I was so freaking nervous because I really wanted the lecturers to see that i was a capable individual with talent. 5:00pm and I was still in the room; the place was half empty already and most of the people there were parents waiting on their kids. It wasn't until it was 5 30pm that a student ambassador asked if everyone was seen to and when every parent said yes, I said no. He asked for my name and discovered that someone had accidentally marked me as 'interviewed'! I was waiting this whole time for nothing! He immediately let a lecturer know and this was at 6:00pm! The guy was apologetic but everything was rushed. I was only interviewed for less than 20 minutes and, despite being impressed with my portfolio, he didn't even say or ask much about my work because he was rushing to get the interview done. He said that after seeing my portfolio and hearing me talk a little, I had successfully passed the interview and that he would offer me a place in the college but I felt like I didn't even earn it. I left the place crying because I felt like all my hard work had been for nought.

I got an email today from the lady lecturer who I first contacted and she apologised for her colleague's mistake. Apparently, he shouldn't have offered me the place without a conditional offer task because I didn't have a Level 3 qualification so she had asked if I could come meet her next week. I replied to her saying that it wasn't her colleagues fault and that if the admin hadn't made that error, I could have been given more time to show my skills and prove myself. The whole experience brought me to tears and I no longer wish to apply for the course because I did not feel an ounce of sincerity, compassion, and dedication from the lecturers when I told them about my goals. I felt fobbed off and all I did was waste my time.

I have another interview with a lecturer from the same college but for a different course this time and she sounded way more kind, knowledgeable and dedicated in providing help to her students.

Did you have something like this happen to you before? Let me know.

It sounds a bit disorganised. So the person interviewing you didn’t take all the info into account and should have gone into more depth? Or was he not in a position to offer you a place? But I wouldn’t get upset about it. I would have spoken up earlier about not being seen rather than just waiting until the end. Then their mistake would have been picked up sooner. You may feel she is lacking compassion but if you wrote to her in the same detail you have here, you may have waffled a bit.

Not sure but from reading that, maybe the lecturer thinks you should do the level 2/3 course again as you only got a D?

sounds like a communication error somewhere

She means D as in distinction

It's not uncommon for courses to be this disorganised. When they are this bad at interview the course itself is often a shambles.

Personally I'd write the course off and go do something where they are a bit more organised.

It's not uncommon for courses to be this disorganised. When they are this bad at interview the course itself is often a shambles.

Agree there.
Same with universities. The way they conduct open days etc… tells you a lot about the way the university is run.
id concentrate in the other course tbh.

Distinction star!!!

If it helps you to keep your options open, sometimes the best fuck you is doing something people were doubtful you can do and aceing it.

Changing your plans because of them is giving them a bit of power if you know what I mean. Rate yourself, know you’ll smash it (given your experience) and pick the course you want without thinking of them.

(though I do also understand the thinking that the course may be a mess if the interviews are so chaotic, just wanted to give another view).

Sorry you had a bad experience, but everyone has off days. You weer offered a place on the course. You should have gone to the Dean and explained that. It would be unlikely that the the offer would have been rescinded at that point, they don't like bad public relations. It's all water under the bridge now though, so chalk it up to experience.

It sounds like a complete shambles but you have really cut your nose off to spite your face.

They were disorganised but you are cutting off your nose to spite your face and were unprofessional in your communications with that lecturer. You are an adult and overworked, underpaid FE lecturers do not exist solely to provide you with "sincerity, compassion, and dedication" for your goals. I completely get why this was nerve wracking and disappointing for you but you need to be realistic about what adult education looks like and can provide you with.

Sorry this happened to you OP. Try not to take it personally. One of the many things that I remember at 03:00 and keeps me awake with my toes curling is me conducting interviews when I was younger. I had no idea what I was doing, and was terribly immature. You'd hope that interviewers would be in control of the situation, but I expect there are some out there who are as useless at it as I was.

Just a couple of points.

Art education is incredibly critical. My DD would have crits every Friday in term time. One degree lecturer would have their photographs set out on the floor and walk all over them whilst picking out some for the artist to explain and then he would pull them apart. Be prepared for this, if you are quite sensitive or nervous generally. In my daughters case, she can look back and it did make her tougher and improve her work so it was the best she could produce. She is fabulous in arguing her case now shes an adult!

Because Art education involves a lot of research and academic writing, and discussion, they want you to be at the right academic level even if your work is fantastic. It's a separate thing. This is, I think, what the lecturer is requiring.

Overall though they sound disorganised- you may be better suited elsewhere!

Good luck. Its a brutal education!

Honestly I would rethink this path , you are going to spend a lot of money going to university plus foundation to become an illustrator, which isn’t very well paid apart from the select few.

Of course she didn't reply to your second waffling email. Lecturers are busy and are usually overworked and underpaid. Every student thinks they have talent and every student has goals and dreams. It's on the student to make that happen. Additionally, many students have to work, have care commitments, rely on student finance, yadda yadda. You are just one of many and she actually took the time to reply to your first email and with advice too. You need to adjust your expectations. A little less pride and a bit more consideration will help. I wouldn't cut your nose off to spite your face either.

I went to a college interview & it was a shambles - had to go back twice, it was free then it wasn't... It put me right off, particularly as it was a leadership & management course. They couldn't manage a kids birthday party.

Onward & upward.
Is that the only foundation course in your area?

😂😂😂😂

That sounds chaotic. I’ve been involved in mature student interviews for a long time as an Academic and I’ve never had one last more than 10 minutes so on that front twenty minutes wasn’t too bad. We don’t offer directly either there are other criteria that must be fulfilled before our uni makes an offer. I am guessing you spoke to a programme coordinator on the phone. If so they would be much more clued in and would probably have the best advice for the programme area they manage so you definitely need to listen to what she is saying to you. I know we have had candidates who simply are not taking in that they have more hurdles to cross before their application would be considered.

The situation was shit, no question however I think you need to push yourself a bit more to handle a tricky day of this nature. Art courses in particular, not my area but I have taught on Architecture type courses which have cross over, require a thick skin for the feedback and critique they include.

I mean this kindly, but you’re nothing special to them. You’re just one potential student of many, and your journey to where you are and your goals going forward means nothing to them.

I think applying for this course is a huge achievement for you, but that is very much a personal achievement and you can expect a lecturer who doesn’t know you to be excited for you. Telling them that you’re a mature student who needs funding probably wasn’t ideal either, because it points towards expecting special treatment.

You need thicker skin and to accept that they’re not really going to care about you.

Oh dear, you actually told the lecturer that their colleague's interview reduced you to tears because you felt it was rushed and admin made a silly error? Whilst you are certainly right in expecting an organised interview experience, the college is not there to show you "sincerity and compassion". At the end of the day, they don't really care if the course space is filled by you or by someone else so the only person who is potentially losing out here is you.

I second this. However, I would go in and meet the female lecturer and have a discussion about it if you really want to do the course. They aren’t saying no, they are saying they need to discuss it further with you. I’d go, with my work and look willing to engage. FWIIW, art college often looks disorganised. I was last on my interview day and I spent the whole day hanging around. I didn’t think the tutors even liked me but I got in. Turns out they were just tired at the end of a long day. In your case, they obviously liked your work otherwise they wouldn’t have offered you a place, even though it was erroneous. Take that as a positive and work with them to secure yourself a place.

It sounds like a bad day and it's not a great experience for you to have a rushed interview then need to to back, but if its something you want, it would be foolish not to at least go and meet with her and see what they want.
It could have been a bad day for them, poorly organised, the interviewer could have been tired or had family stuff going on etc. You've worked hard to get here so I wouldn't throw it all away when you've got to this point.

The course was level 5 and you had level 2 and a portfolio. I realise that mature students are sometimes assessed individually and do not always need to meet the course requirements. However the gap between level 2 and 5 is huge.

Admittedly, I also thought she meant a D grade rather than D for distinction!

F

She replied back and her response to my message was pretty blasé and she even told me that I should try doing a Level 2/3 course in art and design rather than applying for a foundation in college. I politely replied and said that I currently have a level 2 certificate and for a mature student such as myself, it would make more sense to enter the foundation course. I explained that I have a portfolio and that I have done a lot of large artworks for companies in the past so I don't get why she wants me to redo my studies to which she did not respond back

I also can’t see what’s wrong with this. You emailed her to tell her about your circumstances but really, they are irrelevant, when many students study, need funding and work too. So it did come across as though you expected some leeway because of them, which might be way she suggested a different course which might be less demanding than a foundation course. There is also a bit of a gap in terms of what you’ve done and when, and what you’re applying for now, so again, she might have thought that the other course was a better introduction for you. It wasn’t personal but rather advice which she gave following your email explaining your situation.