Art foundation courses - anyone's yr 13 applying?

[Everincreasingfrequency]

Is anyone's yr 13 dc thinking of applying to do an art foundation course next year? Not an area I am very familiar with, so would be great to discuss!

For example:

Is there an unofficial (or even official) 'ranking' of the courses ( I assume the UAL courses are well regarded but hard to get on to? but how about elsewhere?)

And how much difference does it make where you do the foundation course when you come to apply for undergraduate degrees? There seem to be lots of places that do them, but in practice does that enable you to get on to an art degree course?

Art foundation a) exposed my child to different techniques etc that helped them find the right degree course for them and b) when they applied for said course they got an unconditional offer and c) they ended up with a first in fine art!

Quality not quantity is certainly true and it’s always difficult to cull. However, a few bits and pieces of A4 size is unlikely to show your talents. It does not tell a story of trials and how you work through your ideas to a finished piece.

Most people take standard art portfolio zip cases and the interview panel spread DD’s work out on a table. They had quite an in depth discussion about it. That’s nearly impossible with a few A4 sized items which probably took 5 mins to cobble together. However the advantage of a foundation course (or a first class school) is that they will advise. In fact the universities advise too. There is no lack of info about what they want and how they want it presented. It’s just best to follow it.

I’ve taught Design and Art for 25 years. I’m not a huge fan of foundation courses. They are fine if you can’t make up your mind, but if you know what you want to do,then just apply for the undergrad course. Some uni’s request a foundation course, but plenty of my students have got in these courses with no foundation.

And plenty of them have gone with small A3 portfolios and have got in to some of the top colleges. I teach quite a specialist design subject at A level, but every single one of mine who have applied direct to an undergrad course have got in.

A lot depends on A level experience. If they’ve had a wide exposure to a top class A level experience they don’t need foundation. And a foundation is another year’s expense.

Many universities set little projects for students to do, and disregard any portfolio work. I’m not a big fan of these as they take up too much time

See your point about going straight into a degree course if you know what path you want to follow. But dd is still doesnt know what her strengths and interests are. She is at a selective school where most will be going into academic degrees and not so much importance is given to creative subjects as a possible career. She is taking Graphic Art A level along with 2 academic subject but there are so many different disciplines in Art & Design she has not even touched on yet. We feel its best she goes for a multi foundation year before she settles on a degree subject

I tend to agree with you @justkeepmoving It will allow her to experience in depth a broad range of disciplines within art, for example I love etching and there's no way I would have leant about that at school as no matter how well equipped the art dept as it's rare for them to have etching presses and the equipment. I was able to learn about and do etching on my foundation course

Re: quality not quantity, I think they might mean don't put in every single life drawing (as an example) sketch you've ever done, good ones and bad ones. Select the ones you think are the best or that have something interesting about them. Don't make the people looking at the portfolio wade through lots and lots of samey stuff. Make each piece count for it's place in the portfolio. It's good to see sketches/preliminary workings that lead up to a final piece, and sketch books, and evidence of research/influences/interests.

I did a foundation (and a degree and an MA) and I really enjoyed the foundation and recommend doing one.

It doesn't make any difference where you do your foundation for applying for a degree so long as you do your homework (online and visiting in person) while on foundation and make sure you prepare a portfolio of work suitable for the degree you're applying to. It can be worth seeing if any tutors on the foundation course also teach elsewhere as having a tutor who already teaches on the degree is definitely an advantage in preparing a decent portfolio and just in being sure you're applying for the right degree for you.

I did my degree in graphic design at UAL and very few people on my course had done their foundation course at UAL - most came from elsewhere in the world but I'm sure doing a foundation course at UAL if you can would be good as you'll have lots of tutors around who also teach on degree courses at UAL. If you have good work and are keen and motivated, you have as good a chance as anyone else at being accepted.

TheEmoji: I did say A4, not A3!!!!
Carefully has explained the quality not quantity very well.