2023 uni applications for those pursuing art and creative routes

[Duchessofmuchness]

The other thread discussing Uni applications for RG and academic routes isn't so relevant for DS. He's considering Art Foundation year or direct entry to uni for fashion design.

Anyone care to join a thread on similar creative paths. (Not just fashion!)

He's looking at art foundation at Kingston, Central St Martin's, UCA,

For Fashion BA looking at Central St Martins, London College of Fashion, Manchester Met, Nottingham Trent, Liverpool John Moores, Leeds Beckett.

Most seem to accept without art foundation but he would need one to Central St Martin's so if he wants to try for that will need foundation.

Lots of open days coming up and hopefully school will give him some more advice next week. No start on his PS yet!!

Not directly @Mokeylovesart but I live in Wimbledon which is a very nice part of London! UAL always has that international rep but can't speak of that course in particular. I've heard mixed things about Edinburgh which my daughter was considering but that's purely hearsay.
Where is your daughter doing Foundation?

Also must add the school is in the middle of young family central as three very good primaries nearby, so not as exciting as some places.

Thanks, family central is quite reassuring tbh, for me at least! She’s not the most streetwise so her being in London is a worry, but I guess Edinburgh would have the same city risks. Wimbledon’s costume course has historically had a fantastic rep, but I’m not sure whether it’s still good or if they rely on their rep a bit now. Do you mind sharing what you’ve heard about Edinburgh? I’ve heard mainly positive things (about the costume course specifically) but is there another side I should be aware of?
she’s got some offer holder sessions coming up so hopefully that will help decision making! Thanks for your thoughts.

DS finally got an offer from Brighton for Fine Art. Through UCAS track if anyone is waiting.
That's all his decisions in (4 offers) so now just needs to decide where to go. All unconditional so that makes it easier!

Great news, @Lottsbiffandsmudge!

Reading this thread with interest. DD2 is about to sit A levels and has a place on an art foundation year locally from September and then planning on applying for a Fine Art degree to start next year.

Has just got Asd/ADHD dx, this has taken 4 years and has severely impacted her school work. (There seem to be quite a few people in a similar position on this thread.)

My priorities would be plenty of accommodation, not too far from home (we are in the north) I think a more structured course would suit her better than 'here is a studio, do your thing' plus good student welfare. Her priorities might be a bit different!

I really like the sound of ARU ( from @PhotoDad description) also York St John - has anyone got experience of YStJ? And Lincoln, possibly Oxford Brookes (far away, but D1 is in Oxford) Or Lancaster or Leeds. She was initially keen on Manchester Met but now worried about accommodation in Manchester.

We're also in the North, @JulesJules, and Cambridge was the furthest place away from us that we applied to. Can just about do there-and-back in a day (ask me how I know...)

I'm a huge cheerleader for CSA/ARU, and DD is quite literally having the time of her life there. Even the Fine Artists get drawing classes (how old fashioned!) and the cohorts are tiny. The one new fact is that they're no longer guaranteeing accommodation for all first years, but it's still first come first served, and there's still stuff left for next year (I had a quick peek). Also, I now know that accommodation for 2nd/3rd year moves very quickly in around February; DD found a room in an HMO but it's not cheap. She could have found somewhere cheaper if she had either started earlier, or held her nerve and waited for a second wave of private rentals to become available. But she'll still only be 15 minutes' walk from the studios (and the printroom, her home-from-home).

If you have any questions then feel free to send me a DM!

Finally heard from Brighton and it's a no. So DD is 90% sure she'll go for Falmouth, but wants to visit first as the interview was in Bristol, so I've booked a B&B for the first May bank holiday weekend. She's got some friends from her foundation heading for Falmouth, but for different courses.

@Mokeylovesart I know Edinburgh well, I was there for 6 years and also taught there, several friends teach there. It's a lovely building in a nice area that has been considerably gentrified and is not somewhere I'd be worried about my child hanging out. The College has had quite a lot spent on it since it amalgamated with Edinburgh Uni and the facilities for fashion textiles and costume are really good and classes are small. As it's part of Edinburgh Uni, it follows a degree structure where you can do modules from other departments of the college or any other dept of the uni ( subject to availability). Not essential but potentially interesting.
I used to commute to ECA from London to teach one day a week on the train, the east coast line only took a little over 4 hrs so didn't feel far away to me.

So glad I found this thread. DD, currently doing her A levels had rejection both from Slade&Central ( no foundation). Offer from Edingburgh and unconditional from Glasgow for sculpture & environmental art, was waiting to hear from Newcastle.
Accepted GSA and now anxiously waiting to hear re accommodation!

@JulesJules my DS is just finishing a foundation and although not diagnosed I believe he has ADHD. I am a huge proponent of the foundation course as DS would not have coped with a degree straight from school. The foundation has bridged the hap between the structure of A level and a looser degree format. Its also helped him decide on Fine Art. He is now ready for a degree as he has been taught many techniques for developing work and has a structure he feels comfortable with (altho I have to remind him regularly to trust the process when he has no end point/ final piece in mind and is panicking!).
He is at Leicester DeMontfort and it' might be a possibility for your DD? Amazing facilities and cheap and plentiful accomodatiom v close to the campus. Leicester isn't the prettiest place but it is a great location for getting anywhere in the country, has enough going on and the art and design block is brand new with amazing facilities and light (DS has spent the year on the 11th floor).
DS initially looked at Lancaster but it has limited facilities (no printing for instance) so it's worth checking.
He also applied to Leeds Uni as he liked the campus (we did visit there on the way back from Newcastle which DS ruled out as the studio space was cramped (spoilt at DMU)).
My DS's MH has meant he didn't feel able to do open days right at the start of his course at DMU (he moved away for foundation) so he's applied a bit blind for degree. I recommend getting on open days asap (summer if poss) for degree app. Foundation courses tend to be very timetabled and DS struggled to take time off as he has issues with presenteeism.

@Lottsbiffandsmudge That's so helpful, thank you. That's exactly what I'm hoping for from a foundation year for DD2. It was my suggestion as I didn't think she would cope at all going straight to uni, it takes the pressure off a bit to apply with grades in hand and also gives her a year at home and hopefully adds to her art skills, portfolio and UCAS tariff.

@JulesJules What you hope for from the art foundation year is exactly what it has given my DD. She hated sixth form but has done foundation this year whilst living at home and is thriving. She's so much more confident both with her art skills and socially. It was great applying to university with known grades and she has a place at Manchester Metropolitan for September and I think is now ready to go. She said if she hadn't done art foundation she would have stayed local for a degree and not had the confidence to apply for the course that she really wanted which is at Man Met. I hope your DC gains as much from art foundation as DD has.
This thread has been great over the past few months, it's a bit of a refuge from all of the medicine/ Oxbridge/ Russel Group threads! The arts matter too and our talented DC are important 😀

Ditto that! Foundation will allow my daughter to remain at home an extra year and be a buffer between school and uni. And with her medical issues (it looks like she has Multiple Sclerosis, we meet next week with the neurologist for the diagnosis), I can't imagine her moving away so soon while she adjusts to her treatment (a kind of chemo).
She is keen to explore other disciplines too, even though she is quite focussed on 2D animation. She has been researching AI for her magazine and is quite worried about the potential effect on the creative industries- something we assumed a computer couldn't replace! Anyway just wish UAL would hurry up and either accept or reject!

Fingers crossed Monday that she hears soon. With everything else that’s going on it would be good to get the plan pinned down.
I hope next week’s appointment goes as well as it can.

Oh, good luck to you and your DD, @mondaytosunday!

DD joined us for a little holiday in Scotland for one week of her two week Easter break. She's now back at uni, working hard on Final Portfolios for each of her three current modules. She has immensely enjoyed Year 1 of the illustration degree course, it's probably been the happiest and busiest year of her life since secondary age. She still can't quite believe that she is meant to spend all day doing what she loves, although she was grumbling about having to write an essay. Just a little positive note that it is all completely worth it, for the art-obsessed, so keep on keeping on!

Here's an illustration that wasn't actually for uni, but she finished it the other day. It's of one of her own stories.

@PhotoDad that is glorious! I love seeing what the students have produced.
DD (currently doing Foundation at Leeds) has finally clicked "accept" for Ruskin, she's a bit sad to have turned down Chelsea (although that was more about living in London than anything else) but recognises that the Oxford course and environment will hopefully suit her better.
Easter holidays have been spent rippping up tarpaulin and dump bags for her final piece....

I’m also loving the piece by miniphotodad

Excellent @PhotoDad. I'm sitting here waiting for my daughter who is at her interview! We have been talking about open days - AUB has one July 1 and UCA Farnham a couple in June after she's done with A levels, Falmouth smack dab in the middle of exams so hope they do another later, Uni of Hertfordshire will have to wait til the Autumn and she is undecided about her fifth choice - perhaps somewhere in London as an option.
Anyway, one thing that really preoccupies her is job prospects afterwards. Animation is growing and 2 D is experiencing a resurgence, but this AI thing has spooked her and she's just not convinced there will be a job at the end of it all (irregardless of AI) She has looked at the Gobelins in Paris for a masters (extremely well respected and taught in English - that pesky international student thing again)! Anyone's child also worried about this? I know it's a few years away still, but spending four plus years to get qualified then... what?

@mondaytosunday There was a thread about this a couple of weeks ago somewhere (something like "making money from art"?) which a couple of us were on.

My feel is that AI will certainly eat away at the low budget "throw together a quick cover or promo animation" market but maybe not so much at the higher end, at least in part because of the huge problems surrounding copyright in AI art (studios/publishers are very very hot on copyright). Anyway, DD's feeling is very much "you've got to be in it to win it" and although she's going to do everything she can to make a living from design, she's aware that it might not be possible (or, with illustration, she might be a freelancer with a part-time "day job" for a while). But that's something to worry about a few years down the line.

Speaking of which, she recently got her first actual paid commission from someone who had seen her Insta page! It seems legit, and she's over the moon.

That’s fantastic news about Ruskin @olafolaf - Congratulations to your DD!

And always love the updates @PhotoDad

Hope the interview went well @mondaytosunday and that the meeting is positive with the neurologist next week. And appreciate her concern about AI. I think most people in white collar jobs have been feeling spooked!

However, I see AI as a tool which will replace some jobs but certainly not all and some new jobs will also be generated. If you’re someone more likely to be making the creative decisions rather than being asked to carry out technical skills for someone else then you’re more than likely to be ok.

I remember being frustrated at art college that we didn’t touch the computers at all (there weren’t very many) and yet we could see that we would need to know how to use the software in any creative job we went into. I also remember a tutor saying that this wasn’t important because what we needed to spend time learning at art college is how to think because technical processes and systems will come and go and what is being used now won’t be being used in ten years time. We could learn technical skills at any time but developing our creative thinking and editing process is what will be important to survive as a creative.

This I think is more true than ever. Creating content for businesses particularly small and medium-sized ones still involves telling stories about physical people, physical products and actual experiences within a business and the visual communication of these can still best be facilitated by a human who can direct the humans and style the products and has some idea of which stories are important and of interest to customers and how to communicate those stories effectively. AI just can’t do all of that and make the right nuanced creative decisions along the way.

So frustrating- at her interview this week for a Foundation place my daughter was told that they would inform her if she had been successful or not on Friday. Both of us anxious all day. Nothing arrived. She's now wondering if he said they'd only tell her if she had been successful, but I think that's hardly likely - surely they'd email a 'thanks but no thanks'? Especially after an in person interview? And of course STILL nothing from UAL (which would be her second choice between the two of them). Art A level in two weeks - we'd love to have it settled beforehand.

Oh no! That's rubbish, @mondaytosunday. Fingers crossed for you and DD.

@mondaytosunday that's so frustrating for you both. DC has just withdrawn from place and declined an offer from another. A level art started yesterday and will be done by the middle of next week.

@mondaytosunday I hate to say it but DH is an animation director and he thinks AI will reduce the number of jobs in animation to a major extent. It's such a cost and time saver it will increasingly be used. Brexit hashtag a bad effect on the industry too
He does think that studying animation gives you good skills that are transferable. An art school education often does not lead to employment directly in what you studied but it does teach you perseverance and how to work things out for yourself. DH did not study animation at all, he studied painting and then just taught himself anything he needed to know for his many creative jobs.