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!!

New thread for 2023 applications here. Come and join me as we support our young people through this tricky point.

Part 2: Continuation of 2023 uni (and other) applications for those pursuing art and creative routes www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4796902-part-2-continuation-of-2023-uni-and-other-applications-for-those-pursuing-art-and-creative-routes

@Lottsbiffandsmudge glad you both enjoyed UWE, it's a big thumbs from up from us. Thanks for posting about your day as your insights were really useful, as we had a slightly different experience ( we spent far too long on the organised buses going to hall etc) and missed out on seeing all the facilities at Bower Ashton. But at least we saw Spike Island and did lots of walking at the Harbourside & Clifton.

We didn't see all the facilities as the campus tours had stopped by the time we got back from Spike Island. He saw ceramics and plaster during fine art taster and we blagged a tour of print which was amazing. Our waitress in Pizza Express then filled us in on AV as we missed that and all sounds good! Your DC is Fine Art too?

@Duchessofmuchness thanks for suggesting another thread and if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know. It's hard not to worry and the annotations are good to have, but your DS is probably trying to get into the groove for the exam. I was pulling my hair out the week before last because DD's art A level exam started really early, but at least it is over now (finished last week.) Just have to remember not to ask how the revision is going for her other subjects!
Thanks @PhotoDad for your thread, the more threads there are about creative subjects the better.
@Pourmeanotherwine your daughter will have a fab time at Falmouth, DD's best friend is there at the moment and they couldn't be happier. They opted for one of the more expensive halls in Falmouth and DD said it was really nice when she visited. I think it's a couple of minutes from Falmouth Docks. When we went to the offer holders (were you there when the trains were cancelled?) it had such a nice vibe and people were really friendly. I would have been happy for DD to go there, but it's her insurance choice.
@Pourmeanotherwine is it easy to get to Bower Ashton by bus from the city centre?

@Lottsbiffandsmudge that was funny about the waitress. Our barista was a fine art student. Guess there is lots of work for students in the city, which is good as DD was freaking out last night when she realised that she'd only get the basic loan, we said we'd pay for any club & societies on top and of course we'll cover accommodation, just not Tower. Did you see it? Did you make it to the accommodation talk? Glad we did as they explained that the process is completely new this year, I'm wondering how we can avoid being allocated Marketgate or Phoenix.

Yes fine art, she was too tired to do the skills workshop in the end.

My daughter has written her acceptance to Morley, but but but....
Should she get an offer to UAL, and should she go against my advice and almost all of yours, is it possible to change her mind? How frowned upon would it be?

@mondaytosunday students change their mind all the time. The beauty of the foundation application is that it's not centrally co-ordinated, so yes, who would know if she accepted both? She could also be up front and contact Morley's admissions and ask for more time to make a decision, we did that with sixth form.

@Soma Bristol buses aren't the best, there are routes you could use but its probably faster to cycle or take one of the VOI escooters.
Good luck with the A level art all those doing it next week.

@Pourmeanotherwine thanks. The escooters look scary, especially racing down the hills from Clifton - DD would probably think I was being "weird" if I insisted she wear a helmet! 😂

@mondaytosunday I agree - she should accept Morley for now and if she changes her mind let them know as soon as practical. Must happen all the time and completely fair in the circumstances.

Good luck to all the DC doing practical elements this week! DD is in every day doing her 3d design timed component plus last two weeks of lessons as normal for her other A levels so feeling a bit stretched! Finally heard back from MMU with her last offer so hoping to make a decision soon once things are less hectic. All offers quite similar in terms of A level tariff (except Northumbria which guarantees entry to foundation if grades are not quite achieved); I wonder how flexible arts courses are if grades slip - given they have seen and offered on basis of portfolio??

@DesignDD most seem to have quite low grade requirements, with the exception of places like Edinburgh. If they've made it conditional then surely they'll be as rigid as any other? Portfolio is the most important element, but I guess it depends.
My daughter is doing her Art A level today/W/R, and texted me she has managed to slice her finger open with a scalpel 😬. She's accepted Morley, as STILL no word from UAL. Shame on them.

Fantastic that she's accepted the offer. As you say shame on UAL putting students under so much pressure for their deadlines but not responding before A levels get underway.

Hope her finger ok and day 1 went ok

@mondaytosunday so while my daughter got her UAL foundation offer on Friday, her friend who is desperate to go only got his today (she's not planning on taking hers up, but to your question, no reason not to accept for now, no fees and can change mind later). You'll prob hear in coming few days but agree, no reason not to accept Morley anyway.

To the points about arts degree offers being all low or "not minding about grades", not entirely so - my daughter has 5 degree offers ranging from the very low (literally one E at A level) through some mid range (BBB for Goldsmiths & BBC for London College of Fashion UAL which will be her insurance) all the way up to what she needs for her firm: AAB!!

This is causing some stress, as it's on UCAS points, this course is heavily sought after and over subscribed and usually only takes applicants with a foundation, whereas she's coming straight from A levels. Those are her predicted grades but it's still a big ask, and with the unpredictability of external moderators and grade boundaries in recent years, you just never know, right?

So now after all the months of stress of x8 applications and portfolios, plus juggling all the coursework, she's still really got to pull it out of the bag for her first choice and we'll be on tenterhooks til August 17th - yikes!

They got their 60% worth coursework marks back from the projects they handed in back in late Jan, and have been plugging away at the sketchbooks and background work for their final 40% element. The sketchbooks have to be turned in on Wed 10th which is when the timed exam period for both fine art and fashion design begins - it's a 10 day window taking them up to half term. My daughter has to cram both subjects into the same window with her Phys Geog exam right in the middle! Yikes. Super stressful!

@luluposs it was for CSM though right? Camberwell have not done it yet.
It is super stressful! I did say some don't care much about grades, some do, though the only ones of the degree courses checked out a far it was Edinburgh and Dundee that had relatively high grade requirements. My daughter will try and do the best she can, as she always does (my son had the opposite attitude!), and her predictions are A star A, B, though she found out last week she got an A star for her history coursework which may help tip her over to an A for that too. Plus she did an EPQ, so not worried about grades unless something goes horrendously wrong on the day. I also think a good back up if she decides not to go to art Uni after all.
But it feels like a double whammy having to produce good grades on top of a good portfolio! Good luck - I have to say (I'm sure I already have at some point on this thread) the exam system and application process in this country is awful. Everything coming down to these three grades, and not knowing for sure til two or three weeks before you are supposed to start at uni! For me it was the last few years of school, with emphasis on the third year, plus all your extracurricular activities, that counted, and the offers were not conditional.

Good luck to all sitting exams!

There is such a wide range of approaches to grades. The last art/design student from the school where I teach (a couple of years ago, it's not a common thing for us) went to Edinburgh and was very curious about why she needed an A in her Maths! (She got it.) It seems a bit of a big ask, and maybe it's a way to avoid unis making as many hard decisions about portfolios? Hmm.

DD was incredibly fortunate to get an unconditional for her first choice onto a tiny course. She worked from home from around February due to MH issues (now happily resolved thanks to therapy and medication) and could easily have given up on her A-levels, but much to our amazement pressed on anyway and got "decent" grades by real-world standards if not by MN standards! (And did well enough to get a 'pat on the back' Merit Scholarship from her uni; 124 UCAS points.)

I have taught in the USA. I agree that the UK application system is crazy. Nearly everyone I know in the sector would like to move to "Post Qualification Applications" but that would either mean shifting the start of the university year (not going to happen) or reducing the content and length of A levels to have earlier exams (not going to happen) or completely rethinking how students are assessed (not going to happen).

I guess if A level grades may be an issue for some DC for whatever reason tactical applying or doing a foundation can mitigate that. If you do a foundation and then apply for the right degrees with known a level grades it should maximise your chances. Ds got 4 unconditional offers for degree and 1 rejection from Slade. He had the grades for Slade but still didn't get in! Some degrees are just v oversubscribed (London esp) so I guess a level grades as I way to sift.

We have friends in US whose daughter is finishing high school and heading off to uni. When we saw them back in Feb we were describing how for DS it would all rest on his final exams and that none of the students knew where they were going until August when they got their results. Even back then their daughter knew where she was going and was working towards her final months at school. It really does seem like a much better system for all students - both the most academically able and those with other talents. But i think you are right unlikely to happen

New thread - just moving to top of page before this thread is closed to posts entirely

Part 2: Continuation of 2023 uni (and other) applications for those pursuing art and creative routes www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4796902-part-2-continuation-of-2023-uni-and-other-applications-for-those-pursuing-art-and-creative-routes

Thanks @Duchessofmuchness can't believe we're nearly at 999!!!
Re the stress of A levels plus portfolio - that's where I am grateful DD went for FDA as it took a lot of the pressure off the actual exams and especially results day. DD didn't get any unconditional offers but when she deferred and had results in hand her place became unconditional so this year has been less stressful in that regard although I would say the pace and content she's had to produce has caused it's own issues! Only a few weeks left until the FMP goes in and then we'll all breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Good luck to all the DCs 🤞

Yes @mondaytosunday it was for CSM, but Camberwell also UAL and those two are the only FADs they do, so bound to be similar timelines. Another friend of my daughter's only heard today that she got into the Kingston Foundation, whereas as you know, rejections went out in Feb! So maybe later the better??

Agree on US contrast @Duchessofmuchness my kids were born and raised in the States and my daughter only arrived into the UK after middle school. Her (big diverse public) High School is a magnet for visual arts so lots of her friends are doing art every day through HS and of course all have their college places set up and nailed long ago with nothing at stake. Their Moms talk to me about "Senioritis". Hahaha, as if!

Yes, it wasn't you who'd alluded to A level grades not mattering in art degree offers Mondaytosunday, I forget who without re reading whole thread. It's true foundations lead to a smoother entry and I agree the UK system is needlessly stressful. My daughter simply doesn't want to do a foundation though (she could, she just doesn't want to), has had enough of the "spread" after 4 years of heavily arty subjects at a very arty school, and is ready to dive into her degree. It was only her top choice course that asked for the higher grades because traditionally they don't take kids straight off A levels. Also hoping her c/w so far and also having her EPQ will be enough. She's aiming high, but after the shockers of the last few years I'm not counting any chickens!

It's horses for courses for sure! And yes @Lottsbiffandsmudge they're all London courses, but only one with the higher offer.

Daughter just firmed KSA and insured LCF/ UAL today! Woot woot!

I'd just like to post a gentle reminder that there isn't really a UK system as it's rather different in Scotland and much more like the post qualification option some would like in the rest of the UK .
We don't really have stand alone Foundation courses either. It used to be that all four art schools had general first years then 3 specialist years, now only DJCAD in Dundee do this. A bit of a shame really as schools and local FE colleges are not really equipped to provide the range of activities that an art school can. I speculate that this may have changed when the number of rUK and international applicants went up and course design was changed to encourage them to apply for first year rather than second year entry (extra £££)
Ergo, most Scottish students go straight from school as they can do a portfolio in S6 having done the important exams already in S5. There are FE college courses that are similar to foundation but they are part time ( often designed to run for two years)and I feel less demanding than the Foundation courses mentioned by PPs.
DS had to resort to one as he had " senioritis" in S6: and didn't work hard enough to get a portfolio in. It worked out in the end but as the course he did was not available locally we have had to cough up for an extra years accomodation, which will mean 5 years in total!

DD got her final offer in this morning from UAL LCC for their Commercial Photography degree. 🥳 It’s another 104 UCAS points offer which they all are other than Nottingham which is unconditional. So somehow now trying to fit in a last minute dash up to Manchester in amongst her final A level exams to make her final decision. 😬

She also found out the other day that she was second runner up in a London uni photography competition. It’s been so lovely to see her find ‘her thing’ as she was so lacking in confidence before A levels and really not sure of the direction she wanted to go in. But something almost magical happened from the first moment she picked up a camera in the summer holidays before A levels started and in just two years she’s really blossomed. 😊

Would be great for a new thread as would love to hear everyone’s experiences of the next parts of the process 😊

Well done to your DD@PerkyBlinder, just to let you know @Duchessofmuchness started another thread, scroll up for the link.

Hi, I've just found this thread and it looks really helpful for advice on pursuing art degrees! brilliant ☺️

My daughter is at the beginning of applying. She wants to do an art illustration degree (could end up being fine art, it's a toss up right now!), but at the moment she wants to apply for a foundation course. We live in Bournemouth so AUB is her obvious first choice, but we do want to see what else is near us in the south so she has some options for her foundation year. But it seems really difficult to find which universities offer the foundation year! Can anyone recommend a good website, or even better, can people recommend which universities in the south do good foundation years?

Although AUB has a great reputation for art degrees, my daughter wants to spread her wings and study somewhere else for her actual degree, which I really do get. But it would be much cheaper for us if she could stay close to home for this one year!

Any thoughts really gratefully received.

Thank you!