Part 2: Continuation of 2023 uni (and other) applications for those pursuing art and creative routes

[Duchessofmuchness]

As requested transferring us all over hear for the continuation of the 2023 journey. Have so enjoyed the company and support of all on the first thread. Link to original thread copied below (I hope!)

2023 uni applications for those pursuing art and creative routes www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4626697-2023-uni-applications-for-those-pursuing-art-and-creative-routes

Hey, @JulesJules, also in the NE and with DD at ARU doing illustration! Feel free to PM me about anything.

DD has now officially decided not to do the placement year between Y2 and Y3 as she wants to keep momentum. However she has applied for what would be a really good part-time job producing artwork for another department at ARU that could fit around studies. She did something similar last summer. So, fingers crossed for her (it would be good experience and useful cash... Cambridge isn't a cheap city!)

That's sounds good @PhotoDad - your DD is getting professional experience already.
No @JulesJules - she's already on a year out and how awful would it be to be rejected again? She could do a masters there I guess, still very competitive but not quite as much as undergraduate degree. I'm hoping she will really like one of the unis after attending an offer holder day.

Good luck at offer holder days @mondaytosunday!

Good luck @PhotoDad for the job interview

@JulesJules @HannahDefoesTrenchcoat
@Cp2324
Looks like we are all on the same portfolio journey over coming weeks. DS's first request came through this morning from LCF for 11 Feb. Bit sooner than he'd wanted as he had hoped to use some of half term for prep which is the week after. But he works best under a deadline and will get direction from college next week so that's good. Just hoping the dates are spread out even a little to help him manage it all!

@Duchessofmuchness the pressure is on! 😬

A little meltdown this morning so I said when you don't know what to do just do anything. I said just start with something that's definitely going in. So he focused on FMP from last year.

Had tutor encouragement this afternoon.

First deadline 9th Feb.

And people think creative routes are easy when they have to send a little piece of their heart away to be judged 😱

OMG Edinburgh have requested portfolio by Tues!!! I'm not sure how that is going to happen ....

Blimey @Duchessofmuchness
That's going to create an interesting few days!

Good luck with portfolios and holder days. DC has two interviews coming up in the next two weeks, hoping they go smoothly then they can just focus on A-levels!

@Okisenough That's us too, although 2 interviews in 3 weeks. Help! All feeling very real now. Good luck to your DC.

Wow, everything is happening quickly! Good luck, everyone.

We've lost DS's life drawing 😢
He really wants to put it in portfolios for Thursday (2 due, one 10 images, one 25).

It may be in college. 🤞

I'm about to look everywhere I've already looked in house. 😡

the last place we saw them was on the Coffee table before Christmas.
The zipped portfolio case lies under his bed, empty, unused. Of course.

Yep, here too. And the deadline's noon!

@franticfeb - I didn't know was noon!

Is your user name a reflection of current state in your home 😳.

The deadline is noon and when DC looked on Friday afternoon the upload link for the portfolio for the course wasn't even on the account yet! Hoping it will be there today as we will only have Monday evening to get it uploaded otherwise.

Yes, bit frantic here and trying to work out what actually goes under each of the 4 themes

Have just hauled DS out of bed as he requested last night. He got the email late afternoon on Friday and had a shift at work on Friday night - home after midnight and then out full day yesterday at the rugby. He got back at 1am. So this is his first chance to do anything since he got the email. Seems like Edinburgh don't give any extra time to later applications. Everyone has until 6 Feb but DS didn't even decide upon Edinburgh until end Jan! He hasn't noticed the website said he would need portfolio by Tuesday.

Oh this is giving me ptsd! I think my DD sent her Kingston portfolio at 5.55pm for 6pm deadline! Couldn't get the links to work.
And she leaves for Portugal in the morning and her phone has died! So booked one of those Genius Bar appointments for 1.30 in central London today. Not sure if it's fixable plus she also said nothing's been stored in the last year as she's out of memory (as thought she could just get a new phone as her contract was up last year). And I thought for once we were ahead of the game...

I think the themes all overlap tbh for Edin and Dd is finding it hard to decide what to put in each. 7 hours later, she's just about finalising it. The problem is that each uni programme has different guidance. Dd did The Slade yesterday and focused on Edin today. Still to do Glasgow; Leeds and Newcastle.

Dd's laptop stopped recharging yesterday. Panicking, it was tears and a flounce. Thankfully, older dd's boyfriend was visiting and he found a resolution.

Edinburgh asking for them to be uploaded by "assessment objective" rather than by project removes any flow from the portfolio - which is curious as everywhere else we have heard from is very keen on the portfolio having a narrative / telling a story.

It makes me wonder if the teaching may be old fashioned and rigid (as per A-level) rather than inspiring fluid creativity. It's certainly putting my DC off, as things stand (maybe not a bad thing as I suspect it's the one they are least likely to get an offer for anyway).

I think they've probably done it to filter those who evidence no critical fit with how they assess on the actual programme itself. I can see the benefit of this for them but it does make for a rather stilted portfolio.

Dd actually preferred GSA when we did the open days for that and Edinburgh. We were put off Edin a bit by the Head of Faculty's inability to answer a question about rough ideas of staff-student contact time, and their rather dismissive off-hand comment that 'we don't value life drawing here' 😳

I sat there thinking ... you might think it's outdated these days but it obviously does have value if not just because of its importance as an art form in an historical period of time. Perhaps they just phrased it badly.

In contrast, GSA was student-friendly and highlighted the significance of all contexts for the meanings of works. Their website, though ... 😫

Haven't visited either (yet!) but yes, the awful GSA website instantly put it right to the bottom of our list.