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

@HannahDefoesTrenchcoat so true. And worse again when they actually go. That first drop off was hard!

Yes we are still in portfolio purgatory 😂. Manchester Met due on Friday which is last one but to just to be different they also want a video. Honesty not sure what that tells them for a fashion programme- I wonder if part of it is to put people off!

@JulesJules - my DD did that many moons ago. Once she had unconditional form her favourite uni she was able to pull out of a couple of others. In those days was printed portfolio which she took to interview and somehow for her course weren't quite so full in as this has been.

@Aaarghthepancakes congratulations - that's fantastic

Just to be different they also want a video. Honesty not sure what that tells them for a fashion programme- I wonder if part of it is to put people off!

Maybe, but with some element of freelancing being pretty usual in the creative industries, if a candidate can't sell themself enough to make a short video, then they will be likely to fail at the first hurdle in the real world of employment.

A video is also the next best thing to a real interview which most institutions are no longer able to do on cost & time grounds due to the sheer number of applications and many academic staff now on hourly contracts.

PS. Good luck with the final applications incl that video! It feels so good when they're all in!

@Cp2324 You are right of course and I agree. And what's more it's not me that has to do it and DS isn't complaining! So there is no excuse got my moaning! I'm just being grumpy - it's been a long month!

Well she's back! Really interesting what she has to say about it all. Of course well worth going and I didn't realise only three of the 15 were from her FAD course - the rest from other courses at the college, so she didn't really know them before.
Her biggest take was from the living situation - sharing with 14 others (shared room too) was as bad as she expected in terms of mess and noise, though she surprised herself that it wasn't as exhausting as she feared (being a committed introvert). The boys - sorry people - were terrible. Loud, messy, inconsiderate. Plus they went through their money fast. Furious too that the girls allowed it by cleaning and cooking for them! And she doesn't understand the need to get drunk most nights. Probably the first time most had lived away from home and they just went a bit nuts.
The work was exhausting (she had a very active job requiring travel all over the city) but she really got to know the place and loved that part of it. She was very diligent (same cannot be said of all), and learned so much! I think she found out what she was capable of and while she had always been practical she hasn't had to do much living with me but managed situations well outside her comfort zone, budget very well and discovered a talent for cooking with random ingredients. And do laundry! She took advantage of her free travel to explore beyond the city. She says she wants to do more of that here.
The program is excellent and I'm happy she took proper advantage of the opportunity. Fantastic for her CV and personal growth. A bit more worried about living in halls though!

@mondaytosunday sounds like an excellent experience, apart from the boys.

@mondaytosunday dd is in shared flat of 8. There is one boy who is very messy, loud and has drinking parties. Drives them all crazy!

@mondaytosunday not sure if your DD will qualify but students with extra needs can request quiet accommodation. At NTU DD submitted all her supporting docs once she accepted the offer and was able to have a room allocated at her preferred halls without going through the random allocation bunfight. She's in a flat of 7 - 6 of whom are lovely and she's made great friends. 1 of them not so nice but that's being dealt with by the Uni. It might reassure your DD if she has things all in place beforehand.

Thanks @Localher0. My concern with 'quiet' is that some will go the other way and never come out of their rooms! But all female might work (she applied to an all female college at Cambridge).

Yes that's true. I know someone who's son has ASD and his quiet flat was dismal. DD didn't go for quiet but did discuss her needs with the accommodation team ahead of her allocation. I don't know how much thought goes in to making up the residents of a flat but she's been very lucky. At NTU flat sized range from 4-11 so she was able to choose which she preferred too. Girls only has its drawbacks too...... 🙄

@mondaytosunday A great taster of university life, it would seem! With some interesting lessons to be learned.

DD didn't get the paid internship she had applied for; useful feedback, though, with a few tips for next time. Ultimately it boiled down to "strong application and interview, but another candidate's artistic style was closer to what we wanted" which I imagine is relatively common in creative areas. She's undaunted, and is applying for other things, mostly unpaid but all good experience. The one she's keenest about is helping with kids' arts-and-crafts activities at a museum; she'd be great at that, so fingers crossed.

@PhotoDad good luck to your dd

Embarrassed to admit that my chaotic DS will likely be one of the messy untidy ones. I promise I have tried ... it's not that he'd expect someone else to do it but he doesn't care about mess most of time. Until he does and then he'll clean and tidy like a demon.

I don't think it's always a boy/girl thing though. The tidiest member of DD's flat is one of the boys.

@PhotoDad sorry your DD missed out on this opportunity. She's so resourceful I'm sure another door will open soon.

DS received an unconditional offer from Kingston this week and is really happy as it was in his top 3 choices. As a result think he's going to withdraw from MMU . He's still waiting for CSM which may take a bit longer - hear they can be quite slow with decisions.

@Duchessofmuchness ah yes I was a big offender at university - totally un-housetrained. I just didn't care.

@Duchessofmuchness it wasn't just the mess. And while I've certainly had a few drunken nights in my youth I never was inconsiderate of my flatmates. Managed to have a good time without keeping the whole flat (and also neighbours) awake. Too much of that and soon they will stop allowing students to stay there which would be a huge shame.

Unfortunately a lot of flat mates are inconsiderate. For some it's not noticing the bin is overflowing, or cleaning up after themselves. But I agree, what is worse is the regular binge drinking and drug taking. Which leads to some very antisocial behaviour in the flat.

Hi all.
I was on the thread way back last year, but haven't posted for ages. Have been reading and catching up on a few posts but too much for me be fully up to speed. Just a quick update- my DD applied for Fine Art to The Ruskin back in October but wasn't successful. She has finally made her other four choices and submitted portfolios to them all now. She applied to Chelsea College, Man Met, Newcastle and Goldsmiths. She had an interview with Chelsea today, but not heard anything from the others yet- keeping fingers crossed.

Welcome back @FancyFanny!

Welcome back @FancyFanny - great to hear the update. Fingers crossed for the results from interview today.!

DD got a rejection from Goldsmiths today- she's really upset as it was her first choice. To be honest, I'm not surprised because the portifolio was limited to 12 slides and she was adamant that it should contain no A-level work even though in my opinion her A-level work was really strong. I tried to say I thought the pieces she'd chosen didn't show her off to the best of her ability but she's not one for listening. I hope she's sees sense but is talking about a a gap year now and reapplying as Goldsmiths the only place she really loved. I'd prefer Newcastle personally (especially regarding finances).

Sorry to hear that @FancyFanny . If she decides not to try again next year, can I recommend Newcastle? Think it is highly thought of for art, although I don't have personal experience of this. However, it's a brilliant place to be a student and a great city in a stunning region - I came here as a student and never left...

Thank you @JulesJules . She really liked Newcastle, and there's the added benefit of it being much closer to home than London- we went for the open day. It's soo competitive to get into as well- but she had to submit 50 slides for the portfolio for that one which gives a much clearer idea of what she's capable of- they said 700+ applicants for the 67 places. I'm just not confident she's going to get any offers with the uni's she's picked.

Hi all, haven't caught up in a while but just skimmed through the last few months and wanted to say can relate to the current stress levels of crazy portfolio submissions & juggling all the timelines! This time last was bananas - daughter did x5 UCAS + x3 FAD all with separate portfolios & all while doing her A level coursework for fine art and fashion separately! She's now 2/3 way through her first year of BA Fashion Design at Kingston (her 1st choice) and got into CSM, LCF, Goldsmiths, London
Met & Ravensbourne also. So if anyone has any Qs re those or fashion degrees do ask as it was a full immersion experience helping her through all that!

@Duchessofmuchness I saw your son got into Kingston - yay! Remind me, was it also for Fashion? Will he be applying for halls? Mine is at Middle Mill which is brilliant for the school of art. Congrats!

@FancyFanny - bad luck re Goldsmiths. The process is so competitive and so much invested in terms of time and emotion. DS is like your DD adamant about what he wants to do/not do and not often open to feedback. On the plus side it shows confidence in their work and their own personal vision. It's hard if that just isn't what the college are looking for and feels v personal. Hope she hears some good news soon.

@luluposs - good to hear your DD enjoying Kingston. Yes, DS offer is for fashion. He is thrilled as it was reason he did FAD this year - to be get into Kingston or CSM. I know your DD was successful straight from A levels but he knew ge wasn't ready. He currently has unconditional for Kingston and a a conditional offer for LCF menswear fashion and technology. Still waiting to hear from CSM. He loved Kingston when we went on open day 2 years ago, much more so that CSM and it was his first choice. He hasn't visited LCF and likes the sound of the course . So he's going to go to offer days at both of those in April, see also whether CSM makes an offer and then decide. I was worried by how hands off CSM was and also more conceptual/less commercial but he's more swayed by that now. Do you remember timeline for CSM by any chance? I remember they were v v slow in offers for foundation last year. He put in portfolio for menswear fashion a few weeks ago.