Performing Arts 2025

[doesanybodyhaveamap]

Starting a thread re: performing arts applicants for 2025. If one already exists, happy to be redirected!!

Anyone pressed 'send' on their applications yet? Curious as to timelines for initial responses and to submit self tapes....

Buckling in for a long and nervous journey!

Yes was thinking there’s a few of them! Maybe we can link them all up somehow ahead of term starting…

lol - perhaps in the Costa underneath the student flats on moving day!

RB is one of the largest drama schools so inevitable there are a few of us parents on here!

I’m following this thread with interest. My DD will be looking to apply for 2026 MT. We’ve started booking open days but I’m already confused by it all. Any advice that you wished you’d known really appreciated. Congrats to everyone who got offers!

Hello and welcome!!

It’s all a bit overwhelming at first isn’t it??

A few things that are worth mentioning- you may already be aware of lots of this but anyway:

1. For straight MT, consider maxing out your options. Some colleges are on ‘regular’ UCAS (5 applications), some are on UCAS conservatoire (6 applications) and then there are the independents who you apply to directly. So theoretically you can make LOTS of applications.

This approach is hard work, as often they all want slightly different things in self tapes and auditions. But spreadsheets are your friend! We made a big one that compared audition requirements for each college then we figured out the minimum material needed and started prepping from there. Better to know what you need early!

2. Not all of the independents are eligible for full student loans and they also don’t have capped fees. So you could be looking at higher fees and less support. If finance is a consideration, be clear on which colleges are in this category.

3. if you are going to max out choices it will be hard to visit them all ahead of time but try and see as many as you can, especially the faves. The vibe can be quite different between a normal college day, open day and audition day. for some places, a quick trip to the area might be enough to rule in or out.

4. be prepared for the long haul. We put in applications in November and are only just finishing some processes now. Some places are sooooo slooooooow.

5. you will need more resilience than your child. It’s awful watching your baby be rejected.

6. it’s very very normal for incredibly talented kids to not get placed first time around. Foundation years are great in this situation. But they have no bearing at all on your likelihood of getting into the same institution a year later. In fact, my DC was intending NOT to take foundation courses at anywhere she really wanted to apply again to!

I’m sure there will be lots more helpful info to come.

We’ve been incredibly lucky that DC has a place in their first year of trying but that’s for Actor Musicianship which while competitive, doesn’t have the sheer number of applicants that MT courses do so it’s much easier for your talent to be ‘seen’.

It is as brutal and bruising as everyone says. Can’t sugar coat it. Plan some treats and R&R time in to keep everyone’s spirits up (we’ve seen A LOT of theatre this year 🤣).

All that said, the magic ‘yes’ is the most incredible feeling for everyone, especially as a parent, to see all their talent, hard work and passion rewarded is the best thing in the world. Buckle in and all the very best of luck xxx

Apply early on and try and get an audition before Christmas. My DD has applied early and late, with more offers on the early applications. Just our experience over 3 years.

Research schools and location, some literally are in industrial parks, don’t let that put you off, it just surprised me.

At audition remember you are being watched all the time. Those student helpers will feed back and may be asked about certain candidates. Pay attention to the person performing in a group audition, be engaged.

You get five choices on UCAS of colleges, Conservatoires are separate on UCAS. Some schools don’t go through UCAS, you apply direct.

Think about whether your DD wants a uni experience, or would be happy without, some colleges have no campus and are very much stand alone.

Good luck, it’s not for the faint hearted and it’s not cheap!

The only thing I'd add to this excellent advice is to be aware that some of the well known schools offer Level 6 diplomas instead of or as well as degrees. The funding is different for this and most are unlikely to get any form of maintenance grant. Be clear as to whether this is an option for your family and be prepared at places like Bird that if you apply for the degree they may offer you the diploma (happened to a friend of mine).

Thank you so much for all of this information which I’ll show to DD. We plan to get on top of this asap. We have already gone through and made a list (and crossed a few off). I’ll crank the laptop up and get a spreadsheet sorted. Great idea!

How did you all find the schools to apply to? Did your DCs have a back up plan?

For us, the options were quite limited as only 5 colleges do Actor Musicianship. But I guess we have a general awareness of the other schools from DC being involved in performing arts seriously since a young age, so we've seen lots of friends and fellow cast members going on to most of these places over the years. Google will give you a pretty good list.

What's your DD's background? Have they done lots of auditions in the past? If not then some places offer audition bootcamps which would be a good way to get some insight into what it will be like. My DC has an amazingly talented friend who has decided quite late that they want to pursue MT seriously, and the audition process was an eye opener in itself!

In terms of back up plan, if they hadn't been successful this year, it would have been gap year, more training (either on a foundation course or privately) and have another go next year. You have to be pretty single minded. It's hard to hedge bets for example with other subjects, because your whole application has to be very convincing that you are dedicated to MT. Lots of people say that the personal statement etc doesn't count, decisions are based wholly on audition. But certainly in my DC's case all three of the places they auditioned at had read their statement in a lot of detail and discussed it at length in interviews.

If we'd been back here again next year, we probably would have added in a couple of Uni based courses with results in hand, e.g. Theatre Arts with Music at Royal Holloway, or MT at Chichester, and possibly drama and theatre at Bath. And DC would have been able to get into music conservatoire relatively easily so the plan C was to do a music degree first and then an MA in MT or Actor Musicianship. This was their least favourite plan though!

This year was very focussed though, only applied to the three colleges they REALLY wanted for Actor Musicianship only. Brave but not great for my nerves!!!!!

@doesanybodyhaveamapmy DD has done a lot of amateur shows. She is at a performing arts college now. She enjoys auditions but these sound on another level. We have friends who have gone onto well known drama schools which can actually put you off the school because of their experiences. Trying to keep an open mind. Also trying to find lots of different options for her. She would love to apply for Mountview but the fees!!

If she's at Performing Arts college then I'm sure they will give her lots of advice and support re: next steps and they should also do a lot of audition prep too :-)

@doesanybodyhaveamap The college do give all the advice etc. I’m sure come September they’ll be full on it :-D

Excellent!

If she’s at a performing arts College, they will be talking quite a lot about where to apply and the good ones.

My daughter had actually done a spreadsheet based on all the shows that she’d seen in the West End and where people had trained, and she made her list from this!

There were places that she decided she definitely didn’t want to go because maybe they were very dance based, not in the right area, or a huge intake.

There was no actual backup, there was an idea that she would have three years trying to get in to any of the top three or four on her list and if she didn’t get in, then she would accept a lesser known College, or try and go out into the industry - she already had done some TV stuff and had an agent.

Her first year auditioning she got a place on Chichester MT and IC theatre, now performers and reserve for PPA MT. She decided to defer Chich and take year out. She did lots of theatre and worked away doing entertainment at a holiday park for the summer. She then decided not to accept her offer and re-auditioned again accepting a foundation MT at GSA turning down BAs at Rose B, PPA and not doing a number of recalls, she is now auditioning again for BA, but tending to veer towards more acting based courses and has an offer at GSA and at Rose B (acting courses) so now has a dilemma on which one to choose.

My DD knew exactly what she wanted and had a plan, it was a gamble too, turning down BAs. This year she literally applied for 4 colleges, again a gamble, but being older definitely paid off and 2 out of 4 offers, although a 3rd did offer a foundation, which she had already done.

First year auditioning, I’d suggest apply for as many as you can, it good experience and she’ll get a ‘feel’ for different places.

@Paddlinglikehell thanks for the information. DD has done a bit of a list of ones she’s most interested in based on websites and word of mouth as she hasn’t been to see any yet. I don’t think she’s thought as far as potentially not get any offers. She has said she would be interested in a foundation year somewhere though. We’ve crossed some out based on areas and fees as well.

Crossing out is good. Initially I said to apply to as many as possible snd she did in the first year, after that she got more choosey and applied for less, saying if she got an offer she wouldn’t go anyway.

Visiting if you can makes a difference, for you as a parent to, to see the area as well as the college.

Interestingly, in her first year DD visited Rose B, had an introduction talk and said ‘I don’t think I want to apply here’ and we left, but at thst stage was set on MT. However she changed her mind and having done a foundation, discovered she did enjoy the acting side more.

Don’t under estimate the usefulness of a one year course. Especially if it’s not for them, they haven’t committed to three years.

I would advise you start visiting the venues and areas sooner than audition and open day time. My dd found some places too small and wanted a wider community. Eg she didn’t warm to Central as it felt like a small school without anywhere to hang out. For others that would be perfect. She also wanted somewhere with a music vibe and not all places have that (eg rada). So it really is about what suits that student

@Paddlinglikehell She has crossed a few out due to appearing too ‘dancy’. Also feedback from friends who have been or are currently there. I’d be interested to know if the ones she thinks are too dance based actually are.
Perhaps she should look at different courses too.
I’m sure college will advise, they have been fantastic and if she could stay and do another 3 years there she would :-D.

i would love to know the difference between the private and funded courses? Is there a difference between the likes of ArtsEd, Mountview, Lanes and the rest?

Yes, I’d say there was. Mountview & Arts Ed are undoubtedly top of the tree in terms of triple threat & Laine are the best of the best dance wise. They can afford to stay small & provide more.

Only GSA are comparable & I honestly don’t know how they do it (my dh has worked for a few different places & still does & has insight into the funding & course provision). Bird used to be but have go too big. I also suspect (& it is only a suspicion as dh left there before the degree came into being) the diploma fees subsidies the degree at Bird.

I think all the foundations and summer courses absolutely fund the three year courses. They are so expensive to run and have to provide lots of hours so cost a fortune.

I suspect GSA manage what they manage because they are part of a larger university (Uni of Surrey). The contact hours and teaching the GSA students get must cost way more than the income from tuition fees, but perhaps they can offset that against the fees paid by students doing 'normal' Surrey uni courses with very few taught hours. You just have to hope that the success and reputation of GSA as a top school is valuable enough to the Uni management that they don't decide to make changes. There's also the fact that each year group at GSA is very small and the students who get a place are pretty damn talented to start off with!!

I think you’re right, they also get income of course from accommodation, which I have to say is pretty amazing, especially at Manor Park.

One of the reasons my DD liked GSA was the smaller class sizes than a lot of other places, Even the Acting, Contemporary theatre and Actor Musos courses only have 25/30 in a class, so they get to know the tutors well. I suppose it’s this and the fact so many apply for so few places, they know they will always be able to chose the best and therefore hopefully, good outcomes, which keeps people applying and do the cycle continues.

Bird degree is provided through uni of Greenwich.
DS absolutely loved his time there ( the real challenge now is finding work….) but he would agree that it’s “too big” with too many students crammed into the degree.

great college though in a great location

Acting in my DS' year at GSA has I think 31 students, but they are taught in two groups for everything so in reality it's about 15 or 16 in a class. And yes, they get to know the tutors very well, and vice versa.

When dh taught there he knew every single student's name. Then one year they had more acceptances than usual and he said that the year group had increased a lot and he thought it was too many.

Numbers have since doubled again. But I agree it is a fantastic college with great training.