Loughborough or Oxford Brookes for Graphic design (or other)

[Ackie]

My daughter received the bad news today that she hasn't been accepted from her first choice Uni for Graphic Design = Edinburgh.

She holds offers from LBO, OxB, Bristol and Man Met. She doesnt want to go to any of them. She is distraught and not willing to discuss it.

WE know LBO is the "best course" after Tees (more illustration) but she know LBO as her brother is there and doesn't want to do Nottingham has a student town as LBO town is a "sh%* hole".

She doesn't like the Bristol course so at this stage Man Met is the next best she thinks.

However, I think OxB would suit her but reluctant because of that "reputation": those who wanted to go to Oxbridge/Exeter/Dur etc but not bright enough...dont shoot me...that's what she feels, with her cousins been/at DUR she got the story from there and some of their friends from boarding school went to OxB for that very reason.

My daughter state educated, struggled with lockdown and wanted a more collegiate feel to uni hence Edin. Then again Man Met will be massive.....

Anybody has direct experience of either or both?

thanks

I understand OB campus is 1mile from the centre? TW3 isn't anywhere near the centre of London. Need to have a visit.

Honestly. Give it a rest please, it's embarrassing. Headington is in Oxford and Twickenham is in London. Everyone knows that (apart from yourself apparently). And just for info I have been to Twickenham more times than I care remember.

Really? That's ridiculous. Dogs don't go to university.

I meant we need to visit OB....not you to TW3.
BTW my dad as a plaque on the walk of legends at the ground.....but what I was trying to establish was how far out of town was the campus - if UCL is in centre of London like OU is in Oxford, I was just making sure it wasn't 12 miles like TW3 is from UCL. DD likes the idea of a a more collegiate style town centre uni vs remote a campus

Interesting re your Dad. OB is definitely a campus university, but not too far from the city centre. The Brookes bus is free to students living in halls by the way which is very useful.

In terms of looking elsewhere at clearing:

Has she completely discounted Edinburgh Napier? It would still be in Edinburgh, just at a different university.

I think Lincoln would also be worth a visit, it has a similar feel to Edinburgh and Oxford when you walk around and is well regarded for graphic design.

@Ackie This is a screen shot. Obviously horrible traffic right now. It’s really on the city centre edge of Headington which, at its furthest point along London Road, goes all the way out to the ring road. The route to OB takes about 20 mins to walk and should be 4- 6 mins in a bus from the bottom of The High by the River. It’s not a campus university in the middle of nowhere (although Wheatley campus is!) Everything a student could want is handy and it’s much more vibrant than Lincoln! Better football team too.

I would not do clearing over OB either.

Oh - were you both imagining OB as an isolated campus in the middle of nowhere, @Ackie? ‘Tis not that! Headington Hill is a busy, traffic clogged area, the main road comprising of houses, pubs, schools, businesses, leading up to a stretch of shops and restaurants. OB is spread across various buildings and areas either on or beyond the road. The larger sites aren’t closed off - one of my habitual routes cuts through OB and I quite often pop into their Co-op and sometimes stop for coffee in their cafe on that side if I have errands in Headington. All open to the public. On the other side one of the nicest strolls in Oxford is through woodland and along paths that encompass extremely nice, brand new OB accommodation blocks. That walk leads to a pub and then on through a meadow, and past a weir into the centre of town. It’s all incredibly pretty and populated and students and residents live cheek by jowl.

Thanks @TizerorFizz (Tizer, now that's a drink).😀

I wasn't, I've never been, I was just trying to understand as there seemed to be a debate as to how far "out" OB was - once started talking of Twickenham and London.

Thanks so much for the info, helps paint the picture.

But we have to go.
Ax

Why is that...not disagreeing, just understanding the perspective. Clearing would be just for Edin, which is highly unlikely.

We are also hearing mixed reports on Eng students in Edin both positive and negative.

There usually is a compromise, its just about understanding what.

Straight to the end. My DC got a first in GD from Kingston last summer,1:1, considered ‘good enough’ in it a A level the exam board withheld his portfolio to demonstrate what work A* looks like.

He’s had one interview in 10 months. Just about no one on his course has a GD job.

I warned him at 15 that GD might be ‘difficult’, and here we are.
In straitened times, nice-to-have’s disappear, and AI can throw a branding together for you, now.

As for offers, DC got all of his but declined Edinburgh as they were evasive about their drop out numbers, they’re far more interested in fine art, English students pay fees and he’d be sharing a bedroom. Loughborough felt a bit remote and was pretty ‘sports’ focused. Bristol WofE’s only ‘star’ was some gallery in town with a tired design studio on top. Leeds Arts was promising but I’d shy away from any pure arts uni right now. They don’t have ‘cheaper’ courses to average out the fees. I believe many are in trouble.

Good luck to your DD. My DC is now considering town planning!

Just to confirm what others have said, one of my best friends is a GD with 20+ years of experience. She got made redundant and is now at 200+ applications and not one interview.
She may be doing something completely wrong in her applications, but it seems particularly difficult out there.

@Ackie Clearing are last to get accommodation and it’s stressful. Just isn’t worth it. My DD had to take insurance years ago and that was awful too. Everyone else is settled and you are scrabbling around trying to see where has vacancies. For accommodation my dd was originally offered nothing! No spaces anywhere. She shared in the end - a room no one else wanted but it was better than a private rental. Also often clearing dc don’t always find it as good as they hoped.

I actually agree with the idea regarding planning. We are turning out grads no one wants to employ.

It’s hard yes but harder for 20+ years than graduates, it’s a young industry so the preference is 22k salary and train up over an over inflated senior role, unless he’s worked in London or internationally for 20+ years in which case that’s just a bit poo.