GETTING INTO UNI

If you have read my recent post, 'Starting Again', you will know that I have received offers from Universities to attend and study Fashion BA Hons, which I am so happy about. It's been such a long and admittedly difficult process, but I finally made it!

I wanted to make something that, as a creative arts student, I found very little of... advice. My teachers and supporting staff at my sixth form were amazing but when it came down to my specific subject choices at A Level, and doing A Level in the first place, I was a little in the dark when it came to uni. 

I am going to talk you through the process that I have gone through to get my places at my chosen Unis and the hurdles that I have had to jump over and that you may too if you choose to follow a creative arts subject into higher education. 

UCAS Events

A typical part of the process to choosing your University is going to UCAS events to meet staff and get prospectus' to look through.
For the typical 'academic' subjects, this isn't so much as an issue as a competition to see how many free things you can get from Unis that want you. However, for me in particular, it was a little bit more of a worrying day.
Before this point, I hadn't really done much research into creative arts universities, who offered the specific course that I wanted and what I needed to get onto the courses. Unfortunately, I was met with a few representatives that told me I had to either do a foundation year at college or that I should have done a BTEC - not something you want to hear after committing your life to English Literature, Art and Design & Technology Textiles.
Although, I did meet representatives from four of the five Universities that I applied to and both of which I ended up choosing as my first and second choices, so not a complete disaster.

The questions I asked... 

Because I already knew this would be a difficult process, I prepared a few questions beforehand, which were met with different responses due to the nature of the specific course, these are the questions I recommend you ask...

1. Do you do my course?

2. What grades or qualifications do I need?

3. In the last year, how many people went on to do what I want to do after Uni?

4. What facilities and help for students do you provide?

5. What is the ratio of independent and class learning and what nature is this? *

6. What is the basic breakdown of the course content?

*I asked this as with Fashion, I felt like I wouldn't benefit from class work in a classroom but from practical teaching and somewhere where I could access help as and when I needed it

By asking these questions, I felt that I was prepared to make my choice on which Universities I wanted to apply to, even before attending the open days. I suggest that you also go to as many Open Days and events as possible to find out all of the information that you could ever wish for as it's a really important decision. 

The Application Process

After going to events at the Universities that you are interested in, it's time to apply for UCAS. This is where I found myself ringing the Universities specifically to ask questions I felt couldn't be answered by the sixth form. 

For example, with my personal statement, I knew that I needed to be original and passionate, however, it's not so simple for a creative arts application as getting is arguably more difficult than what's on the surface. 

I suggest that you include information about topics and interests that are clearly not on your syllabus, especially if you are applying from an A Level background going into fashion as they will be aware that what you have done during your studies is very restrictive and limited. 

I included the fact that I had made my own clothing and had multiple personal sketchbooks in which I design clothing and pieces, all things not influenced or asked for from my studies at sixth form. 

Fingers crossed, this will get you an interview, which is when you need to make sure you can back up what you said in your personal statement.
For me, this meant getting together all of my drawings and sketches and presenting them in a sketchbook, ready for the interviewer to look through.
I took with me...
Large sketchbook - Containing the best of what I'd done outside of school
Current year's art sketchbook
Life drawings
A couple of pics of clothing that I'd created
and this was more than enough, remember, you will only have around 10 minutes so you want to make sure you show them your absolute best!

That's about it for my experience up until now with applying and getting into Uni and what you should expect when applying for a creative arts BA. I will be doing a haul post in the near future of everything I've got for my accommodation so keep an eye out for that! Thanks for reading.