taypwyrm

They are all really good schools with great reputations and alumni. It is really important to extensively research the schools and visit them if possible. Who you will be working with is really vital so make sure you do your own research rather than gathering other peoples opinions in order to establish a general consensus. Everyones experience is different. Unfortunately as an international student it is highly unlikely that you will get any funding first year. There are usually funding opportunities second year. I attend the RCA and my tuition is 26 thousand pounds a year. I had to apply for grants and scholarships external from my institution and within Canada. The Glasgow School of Art, Slade and Goldsmiths have a significantly less tuition, however, as far as I know they operate similar with funding. If you are looking for a full ride the UK is definitely not the place. I really love the RCA. I almost went to the Glasgow School of Art because tuition was half the price but I decided to visit the RCA for my interview and met the tutors and was completely sold. Even research can be somewhat obscured. I recommend doing as much as you are able to in order to get the information that you need. If you can't visit, don't be afraid to email the head of the department or tutors that you are interested in. I have some friends in the painting program at the RCA. If you are interested in that school pm me and I can put you in touch with them! Good luck!

do you by any chance know if the government loan letter needs to be signed by the institution?

thank you thank you thank you

Hi everyone, My funds just came in and I need to apply for my tier 4 visa asap. I am finding online resources for document requirements to be extremely vague. I am having a hard time finding the specific info that I need. If anyone has gone through the process and could offer and guidance that would be greatly appreciated. Here are my questions: My student loan is a form of my proof of funds. Do I need to get these documents signed by the institution before I submit them with my application? My student loan agreement was issued to me a few weeks ago. It seems pretty unreasonable to have to send them to the UK and get them sent back to Canada. That could take forever.... I was planning on getting it signed there. Does my letter of acceptance and CAS form need to be printed and hand signed originals? Everything went down virtually so I have no officials just digital print outs. Are these okay? Thanks!

I think the verbal or written expression of appreciation is more valuable than any gift

A thoughtful hand written letter and a bottle of wine!

I'm from Canada and was given the option of doing a skype interview. I am pretty sure that Canada/U.S both have that option. Just email them and ask

I am curious, who is doing their MFA straight from their undergrad?

I am having a difficult time trying to decide between the Glasgow School of Art and The Royal College of Art. I would REALLY appreciate some advice at this point. The Royal College of Art is basically my dream school - The tutors are amazing, there is a great cross over between studio and research departments and they have a very high reputation. I would also be situated in London where there is probably a lot more networking opportunities and opportunities in general. The only downfall is it is extremely expensive. Tuition is 42,000 a year and I also have to consider materials, living, eating etc. Oh, and the studio space is really tight and shared. I need a lot of space but it isn't crucial as I could work around it. My biggest concern is that being in such an expensive city will cause me a lot of stress and I will be focused on surviving in London rather than being present within my work. Financial issues aside though, I am confident that this is the ideal school for me. So, Glasgow! - The tuition is half the price and they have large studios. There is also a ton of space that is accessible outside of the dedicated studios that are individual. I'm not particularly interested in the photography tutors but I am sure that there is faculty that I haven't met that I could benefit a lot from. Who knows though, the photo tutors could end up working out really well. Glasgow is also a cheap city to live in. I would not be in a state of financial crisis at ALL times, which I would be in London. I know that it would be a place where I could really focus on my practice and I would produce a lot. The downfall is Glasgow's art scene is pretty small and there isn't as much opportunity. It might be really isolating. Ideally i'd like to be in school while also networking, showing my work, interning etc. HELP.

Accepted to the Glasgow School of Art today via email I thought I had decided on the Royal College of Art but I am beginning to consider going to the GSA as tuition costs are half the price. Does anyone have any advice or information on which school has a better reputation? I feel like the RCA might be an obvious choice but im starting to have some doubts. Any perspective is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!!

anyone going to rca?

Apply for external funding? Everything you can find and more? Plan B, loans? I have to come up with 42,000 by August. If anyone has any info on any international scholarships please let me know!

Just thought I would start a thread where people could post the school that they chose to attend. It might be a good place where some of us could potentially connect and start conversations outside of this website. Anyway, i'll go first! Royal College of Art - MA Photography, September 2013!

I haven't even been notified if I got an interview! I am assuming that I am rejected at this point haha.

I still haven't heard anything from CalArts. Is anyone else in the same boat?

Nice! Mine got moved to the 13th. Would you mind posting how it goes?

Congrats by the way!

When is yours?

I brought in a couple of short responses on philosophical texts that I had just written and stated that they were a brief exploration of an idea I would like to write about further. I also presented a 1500 word praxis paper that I had done in school. He read them during the interview and said that my ideas were very strong. Nothing was mentioned about my writing skills. What a relief! I got an email an hour after my interview offering me a spot in the program!

I was wondering if anyone knows or has any perspective on how crucial writing skills are considered when applying as a studio major? I have an interview at the RCA and they have asked me to bring in writing samples. I am confident in my studio work and my ideas but my technical application within writing is probably average. I have always put emphasis on my studio work and had little time to write independant from my studies. My papers are decent but I feel pretty self conscious presenting them. Any information regarding this would be appreciated!

Also, how much work are you guys planning on bringing? I feel as though the physicality of my work in scale is really important so I was planning on bringing three of my images mounted at the scale of 30x30 with no frame so I can carry them in the interview with no struggle. I was also planning on just wrapping them in bubble wrap really simply so it wont take any time to unwrap and wrap it back up. This is the primary form of presentation for my work and I felt really strange re-printing them at such a small scale for my portfolio. What do you guys think? Is this too much?

Is this for Photography & Media? I haven't heard back yet. Uh oh.

I am going for an interview on Friday for Photography. Although each departments interview process may be significantly different i'll definitely let you know how it turns out. I'm really nervous. I'd love to hear some advice/past experiences from others.

Did anyone apply to the Glasgow School of Art? It's been a pain in the ass trying to communicate with them. It has been taking 3+ weeks for an email response! I wasn't able to find out when they send out interview notifications nor how many people they accept to the program each year. Anyone have any idea? Also does anyone know how many people they interview at the Royal College of Art? Man oh man this process is maddening. I need to relax

Does anyone roughly know when the CalArts interview notifications get sent out? Congrats on the interviews everyone!