Offers and Final DecisionFollowing the interviews, I then received two offers from the universities. The first from Wolverhampton being a conditional offer for a place on the BA illustration course (the one I applied for). Meanwhile with BCU, I only received an offer for the foundation year despite the interviewer saying it was my choice whether or not to do the foundation year. It seemed the choice had already been made for me. Ultimately, it was this that solidified my choice, to accept Wolverhampton's offer. Given how there would be no point in me doing a foundation year when I already have two level 3 qualifications, (or at least will have by the time I enter university). Wolverhampton would also just be all around more convenient. I may have to sacrifice a bit on the university's industry connections but should I ever need to, I am capable of forging my own network. Given networking is already something I'm already familiar with, be it on a smaller scale. ReflectionsUpon reflection there may have been a few reasons BCU didn't accept me. The main one being that perhaps I didn't explain my situation very well. And the reason as to why I was even on an access course to begin with. However given that not only is that very clearly stated in my personal statement and I said as much on the day, I do not believe this was ultimately the culprit. Perhaps another reason, was my portfolio, in that maybe it was too varied in interests and did not give the interviewer a clear picture of who I was as a creative. But given that they themselves ask for a portfolio with a lot of variety, I dont quite understand. There is also the possible issue of the workload which could be another reason they offered me an alternative course. Given how my autism/anxiety may cause my additional problems. But again, considering this is an issue I have dealt with my entire life and I have proven I am quite capable of managing inspite of the challenges I face, I again do not understand what the inviewer meant when they cited this as a concern. In conclusion, I am still equally as confused as the day of the interview. I wish I could say I can use this experience to improve my interview and portfolio techniques for the future, however given I still do not understand what went wrong, that may be hard to do. Next StepsBut regardless, my next steps are to accept Wolverhampton’s offer on UCAS and grantee I meet the requirements of my conditional offer. Which means achieving at least 45 credits (of my current course) at a merit or higher. However, given I am on track to achieve mostly distinctions, I don’t think I need to worry about it too much. But just continue to work at my current standard. Next thing I need to do is apply for student finance. To do this I just need to fill out the online form and supply a valid form of ID like I had the previous year for my current course loan. I may also apply for the disabled student allowance as I am entitled to it because of my autism. For this I just need to fill out the form and supply proof of long term illness, which I have.
0 Comments
PreparationIn preparation for my interviews I watched a fair few YouTube videos about the kind of things to expect on the day. From how the interview would precede (i.e. the order of the days events) and type of questions I would be asked. From this I wrote up my answers to certain questions, so I knew what I was going to say. Here are a few of the videos I watched in preparation for my interviews
The InterviewsDue to some insanely bad luck both of my interviews were on the same day. However despite this added pressure, I believe they went quite well. Birmingham City UniversityMy first interview was at BCU, which consisted of a brief presentation from the tutors before we were each taken off to be interviewed once the tutors had reviewed our portfolios. The interview itself was rather confusing. The tutor seemed to like my portfolio quite a lot, noting he recognised some of the celebrities and influences I had drawn from in my portfolio work. He also mentioned that my mix of animation and portraiture, was exactly what the first year of the BA would be like. However despite this, the tutor recommend I do the foundation year. Something I was quite taken a back by given my wealth of skill and extra UCAS points. From my understanding, he recommended it on the basis that I may not be able to cope with the work load of the BA due to my autism and anxiety problems. He also seemed to indicate it may help me decide which area of illustration I wanted to focus in on as a career. Even though, from my understanding, that is what the first year of the BA is about. But ultimately the tutor said it was my choice whether to take the foundation or go straigt to the BA, just to be aware that I only had 4 out of the 5 years of student funding left. Needless to say I left that interview quite confused. WolverhamptonAfter that ordeal I rushed over to Wolverhampton. The Wolverhampton interview was a lot simpler, rather then have a massive group of interviewees, each person was given a specific time slot. The interview process here was a lot different to BCU as the tutor had me personally present and talk through my portfolio with him. Though a tad daunting, I think I prefered it this way, as it allow me to personally talk through each piece on a one to one basis. Though that could've been the adrenaline talking. But regardless, the tutor also seemed to really enjoy my portfolio, particularly my portraits. After I was done presenting, I was able to talk candidly to him about my concerns, particularly about my dilemma with BCU/Wolverhampton and the industry links/career prospects each university offers. From what he said it was as I had presumed, that BCU had the bigger names but both offer just as much exposure, attending the same design show cases and whatnot. I also enquired over the class sizes and the pro/cons of having a smaller class size. After my interview was formally concluded, the tutor also took me to meet one of one of the other tutors as I had only really met the teacher that interviewed, previously at the open day. It just so happened the tutor he took me to see was teaching the third years, which allowed to get a quick glance of the kind of work they were up to. Again this tutor seemed very friendly and open about the career prospects of Wolverhampton students.
My full portfolio can be viewed here EvaluationConsulting Portfolio Guidelines
When figuring out what to put in my portfolio I first consulted the portfolio guidelines from both BCU and Wolverhampton. Though both were very similar, there were some things BCU asked to me add which Wolverhampton did not, such as writing a introductory paragraph about why I wanted to attend the university and whatnot. They also asked to see a full project from start to finish. The other requirements were much the same for both universities, they both asked for 10-20 pieces in a variety of media. Design With this in mind I decided to design my portfolio in a way that not only made sense, but also told the interviewer a bit about myself. In the end, I came up with the idea to layout my portfolio in a way that mimicked old fairy tale books. In by doing so, I hoped it would convey not only my love of fantasy. But also by presenting my portfolio as a story book, it doubled as a poetic metaphor, that this was the story of my art. An idea I think worked quite well in practise as it stood out against the other illustration portfolios, given how most of the other applicants seemed to have traditional art folders made up of college sketchbooks. Throughout design process I made sure to ask my peers and tutor for feedback. Following this feedback, I made some edits such as altering the design of the master page as it was pointed out my original design for the border was too clustered. Drawbacks and Challenges I suppose my non-standard approach to creating my portfolio is a result of my route in education being a tad non-traditional. In that I didn’t quite have the same quantity of work from sketchbooks that other applicants seemed to have. And so as a result I felt i needed to make up for it in the quality of my portfolio. Not to say that I didn’t have work from previous level 3, but given how inferior that work is to my current standard. It made no sense to include this years old work that is definitely not my best in my university portfolio. My diverse range of mediums included in my work is also something that is both good and bad, as it both allowed me to demonstrate the vast quantity of mediums I have explored and showcase my potential. But it may have also confused the interviewer as to who I was an artist, that I didn’t have my own set in stone style. Admittedly this is something I was advised against doing by one of the many YouTube tutorials I watched on how/what to put in a portfolio. However given that, that video was more from the stance of a portfolio for commercial freelance work, I didn’t think including too much variety would be an issue. Since after all universities want to know what you can do and where you can take it, or at least that was my thought process. This may have been an issue I encountered in one of my interviews, in that the interviewer wasn’t sure what my style was. But with that being said however, the university’s portfolio guidelines specifically ask for variety so honestly who knows. Presentation When deciding how to present my portfolio, I settled on printing out the entire thing onto high quality glossy photo paper. As I wanted to conduct the interview face-to-face rather then online, since it just gives you a better feel for the place. Given this it seemed only natural to present an actual physical copy of my portfolio, as opposed to a digital version. Additionally, I felt being able to present a physical copy also showed a level of preparation and dedication, in the fact I was able to design, produce and print my own zine. Something particularly relevant given how I want to go into digital art and it’s various applications. I also provided a digital version to the universities as a backup. Feedback After we had all completed our portfolio we also held a class presentation which served as an opportunity to give feedback to one another one our portfolios. The feedback I received on my portfolio was overwhelming positive, as such I felt I didn’t need to make any further edits to my portfolio. Conclusion Overall I believe my portfolio is a good example of my work, as it showcases my digital skills (something I am particularly interested in developing further), and my creativity through my unique approach to making a portfolio. Despite some potential problems I may have encountered, I still believe my portfolio came out well. PlanningTo begin writing my personal statement I first mapped out the general gist of what I wanted to put in it, in a mind-map. I also created a very scuffed first draft following on from my mind-map. It wasn’t quite my intention to handwrite this first draft, it just kind of happened. Second DraftFollowing on from this I then wrote up my first draft in a word document, changing up some of the wording/ contents for things I felt fit better. Before submitting for feedback.
Final DraftUpon feedback I changed up a few things and added more to my conclusion. It is this version I then sent to UCAS.
Birmingham City UniversityOne thing that stood out to me about Birmingham was the facilities and the sheer breathe of mediums they offered. I was also quite impressed with the university's portfolio of alumni and industry connections given how future employibility is one of my major concerns. I also got a chance to speak to the illustration tutor, who seemed very welcoming and accommodating. I also spoke with one of the third years about the work load and how they deal with the stress of university. Overall I was quite taken with BCU. But even so I still had the worry of the class sizes in the back of my mind as I may get over looked in the massive crowd of students. WolverhamptonAfter this, I attended Wolverhampton's open day. My first initial impression was not overly good, the building and lecture hall in particular felt very clostrophobic. However despite this, Wolverhampton still offered a lot of facilities, almost of much as BCU. It also had a lot smaller class sizes, something I was weary about with BCU. They also seemed to offer a lot more support for the students. The teachers also seemed more welcoming and willing to help with portfolios and whatnot.
IntroductionWhen considering universities I looked at 3 different courses, them being Wolverhampton, Birmingham City University and Coventry. All for the BA illustration courses. The price per year was the same for all courses and so my main point of contention were travel, class size and career prospects. ComparisonTravel ConsiderationsGiven how I live quite awhile away from Coventry that option was immediately dashed. As I myself I not very fond of travel. However both Wolverhampton and BCU were in a decent traveling distance so they were feesible options. The only concern I had however would be with BCU or more specifically how to get out of the middle of Birmingham should the trains stop running, a feet that happens surprisingly more then you'd think. A problem I would not have with Wolverhampton, given how easy it is to travel to and from via car. Entry RequirementsAnother main concern of mine was the entry requirements. BCU were asking for 112 UCAS points and Wolverhampton 96, I am also given to believe Wolverhampton dropped my required points by 16 as I met one of the requirments to be eligible for their contextual admissions policy. However, given how I already had a level 3 on top of my additional access course I already knew UCAS points would not be much of a problem. As I would have well over what was required. Class SizeMy next concern was the class sizes as BCU is notorious for having large class sizes. Something I was not overly keen on, as I get the feeling I may get lost in the crowd, especially if I should ever require extra help. However despite this, it does feel like BCU has more industry connections then Wolverhampton, something that is quite important when the end goal is employment. However it's not like Wolverhampton doesn't have industry and depending on which career I'd like to pursue within illustration there's no guarantee BCU has that industry connection or that I'll be able to access it either. I also looked up how the overall statisfaction rates of both university's using theuniguide website, and Wolverhampton seemed to have the better student satisfaction rates.
|