Applying for 2013

[jasmine2]

Has anyone decided which schools/universitys they are applying for 2013....we have narrowed it down to 6 (we think) for dd...lol

[LivingTheDream]

We've decided for 2014 as dd is going into Year 12 this year- we've narrowed it down to Cambridge (English Lit) and then RADA, LAMDA, Guildhall, Arts Ed and Guilford (all Acting).

[jasmine2]

DD is about to go into the 2nd year of her dance diploma, after spending 6 years at a full time theatre school..She was lucky enough to be offered places at 3 of the top performing arts colleges a year ago, but unfortunately we could not fund it, so we are hoping that if she were lucky again to get in, a student loan and maybe some extra funding from somewhere would cover it....
Having said that, she is loving her dance diploma at our local college and is doing very very well (D* across the board) and it has kept her very grounded...

[jasmine2]

Just when I thought it was safe..dd has decided on a couple more to apply for..aaarrgghhhh!! lol x

[jackpot]

having gone through the process of applying and auditioning this year, I think you have to btake account of the costs involved which with travel soon mounts up. I reckon we spent around £1500 this year, and luckily it paid off with DS getting into Mountview.

I am no expert on it but certainly use the 5 UCAS options and any others you can think of dependant on what it is your DD/DS is looking to do. Our DS applied for RADA, CSSD, Bristol Old Vic, MV, Guildhall, Trinity Laban, LIPA and Drama Centre. His idea was to be London based and didn't even go to his LIPA audition in the end.

[Welsh Mum]

I agree the costs do mount up, especially if like us you live a long way from London, so that often meant hotel costs as well. Like your DS my DD only really waanted to study in london, though she did love BOV and would have gone there because their reputation is so good.

[sapphire]

Ditto ... it certainly has been an expensive year with all those auditions, recalls and now getting kitted out for the actual move

DD has had all her info through now from LIPA and is getting very excited about it! A nice feature of the induction period is that the students already in training do showcases during Freshers fortnight for the newbies!

Good luck to everyone applying for 2013! DD's advice to applicants would be to make sure you get a couple of auditions under your belt before you actually apply to your top choices ... she felt her audition technique definitely improved as she went along!

[jackpot]

i agree about getting auditions under yor belt.....and most importantly, dont give up after a rejection.

our DS was rejected after his very first audition and didnt get a call back, whereas after that it was call backs every time!

Good luck

[tikka]

Hi all

DS has a head full of UCAS/Uni Open days/Drama School/Acting BScs and the dreaded Personal Statement.......and still can't, after years of wanting be an actor, decide where he wants to apply to, or if he wants to go in 2013, or leave it a year....or even if he wants to go anywhere! I think the thought of all that debt is not helping either. Although not many people will ever earn a high enough salary to actually pay off the student loans within 30 years.

Is it the same for everyone?

...and so hard to fill forms in now for courses starting a year away.

Up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go to another Open Day.

tikka

[sapphire]

You have my sympathies ... it's a lot of extra work to have to do on top of school work! I can actually see some sense in the proposal to bring A levels forward and postpone uni applications until after results are in. Hope your DS manages to reach some decisions. I remember DD really struggled up to half term but then a plan seemed to fall into place!

[Welsh Mum]

You have my sympathies ... it's a lot of extra work to have to do on top of school work! I can actually see some sense in the proposal to bring A levels forward and postpone uni applications until after results are in. Hope your DS manages to reach some decisions. I remember DD really struggled up to half term but then a plan seemed to fall into place!

Unfortunately this proposal has been shelved

Very stressful time. The worst ones are those who have no idea what they want to do.

[Genevieve]

I think if your dd ds's arnt sure about whether to go drama school or Uni route - my advice would be, get some audition pieces ready for those drama schools that don't go through UCAS, and learn some monologues - apply for one or two auditions in October, in order to get audition dates before christmas, and apply for others (the ones on top of your list) to audition during the year next year, and also do a personal statement and apply for Uni courses via UCAS -that way all options are kept open. Then you can always still take a gap year if you want, but still have a firm and insurance choice of uni course to go to, if you don't get into a drama school.
It is hard work, but as long as your auditions for drama schools are spaced out (you can always cancel an audition date and rearrange if push comes to shove), and while not interferring with school work. It's such a difficult decision.
As regards the Uni fees - I think it's difficult to understand completely how its all going to work financially - but if you look at it this way, you'd have to be earning £21,000 a year before you starting paying it back, and even then it only works out at £90.00 a year, which is manageable, and you'd have to be earning £31,000, for example,to be paying £810.00 a year in repayments ! so 9% on your earnings - and as has been said a lot of people won't even end up paying it all back - so it shouldn't put anyone off going to Uni, but unfortunately....it has. What the increase in Uni fees has done I've noticed, is that students and parents are being far more thorough than ever in visiting universities, researching courses, making sure they are getting their monies worth, not a bad thing.

[Welsh Mum]

Lots of great info in the student section on Martin Lewis' Money saving Expert site. Brilliant loan calculator here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/studen ... calculator

[Genevieve]

I looked at that site to understand the new students fees, it explains things better than my dds school did - as its in laymans terms

[Welsh Mum]

I actually used the site in my presentation to parents I put in a few vaiiables on the calculator

Luckily the internet worked fine