BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

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Marissa
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Marissa »

So with 2 auditions left to go just wanted to check something. If she was offered a foundation she could maybe get a £6000 loan towards the fees and then I would find the rest? Also would we get maintenance loan for accommodation?
islandofsodor
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by islandofsodor »

For foundation courses you may be able to get a career development loan for up to £10,000 but it has to be paid back on completion of the course regardless of income. You may also be able to claim housing benefit.

You can’t access these loans/benefits if it’s higher education.
lbm1e14
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by lbm1e14 »

https://www.gov.uk/career-development-loans/eligibility

See the link above, it should help. Also the individual college/Uni websites should make it clear what funding is available. Islandsofsodor is correct. You can't get any loans for fees or maintenance from Student Finance England.

PCDLs are only available from the Coop now. Barclays no longer offer them. Also it is technically a commercial loan so there is no guarantee your DC will get one. It is credit scored. It will be DC who applies in their name.
theMTAonline
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by theMTAonline »

Hi
Just to add some more perspective in here, as I know that some of my lot have fallen at this hurdle. Be careful of throwing all of your money at the Foundation stage, but then having nothing left at the next stage (but not getting any of the available funding streams or DaDas etc). Just something to keep in mind, that the Foundation stage does generally tend to be the starting block, so sadly there's a lot more money to find after that (sorry)

Islandofsodor mentioned that you can't access a CDL on HE courses, this is actually incorrect. We are HE and our students are eligible to apply for a PCDL up to £10k (which can be paid directly to the college to go against fee payments, or can go directly to the student to help with living costs), plus all full time students are eligible for a reduction in housing benefits. I trust that helps.

Hope that you're all doing OK . . . it's a tough old time isn't it? :-k
lbm1e14
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by lbm1e14 »

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... cdl_bp.pdf

This link says that you can't get it for a foundation course which leads to another qualification, whatever that means. You could do an MT Foundation and decide to just start looking for work.

Given that it costs £9k plus living costs to do one I'm pretty sure if they are eligible then the college/Uni website will say so.
Marissa
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Marissa »

Thankyou so much x I guess a Hnc will be a better alternative then.
Sherbert
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Sherbert »

Marissa, as far as I was aware there is no funding whatsoever for MT foundation :? I’ve just paid out £9,750 for a foundation course at Mountview and I have funded all of my sons living costs too xx

If he’s lucky enough to get on to the BA course there, then he can apply for 6k towards the tuition fees each year (just short of 14k) and I make up the rest

If he gets into Trinity however it’s student loan all the way! \:D/
Marissa
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Marissa »

Sherbert wrote:Marissa, as far as I was aware there is no funding whatsoever for MT foundation :? I’ve just paid out £9,750 for a foundation course at Mountview and I have funded all of my sons living costs too xx

If he’s lucky enough to get on to the BA course there, then he can apply for 6k towards the tuition fees each year (just short of 14k) and I make up the rest

If he gets into Trinity however it’s student loan all the way! \:D/
Goodluck for Trinity then!! That's my DD dream too x
Robin64
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Robin64 »

You can't get a career development loan for a foundation. I checked last year. The reason being that the recipient would not be going into employment but into another education course after the foundation (so not earning to pay back a loan). You can't access student finance. The only financial assistance would be housing benefit which generally does not cover all the rent but at least helps a bit. Sorry. It is horrible and not fair. Foundation has been an excellent experience for dd but is a financial commitment for us for the fees. Mountview is not a possibility for dd as we can't top up the fees for the degree. A dada is no good for us so only student loan places viable. It's stressful.
Marissa
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Marissa »

Thankyou just confirmed with student finance that hnc and a further three yrs would be covered so that's something I suppose x There's no way I could find a foundation for DD so looks like this may be her best option to get into a better school although I know still no guarantee x
Live_thedream
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Live_thedream »

Felicity wrote:Hi all, am completely new to all this but have been trying to climb the steep learning curve as my daughter wants to pursue an MT course after Sixth Form. DD is 18 and taking 3 A-levels in school plus singing/ballet/theatre group outside of school. She is passionate about MT and has been applying and auditioning since last term. The whole process has been a real eye opener regarding how competitive it is to get in anywhere. So far she has (in the order of first auditions):
Arts Ed - Recall then Foundation offer
Mountview - No recall
GSA - Recall still to do
Central - Recall but then rejected
Chichester - Triple threat degree offer
Trinity - First audition in Feb
PPA - Audition in March
So I am wondering, if she gets no more offers, is it better to do a Foundation at Arts Ed (no student loan possible but she could live at home to save money as we are near London) or the triple threat degree course at Chichester? Does anyone here have any experience in either of these courses? TIA.
My DS didn't get any places he applied for last year at GSA/Arts Ed and Mountview, he then applied to do a foundation course local to us (SOTE - School of Theatre and Excellence in Birmingham), ran by an ex Arts-Ed and West-ender. It cost just shy of £6k and my DS has found it has really helped him improve his dance element which is what needed the work. He's only just started to go through the audition process, but can feel the difference in confidence compared to last year. His friend who goes to the same college, just got offered a place at Arts Ed last week. So what I'm trying to say is, if all else fails, it might be worth checking out if there is a college local to you that also runs foundation at a lower price and then audition again for one of his dream schools.

Our motto is, don't settle anything less for what you are wanting to strive for as you need to think about chances in the future too. Sounds like though you are still in with a chance with the recalls. Everything is crossed for you.
Live_thedream
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Live_thedream »

Robin64 wrote:
jaybeeyellow wrote:I would advise anyone to do their homework and research before accepting the MT course at Central.
Well DD has an audition there so I would really like to know how to do the homework suggested because this has worried me. Obviously I do know that it is more acting focused and no make up. Anything else I should be aware of?
My DS too has an audition there soon, can you possibly share your experience jaybeeyellow?
Felicity
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by Felicity »

Thanks livethedream and good luck to your DS for his auditions this year.

If my DD decides to go down the Foundation route she will accept the Arts Ed offer and we will be able to fund it at a squeeze as she can live at home for the year to save living costs (Arts Ed is easily commutable from where we live).

DD had her Trinity audition today. The audition structure seemed very thorough from what I gleaned. She got a call back in the afternoon so we will see if anything comes of this in a couple of weeks time! Only the GSA recall and PPA left. Will be glad when this is all over...
rhythmanddreams
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by rhythmanddreams »

Wishing good luck to all of your children who have upcoming auditions! It's a complete minefield isn't it?

My daughter has an audition for the Chichester Triple Threat course on 3rd March, and is waiting for an audition date from Performers College. She also has an audition date for University of Shrewsbury, but we know next to nothing about the course, and also for The Hammond MT degree course, but was disappointed to learn from them that students on the BA Hons only have about 12 hrs contact time of classes a week (5 hrs dance). That's less classes than she does now, after school and on weekends. She is considering not going to The Hammond or Shrewsbury auditions, as she is unsure now if they are the right course for her.
I am concerned that by cutting it down to just 2 auditions, it may be likely that she will end up with no course next year. We were limited to where we could apply anyway, as a course requiring huge top up fees or a foundation course are out of the question, due to the cost, and she was adamant that she wanted to to do a degree, not a diploma course. We are struggling to find any other suitable BA Hons MT courses (unless anyone here has a good suggestion?) Especially as most had to go through UCAS anyway. Currently Chichester is her no 1 choice, but I know that competition for those places will be high.
islandofsodor
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Re: BA / Foundation MT courses Sept 18

Post by islandofsodor »

Who on earth has told her they only get 12 hours?
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