NotaPushyMum.Com

Hello NAPMs
I'm in need of your good advice! DS has auditioned for straight acting first time (18) and is holding offers from Rose Bruford, GSA and Fourth Monkey (1 year) and is on reserve for CDT (collaborative devised theatre, exactly what he wants to do) at Central.
UCAS deadline to accept or decline is 7th June. Fourth Monkey course is self funded (a very generous offer from a relative will cover the fee but of course not other costs) and becomes payable in full on 15th June.
He would prefer to go to Central as he felt the course was perfect. FM is wonderfully supportive and a great 'foundation' course but not particularly well known I think. He loved Rose Bruford too but not as much as Central as the course wasn't as creative and physical.
It's really decision time now. It's so unlikely he will get a place at Central but I'm holding a little hope for it. There are 5 reserves (like for like) and 18 places.
We're thinking he should take the one year at Fourth Monkey and re-audition for Central next year. But it seems madness to turn down Rose Bruford in a way!
Any thoughts would be very welcome if anyone has the time to give me your pearls of wisdom.
Thank you!

I know someone who went to Fourth Monkey and it sounds fantastic but the living costs became astronomical and they ended up leaving the course early because of it. I'd look at the figures relating to accommodation and living first before ruling FM in or out.

When will he know about Central?

It's a difficult one to know what to do, when in any given year the chances of a place are slim.

Hopefully you'll get more replies from other posters.

Littlemum wrote:Hello NAPMs
I'm in need of your good advice! DS has auditioned for straight acting first time (18) and is holding offers from Rose Bruford, GSA and Fourth Monkey (1 year) and is on reserve for CDT (collaborative devised theatre, exactly what he wants to do) at Central.
UCAS deadline to accept or decline is 7th June. Fourth Monkey course is self funded (a very generous offer from a relative will cover the fee but of course not other costs) and becomes payable in full on 15th June.
He would prefer to go to Central as he felt the course was perfect. FM is wonderfully supportive and a great 'foundation' course but not particularly well known I think. He loved Rose Bruford too but not as much as Central as the course wasn't as creative and physical.
It's really decision time now. It's so unlikely he will get a place at Central but I'm holding a little hope for it. There are 5 reserves (like for like) and 18 places.
We're thinking he should take the one year at Fourth Monkey and re-audition for Central next year. But it seems madness to turn down Rose Bruford in a way!
Any thoughts would be very welcome if anyone has the time to give me your pearls of wisdom.
Thank you!

Have you any concerns about getting the grades for any of the UCAS options, or is that not a problem? Just wondering if you went for UCAS and turned down Fourth Monkey could he end up with nothing? Is Central via UCAS too? In which case how do they manage the reserve status as you won’t be able to select it if offered after 7th June? Sorry I’m a bit vague on this as we’ve just got GSA and Urdang as first choice and reserve in UCAS so that is fairly simple for him.

Super-tricky one. Does Central say where he is on reserve eg top of the list or not? and in other years have people got in off the reserve list? - could you ring and ask that?

My nephew loved Rose Bruford at audition but didn't like Central. Both are highly regarded. RB probably has more of a family feel as it is a lot smaller. They have good halls to live in too my DD says - I saw them the other day - above a Costa in Sidcup
Does he know anyone at the different places to get some feedback about the courses? Maybe the student room forum might be worth an ask?
I have looked at Fourth Monkey before and it seemed great but don't know a huge amount.

I would be tempted to take up the Bruford or GSA offer - bird in the hand and all that, however, it sounds like he has been really successful first time round and it is very likely he would do just as well or better next time. So all in all I have been no help at all making the decision!!
I was thinking Is the GSA offer conditional too? Usually they ask for AAB I think? Is that likely for your DS?
Anyway congrats on the great offer achievements & good luck deciding. In a way it it is the nicest problem to have! Even though it is hard.Whatever way he goes I think it is best to choose and go for it with no regrets.

Thanks for your replies so far, all helpful to gauge opinions so thanks for spending the time. He would be happy with RB but didn't really like the feel of GSA for him (even though his friends are going, they are MT not acting) but he wonders if he's going to miss out on the London vibe and the specifics of the CDT course if he took it? But it's a gamble that could go either way I guess.
(Being a Northern NAPM, I want him to stay somewhere very safe outside of London as it scares me! But excites him!)
All further advice welcome please! Also if anyone has DS / DDs who have been on the CDT course at Central or the Acting course at RB, what were the pros and cons? I'm sure the training is excellent at both, but do agents take that view also?
Thanks so much, you're a great team for advice and support!

Just wanted to quickly butt in and say wow! Congratulations to your DS for those fantastic offfers at such great colleges first time around xx best of luck to him wherever he goes...ps: I get what your DS means about GSA and the ‘London vibe’ but it’s all about great training and that agency showcase (which would be in London anyway) at the end xx and I also get what scares us excites them!

Rose Bruford has the advantage of 20 mins easy transport into central London and the chance to really get to know London but live somewhere a bit cheaper and less full on city-like. Central is in a nice area - quite leafy I remember.

My gut feeling would be to accept the Rose Burford offer - a degree offer rather than for a foundation course.
If once the course has started and he has settled into it, he still feels it is not quite right for him, he always has the option of applying for Central next year and dropping out at the end of his first year. More than likely he will forget all about Central though.
My DD was told that to an extent you don't pick your college, they pick you. An offer straight off - no reserve - does mean that that particular college wants to invest in you, that they think you are the right fit for them.
but good luck with the decisionmaking and I hope your DS is happy and thrives wherever he ends up going

2dancersmum wrote:My gut feeling would be to accept the Rose Burford offer - a degree offer rather than for a foundation course.
If once the course has started and he has settled into it, he still feels it is not quite right for him, he always has the option of applying for Central next year and dropping out at the end of his first year. More than likely he will forget all about Central though.
My DD was told that to an extent you don't pick your college, they pick you. An offer straight off - no reserve - does mean that that particular college wants to invest in you, that they think you are the right fit for them.
but good luck with the decisionmaking and I hope your DS is happy and thrives wherever he ends up going

I agree, it’s great he’s got an offer from Rose Bruford! I’d go with that if I were you, but it’s entirely your choice! Good luck in whatever you decide xx

2dancersmum wrote:My gut feeling would be to accept the Rose Burford offer - a degree offer rather than for a foundation course.
If once the course has started and he has settled into it, he still feels it is not quite right for him, he always has the option of applying for Central next year and dropping out at the end of his first year. More than likely he will forget all about Central though.
My DD was told that to an extent you don't pick your college, they pick you. An offer straight off - no reserve - does mean that that particular college wants to invest in you, that they think you are the right fit for them.
but good luck with the decisionmaking and I hope your DS is happy and thrives wherever he ends up going

Whilst an option, just near in mind that if you leave a degree after 1 year my understanding is that that would be 1 year if the 4 years max SFE funding used up. You'd still have 3 years left to do a BA though. Also you'd still have the fee and any maintenance loan to repay.

lbm1e14 wrote:

2dancersmum wrote:My gut feeling would be to accept the Rose Burford offer - a degree offer rather than for a foundation course.
If once the course has started and he has settled into it, he still feels it is not quite right for him, he always has the option of applying for Central next year and dropping out at the end of his first year. More than likely he will forget all about Central though.
My DD was told that to an extent you don't pick your college, they pick you. An offer straight off - no reserve - does mean that that particular college wants to invest in you, that they think you are the right fit for them.
but good luck with the decisionmaking and I hope your DS is happy and thrives wherever he ends up going

Whilst an option, just near in mind that if you leave a degree after 1 year my understanding is that that would be 1 year if the 4 years max SFE funding used up. You'd still have 3 years left to do a BA though. Also you'd still have the fee and any maintenance loan to repay.

Whilst this is true about the using of 1 years entitlement of student funding and you'd end up borrowing a larger amount, though that is often a psychological barrier rather than anything else. I don't think you can drop out after 1 year at Uni, to immediately start somewhere else the following year. I recall looking this up earlier this year to do with my son who wants to do a degree starting in Sept, and I had reservations about his preferred choice and wondered if he could swap after a year if it didn't work out there and read that you can't - unless anyone knows different or the rules have changed?

As far as I am aware, if you start a degree course but realise that the degree is not for you, or that the university is not for you, you are able to change.
If you wish to stay at the same place and change course, it depends very much on where you study, if you meet the entrance requirements and if there is space. Depending how similar the courses are you would be either starting year 1 again or going in at year 2.
If you wish to change university, you have to reapply through ucas and will be considered on the same basis of any other applicants.

I don't know how/if this changes when applying for performing arts courses at a mixture of ucas and direct entry places.

That is the information I have read regarding starting a degree with student funding (obviously funding and student loans are affected). Not sure where you have read to the contrary. I also know of more than one person who started a degree at one university in one subject, realised they had made a mistake and reapplied the following year (or year after that) for a different degree at a different place. None of them completed a year, however, more like just a term (or less)

Obviously any individual considering this option would need to seek proper advice for themselves.

2dancersmum wrote:As far as I am aware, if you start a degree course but realise that the degree is not for you, or that the university is not for you, you are able to change.
If you wish to stay at the same place and change course, it depends very much on where you study, if you meet the entrance requirements and if there is space. Depending how similar the courses are you would be either starting year 1 again or going in at year 2.
If you wish to change university, you have to reapply through ucas and will be considered on the same basis of any other applicants.

I don't know how/if this changes when applying for performing arts courses at a mixture of ucas and direct entry places.

That is the information I have read regarding starting a degree with student funding (obviously funding and student loans are affected). Not sure where you have read to the contrary. I also know of more than one person who started a degree at one university in one subject, realised they had made a mistake and reapplied the following year (or year after that) for a different degree at a different place. None of them completed a year, however, more like just a term (or less)

Obviously any individual considering this option would need to seek proper advice for themselves.

I agree. My partner works in a Uni and confirmed that this happens all the time. Otherwise anyone who made a bad choice of uni/course would never be able to go back to uni to do anything else as it would not be funded. Not sure how long this has been the case and maybe the rules have changed.

lbm1e14 wrote:

2dancersmum wrote:As far as I am aware, if you start a degree course but realise that the degree is not for you, or that the university is not for you, you are able to change.
If you wish to stay at the same place and change course, it depends very much on where you study, if you meet the entrance requirements and if there is space. Depending how similar the courses are you would be either starting year 1 again or going in at year 2.
If you wish to change university, you have to reapply through ucas and will be considered on the same basis of any other applicants.

I don't know how/if this changes when applying for performing arts courses at a mixture of ucas and direct entry places.

That is the information I have read regarding starting a degree with student funding (obviously funding and student loans are affected). Not sure where you have read to the contrary. I also know of more than one person who started a degree at one university in one subject, realised they had made a mistake and reapplied the following year (or year after that) for a different degree at a different place. None of them completed a year, however, more like just a term (or less)

Obviously any individual considering this option would need to seek proper advice for themselves.

I agree. My partner works in a Uni and confirmed that this happens all the time. Otherwise anyone who made a bad choice of uni/course would never be able to go back to uni to do anything else as it would not be funded. Not sure how long this has been the case and maybe the rules have changed.

Can you start at University A though in Sept 2018 and having decided it's not for you start at University B in Sept 2019? This is what I looked into earlier this year for my son (computing course not PA) and I'm pretty sure the answer was no you couldn't. You would have to drop out and reapply for anywhere else for Sept 2020. It wasn't the changing of course/Uni that was the issue it was the consecutive years. Can't remember where I read it, might have been student room forums.

lawn wrote:

lbm1e14 wrote:

2dancersmum wrote:As far as I am aware, if you start a degree course but realise that the degree is not for you, or that the university is not for you, you are able to change.
If you wish to stay at the same place and change course, it depends very much on where you study, if you meet the entrance requirements and if there is space. Depending how similar the courses are you would be either starting year 1 again or going in at year 2.
If you wish to change university, you have to reapply through ucas and will be considered on the same basis of any other applicants.

I don't know how/if this changes when applying for performing arts courses at a mixture of ucas and direct entry places.

That is the information I have read regarding starting a degree with student funding (obviously funding and student loans are affected). Not sure where you have read to the contrary. I also know of more than one person who started a degree at one university in one subject, realised they had made a mistake and reapplied the following year (or year after that) for a different degree at a different place. None of them completed a year, however, more like just a term (or less)

Obviously any individual considering this option would need to seek proper advice for themselves.

I agree. My partner works in a Uni and confirmed that this happens all the time. Otherwise anyone who made a bad choice of uni/course would never be able to go back to uni to do anything else as it would not be funded. Not sure how long this has been the case and maybe the rules have changed.

Can you start at University A though in Sept 2018 and having decided it's not for you start at University B in Sept 2019? This is what I looked into earlier this year for my son (computing course not PA) and I'm pretty sure the answer was no you couldn't. You would have to drop out and reapply for anywhere else for Sept 2020. It wasn't the changing of course/Uni that was the issue it was the consecutive years. Can't remember where I read it, might have been student room forums.

My brother's stepson started a degree in Sept 2016 at Warwick and dropped out and started a similar degree at Bath in Sept 2017. All funded. Neither are PA.