Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

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DadofACP
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Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by DadofACP »

I am a new member to this great forum, having read lots information as a guest over the past couple of months. My Son is in sixth form studying a BTEC Triple Performing Arts and wants to do a 3 year BA MT starting in Sept 2020, so the research has begun in this minefield of information and advice.
There seems to be so much choice, however we have already stated, due to finances, that he can only do a course that is fully financed by the student loan, so rules out the likes of Mountview, ArtsEd, etc.
We have a couple of aspirational picks already (GSA & Bird) and need to choose some back ups. We have already booked to attend Move-it in London in March 19, so plan to talk to Trinity Laban, Bird, PPA, Performers College, Brighton Academy, Italia Conti, Edge Hill Uni, & BRICTT, who are all exhibiting there.
The idea of him staying in London scares me a little, as I fear this may be the costly option re accommodation & general living expenses, however he seems to think that is the place to be. At first glance Performers, PPA & Brighton Academy seem to have great links to industry. Not read many good reports about University courses due to lack of teaching hours, although seen some good feedback on Chichester
I would appreciate any advice anyone can pass on as we are about to embark on this route of shortlisting places. As with all parents, we just want the best possible start for him and send him to the best suited place.
islandofsodor
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by islandofsodor »

I would strongly advise you to attend the next CDMT conference in November. LAst year was at Urdang, the year before LIPA, they havn't announced this year yet. It'ss a little bit like Move It without all the dance mom type kids and they limit numbers (its only open to Year 9 and above students who are considering vocational training). Students get three workshops & talks and a chance to speak to all the different colleges and parents get talks on auditions, funding etc. Then you watch a showcase featuring a the different colleges.

I started a comparison spreadsheet of degree courses. Its not finished yet but I will try and copy and paste what I've done so far: Apologies for the formatting. I started with all the CDMT schools then moved onto FDS and am half way through those so this is incomplete.



Arts Ed BA Hons Professional Musical Theatre Fees £14,990 £6,165 Student Loan CDMT FDS Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
Bird College BA Hons Professional Dance & Musical Theatre Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
Creative Academy BA Hons Dance Fees £6,200 £6,195 Student Loan CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
The Hammond BA Hons Musical Theatre Performance Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
Italia Conti BA Hons Musical Theatre Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan FDS CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
LIPA BA Hons Dance Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan FDS CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
London Studio Centre BA Hons Theatre Dance Fees £14,355 £6,195 Student Loan CDMT Accredited No agent showcase but go on tour
MGA Academy BA Hons Musical Theatre or BA Hons Commercial Dance Fees £9,950 Scottish/European students only SAA funding CDMTAccredited No details of agent showcase
Millennium BA Hons Musical Theatre £9,250 £6,195 Student Loan CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Not sure
(check as Student Finance situation unclear due to course not achieving Designation vague reply to email from college)
Mountview BA Hons Performance – Musical Theatre Fees £14,410 £6,195 Student Loan CDMT FDS Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
Performers BA Hons Musical Theatre (Dance) Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan CDMT Accredited No agent showcase but agents may be invited to college shows
Stella Mann HND Performing Arts with BA Hons 1 year top up Fees £10,275(HND) £6,195 Student Loan (Yr 1&2) BA Top Up Fees £11,836 £9,250 Student Loan CDMT Accredited Agent Showcase Not Sure
Urdang BA Hons Professional Dance & Musical Theatre Fees £9,250 with £3,755 top up £9,250 Studetn Finance CDMTAccredited Agent Showcase Yes
GSA BA Hons Musical Theatre Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan FDS Accredited Agent Showcase Yes
GSA BA Hons Dance Fees £9,250 £9,250 Student Loan Agent Showcase No
DadofACP
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by DadofACP »

Thanks you for reply, will deffo check out the CDMT event. Is it best to go to a place with CDMT accreditation, as two of the places I had been impressed with, due to industry links (PPS & Brighton Academy) do not have this ?
islandofsodor
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by islandofsodor »

I would say take it into consideration but don't make it the be all and end all.

It used to be that CDET (Council for Dance Education & Training) and Drama UK Accreditation for a course (it was the course not the institution that was accredited) meant that graduates gained automatic graduate entry into Spotlight as well as the institution having to maintain certain minimum standards. Then Drama UK became defunct and so it all changed and Spotlight brught in their own conditions. Some institutions that were traditionally more acting based began to join CDET and some joined together to form the Federation of Drama Schools hence CDET's recent change of name to reflect the more diverse genres offered by its members (Council for Dance, Drama & Musical Theatre).

For me it was important that my daughter attended an instutution where there were certain checks and standards to be adhered to and where the college understood the requirements of the industry. However she was looking at Diploma, not degree courses so going to a college offered an accredited qualification (Trinity Diploma) nad with membership of a body (CDMT) was important. Degree courses are overlooked by HEFCE so it is perfectly valid that some institutions don't see the need but HEFCE are limited in scope as they cover such a wide range of courses and subjects. In the dance/ballet world for example there was a fairly new course that advertised itself as offering a particular qualification, was unable to get through the standards needed to offer it along with numerous other complaints which ultimately led to them charging fees for a course with no qualification and huge pastoral/safety issues because no-one external checks up on them. There have also been several high profile Musical Theatre Colleges recently go into Administration and close suddenly so a look at Company Accounts wouldn't go amiss either.

Saying that however there are a few CDMT institutions that have failed OFSTED inspections and so had DaDa funding removed or have failed Designation (which gives access to Student Finance) so it really is a case of Buyer Beware.

With regards to ther CDMT conference though I would highly reccomend it. Move It is fun and useful but basically the colleges that attend & perform are the ones who are prepared to pay the astonomical fees required. It is big and loud and noisy and boy do they pack them in those workshops. At CDMT the groups are small, it is all carefully timetabled and everyone gets to sit down in an auditorium and watch all/most of the colleges perform. The showcase was eye opening. There were a few colleges I had expected to be amazing who were quite mediocre and a couple I hadn't thought of who really were stunning.
Robin64
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Robin64 »

Don't worry about London. DD at Bird pays less rent than my student DD in Brighton. Bird and Rose Bruford have halls (as do others of course) or you can flat share for reasonable rent. Transport in London is good too with night buses if they go out late at the weekend. In terms of auditions it depends a bit on what your ds wants to do afterwards and his strengths (and is he a musician too) but I would look at AMTC colleges (ones with student funding) then add a couple / a few others. Have you visited the Brighton ones you mentioned? Only saying as I'm not sure I would go for those after a btec (having Brighton based family auditioning for degree level) who haven't considered those places at all.
Littleone
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Littleone »

Hi everyone - this is my first post - although I have been reading the forum for a while and am v grateful to all who have contributed such helpful information :D

... Island of Sodor .... Please can I ask re the fees for the BA at Urdang ? The website seems to show the fees as a flat £9250 with no mention of a top up .Having read previous threads on here I understand the fees for the BA used to be similar to the diploma and there was a top up to pay .. or that sometimes this was covered by a bursary but I wondered if this had changed this year as there is no mention of it on the fees section.

If you or anyone could clarify , I would be most grateful as I am hoping to go into it all this with my eyes open :-)

Many thanks
islandofsodor
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by islandofsodor »

That information was correct as of October 2018 and was stated on Urdang's website. However as you say, it has now disapeared. I did see a newspaper article online about a legal challenge to the "voluntary top up" so maybe they have got rid of it since I first started to compile the list.
Littleone
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Littleone »

Thankyou Island of Sodor for replying :D ..... it is reassuring to hear that the info was on the website previously ..... and wasn't something that I had missed !
Thanks again x
Marissa
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Marissa »

My daughter was very keen to be in London. In the end she was only offered a foundation in London so decided that she wanted to start a degree and chose The Hammond and loves it there x It also means she has enough money to enjoy her course without struggling x Dd also is glad she is not in such a big place now x Goodluck, everyone is so supportive here.
amo185
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by amo185 »

That's a really useful list islandofsodor. Thank you. DD has been released from school to attend the Friday of Moveit as it's not quite as busy as the weekend (plus she's performing on Sunday so little time to look around). I agree with islandofsodor's comments but it's a starting point and we've certainly enjoyed it when we've been and have had some very frank discussions with course providers (best when teachers/admin are present at the stand rather than just enthusiastic students) but some aren't there due to the costs, including some of the best. From what I'm hearing from dd's older friends there is quite a discrepancy between the number of contact hours and length of days and terms offered by some providers so it's difficult to judge value for money. It is certainly a minefield! Is there any more news of whether the government will fund future arts courses? I know it's under review :(
islandofsodor
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by islandofsodor »

My full spreadsheet also contains pure acting courses.

I must get it finished but then the info goes out of date so quickly.
Livvyvicky
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Livvyvicky »

Excellent info islansofor, really helpful.

I can help with the Urdang question, when Dd was offered a place I spoke to them about the top up and they said it no longer exists just something they described as a small shoe fee. When I went back on the website later that day it had been removed.

Apologies if someone has already clarified that ......
Littleone
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Littleone »

Thankyou LivvyVicky :-) that's very helpful ! x
Robin64
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Robin64 »

That's good to know about urdang funding. That top up was always a worry when DD was auditioning. Worth noting that there can be some extra money to pay separate to the fees. At Bird it's approx £1000 We are paying this by standing order over the whole course period at about £30 per month. This is for extras like photos costumes etc as far as I recall and it is interest free to spread the payments. You could take this out of any student maintenance loan if necessary.
Also worth noting that these courses do not leave much time for part time work like other uni courses might. They are far tougher and with longer contact hours. That said some students do manage a few hours a week and DD works in her holidays.
Rhymie
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Re: Fully funded BA MT Sept 2020 - Advice sought

Post by Rhymie »

Robin64 wrote: Sat Jan 26, 2019 2:58 pm That's good to know about urdang funding. That top up was always a worry when DD was auditioning. Worth noting that there can be some extra money to pay separate to the fees. At Bird it's approx £1000 We are paying this by standing order over the whole course period at about £30 per month. This is for extras like photos costumes etc as far as I recall and it is interest free to spread the payments. You could take this out of any student maintenance loan if necessary.
Also worth noting that these courses do not leave much time for part time work like other uni courses might. They are far tougher and with longer contact hours. That said some students do manage a few hours a week and DD works in her holidays.
That is such a good point. My DS has no time for part-time work at all, unlike my daughter who is at Uni and has far fewer contact time. He is in drama school 8am - 5.30, five days a week and practising at the weekends. It a huge stretch. Given that the maintenance loan is less than £1300 a term and rent is £550 per month, its a shocker! Please also bare these extra costs in mind. On top of that yes there are dance clothes and shoes but not nearly as much as in the MT schools.
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