London College of Music

[lbm1e14]

Does anyone have a view on the BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre at London College of Music which is part of the University of West London?

[Lorry]

My daughter auditioned there and was offered a place said she absolutely loved it there the only down side for her is the lack of dance as she is a dancer first and singer second so decided on London Studio Centre to do her Degree

[yorshiremum]

My DD started there this week, so early days to form an opinion, but loves it so far, and good reports from 2nd years she's spoken to (it does have a high student satisfaction score). It is very much an actor/singer course so suited more to the lesser dancers maybe, although there are dance options available and some good dancers on the course. She was very impressed by the facilities she's seen and thought it fairly close to GSAs (she did the summer school there and it was her top choice). The audition was very thorough with additional tests on musicality and MT knowledge instead of dance. Also a little easier to get into than GSA and I feel certainly worth considering, as she was surprised by how much she liked it at the audition. Also as it's part of UWL so it has the advantage of student uni accommodation and full student loans. I believe roughly 10% get offers from the audition. Hope that helps.

[lbm1e14]

Thanks for the info and really great inside info. We're hitting the button on our DD's UCAS tomorrow so will include this one along with GSA and Urdang.. There aren't many quality courses at Unis it seems. Most of her applications will be outside UCAS.

[yorshiremum]

Yes we found the same with UCAS options. The others we put down were CSSD (again more acting) and Chichester, which has a MT course with a range of options similar to Urdangs pathways. It looks quite good but my DD didn't like it at the audition although she did get an offer.

[ajbew]

Bird is also via UCAS. It is like Urdang in that you have to go directly and through the UCAS route. DS was offered a place there last year and was very impressed with both Urdang and Bird but has chosen Mountview in the end.

[lbm1e14]

Can't persuade DD to audition for Bird. She is convinced it's too dance focussed. Also she knows someone who didn't have a good experience there. Courses like Chichester are interesting as they are what I'd call pure Uni courses ie not Performing Arts institutions within a Uni like Urdang and GSA. We've been told that whilst you may come out with good skills you don't come out so industry ready and there are no showcases in London in front of agents etc. Any views?

[yorshiremum]

I'm not sure if chichester do a showcase in London. It's probably worth checking out before applying or maybe at the open day if it's not too far away. It does look more vocational than other unis but no doubt not as much time training as the drama school options. LCM definitely do a showcase in central London, and I agree it's an important factor in choosing a course. Another couple we didn't apply to and possibly with the same issue are Blackpool and Fylde college and UCLAN. Too far from London for my DD to consider.

[oscar]

DS has several friends at Chichester . They are finding the course enjoyable but all say it isn't very demanding. I have a feeling contact hours are less than other places. On the plus side Chichester is lovely and it is a degree course !