Performers College Degree Course

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beanie-bean
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Performers College Degree Course

Post by beanie-bean »

I've just seen that Performers College have released the more details of their Degree Course. The cost is £9,250 pa and fully covered through student loan. I'm sure that will.be good news for a lot of people. Xxx
Katymac
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by Katymac »

It'll make them very popular & accommodation is relatively cheap there
chivers61
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by chivers61 »

Popular and cheap? Not really what the criteria should be for where one sends DC to train.
Katymac
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by Katymac »

If you aren't well off cheap maybe the only place you can train


Realistically anyone wanting to do Dance or MT needs to fund it; your parents can pay, the gov can pay (DaDA) or you can take out a loan

Loads of places don't offer degrees at the actual loan amount, so a college that does will be popular

If you are paying for yourself and you need to keep the costs down then cheap accommodation is important

That doesn't alter the fact that OFSTED like them, their graduates tend to get jobs and the college is well respected - and you can't really argue with Chichester validating the degree
islandofsodor
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by islandofsodor »

I have to say that at the recent CDET event Performers really stood out to me. They outshone a lot of the bigger names in the showcase.

The cost of accommodation is a big factor in choosing where to study. If the degree course does become popular (& Performers is a name that I'm hearing more & more of our circle say they are going to apply to) then the course will become over subscribed which surely should mean they will be able to select the best applicants.
jennifer1972
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by jennifer1972 »

chivers61 wrote:Popular and cheap? Not really what the criteria should be for where one sends DC to train.
No absolutely not, but cheaper accommodation can be a real game changer when you are weighing up your choices, which is what Katymac meant. When my DD was applying, we started with colleges within commutable distance, so we could avoid paying out for accommodation altogether! London prices are mind-blowing!
beanie-bean
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by beanie-bean »

chivers61 wrote:Popular and cheap? Not really what the criteria should be for where one sends DC to train.
Hi Chivers61. It certainly isn't cheap, I do not know of any degree that is. However it is affordable, and unfortunately affordability does play a part in decision making for most people, it certainly did for us.
chivers61
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by chivers61 »

Points well made about affordability and how SFE funding helps and I agree that's a big issue for most families.

What irks me more than a little is the whole "jumping on the degree bandwagon to get funding" scenario. I'm in no doubt that the colleges are almost all doing it for that reason. None of them really believe that a degree in MT is actually sensible. None of them like all the admin and paperwork that comes with getting and keeping accreditation. They do it for one reason and one reason only. To get more and more bums on seats so they can make more and more money. If we stand back and look at the big picture, what will happen here is that now they have a degree course, before you know it Performers and PPA will have an intake of 120, 150, 180 even, like Bird and Urdang. They will be on the drug of easy money funded by the taxpayer so it costs them nothing. The problem is that there are already too many graduates out there competing for not enough work. Not to mention the showcase time that DC will get when they're one of over 100. But parents and DCs will be happy because everyone will get in, but with what prospects?

Sorry for being a bit of a doomsayer but I'm genuinely concerned that the whole MT training sector is growing at a dizzying rate and that the individual is being lost in the masses and tailored individual training will go down the pan. And there is no factual, statistical proof as to which colleges are delivering the goods. We all know person x who went to college y and ended up in the West End, on a No. 1 tour or on the cruise ships. But what about the other 120 on the course?
Dance1921
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by Dance1921 »

Well said chilvers61, why would you want your dc to do a degree course where they are going to be one of nearly 200 when they can do a level 6 diploma at other very good colleges and be one of only 70 perhaps 80 and let’s face it having a degree in musical theatre on your cv is not going to get anyone ‘the job’ over someone with just a diploma on theirs ](*,)
Katymac
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by Katymac »

But I think colleges are pre-empting the end of the DaDA - the ability of a student to borrow money to complete a course is very important

& there have been discussions on here about how it would be fairer if students could access loan funding to enable them to do MT

The colleges seem to be enabling this - I can't see it as bad

Youngsters now have up to 50 years of work ahead of them, what they learn at these types of colleges is rarely wasted - hard work, determination, resiliance
Robin64
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by Robin64 »

Dance1921 wrote:Well said chilvers61, why would you want your dc to do a degree course where they are going to be one of nearly 200 when they can do a level 6 diploma at other very good colleges and be one of only 70 perhaps 80 and let’s face it having a degree in musical theatre on your cv is not going to get anyone ‘the job’ over someone with just a diploma on theirs ](*,)
Because that's the only way some of us can afford it. The diploma costs too much if you are in the middle income bracket with other financial responsibilities. Diplomas require up front money.
Robin64
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by Robin64 »

DD will most likely audition at performers now due to the student loan access for a degree there. Some of the colleges eg mountview are off the radar for her due to the costs involved so I am in favour of decent training places becoming available. If there are quite a few students they still teach them in small classes and give individual attention. Well that happens at Bird anyway.
islandofsodor
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by islandofsodor »

I think that's exactly what colleges are doing / preparing for the demise of the DaDa. I hope it won't happen, but I strongly suspect it will.

I have a feeling that some places are finding that diploma applications are down & degree applications are up. Despite what some people think, colleges want the best students, not just those with the ability to pay.

The music conservatories have always offered degrees as have some of the leading dance colleges (Central, Rambert, RCS etc) like my husband says why should people like him have been able to benefit from a degree funded Opera training at conservatoire but musical theatre/dance performers havnt been able to.
jennifer1972
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by jennifer1972 »

Dance1921 wrote:Well said chilvers61, why would you want your dc to do a degree course where they are going to be one of nearly 200 when they can do a level 6 diploma at other very good colleges and be one of only 70 perhaps 80 and let’s face it having a degree in musical theatre on your cv is not going to get anyone ‘the job’ over someone with just a diploma on theirs ](*,)
True, but it will make changing career easier down the line, which the majority will have to do. A degree in any subject opens many doors.......
jennifer1972
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Re: Performers College Degree Course

Post by jennifer1972 »

islandofsodor wrote:I think that's exactly what colleges are doing / preparing for the demise of the DaDa. I hope it won't happen, but I strongly suspect it will.

I have a feeling that some places are finding that diploma applications are down & degree applications are up. Despite what some people think, colleges want the best students, not just those with the ability to pay.

The music conservatories have always offered degrees as have some of the leading dance colleges (Central, Rambert, RCS etc) like my husband says why should people like him have been able to benefit from a degree funded Opera training at conservatoire but musical theatre/dance performers havnt been able to.
I agree, I think that DaDas are on their way out!
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