Arts Ed - diploma / degree

[oscar]

DS has just been offered a place at Arts Ed. It seems to me that they can choose to take the diploma route then pay to convert it to a degree. Has anyone had any experience of this ? No idea why the student grant is only £6000 either . All very confusing and all very expensive !!

[riverdancefan]

I have no info but a place at Artsed!
That's a great achievement so congratulations to him
It's where my DS would absolutely
love to go.
I think your DS was in "The Other School" with my DS, which part did he play again? He couldn't apply for NYMT last year and really missed the opportunity.
My DS was only just 13 when they did that, what a great production.

PS I meant to say good luck for his recalls for NYMT - my DS is tomorrow.

[carriecrafts]

Wow congratulations to your ds! ArtsEd has a fabulous reputation.
I've always been a bit puzzled by the diploma/degree there... dd has friends there and they don't even seem to know which course they are on whereas other schools make a clear distinction. I guess you just choose depending upon your finance/funding options..? Does you ds have to specify which he wants now?

The Student Finance available to do the degree is limited to £6000 because it is a private institution - that is just part of the govt regs. Mountview and LSC are the same I believe

[carriecrafts]

hmm, just being (nosey) curious and checked ArtsEd course detail and the degree is validated by City University London, whose fees of £9000 seem to be available on student finance, so I really don't understand why you can't borrow £9000 toward the ArtsEd fees.. Urdang and Bird run degrees validated by universities and students can borrow the full £9000 which covers Bird's fees and most of Urdang's £12,000... so what makes ArtsEd a 'private' institution if Bird and Urdang aren't??

anyway, not my problem but I'm just curious

[oscar]

It really is a minefield !!! I have a lot of research to do ! Still other recalls to do , so not sure if this will be the final destination.

[Caroline A-C]

Hi Oscar, and well done to your ds on getting into Arts Ed. My ds finished his degree in MT at Arts Ed this summer. I think we paid a one off fee of around £400 to convert it into a degree. In order to convert it there was a load of written work required though that ds had to undertaken. Think conversion is the wrong word. There is not nearly the volume of written work as with an academic degree. I think that is the only difference between the diploma and degree. It is a bit of a no brainer in my opinion and worth doing. Everybody in ds's year did the conversion. Days are long at Arts Ed though so it is important to keep on top of the written work and not leave it to the last minute. Ds was at college at 8am each morning and didn't leave until about 6pm most days but absolutely loved it.

[paulears]

Top-up would be a better word. Realistically, the usual omission is the element of research, analysis and the ability to formulate conclusions . This doesn't really happen in the vocational degrees, so this is the kind of stuff they add in - and once done, all boxes are ticked.

[bop2thetop]

Super well done Oscar on your DS getting in to Arts Ed. We all know how incredibly tough it is to get in and it has a great reputation.

I have to admit though that when my DD auditioned last year she didn't audition for Arts Ed because we knew if she were to get in we wouldn't be able to afford for her to go. My friends daughter went there and she said to 'top up' the student tuition loan she needed to add the maintenance loan to be able to afford it. That left her paying for all the accommodation and living costs for her DD to be able to live there. Great if you can afford it but I knew we couldn't.

I agree with Carriecrafts. If at Bird and Urdang you get £9000 towards your fees why at Arts Ed, Mountview and LSC you can only get £6000? I'm sure there's a reason. Surely it's in their interest to keep the students they want. I don't think it's the institutions that have made it this way but I wonder how Bird and Urdang got round it?

[oscar]

It is a real dilemma. Everyone he has spoken to says that he would be mad not go , but would he. No other recalls done yet , so nothing else on the table at the moment , if at all !! People he has spoken to say that arts ed students are highly employable , but I would have said the same about GSA and mountview etc. Thanks for your comments Boptothehop. I know how hard your dd is working and I am sure you would agree with me that where she is,is amazing. My head is literally spinning . Even a £6000 student loan and maintenance loan together won't cover the fees. Like I say to ds. Is it really that much better? Lets face it until they are out there in the cut throat world of theatre we won't know. Maybe we should look for a sponsor . Any ideas ??? Haha

[Selina2]

If you do the diploma you are eligible to apply for a Dada, a means-tested scholarship which reduces the level of fees you have to pay. So say the household income is £40k, the student only pays £1275 a year. If your income is below £30k you can also apply for a means-tested maintenance grant. In a way it's better than a loan as you don't end up with all the debt.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... o_2016.pdf

[Selina2]

And at the present time, I would say Arts Ed has the best reputation for the MT graduates it's producing, but this is always subject to change in the future, a few years ago it was Mountview. (Just a personal opinion, but given a choice, I would choose it above any of the others).

[bop2thetop]

Oscar, it's up to you but if I were you I'd wait until you knew the outcome of everywhere before you made a decision. I know Arts Ed has an excellent reputation but as you know so do other places that are possibly more affordable. Do you have a time limit to give them an answer by or do you have time to wait for the outcome of the other auditions? In the mean time could you get in touch with Arts Ed and find out how other people manage the finances? Maybe they will know of grants or scholarships you can apply for. It's worth a try. The DADA that Selina2 has mentioned has improved from what it was last year so maybe that is now a better option. Good luck and keep us posted

[Caroline A-C]

I believe that once you have put down the deposit, that is refundable up until quite late so worth checking out. It is a fantastic college with great opportunities during your time there. Ds went straight into employment too.

[oscar]

Thanks for your help everyone !! It is so nice to be able to be able to discuss it. All my friends ds and dds have taken the usual uni routes so they don't really understand what an achievement this is and what big decisions are ahead . I don't know if anyone else feels this, not that I have told many people.

[bop2thetop]

Hi Oscar, I was looking back at this thread and I know your DS took the place and I wondered how he was getting on and if he was enjoying it at Arts Ed? .