[5p!d3rm4n]

Does anyone know anything about this a level alternative? is it really worth 3 a levels? Do universities look 'down' on this if you were wanting to do a arts based degree (e.g. animation, fine art, illustration etc.) and would you need to also so a foundation btec in art and design to do a degree?

Also how easy/hard is it compared to a level? I don't want to waste my time on something that wont be a bit challenging.

Thanks couldnt find much on it elsewhere

[61e.CR]

As far as I know, if anything a university would prefer you to do a ND Art course then they would A Level Art. By the by, the Foundation is the most important thing most art universities are looking for, but if theres one thing I regret it's taking A Level art instead of a ND. At the Foundation course I'm on now there are loads of ND courses that go on and they're all based in our art facility, which is excellent, with some fantastic tutors. A real step up from A Level if simply because its an actual seperate art course from anything else, whereas A Level art, to me, felt very tacked on and 'by the books' in regards to keeping in line with the rest of the academic classes that went on around me.

There are plenty of people on my Foundation who have came straight up from an ND and the tutors haven't mentioned anything to them about having to put in the extra mile because of the last two years. Really, they've come to the Foundation more prepared than me or anyone else from A Level.

[5p!d3rm4n]

do you think the ND then a foundation diploma is the best route to a degree in a more specialised field?

and thanks for your help

[61e.CR]

Well, I can't recommend a Foundation enough, but then I came from A Level Art. A Level is a sham for art across the board so going onto a Foundation has been the best thing I've done education wise. In our college they recommend doing a Foundation after an ND because the course isn't just a year of doing art, it's really a year about getting to know your interests and then really taking them out of the box and going as far as possible with them. What your work will look like after an ND is down to you - it could be excellent right off the bat and there's always the chance you can get into a University with just that. I know folk who have gone off to do degree courses from A Level, but regardless of how good your work is after two years of ND I would still recommend taking the next year at Foundation as it seriously is a brilliant year of preparing for a degree in the following year.

I would recommend the ND course then step back and see how you feel after the time spend on the course. If you feel ready for university then there's no harm in trying, though I say again that alot of specialised courses do ask for Foundations.

[5p!d3rm4n]

thanks again for you help, not that its a major worry but am i likely to find many other males doing this course? its just most seem to go for a levels or does it depend on the place etc.

also how much more in depth is a foundation then say a level or gcse? do you do you're own thing to an extent, and would you say a ND would be harder then doing an a level, or comparable? (obviously it'll be more hours)

[61e.CR]

My course is probably about 75% female, though that's just an estimate and by no way accurate, of course. No idea about ND courses, though from traversing our facility there's alot more girls walking around than males.

Foundation is an incredibly indepth course that made GCSE and A Level pale in comparison and become quite embarrassing to look back on. On a Foundation you are basically given a year to go all out on what you want to do. It isn't sit down with a pencil and some sheets of paper and draw pretty pictures - it's get out there and push your own boundaries whilst giving you a year to prepare a solid portfolio of experimental and personal work. You start the year going through rotational 'taster' groups, or at least we did and I've heard most others do. You'll take a week doing graphic design, a week in 3D work, a photography/digital class, an introduction to painting/printing for fine art, etc. After that, you specalise in what area you want to go into. For our studio (I'm in Fine Art) we started writing briefs for week long projects on whatever we wanted, just as long as it was something new to us or involved techniques we hadn't dabbled in before. Right now we're being assessed on what in our folders so far and then being given suggestions on what to add, what to work more into, what to remove...

The one thing our tutors stress to us the most about preparing our portfolios is that universities are going to be looking for real raw creativity from a unique personal viewpoint. They tell us that a portfolio of the same thing over and over again isn't a great representative of an open mind, which is true. We're working from as far ends of the spectrum as possible to find little niches we can get to grips with, and along the way finding out and trying new things, which in laymens terms is ''making a great big mess and not caring about whether the finished piece looks finalised'' and I imagine all other Foundations are the same.

They're just preparing us as much as possible, really, by trying to bring out the best of us from different angles. And I love it.

When it comes to harder or easier I think it all comes down to how much of a passion you have for art. I can't comment on what's harder as I haven't done ND, but I should think if you enjoy art as a whole then you'll have no problem. After all, art is a learning process that never stops because it's boundless in everyway, so regardless of the grade at the end, you're always learning new and exciting things depending on how far you want to push yourself, and if you achieve that then you're well on your way.

[kurae]

Hi I'm currently doing a BTEC nationa ldiploma in art and Just wanted to ask how easy/hard is it to achieve a distinction grade?

[Spinnerette]

Originally Posted by 5p!d3rm4n

Does anyone know anything about this a level alternative? is it really worth 3 a levels? Do universities look 'down' on this if you were wanting to do a arts based degree (e.g. animation, fine art, illustration etc.) and would you need to also so a foundation btec in art and design to do a degree?

Also how easy/hard is it compared to a level? I don't want to waste my time on something that wont be a bit challenging.

Thanks couldnt find much on it elsewhere

It is an A Level alternative it get you the equivalent to 3 A levels if art is the career path you want to take then I would advise you to do it. The thing about National Diploma is that in the last year it is like a Foundation Diploma so you can go straight from it to degree level. Some who have done National Diploma like me have gone to Foundation Diploma simply because we either didn't get enough points, the university requires Foundation or we want a stronger portfolio before degree level. I never did proper a levels so I wouldn't know.

Originally Posted by kurae

Hi I'm currently doing a BTEC nationa ldiploma in art and Just wanted to ask how easy/hard is it to achieve a distinction grade?

Depends all on the teacher and whether your work reaches the critera for a distinction grade. Art is subjective remember.