[2016 ENTRY] Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art

OP

Btw, jcsiah which college are you applying for?

I will be applying to study at Christ Church. It was the first and only college I looked around - I had no need to look at any other! Quite frankly, if I am fortunate enough to study Fine Art at Oxford I would gladly sleep in a bin. However, seeing as though we have some say, I was definitely drawn towards the religious heritage of the college because my practice primarily engages in theology and ecclesiastical critique. Lots of places to gather sources! What about yourself?

Original post by the_rad

So the first hurdle is the personal statement. There are so many guides online and your school/uni can probably help you with this also. My advice would be to get as many people as possible to read it over. Second, third, fourth opinions are great. Don't lie or exaggerate, you will get called out on it, but do give a positive spin to your achievements

In regards to the personal statement, would you recommend that it is better to use it as an opportunity to define your practice - almost as an artists statement - or to follow more traditional 'guides' online as you have stated. Obviously, there would be reference to exhibitions, wider reading and artists of significance in both but the tone of the statement would differ greatly depending on the format.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 21

the_rad

6

Original post by jcsiah

In regards to the personal statement, would you recommend that it is better to use it as an opportunity to define your practice - almost as an artists statement - or to follow more traditional 'guides' online as you have stated. Obviously, there would be reference to exhibitions, wider reading and artists of significance in both but the tone of the statement would differ greatly depending on the format.

My personal statement followed the traditional format, as did the other student on my course who applied last year. To be honest, I don't think I even considered trying an artist statement style. Speak to your tutors about it, they might think you can pull off a break from the mould. I guess it's down to whether or not you want to take the risk or play it safe!

I suppose the only drawback to an artist statement is that it might be too tightly focused on your current work/practice and not include the good points you have as a student more generally.

Reply 22

EWhiskers

Did you put your work in plastic sheets in your portfolio? The Ruskin doesn't specify anything, but some other universities say they don't like this as the reflections get in the way of seeing your work. Also, did you annotate your portfolio to explain the ideas behind your pieces? Or did you just leave that for the tutors to work out?

Reply 23

jcsiah

OP

7

Original post by EBrass

Also, did you annotate your portfolio to explain the ideas behind your pieces? Or did you just leave that for the tutors to work out?

I asked the tutors this question when I visited the Ruskin during the open day. They were quite honest in stating that they do not want to see large explanations (after all, your personal statement should contextualise your work) as they won't be able to read them. However, if a work requires an explanation they said not to write more than approximately 100 words. I doubt this is strict though, I imagine there is no harm in providing annotations and if they read it - great, if not then it doesn't matter much!

Reply 24

the_rad

6

Original post by EBrass

Did you put your work in plastic sheets in your portfolio? The Ruskin doesn't specify anything, but some other universities say they don't like this as the reflections get in the way of seeing your work. Also, did you annotate your portfolio to explain the ideas behind your pieces? Or did you just leave that for the tutors to work out?

I didn't use plastic sheets. Yeah, most the advice I found said not to do it. I had A1 photos printed, and I wanted to put something in to protect them (tissue paper or whatever) but in the end, after discussing it with my tutors, we decided not to do even that, as it ruined the impact of the pages themselves.

I had small labels on each page saying the title, what project the piece was in and what materials used, maybe dimensions if relevant, but no more than that. However I did sneakily stick a single page artist statement/project statement to the inside of my portfolio. I figured if they were interested they could read it and if not they could just ignore it.

Original post by emilyhaighjacobs

Hello!

I'm debating on applying to oxford for fine art for 2016! It is, in all cases, a very competitive course to get onto- but I'm going to give it a shot. I have a few issues that I need advice on, if possible?

Firstly, it's my personal statement. I am applying widely for english lit, at Durham and Lancaster. I know they expect the personal statement to be largely academic- which it is, but I will have to adjust and interweave both subjects equally I imagine- I can't write two personal statements unfortunately! Do you think this could hinder my chances?

Secondly, I got AAB at AS level- the B was in fine art. I was absolutely gutted as I had worked very hard and my teacher, who categorically hasn't had her marks lowered in her whole career (30 years!) predicted me an unquestionable A- but I didn't make it. I'm the only A Level art student in my school, which makes it increasingly hard to compare to see if there is an issue with the marking. However, the feedback was not very professional and was not constructive in the slightest- which is not the 'norm' with regard to feedback. But, It was re-moderated last week and I should hear in the next few days.

Art is my biggest passion, and it's honestly one of my dreams to study it at oxford.

P.s. I'm not considering a gap year!

We've been consulting with the Ruskin School and have updated our advice to potential applicants.

Firstly, the default position is that applicants must be able to satisfy the standard entry requirement of AAA at A-level or equivalent. A Foundation degree cannot substitute for this requirement. The Ruskin have advised, however, that a candidate re-sitting/re-taking A-levels and predicted to achieve the AAA entry requirement would still be considered, particularly if he or she is taking an Art Foundation course.

Secondly, we are advised that the proportion of accepted candidates who take an Art Foundation course varies from year to year but is usually a majority of the intake. The Ruskin's advice is that an Art Foundation is highly recommended but not mandatory. Sometimes, candidates attending 6th form who are not offered a place are encouraged to reapply with an Art Foundation.

Thirdly, we can confirm that Brasenose (and we think the other colleges) leaves the Ruskin to rank the candidates and determine who is offered places. The only decision we have to take is whether to admit or reallocate candidates in the event that there more successful candidates applying to us than have places.

Lastly, for 2016 entry Brasenose plans to admit three Fine Art students - as per our website (the printed Prospectus states that we admit one student but this is out of date).

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 26

the_rad

6

Original post by emilyhaighjacobs

Firstly, it's my personal statement. I am applying widely for english lit, at Durham and Lancaster. I know they expect the personal statement to be largely academic- which it is, but I will have to adjust and interweave both subjects equally I imagine- I can't write two personal statements unfortunately! Do you think this could hinder my chances?

I don't think it would hinder your chances exactly, penalising you for applying to different course seems very harsh, but you will have the difficult job of trying to fit everything into what is already a short statement.

Can you talk it over with your teachers, maybe see if there's a past student who managed to pull it off? You could take a look at theirs if they're willing. You could put a post up on TSR, specifically about two-subject personal statements if you haven't already. Examples of how other students did it are likely to be very helpful as they'll give you an idea of structure and how to keep it balanced, even though the content will be completely different!

Reply 27

paintbrush

9

Does anybody know whether the personal statement needs to talk about the portfolio? Since we will have four other unis on the list, and they will see the portfolios I will make after Christmas which may have nothing to do with what I am doing now. So it is alright not to talk about it?

Also does anyone know whether it's ok to not include any sketchbooks?

Reply 28

pluston

5

I'll be applying for Fine Art at New College quite soon, having taken a short foundation + finished my A2s already - just thought I'd drop in to wish us all luck and say thanks for such a helpful thread!

Original post by paintbrush

Does anybody know whether the personal statement needs to talk about the portfolio? Since we will have four other unis on the list, and they will see the portfolios I will make after Christmas which may have nothing to do with what I am doing now. So it is alright not to talk about it?

Also does anyone know whether it's ok to not include any sketchbooks?

I think that it's a good idea to talk about your own artistic practice and interests, and how this is expressed in the work, but as discussed earlier in the thread, you needn't make the personal statement into an artist's statement.
As for sketchbooks; it's fine to include as few or as many as you feel appropriate. Most applicants will probably include a few, but it was directly acknowledged on the open day that not everyone works that way, and many successful applicants don't/won't submit a sketchbook.

Reply 29

Michellezchin

Original post by the_rad

My personal statement followed the traditional format, as did the other student on my course who applied last year. To be honest, I don't think I even considered trying an artist statement style. Speak to your tutors about it, they might think you can pull off a break from the mould. I guess it's down to whether or not you want to take the risk or play it safe!

I suppose the only drawback to an artist statement is that it might be too tightly focused on your current work/practice and not include the good points you have as a student more generally.

Thank you so much for mentioning this. I'm on my third week of foundation course, and it has changed my perspectives/ideas/interests completely (still Fine Arts based though). I can understand why my tutors are encouraging me to write an artist statement, but as I am still trying to orientate and determine what my real interests are, it is incredibly hard to write a 'confident' and 'concise' statement.

Taking into consideration that this same statement will be seen by other universities later on, how can I write it in such a way that it would still be an accurate contextualization of my ever-changing work and portfolio? Also, I have done a lot of extracurriculars at school that I feel have shaped who I am and what my intentions are - would the Ruskin be at all interested?

^I apologize for this post, it sounds too much like a rant, but I'm so stressed out and confused by my tutors' feedback... If any Ruskin student can share their statement, I would be so grateful. Even just to show my tutors.

Original post by Michellezchin

^I apologize for this post, it sounds too much like a rant, but I'm so stressed out and confused by my tutors' feedback... If any Ruskin student can share their statement, I would be so grateful. Even just to show my tutors.

Some of our Fine Art students say that they also felt pulled in different directions and experienced stress when putting together a personal statement by well-meaning school/college Tutors. Remember that the PS is your document. Judging from the students here, your Art is also very probably something that is personal to you. So our advice is to listen to advice, thank your teachers for giving up their time, but to say that since the PS needs to convey your own feelings about Art and why you wish to study it at a higher level, the final decision over content rests with you. Your tutors will want you do do well and so they should respect this and will still be available to offer support as you go through the selection process.

Reply 31

the_rad

6

I second what brasenose admin said. I should hope though that the admissions tutors will understand that the ps will in effect be a snapshot, not an unchangeable statement of your work, so if you come into interview with work that's gone in a completely different direction, or if your portfolio is different to your ps, you should get the chance to talk about that in interview.

Trying to think back to mine the main theme of my work was the same, but the specific artists I was looking at and materials and methods I was using, had changed.

As for extracurriculars, what I've always heard is unless they're connected to your subject, Oxford doesn't care and I think Ruskin is no different. So I'd stick only to anything you've done that's arts related or in some way directly relevant.

Reply 32

Michellezchin

Original post by BrasenoseAdm

Some of our Fine Art students say that they also felt pulled in different directions and experienced stress when putting together a personal statement by well-meaning school/college Tutors. Remember that the PS is your document. Judging from the students here, your Art is also very probably something that is personal to you. So our advice is to listen to advice, thank your teachers for giving up their time, but to say that since the PS needs to convey your own feelings about Art and why you wish to study it at a higher level, the final decision over content rests with you. Your tutors will want you do do well and so they should respect this and will still be available to offer support as you go through the selection process.

Thank you! I really appreciate it. Would you be able to say how much weight the personal statement has? Is the final verdict based on the portfolio work?

Reply 33

Michellezchin

Original post by the_rad

I second what brasenose admin said. I should hope though that the admissions tutors will understand that the ps will in effect be a snapshot, not an unchangeable statement of your work, so if you come into interview with work that's gone in a completely different direction, or if your portfolio is different to your ps, you should get the chance to talk about that in interview.

Trying to think back to mine the main theme of my work was the same, but the specific artists I was looking at and materials and methods I was using, had changed.

As for extracurriculars, what I've always heard is unless they're connected to your subject, Oxford doesn't care and I think Ruskin is no different. So I'd stick only to anything you've done that's arts related or in some way directly relevant.

Thank you so much!

Original post by Michellezchin

Thank you so much!

Colleges leave selection to the Ruskin's Tutors. We do, however, always go and view the portfolios of everyone applying and we also listen to selectors . Our impression is that the Tutors appreciate that approaches to Art can change a lot, which is why students invited to interview can bring 3-4 pieces of new work with them. The submitted portfolio, new work, and the personal statement may all feature in the interview stage of selection at the School.

Reply 35

emilyhaighjacobs

2

Thanks for all the advice, but I've decided not to apply and 'follow my heart' and do English Lit. Good luck all!!

Reply 36

atlantadg

3

Someone please help, I've done my BTEC which I got D*DD and I'm currently doing a Foundation (Distinction - predicted grade) on top of that. It says on the requirement website that students with a BTEC+Foundation are highly suitable but I have been wondering if they look at GCSE's for the application? They dis not mention anything about GCSE's It's quite complicated. I only have 2 GCSE's because I came from a third world country and UK does not acknowledge that grade. I had to repeat English in Maths for GCSE during my college time and only got a C as I was put in the foundation paper. Even if I fight not to take the foundation paper, they would not put me in higher tier as my teacher said it would be unfair for my other classmates.

This is like an unfortunate event because it might put me down. I really want to get into the Ruskin and if I had taken that Higher Tier I'm sure I would have gotten an A because my C grades had like 2 errors on it. Will this issue affect my application?? :frown:

Reply 37

paintbrush

9

Does anyone know which college is easier to get into? Or are they all the same? Does it matter which you put down? I know what it says on their website, but wanted to know if that's actually how it works

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Reply 38

Artfanatic

12

Original post by paintbrush

Does anyone know which college is easier to get into? Or are they all the same? Does it matter which you put down? I know what it says on their website, but wanted to know if that's actually how it works

Posted from TSR Mobile

it doesn't change your chance of being admitted to the Ruskin but certain colleges receive more applicants but they also have different amount of places for fine art students. Just go with the college you prefer as if the Ruskin say that they want you and there is no places at your chosen college, you are just found another space at another one.