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History of Art - 2017 entry

Hey everyone, there aren't many art history threads on here and I've recently decided that it's what I want to do at uni next year so I'd love to hear about everyone's experiences and opinions on it!

I'm particularly interested in the courses at Warwick, York, Leicester, Birmingham and Sussex. Also, what are you doing to prepare for your course? Are there any affordable, as well as good, summer schools? Which universities offer the best overall experience in terms of cultural, student life etc.?

Thanks everyone, I can't wait to hear from people who love art as much as me :smile:

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Hi, UCL and St Andrews have good reputations, Glasgow too and they also have a degree they run with Christies which looks really interesting with half of the degree being spent in London, half in Glasgow. The Courtauld have some interesting summer courses but all booked up now. I'm interested in ideas for a gap year. Art Histories Abroad looks really interesting but too expensive. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks


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Hi, yeah i'm applying for 2017. I've visited Birmingham (because it has it's own art gallery and is the second largest city in the UK) and York. However, because i'm doing an art foundation in September as a gap year, I get my A level results this August so i'm going to wait before making any decisions.
Thanks for creating the thread, the 2016 entry thread is useful for what other students have done for their personal statement and where they got in to.
Hey everyone :smile: I'm also intending to read History of Art from Sept/Oct 2017 on wards, but the first hurdle to pass is AS results day. Does anybody else happen to be as unbelievably nervous as I am?? Hopefully I will achieve AAA (Fine Art, English Lit and Philosophy and Ethics) which should aid my applications to Oxford, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Bristol and York, but who knows what disaster could strike!? Super-curricular wise, I was chosen to shadow an Oxford Fine Art student, attended a Summer School at UCL's Slade School of Art, read both The Story of Art and The Pre-Raphaelite Language of Flowers, attended English Lit masterclasses at BCU, completed a FutureLearn course titled 'Heroism in WW1 Art and Film' and I have recently watched a small number of HoA based documentaries. My out of college activities aren't directly HoA based, but I have justified and explained how each individual experience has helped.

As far as I'm aware, HoA is a rarely offered AS and A2, thus personal statements and application essays can be a little more daunting than if a History A2 student were to apply to study History, or so I'd imagine. Does anybody fancy helping each other out with personal statements and applications in hope of success? :smile:
Original post by sophieaxon
Hey everyone :smile: I'm also intending to read History of Art from Sept/Oct 2017 on wards, but the first hurdle to pass is AS results day. Does anybody else happen to be as unbelievably nervous as I am?? Hopefully I will achieve AAA (Fine Art, English Lit and Philosophy and Ethics) which should aid my applications to Oxford, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Bristol and York, but who knows what disaster could strike!? Super-curricular wise, I was chosen to shadow an Oxford Fine Art student, attended a Summer School at UCL's Slade School of Art, read both The Story of Art and The Pre-Raphaelite Language of Flowers, attended English Lit masterclasses at BCU, completed a FutureLearn course titled 'Heroism in WW1 Art and Film' and I have recently watched a small number of HoA based documentaries. My out of college activities aren't directly HoA based, but I have justified and explained how each individual experience has helped.

As far as I'm aware, HoA is a rarely offered AS and A2, thus personal statements and application essays can be a little more daunting than if a History A2 student were to apply to study History, or so I'd imagine. Does anybody fancy helping each other out with personal statements and applications in hope of success? :smile:


Yes we will have to keep this thread going!
How did AS go?
Would you mind recommending any good documentaries?


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Original post by LillyB14
Yes we will have to keep this thread going!
How did AS go?
Would you mind recommending any good documentaries?


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AS went well, just not at all what I was expecting which I suppose is annoying for anybody. So in English Lit I got an A, Philosophy and Ethics I'm getting remarked because I'm 2 marks off an A, and the big shock was getting a B in Fine Art. It's a fabulous grade and I'm happy, but I was expecting an A, especially after attending The Slade School of Art summer school. On wards and upwards though, and I am very proud :smile: How did your A-level results day go?

I really enjoyed watching 'The Mystery Behind Van Gogh's Ear' because not only was it deeply informative, but all the information given is linked to his art work and thus gives you a greater ability to be analytical of his work. You can find it (and other documentaries) somewhere on the page linked here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/categories/documentaries-arts/highlights. I'd probably recommend The History of Art in Three Colours too. I hope this helps :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by sophieaxon
AS went well, just not at all what I was expecting which I suppose is annoying for anybody. So in English Lit I got an A, Philosophy and Ethics I'm getting remarked because I'm 2 marks off an A, and the big shock was getting a B in Fine Art. It's a fabulous grade and I'm happy, but I was expecting an A, especially after attending The Slade School of Art summer school. On wards and upwards though, and I am very proud :smile: How did your A-level results day go?

I really enjoyed watching 'The Mystery Behind Van Gogh's Ear' because not only was it deeply informative, but all the information given is linked to his art work and thus gives you a greater ability to be analytical of his work. You can find it (and other documentaries) somewhere on the page linked here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/categories/documentaries-arts/highlights. I'd probably recommend The History of Art in Three Colours too. I hope this helps :smile:


Ah those are excellent grades for AS, I got ABC last year for AS and got A*AA for a level on thursday, which I was pleased about. Have you chosen your 5 universities to apply to yet or have a rough idea?
Thanks for the documentary links!


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Original post by LillyB14
Ah those are excellent grades for AS, I got ABC last year for AS and got A*AA for a level on thursday, which I was pleased about. Have you chosen your 5 universities to apply to yet or have a rough idea?
Thanks for the documentary links!


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Congratulations on your A2 outcome; A*AA is absolutely amazing! That's motivated me! What subjects did you study? I had a priority remark on a Philosophy and Ethics paper which has gone up to an A, so with AAB, I think I'll definitely apply to St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Bristol and York. I'm still deciding on my last space, but I think I'm going to apply to Oxford and see what happens! Pretty sure I'm predicted A*AA or AAA, but I can't remember what my teachers said to me on results day regarding predicted grades. Hopefully Oxford will look past AAB, if not, I won't mind :smile: No worries! I hope you enjoy them!!
Original post by sophieaxon
Congratulations on your A2 outcome; A*AA is absolutely amazing! That's motivated me! What subjects did you study? I had a priority remark on a Philosophy and Ethics paper which has gone up to an A, so with AAB, I think I'll definitely apply to St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Bristol and York. I'm still deciding on my last space, but I think I'm going to apply to Oxford and see what happens! Pretty sure I'm predicted A*AA or AAA, but I can't remember what my teachers said to me on results day regarding predicted grades. Hopefully Oxford will look past AAB, if not, I won't mind :smile: No worries! I hope you enjoy them!!


Thanks, I did art and design (photog), history and psychology. Ah thats lucky, philosophy sounds like a hard subject! I'm really liking Edinburgh, but I think St Andrews location would be too isolating for me. Good luck with Oxford, i'm sure it will be fine and you have really good personal statement points!!
Glad this thread is up! I'm an international student also interested in 2017 entry - my top choices are UCL and Oxford, but I kind of also want to apply to BASc at UCL. Anyone started working on their personal statements yet?
Original post by MyParrotsandMe
Glad this thread is up! I'm an international student also interested in 2017 entry - my top choices are UCL and Oxford, but I kind of also want to apply to BASc at UCL. Anyone started working on their personal statements yet?


Another prospective HoA Oxford applicant, hey! Where are you from? What are you studying at the moment? :smile:

I've been writing draft after draft all summer but all my attempts are personally unsatisfactory. I suppose, like everybody else I'm just overly keen to impress, but certainly not keen to sound painfully arrogant. Have you started worked on yours yet?
Original post by sophieaxon
Another prospective HoA Oxford applicant, hey! Where are you from? What are you studying at the moment? :smile:


I'm from New Zealand, and we do CIE A levels. I'm doing A2 history, English lit and chemistry this year, and I did A2 maths last year. I got a/a/a for AS and A* in maths. I kind of wish I took a language instead of chemistry because it's honestly not going to help me that much, but that's what happens when you make 14 year olds decide on their future haha.

I have a very rough draft of my personal statement but I have the same problems. Everything I write just sound so cheesy.
Original post by MyParrotsandMe
I'm from New Zealand, and we do CIE A levels. I'm doing A2 history, English lit and chemistry this year, and I did A2 maths last year. I got a/a/a for AS and A* in maths. I kind of wish I took a language instead of chemistry because it's honestly not going to help me that much, but that's what happens when you make 14 year olds decide on their future haha.

I have a very rough draft of my personal statement but I have the same problems. Everything I write just sound so cheesy.


Ah same, wish I had taken the opportunity to further a foreign language, however, there's the opportunity to learn one on a lot undergrad courses.
Great grades btw!



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Original post by Student1670
Hi, UCL and St Andrews have good reputations, Glasgow too and they also have a degree they run with Christies which looks really interesting with half of the degree being spent in London, half in Glasgow. The Courtauld have some interesting summer courses but all booked up now. I'm interested in ideas for a gap year. Art Histories Abroad looks really interesting but too expensive. Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks


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I'm also looking into history of art related courses / things to do during a gap year! All the courses that I've looked at abroad are so expensive :frown:
Have you managed to come up with anything else?
Original post by ziggyystardust
I'm also looking into history of art related courses / things to do during a gap year! All the courses that I've looked at abroad are so expensive :frown:
Have you managed to come up with anything else?


Since I'll have a long gap between graduating (beginning of December) and the start of Uni in September (hopefully if I get into a UK school), I'm thinking of taking a 3 or 4 month trip to Spain and attend a language school. Obviously that's not cheap either, but I'm really interested in Spanish art in general, be it modernist or Baroque. Obviously you could always try to take an internship somewhere, but it's a bit annoying as we aren't exactly *qualified* without an undergrad degree for a lot of jobs.
Reply 15
Hello,

I am taking a gap year this year as well and am applying for 2017 history of art. I would recommend making an account on the 'workaway' website- you can travel all over the world, with food and accommodation payed for you, working of projects ranging from gardening to helping construct a monastery. It's a cheap, productive and provides some unique experiences.

Which universities are you applying to? Im still deciding...
Reply 16
Is anyone applying to do History of Art next year at Sussex, Exeter, York, Birmingham or Leicester?
Original post by ErinEloise
Is anyone applying to do History of Art next year at Sussex, Exeter, York, Birmingham or Leicester?


Exeter and birmingham here! ๐Ÿ˜Š
Reply 18
Original post by roselondon2
Exeter and birmingham here! ๐Ÿ˜Š


Yay! I'm not sure which uni is my first choice yet but I went to the Sussex open day today and it was incredible so I'll most likely be going there ๐Ÿ˜€ Where else are you applying?
Picking 5 is so hard!!!


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