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Slade/ UCL

Is there any point in applying to the Slade to do Fine Art if it isn't my first choice uni?

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Reply 1

imo yes because you may feel differently once you see it for yourself and there's always the chance that you wont get an offer from your first choice (grim to think of i know but i totally changed my preferences as i saw different unis!)

Reply 2

Cthulhufiend

I guess I will; because applications depend on your portfolio I suppose different unis look for different things. The Slade is the hardest art school to get into though - only 4% of applicants get in - whereas my first choice uni, Falmouth, gives a third of applicants places.

Reply 3

beautifulbigmacs

Hey don't underestimate yourself :smile:

im going to study drama at manchester uni in a few days time and i never imagined id get there! Besides, it'd be an achievement to be so proud of if you did get an offer from slade in that case! :smile:

Good luck whatever you do!

Reply 4

lazza

i would say have a big thought about it. would you put an AAAA offer at 2nd choice if your first choice was DD? (which you obviously can't do, and i'm not putting down falmouth! i'm consdering it!!)
slade is pretty much impossible to get into. they know what they want kinda thing, and if you didn't get into falmouth you'd be cutting it pretty fine?

Reply 5

beautifulbigmacs

As with any creative subject, because different schools look for different things there is nothing to say that just because Falmouth didn't want you that Slade wouldn't. If you have even the slightest interest in applying to Slade then personally i think it would be foolish not to!

Reply 6

lazza

yes but slade is insanely difficult to get a place at, and in the case of missing your first place, putting the hardest course to get into on the country for second choice probably isn't the best idea. slade has 35 places in total, and attracts students from all over the world so it's incredibly competitive

sorry OP, not putting you down at all!! just giving what i hope is a rational viewpoint here. you're applying through route A yeah? there are so many good schools in london for fine art that if it's the city you want to be in it shouldn't matter. someone posted the tables for fine art last year in another thread and chelsea came out top i think?

Reply 7

Cthulhufiend

Yes, it probably isn't worth applying really, as I statistically I'd have more chance of getting into Falmouth than getting an interview at UCL, haha. The reason it isn't my first choice uni is actually because it's in London. I wouldn't really be inspired in a big city.
I'm applying through routes A and B because I want to apply to both Falmouth and Bournemouth, and neither accept second choice route b applicants (I'm going to apply to Bournemouth through route A instead).

Anyway, thanks for the advice. :smile:

Reply 8

conservativebohemian

lazza

yes but slade is insanely difficult to get a place at

And that's why they understand why one would put it a second choice. Only 4% of the applicants get in. Even applying there - having the guts to - is an achievement in itself.

Apply!

Reply 9

lazza

do they find out if they're your first and second...?

personally when it comes to applying for unis i don't considering it a gambling situation. it's a life/qualification/career, not a game of deal or no deal. if you don't get in, you don't get in. there are plenty of amazing art schools around the country, the slade course is just incredibly small (i think only the oxford one is smaller, at 7 students), it's not as if she's not spoilt for choice!!!

and considering she doesn't even like london, is there really much point? it's pretty difficult to escape from the city if you're studying right in the middle of it

Reply 10

conservativebohemian

lazza

personally when it comes to applying for unis i don't considering it a gambling situation. it's a life/qualification/career, not a game of deal or no deal.

Exactly. And considering she wants to study art, she should definitely apply there.

lazza

if you don't get in, you don't get in.

So you agree she has absolutely nothing to lose?

lazza

there are plenty of amazing art schools around the country, the slade course is just incredibly small (i think only the oxford one is smaller, at 7 students), it's not as if she's not spoilt for choice!!!

But the Slade school is one of the best and the renown ones. And it doesn't cost a thing to apply there.

lazza

and considering she doesn't even like london, is there really much point? it's pretty difficult to escape from the city if you're studying right in the middle of it

Yes, but if London was insurmountable obstacle, she wouldn't have considered it in the first place, would she? But this is just useless, it's up to her to decide whether she'll apply there or not. I simply believe that because she can choose to apply to 6 unis, and she clearly has/had an intrest in the Slade school, then she should definitely apply there.
I have a friend who was pondering a couple of years ago if they should apply to Oxford because she didn't have the grades they required; in the end she realised there was nothing she would lose if she applied, so she applied and she got in. There are thousands of students who get rejected each year, some with better grades than others. Every uni and every college/department looks for different things, it's impossible for you - especially as a student - to tell what they will be looking for and what not, and who should apply and who not.

Reply 11

alextheartist

Im applying to the slade... im predicted AAAD (maths phys russian and a d for art) but still i reckon my portfolio would get me in as my style is quite different to what they want at A level.

Reply 12

artcrazy

alextheartist

Im applying to the slade... im predicted AAAD (maths phys russian and a d for art) but still i reckon my portfolio would get me in as my style is quite different to what they want at A level.

hey did u get accepted by the slade? as i'm thinking of applying :woo:

Reply 13

tropical-twist3

artcrazy

hey did u get accepted by the slade? as i'm thinking of applying :woo:

I am too

but my A level grades are baaad. (BBD) and you need at least BBBc I think? Or something like that. So I don't know what to do :s-smilie:

...I'd be ok for interview and portfolio if I get it sorted but I don't want my A levels to be the dealbreaker :frown:

When they probably will be... Owwwh. What's your situation?

Reply 14

artcrazy

Hey just messaged u!

Reply 15

lily-flower

Hello... has anyone who has applied to slade had their letter with the portfolio labels??? I got mine this morning, I am so worried but excited :s-smilie:

Reply 16

bnmbnm

lily-flower

Hello... has anyone who has applied to slade had their letter with the portfolio labels??? I got mine this morning, I am so worried but excited :s-smilie:

hey nope i just sent off my ucas last week (very nervous now!), how long did it take them to reply to you? xx

Reply 17

lily-flower

I got an acknowledgement a few days after, and then it took them about a week and a half for the letter.... you should get them soon! Have you done foundation or are you straight from a-level??