The Student Room Group
Arts University Plymouth
Plymouth

Falmouth University of Plymouth College of Arts?

Hello,
I tried to put this post in the correct section, but feel free to move it around if it is not.

I've recieved Game Arts offers from my top 3 university choices, which are Falmouth University (Penryn), Plymouth College of Arts and University for the Creative Arts (Farnham).

I have ofcourse done research into all the places, but I would really liek to get some feedback from the forum people.

Now I would like to get your input and your thoughts. Tell me whatever comes to your mind about the three places. What do you know about them? Are you studying there? Have you been there? Which one would you chose?

It all comes down to one thing in the end. Which is the "best" place to study. (Ofcourse there is no "best" place, since you cant have everything)

Things you could take into consideration.
-Costs of living
-Quality of life
-Course quality
-Campus / Uni quality
etc.


Hope someone replies,
Regards.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Galaxie501
Hello,
I tried to put this post in the correct section, but feel free to move it around if it is not.

I've recieved Game Arts offers from my top 3 university choices, which are Falmouth University (Penryn), Plymouth College of Arts and University for the Creative Arts (Farnham).

I have ofcourse done research into all the places, but I would really liek to get some feedback from the forum people.

Now I would like to get your input and your thoughts. Tell me whatever comes to your mind about the three places. What do you know about them? Are you studying there? Have you been there? Which one would you chose?

It all comes down to one thing in the end. Which is the "best" place to study. (Ofcourse there is no "best" place, since you cant have everything)

Things you could take into consideration.
-Costs of living
-Quality of life
-Course quality
-Campus / Uni quality
etc.


Hope someone replies,
Regards.


Hi,
I'm studying on the Penryn Campus (with university of Exeter) so I can give you a bit of insight into Falmouth.
The cost of living in Penryn is quite cheap compared to the rest of the country (especially if you can get house in Penryn compared to Falmouth but given the the housing situation being tight, there isn't always that option). The buses are subsidised to only £1 between Falmouth and Penryn while the train is £3.80 (the conductor rarely charges people unless you are going to Truro though).
I'm not sure what you mean by quality of life, do you mean the social side? If so, we have the Stannary which holds lots of events. Th nightlife here is quite different from other places, we only have one club but lots of pubs. There's lot of societies on campus (look them up on the FXU website, there's a huge variety).
The campus is very small compared to other universities so everyone knows each other and it makes living on campus quite nice, only a 2 minute walk to the main buildings. There's a lot of green space and woodland so if you prefer a quiet, small campus then this is the place for you.
Sorry, I can't give you anymore insight into the course etc. Good luck with your decision!
Arts University Plymouth
Plymouth
Original post by Galaxie501
Hello,
I tried to put this post in the correct section, but feel free to move it around if it is not.

I've recieved Game Arts offers from my top 3 university choices, which are Falmouth University (Penryn), Plymouth College of Arts and University for the Creative Arts (Farnham).

I have ofcourse done research into all the places, but I would really liek to get some feedback from the forum people.

Now I would like to get your input and your thoughts. Tell me whatever comes to your mind about the three places. What do you know about them? Are you studying there? Have you been there? Which one would you chose?

It all comes down to one thing in the end. Which is the "best" place to study. (Ofcourse there is no "best" place, since you cant have everything)

Things you could take into consideration.
-Costs of living
-Quality of life
-Course quality
-Campus / Uni quality
etc.


Hope someone replies,
Regards.


Hi

I graduated from Plymouth College of Art recently and chose to study there for many reasons. It's one of the few remaining independent art schools in the country, which means they solely offer art, design and craft courses. As a design student, it’s the best feeling to be surrounded by other creative people and opens up opportunities to collaborate with students from other practices too. The lecturers are all practising designers, so they can give you their first-hand industry knowledge, which is extremely valuable.

With regards to cost of living, I was able to have the perfect balance between paying for materials and enjoying the social elements of being at uni. Fortunately everything in Plymouth is in walking distance, and you can easily escape to the beach or moors if you need a break from city life. The campus is in the city centre, with accommodation and transport links only a 5 minute walk away. I found that some campuses in other cities were split up, meaning you rely on buses to get from A to B and this wasn’t what I was looking for.

The campus itself is constantly growing, keeping up with the fast development of the city. The college celebrates traditional practices as well as new which is very refreshing to see, as a lot of institutions are phasing them out. For example, there’s a FabLab containing 3D printers, 3D scanners and laser cutters, but also glass blowing and ceramics facilities.

Although I studied BA (Hons) Graphic Design, I did have several friends on the BA (Hons) Game Arts course. They really enjoyed how varied the course is from sketching and storyboarding, to designing 2D and 3D characters, right through to using industry standard software for game play.

I had a great experience there and would recommend Plymouth College of Art.

I hope this helps - good luck with your decision!

Tom
Graduate Associate
Reply 3
Thank you for the answers! It is quite hard to decide between the two. If I could I'd study at both places, which is not an option obviously.

Original post by GemmaConlin
Hi,
I'm studying on the Penryn Campus (with university of Exeter) so I can give you a bit of insight into Falmouth.
The cost of living in Penryn is quite cheap compared to the rest of the country (especially if you can get house in Penryn compared to Falmouth but given the the housing situation being tight, there isn't always that option). The buses are subsidised to only £1 between Falmouth and Penryn while the train is £3.80 (the conductor rarely charges people unless you are going to Truro though).
I'm not sure what you mean by quality of life, do you mean the social side? If so, we have the Stannary which holds lots of events. Th nightlife here is quite different from other places, we only have one club but lots of pubs. There's lot of societies on campus (look them up on the FXU website, there's a huge variety).
The campus is very small compared to other universities so everyone knows each other and it makes living on campus quite nice, only a 2 minute walk to the main buildings. There's a lot of green space and woodland so if you prefer a quiet, small campus then this is the place for you.
Sorry, I can't give you anymore insight into the course etc. Good luck with your decision!


I wasnt sure how else to phrase it because "quality of life" is fairly broad, so I left it open to interpretation. It can include anything you want I suppose. Im definately not a clubbing or nightlife guy at all, so that would probably be the least of my worries. I'd much prefer to go to a historical sight or a museum with 1 or 2 friends (boring, I know).


Original post by Plymouth College Of Art
Hi

I graduated from Plymouth College of Art recently and chose to study there for many reasons. It's one of the few remaining independent art schools in the country, which means they solely offer art, design and craft courses. As a design student, it’s the best feeling to be surrounded by other creative people and opens up opportunities to collaborate with students from other practices too. The lecturers are all practising designers, so they can give you their first-hand industry knowledge, which is extremely valuable.

With regards to cost of living, I was able to have the perfect balance between paying for materials and enjoying the social elements of being at uni. Fortunately everything in Plymouth is in walking distance, and you can easily escape to the beach or moors if you need a break from city life. The campus is in the city centre, with accommodation and transport links only a 5 minute walk away. I found that some campuses in other cities were split up, meaning you rely on buses to get from A to B and this wasn’t what I was looking for.

The campus itself is constantly growing, keeping up with the fast development of the city. The college celebrates traditional practices as well as new which is very refreshing to see, as a lot of institutions are phasing them out. For example, there’s a FabLab containing 3D printers, 3D scanners and laser cutters, but also glass blowing and ceramics facilities.

Although I studied BA (Hons) Graphic Design, I did have several friends on the BA (Hons) Game Arts course. They really enjoyed how varied the course is from sketching and storyboarding, to designing 2D and 3D characters, right through to using industry standard software for game play.

I had a great experience there and would recommend Plymouth College of Art.

I hope this helps - good luck with your decision!

Tom
Graduate Associate


Thank you for the insight. I had an interview with one of your courses' team leaders and he seemed very friendly. Its a tough decision.
Original post by Galaxie501

I wasnt sure how else to phrase it because "quality of life" is fairly broad, so I left it open to interpretation. It can include anything you want I suppose. Im definately not a clubbing or nightlife guy at all, so that would probably be the least of my worries. I'd much prefer to go to a historical sight or a museum with 1 or 2 friends (boring, I know).


That's not boring, I'm exactly the same and that's why I chose Cornwall as I wasn't interested in going somewhere with a drinking culture and nothing to do. There are a few museums around such as the Maritime Museum in Falmouth or Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro. There's quite a few of historical sites around here such as Pendennis Castle. Have you visited all of the universities that you've applied for?
Reply 5
Original post by GemmaConlin
That's not boring, I'm exactly the same and that's why I chose Cornwall as I wasn't interested in going somewhere with a drinking culture and nothing to do. There are a few museums around such as the Maritime Museum in Falmouth or Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro. There's quite a few of historical sites around here such as Pendennis Castle. Have you visited all of the universities that you've applied for?


Nice to hear. I've been at a few parties in the past and I gotta say its more stress than fun for me, which isnt very nice.

I'd have to say history is my biggest interest besides art and design related acitivities. There are definately some places around the UK I plan to visit sooner or later. (HMS Victory, Bovington tank museum (big one) etc.).

Im not from the UK so I was wondering what you meant by this: "(the conductor rarely charges people unless you are going to Truro though)". Where I'm from you have to pay about 60 EU when you get caught without a ticket, lol. Always there to rack in some $$$.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Galaxie501
Nice to hear. I've been at a few parties in the past and I gotta say its more stress than fun for me, which isnt very nice.

I'd have to say history is my biggest interest besides art and design related acitivities. There are definately some places around the UK I plan to visit sooner or later. (HMS Victory, Bovington tank museum (big one) etc.).

Im not from the UK so I was wondering what you meant by this: "(the conductor rarely charges people unless you are going to Truro though)". Where I'm from you have to pay about 60 EU when you get caught without a ticket, lol. Always there to rack in some $$$.


History's my passion too (studying it as an extra module at uni), HMS Victory is a good one to visit. Have you been to the Imperial War Museum, it's really good.
There's no ticket station until Truro so you can travel Penryn to Falmouth without seeing a conductor and they have no idea who gets on the train so you don't get charged. If you do, you just pay the £3

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