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Ravensbourne or UAL?

Hi,
I am having trouble picking between UAL and Ravensbourne as the university I want to go to starting September 2017. I have been to both universities more than once, spoken to the lecturers and students more than once and I just can't seem to pick. The course I would like to study is Interior Design Environment Architectures (Ravensbourne)/Interior and Spatial Design (UAL). Any advice?
my opinion is based on what others say, as is the opinion of many others who could tell you about each course. from what i've heard, attending ravensbourne is more like attending a college and it's hard to socialise with people not on your course as there aren't any halls or linked accommodation options. i've also read reviews on whatuni (i think) and nobody seems to be enthusiastic about their teaching methods or course units, either. however, the campus is more modern and in a nice(r) part of london, right next to the o2, and so if you're not too worried about finding accommodation then it could be a really nice place to live.

chelsea college of arts is supposed to be a really good school, but all ual courses are going to be hard and really push you, considering their standards. if you believe in the 'employers consider a good uni name as a vital part of an application, especially in the creative industry' rumour, then there's also that, as ual is a top university. the downside is those low student satisfaction scores that keep popping up, but some courses are better than others, and since there's such a wide spectrum there it'd be hard to pinpoint which courses are letting the students down. also, ual halls can be stupidly expensive depending on whether they're the closest to a specific campus or not and i haven't heard great reviews about their halls upkeep (but hey, student life, right?).

i can only offer advice based on everyone else's opinions. i'd like to go to central saint martins but i've tried to keep this fairly balanced so i don't come across biased, as i know ual has flaws too :smile: update us with your choice when you can!
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University of the Arts London
London
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Reply 2
Original post by polarising
my opinion is based on what others say, as is the opinion of many others who could tell you about each course. from what i've heard, attending ravensbourne is more like attending a college and it's hard to socialise with people not on your course as there aren't any halls or linked accommodation options. i've also read reviews on whatuni (i think) and nobody seems to be enthusiastic about their teaching methods or course units, either. however, the campus is more modern and in a nice(r) part of london, right next to the o2, and so if you're not too worried about finding accommodation then it could be a really nice place to live.

chelsea college of arts is supposed to be a really good school, but all ual courses are going to be hard and really push you, considering their standards. if you believe in the 'employers consider a good uni name as a vital part of an application, especially in the creative industry' rumour, then there's also that, as ual is a top university. the downside is those low student satisfaction scores that keep popping up, but some courses are better than others, and since there's such a wide spectrum there it'd be hard to pinpoint which courses are letting the students down. also, ual halls can be stupidly expensive depending on whether they're the closest to a specific campus or not and i haven't heard great reviews about their halls upkeep (but hey, student life, right?).

i can only offer advice based on everyone else's opinions. i'd like to go to central saint martins but i've tried to keep this fairly balanced so i don't come across biased, as i know ual has flaws too :smile: update us with your choice when you can!


Thank you for your opinion :smile:
Ravensbourne isn't as high on the rankings so I would go for UAL
Reply 4
Original post by izzobelle
Ravensbourne isn't as high on the rankings so I would go for UAL


Thank you for your opinion
Original post by Amirah98
Hi,
I am having trouble picking between UAL and Ravensbourne as the university I want to go to starting September 2017. I have been to both universities more than once, spoken to the lecturers and students more than once and I just can't seem to pick. The course I would like to study is Interior Design Environment Architectures (Ravensbourne)/Interior and Spatial Design (UAL). Any advice?


Hi Amirah98,

I totally understand your dilemma. It’s true - Ravensbourne is like a big design agency where everyone studies a design related subject and it is like a large community of designers and thinkers working within their interesting building. It is definitely not like a university where you would feel lost and confused, but rather a close-knitted specialist institution that specialises in specific subjects in the design industry.

The course you are thinking of applying to (Interior Design Environment Architectures) is difficult, challenging and requires very long hours to get your hand on as it is the only interior design course in the country that would provide you with architectural background and qualify you with a Part 1 qualification as well as an interior designer - so definitely something to think about. Also, it has one of the highest employment rates within the industry.

I think Ravensbourne is about employment and industry opportunities really, as almost all tutors and lecturers come from practice and industry background and they might not be so much about teaching you history and theory or have a specific teaching method because that’s not their specialty, they teach you design, practice, employment and put you directly with their industry connections.

Hope it’s useful and good luck with making your choice, because I have made mine.

Benjamin
Reply 6
Original post by Ravensbourne
Hi Amirah98,

I totally understand your dilemma. It’s true - Ravensbourne is like a big design agency where everyone studies a design related subject and it is like a large community of designers and thinkers working within their interesting building. It is definitely not like a university where you would feel lost and confused, but rather a close-knitted specialist institution that specialises in specific subjects in the design industry.

The course you are thinking of applying to (Interior Design Environment Architectures) is difficult, challenging and requires very long hours to get your hand on as it is the only interior design course in the country that would provide you with architectural background and qualify you with a Part 1 qualification as well as an interior designer - so definitely something to think about. Also, it has one of the highest employment rates within the industry.

I think Ravensbourne is about employment and industry opportunities really, as almost all tutors and lecturers come from practice and industry background and they might not be so much about teaching you history and theory or have a specific teaching method because that’s not their specialty, they teach you design, practice, employment and put you directly with their industry connections.

Hope it’s useful and good luck with making your choice, because I have made mine.

Benjamin


Thank you for your opinion
I'm not exactly sure which UAL college your course is at, but the first commenter discussed Chelsea College of Arts so, on that basis I'd recommend ChCA over Ravensbourne as the former has a long history in arts education and correspondingly a good "brand" associated with it, whereas the latter is quite a young institution and is still finding it's place. This isn't to impugn the quality of Ravensbourne but given you have the option, it's hard to recommend going against the well established, well regarded institution compared to the younger, still growing one, particularly as you've indicated you don't prefer either in terms of the actual campus/facilities.
Reply 8
Original post by artful_lounger
I'm not exactly sure which UAL college your course is at, but the first commenter discussed Chelsea College of Arts so, on that basis I'd recommend ChCA over Ravensbourne as the former has a long history in arts education and correspondingly a good "brand" associated with it, whereas the latter is quite a young institution and is still finding it's place. This isn't to impugn the quality of Ravensbourne but given you have the option, it's hard to recommend going against the well established, well regarded institution compared to the younger, still growing one, particularly as you've indicated you don't prefer either in terms of the actual campus/facilities.


Thank you for your opinion

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