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Media: Goldsmiths, Royal Holloway, Westminster, Brunel...

So i've been following threads on the student room and although a lot of posts confuse me and completely contradict what others say, i have roughly decided on what uni's i might apply for, and i was just wondering if i could get some feedback.

What im planning on applying for is:

Goldsmiths: Media & Communications

Royal Holloway: Media Arts

Brunel (possibly) Media Design & Production

Westminster: Film and Television Production or Media Studies and Television Production (Not entirely sure what the difference is or which one people would recommend. Maybe there are other better Media courses at Westminster? It's a bit confusing because they have quite a few. Any ideas?)

I wasn't sure if i should apply for Brunel or Westminster but i hear that Westminster has a very well respected Media department, so that was reassuring. I hear Brunel is an okay uni but im not convinced so if someone could please let me know if it is worth studying Media there :smile:

)

Does anyone know what my 5th option could be? I was thinking Media and Sociology at City but i was kind of hoping for a more practical course. I also considered St Mary's Twickenham but i haven't heard much about it and im not entirely sure if it's got good career prospects after graduation.

Could anyone please recommend any other courses at respected uni's? I thought Kingston and London Met offered a very good range of subjects but then i realised that you really shouldn't judge a uni by it's website :rolleyes:

One more question (sorry!) :redface:

Is it better to apply as soon as possible or is it okay as long as you apply before the due date in Janurary? Im not sure if i should be applying now just in case or if i should relax for now and worry about it a bit more in November or December.

Thankyou! :smile:

Reply 1

mollymustard

14

I personally think you'd be better off going for Goldsmiths, Royal Holloway, Brunel and Westminster and then either Kingston or London Met.
Kingston and London Met don't have a fantastic academic reputation, but you may find that the more practical courses there suit you better.
You'd probably be best off going to visit each of the Unis on a Open Day if you possibly can, as it will give you a much better idea of each department and course and it will lead to you making a decision you are more happy with.

Don't rush your application! Don't totally relax though, at this stage of the application process you should be visiting Unis, having a look at prospectuses and thinking about the possible courses (sounds like you've got a good start) and also writing your personal statement. Its important not to leave everything until the last minute, but there is no need to panic and have to make hasty choices as you have lots of time to make sure you are happy with your application.

Its best to send your application to UCAS a few weeks before the January deadline at least though, as it means there is less of a rush on and admissions tutors may have more time to look at and consider your application. Also, DON'T leave it until 1/2 days before the deadline as the UCAS website system often decides to crash with little or no warning.

Remember if you are applying through a school or college, you must submit your application to your school before they forward it to UCAS. Your personal tutor will add your reference, and they will need time to do this so again, its probably best pressing the send button with enough time for them to check over your application.

Reply 2

wintersleep

OP

Unfortunately i live in New Zealand and i can't go to the open days for any of the uni's so i am trying to find out as much truthful information as i can about them through people that study in London :smile:

I normally wouldn't make such a big decision without visiting the uni's but it looks like i'll have to :redface:

Reply 3

electro_girl

2

london met!!!

Reply 4

prospectivEEconomist

16

mollymustard

I personally think you'd be better off going for Goldsmiths, Royal Holloway, Brunel and Westminster and then either Kingston or London Met.
Kingston and London Met don't have a fantastic academic reputation, but you may find that the more practical courses there suit you better.
You'd probably be best off going to visit each of the Unis on a Open Day if you possibly can, as it will give you a much better idea of each department and course and it will lead to you making a decision you are more happy with.

Don't rush your application! Don't totally relax though, at this stage of the application process you should be visiting Unis, having a look at prospectuses and thinking about the possible courses (sounds like you've got a good start) and also writing your personal statement. Its important not to leave everything until the last minute, but there is no need to panic and have to make hasty choices as you have lots of time to make sure you are happy with your application.

Its best to send your application to UCAS a few weeks before the January deadline at least though, as it means there is less of a rush on and admissions tutors may have more time to look at and consider your application. Also, DON'T leave it until 1/2 days before the deadline as the UCAS website system often decides to crash with little or no warning.

Remember if you are applying through a school or college, you must submit your application to your school before they forward it to UCAS. Your personal tutor will add your reference, and they will need time to do this so again, its probably best pressing the send button with enough time for them to check over your application.

Quite an understatement..

Reply 5

Y__

13

May I ask you why you want to spend three years of your life at a place you have never seen before? London is rather expensive, as is studying there (I suppose you are an overseas student?) - why do you want to come to Europe?

No offense intended, I'm just curious.

Reply 6

prospectivEEconomist

16

You would be better off in Australia imho.

Reply 7

bete noire

17

Maybe consider london college of communication as an option for media, I think (but I'm not sure) its close to Goldsmiths in the ranks for that subject, it might not be though...but its where im going to do media and culture

Reply 8

wintersleep

OP

Im actually a EU resident im just studying here on an exchange, but i won't have the opportunity to visit the uni's in the meantime. I want to study in London because i've got some family there and i wouldn't want to be all alone in such a big city. I just think that a qualification gained in London opens up a big window of opportunities, and i might be wrong but im not going to change my mind.

Reply 9

akmd

11

Personally, I would apply to Media courses at the followings Unis:

Royal Holloway
Goldsmiths
Brunel (Yes, it's ok. There's certainly far worse places in the London area)
London College of Communication
Westminster

All 5 have of those are good choices for media courses. Try your very best to get into the top 2. Westminster is really a last resort!

Reply 10

C_D_forever

4

akmd

Personally, I would apply to Media courses at the followings Unis:

Royal Holloway
Goldsmiths
Brunel (Yes, it's ok. There's certainly far worse places in the London area)
London College of Communication
Westminster

All 5 have of those are good choices for media courses. Try your very best to get into the top 2. Westminster is really a last resort!

Actually for anything media related Westminster is by far the strongest option - look at things like the latest research - RAE 2008 - Research Assessment Exercise - Westminster is top in the country for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies. It's obviously well known as a being one of the best for media, arts, fashion and journalism etc. Please know your facts before stating something to be a last resort.

Look at each profile here - the research for each department trickles down in to your degree and shows how cutting edge the knowledge is. The higher the percentage of 4* and 3* work the better. See this link:

http://submissions.rae.ac.uk/results/selectHEI.aspx

Though all media and art type courses are taught at the Harrow campus - self-contained and about 20 minutes by tube from Baker Street/Marylebone campus in central London. It is in travel zone 5. It's a shame you can't visit each place to get a feel for the university - this is very important. Good luck with your choice though.

You can also compare universities in general - stats and figures etc at this link - though updated information comes out every year and unis can go up and down league tables like a yo-yo.

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/single.htm?ipg=6524

Reply 11

akmd

11

C_D_forever

Actually for anything media related Westminster is by far the strongest option - look at things like the latest research - RAE 2008 - Research Assessment Exercise - Westminster is top in the country for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies. It's obviously well known as a being one of the best for media, arts, fashion and journalism etc. Please know your facts before stating something to be a last resort.

Look at each profile here - the research for each department trickles down in to your degree and shows how cutting edge the knowledge is. The higher the percentage of 4* and 3* work the better. See this link:

http://submissions.rae.ac.uk/results/selectHEI.aspx

It's joint 1st with East Anglia. Both universities had 90% of their research in media ranked in the two highest categories. Goldsmiths had 80% of their research in media ranked in the two highest categories, which I'm sure you agree is an excellent result.

Reply 12

C_D_forever

4

akmd

It's joint 1st with East Anglia. Both universities had 90% of their research in media ranked in the two highest categories. Goldsmiths had 80% of their research in media ranked in the two highest categories, which I'm sure you agree is an excellent result.

Yes - these results on the whole were astounding when you compare the results of other subject areas across the board. The way the figures were played with was very subjective and it did depend on where the comments were coming from. For example from the University of Cardiff - who seemed to rank themselves third, behind Goldsmiths and Westminster (1st and 2nd) respectively - seemed to go off full-time equivalent staff submitted (with Goldsmiths having 9.8 compared to Westminster's 9.6) even though on the face Westminster submitted a massive 60% of work that was classed as 4*.

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/newsandevents/news/08raeresult.html

According to Professor Gauntlett of the University of Westminster - Westminster obviously came top and this was his view (Cardiff was fifth here):

http://www.theory.org.uk/david/rae2008.htm

We are very pleased that the Communications and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), at the University of Westminster, has been judged to be the best in the UK for media and communications research, in the results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise, released in December 2008.

The UK's Higher Education Funding Councils run a Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) every six or seven years, to assess the quality of research in all subjects across all UK universities. Research is assessed, in a massive exercise, by specialist expert panels who read substantial samples of research books and articles by every researcher submitted, and also consider other indicators of esteem and international reputation.

CAMRI submitted the work of 16 researchers. 60 per cent of this research was judged to be at the very highest level - "world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour" (the top, 'four star' ranking). All of the work was judged to be "recognised internationally" and 90 per cent of the total was rated "internationally excellent".

For comparison, only 17 per cent of research across all universities and all subjects was judged to be "world leading". At the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, an average of 32 per cent of research was at this four-star level.

You will see from the Times Higher table (right) that the University of Leicester's entry for museum studies actually tops the chart, but Leicester's entry for media and communications is at number 19. Museum Studies is a different subject, apparently entered into the RAE by only one department, and happens to be bundled into this unit of assessment. But Leicester's separate entry for media and communications makes it clear that CAMRI is top for this subject.

Media: Goldsmiths, Royal Holloway, Westminster, Brunel...

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