The Student Room Group

Is UAL really worth it?

I'm about to start in September as an undergrad student studying illustration at camberwell and I cant help but have seconds thoughts. I picked UAL as my firm and Ravensbourne as my insurance. I picked UAL solely due to its high rankings - before picking it as my insurance i haven't stepped foot in that place once or anything as they didnt have any open/applicant days at the time so i didnt have any real experience or feel of the place, whereas with ravensbourne i've been there twice, an i enjoyed the overall area and the building itself and i've grown accustomed to the place. The low student satisfaction and bad reviews of UAL also scare me as i've basically heard NO good stories and so many people dropping out of there.

So overall i am pretty skeptical of going ual in september, and if anyone has any good words of wisdom to share please do as this is constantly on my mind and i cant help but think i made the wrong choice and should've picked ravensbourne as my firm instead
Original post by Nastka.x
I'm about to start in September as an undergrad student studying illustration at camberwell and I cant help but have seconds thoughts. I picked UAL as my firm and Ravensbourne as my insurance. I picked UAL solely due to its high rankings - before picking it as my insurance i haven't stepped foot in that place once or anything as they didnt have any open/applicant days at the time so i didnt have any real experience or feel of the place, whereas with ravensbourne i've been there twice, an i enjoyed the overall area and the building itself and i've grown accustomed to the place. The low student satisfaction and bad reviews of UAL also scare me as i've basically heard NO good stories and so many people dropping out of there.
So overall i am pretty skeptical of going ual in september, and if anyone has any good words of wisdom to share please do as this is constantly on my mind and i cant help but think i made the wrong choice and should've picked ravensbourne as my firm instead

I’ve heard from ex-students at my school who’ve gone on to study at UAL CSM (foundation) that they’ve mainly enjoyed their time, but the course is ultimately what you make it. Another main thing they said is that the tutors expect you to take the initiative, but I’m not sure how that fits into the whole student satisfaction thing. I must say I have heard the same negative things as you’ve said from my art teacher who has supported lots of students applying to UAL over the past few decades
Original post by Nastka.x
I'm about to start in September as an undergrad student studying illustration at camberwell and I cant help but have seconds thoughts. I picked UAL as my firm and Ravensbourne as my insurance. I picked UAL solely due to its high rankings - before picking it as my insurance i haven't stepped foot in that place once or anything as they didnt have any open/applicant days at the time so i didnt have any real experience or feel of the place, whereas with ravensbourne i've been there twice, an i enjoyed the overall area and the building itself and i've grown accustomed to the place. The low student satisfaction and bad reviews of UAL also scare me as i've basically heard NO good stories and so many people dropping out of there.
So overall i am pretty skeptical of going ual in september, and if anyone has any good words of wisdom to share please do as this is constantly on my mind and i cant help but think i made the wrong choice and should've picked ravensbourne as my firm instead


tbh ual can be awful and can be good purely dependent on which campus youre ayand who is on your course. but ultimately you are there to study and become the best artist you can be. camberwell from what ive heard has nice people you just gotta be brave (thats my plan lol)
Original post by Nastka.x
I'm about to start in September as an undergrad student studying illustration at camberwell and I cant help but have seconds thoughts. I picked UAL as my firm and Ravensbourne as my insurance. I picked UAL solely due to its high rankings - before picking it as my insurance i haven't stepped foot in that place once or anything as they didnt have any open/applicant days at the time so i didnt have any real experience or feel of the place, whereas with ravensbourne i've been there twice, an i enjoyed the overall area and the building itself and i've grown accustomed to the place. The low student satisfaction and bad reviews of UAL also scare me as i've basically heard NO good stories and so many people dropping out of there.
So overall i am pretty skeptical of going ual in september, and if anyone has any good words of wisdom to share please do as this is constantly on my mind and i cant help but think i made the wrong choice and should've picked ravensbourne as my firm instead

No good stories is a bit extreme lol. My friends who have been there have all really enjoyed the experience.
For sure, it could be bad for some people but that’s a risk you take for your every life decision.

Also remember people who have a good time usually don’t bother giving reviews and all. It’s only when something goes wrong you’d want to come online and complain.
The horror stories mostly come from the Foundation diploma and CSM courses. Every other campus seems to have nice(r) people. I start Illustration too this year, so I guess it's a game of wait and see.
Original post by Nastka.x
I'm about to start in September as an undergrad student studying illustration at camberwell and I cant help but have seconds thoughts. I picked UAL as my firm and Ravensbourne as my insurance. I picked UAL solely due to its high rankings - before picking it as my insurance i haven't stepped foot in that place once or anything as they didnt have any open/applicant days at the time so i didnt have any real experience or feel of the place, whereas with ravensbourne i've been there twice, an i enjoyed the overall area and the building itself and i've grown accustomed to the place. The low student satisfaction and bad reviews of UAL also scare me as i've basically heard NO good stories and so many people dropping out of there.
So overall i am pretty skeptical of going ual in september, and if anyone has any good words of wisdom to share please do as this is constantly on my mind and i cant help but think i made the wrong choice and should've picked ravensbourne as my firm instead

In general I think a lot of good unis have low student satisfaction scores because you actually have to work hard lol

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