UCAS information

WRITING YOUR UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENTS : A FEW TIPS

UCAS PERSONAL STATEMENT: PAUL'S TIPS    (you can download this if you want)
Many of you produced UCAS Personal Statements at school and will have been told how crucial they are in obtaining university places. For Art & Design courses, you will in nearly every case have the chance to be interviewed and this, together with your portfolio and your tutor's reference, will be what gets you in  or not. But the UCAS statement is still vital - they all get read and sometimes the interview is based around it. So they have to be right - and individual to you. Which, of course, makes it especially hard to advise you, as we don't want them to be formulaic. You will want to come over as an enthusiastic, informed, inventive and resourceful person with a strong individual personality. Remember, they will be selecting someone they want to teach and someone they feel confident will complete the course with success.

Your personal tutor will help you improve your first draft. Don't turn up with an unedited first try with poor grammar. Have a proper go yourself first, getting someone to check the spelling and punctuation. Read it out loud to hear how it sounds and check the sense. You might want to follow the links I've put on the Welcome page to get you in the right mindset for the task in hand.

Remember we have years of experience in placing students on the right courses and, without sounding arrogant I hope,  that the Abingdon & Witney Foundation course has a strong reputation. So, here are some tips based on our experience but that is all they are: tips.

•    Don't begin ' I have always wanted to be a fashion designer/painter/graphic designer since I was five'. First, it isn't true. Second, it sounds naff. Third, lots of other students will write exactly that, thinking it is what they want to hear.

•    Don't make claims that aren't true. You can come badly unstuck at interview.

•    Don't ramble or make the same point twice.

•    Don't use pretentious words you don't really understand but do write intelligently.

•    Don't list activities that are generic and a bit meaningless - such as that you like music and being with friends and shopping. Who doesn't? Be specific so that they can get a mental picture of you.

•    Do convey your excitement and enthusiasm about your intended subject. Try to indicate how and why you chose this course - recommendation, attending  Open Days, ex-students, etc, but remember the statement cannot support just one course.

•    Do make references to indicate your growing knowledge - relevant exhibitions, collections, artists and designers. Try to include references to magazines, books, articles - show you are 'savvy' and purposeful. Remember they will spot where you are from so be sure to indicate that you know about current local exhibitions, etc.

•    Do make it clear you are interested in lots of things outside your specialism too - your taste in novels, plays, films, dance, etc.

•    Do include references to travel if possible, especially if you can link this to your subject interests. A particular building, a memorable sculpture, a great catwalk. Include Amsterdam, mention Marrakech forthcoming. If you are talking about family holidays to typical tourist destinations, that's fine but try to think whether you can recall something relevant.

•    Quotations, if brief and well chosen, can be very striking. (Give the source)

•    Do include work experience and try to indicate its value - encouraging your social skills, being able to work in a team, industry awareness, etc. Don't just list jobs you've done. If you have done Duke of Edinburgh, World Challenge, played netball for the county - great, put it in.

•    Do try to be individualistic - what's special about you? Try to sound like someone they'd really value on the course and want to meet.

•    Do say how much you are enjoying/learning from the Foundation Course (if you are!) Say how it has helped you identify your university choices and career path (if it has!). They want purposeful, focused, informed people.

•    Finish off with an intelligent short paragraph expressing your passion for the subject and commitment to the next three years of your life and, perhaps, saying how you are looking forward to meeting the staff and students at interview. Be upbeat but not pushy.


•    Above all, be honest and be yourself. There is no point in getting into a course under false pretences. Don't delude yourself or them with some kind of sham - just do your best and look forward to being called to interview. Remember to reread a copy of your statement before you go to that interview - they'll reread it just before you go into the room in most cases,

We aim to write you the best possible but truthful reference and need you to help us do that by shining in your own personal statements. It is no good us saying you are a superb, outstanding and very promising student if you write a weak, dithering, ungrammatical statement that doesn't match up. Get busy!


Paul






Emma will give you further details soon about the UCAS trip in November soon. Here are some notes about writing your UCAS statements  - hope they help.

 




STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHY

There are plenty of degree courses in photography in the UK.  The best are the equal of anything to be found internationally.  Knowing which to apply for is far from easy. Different courses have different strengths and different traditions.  If you are interested in studying photography to degree level, you'll clearly want to put time and effort into choosing the right course for you.  Here are some notes based on my experience to help you.

•    Photography is not one thing - there are many photographies: fine art photography, editorial photography,  fashion photography, location photography, commercial and product photography, documentary photography and more…
•    Most photography degrees aim to take in students passionate about photography but open-minded about their eventual area of specialism. Nonetheless certain courses have an editorial bias, others a documentary emphasis, others a Fine Art strength and so on.
•    All photography degrees will introduce you to both conventional film photography and to digital photography. All will include technical instruction in the use of sophisticated cameras (up to and including large format cameras) and most have invested heavily in digital facilities. Most courses include modules in video work. All courses include modules in software such as Photoshop CS.
•    The model in most courses these days is no longer primarily a  technical course of instruction of growing complexity as you move through the course. The emphasis rather is on each student discovering a subject or theme and an individual 'voice' or response, with a parallel course of technical instruction. These days all degree courses include historical and contextual studies so that students develop an awareness of where they stand as photographers. Most courses include a range of visiting professional photographers. A majority of degree courses emphasise the importance of the individual as a creative artist and are similar in this respect to Fine Art courses.
•    Invitations to interview onto degree courses is based on your UCAS personal statement and your tutor's reference in the first place. Once called to interview, much depends on your portfolio and how they perceive you as an individual. They'll want to know whether you are serious about the medium or are really more of a hobbyist or technophile. They'll want to know you have an open and receptive mind. They'll want to see from your portfolio whether you have a lively visual and intellectual curiosity about the world and an informed commitment to the medium of photography. They will not be looking for a portfolio of  'my favourite photos': they'll prefer by far to see you thinking about themes through project work and sequenced images. Your work should be presented appropriately. If you turn up for interview with your photographs badly mounted and unrelated that will be read as a casual and half-hearted commitment to the medium. Your work can be a balance of projects - colour, black and white, digital, reworked or 'straight', and on a variety of themes - place, time, identity, scale, event, proximity, shadows, etc.  Avoid overusing Photoshop filters to achieve meaningless variations. Much better to have four or five sequences showing a range of approaches. At interview, you'll need to be able to explain what you were striving for and why - and to be able to contextualise your work. Say you feel inspired by the Twilight exhibition and decide to undertake a sequence of five photographs of a local landmark - the great cooling towers of Didcot power station-  that would mean you could discuss your work in a rich, informed context, referencing Ori Gersht's work, perhaps. If you have travelled to intriguing places (or are about to - Havana or Istanbul!) try to plan or edit from existing images a linked sequence rather than just picking out 'great' single shots which tends to create a kind of holiday snap feeling.
•    Remember - they are looking for potential, not 'perfect' achievement.  In essence, whatever your themes - fashion, night photography, portraiture,  etc. - what they are looking for is a sense of purpose, an excitement in image-making, a measure of technical skill, and above all an awareness of the medium.
•    Some colleges will want to see non-photographic work; others will ask you to bring only photographs or photo-based imagery (such as photoscreenprints).
•    Generally speaking, you'll be asked to bring a portfolio of between 25 and 40 images.
•    Many universities will specify a task to complete and send in before you are selected for interview. This typically might be  a sequence of five images of your home village or town but might be to choose an image from a newspaper and analyse it in five hundred words. If this happens, see it as good news: lots of students don't even submit so that cuts down your competition at the first hurdle! However, don't treat the task lightly - they really do use the responses to preselect on oversubscribed courses.

For Route A, expect to be interviewed from mid-January to March. For Route B, from early April to May.  Once you start the photo option next term, you can expect to have thirty or so pieces completed (from the Option day with me) by the end of March. However, for Route A interviews, you'll need to get busy with some free time projects and editing existing projects (with me) to build up enough work.  Don't forget you're competing with National Diploma students who have studied nothing but photography in many cases for two years. Against that, many universities really value Foundation courses and recruit heavily from courses like ours each year. I would like to see each of you to devise 'free time' projects to build up your work rapidly.

What to look at and read?

You'll need to become aware of contemporary photography and also have a grasp of the history of photography. This is best done by visiting exhibitions, reading books, reading magazines, and websites. This knowledge may be revealed in your UCAS application, at interview and, above all,  in your portfolios.

The best magazine by far for contemporary photography is Portfolio. Have a look at Source too.
I'd like you each to buy and read Liz Wells' excellent Photography : A Critical Introduction (Routledge). Susan Sontag's On Photography is superb - don't attempt it all but read a few chapters. You'll find it quite demanding but rewarding too.
Read Charlotte Cotton's The Photograph as Contemporary Art

Have a look for Vitamin Ph: New Perspective in Photography published by Phaidon (£27 on Amazon - a great Christmas present)
For an accessible overview/history, try Graham Clarke's The Photograph published by Oxford University Press

There are lots of photography magazines in the newsagents. Most are targeted at the amateur market but you may sometimes find good articles too.

Start a personal list of photographers whose work you admire and build up a folder of research using Google to access biographies, essays, reviews. Try to include four or five references to specific photographers in your UCAS statement, explaining why their work intrigues you.

Here are the galleries you should definitely be visiting now:

Thee Hayward: Painters of Modern Life
Portrait Competition (National Portrait Gallery)
The Photographer's Gallery (cia Durante etc)
The Jerwood Prize

Where to apply?

Some universities recruit through Route A and B, some just through Route B. It is up to you to find out which are which. But be careful! Falmouth, for example, state that they recruit via Route A but they only take a handful this way - nearly all their students are accepted via Route B. My advice is to phone/email the Admissions Tutor for the department and ask exactly how many they recruit through each route.
For the last ten years, I've had students accepted on to their chosen degree courses in Photography. My advice is to work hard on researching just which degree feels right for you, depending on its location, its reputation, its numbers, its facilities, its tutors. Here are some of the courses previous students went on to study at and which I recommend you consider:

Falmouth - always a favourite if the location and lifestyle suits! They'll ask you to complete an initial task to  preselect. Now in the lavish new centre.
LCC (London College of Communication)   A great choice if you want to study in London.  I saw the degree show in 2006 and was impressed by the sophistication of the work. All four winners of the Jerwood Photography Prize in 2007) came from this course!
Bournemouth - a very good reputation and a popular choice
Nottingham - a big course (100+) with superb facilities plus a European pathway
Brighton - a great course still known for its editorial emphasis
Newport - a famous specialist Documentary course as well as a separate 'Fine Art' photography run by Pete Bobby (ex-student of Paul)
Derby - a long established course with some great tutors - new building
The University of the Arts at Rochester - formerly KIAD. One of the very best UK courses with superb digital facilities (digital Hasselblads!) and a strong European intake. Very industry savvy too
Manchester Met - a strong, long-established image-based course
University of Northumbia (at Newcastle)
Southampton (enthusiastic staff - Paul is External Examiner so can advise you)
Portsmouth
Farnham - excellent course run by Anna Fox
Blackpool (very industry-oriented and image based)
Camberwell (can put you in touch with current ex A&W student there)

London College of Fashion (specialist course - two ex A&W students there at the moment)

There are lots of other courses - Napier in Edinburgh, Glasgow (a very fine course), both excellent - but you are competing with Scots determined to take advantage of paying no fees by staying in their home country! You'll see lots of others listed such as University of Gloucester (at Cheltenham), Kingston, Swansea, Leicester - these aren't courses I have direct experience of but they are certainly worth exploring.



Please see me individually to discuss devising projects on an individual basis grounded on your interests, experience and opportunities. Please check your UCAS choices with me too.  Good luck at the UCAS fair!