A Few Questions From A Future Resident

[CordaSerrataPando]

1. What are the good Art Schools in Scotland?
A. Preferably in Glasgow or Edinburgh.

2. Do people who work in stables or things of the sort make good money?

3. What's the best job for teens who will be paying rent for a flat and going to college?

5. Do the colleges accept grants from American students?

4. Any other advice for a future resident?
A. I have four more years, but my family isn't exactly wealthy so I want to know what I am going to have to ocme up with.

Thanks! All advice is greatly appreciated!

-Courtney-

[Polwarth]

1 Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Aberdeen have good art schools, but I suggest you make your choice based on the discipline you wish to study. Send for the prospectuses or go online to see what is available at which uni.

2 - the short answer is NO!

3 As a foreigner, I'm afraid your working options would be severely limited - you are allowed to work no more than about 20 hours per week - certainly not enough to 'keep' you and to pay your fees at any UK uni. Some of my students work at MacDonalds where they earn minimum wage.

4 You would be liable for the full overseas student fees - very expensive - and more so when you consider the current very poor exchange rate (dollar to pound). Undergraduate fees are quite expensive. You should look up the entry requirements for each uni. This can be found on the University websites.

5 You would be accepted only if you could prove you have enough cash to pay your fees and to keep yourself for the academic year. Your student visa would be dependant upon proof that you can pay! You would not be able to rely upon earning money to fund your stay.

[CordaSerrataPando]

Thank you so much for replying first of all.

What all will the grant pay for?

I want to study voice and drama.

-Why only 20hrs a week?! Wow, I'd starve to stay in school though :\

I found an art school in Glasgow who is sending me the prospectus. It's sounds absolutely perfect for what I want to do. Royal Scottish Academy For Music And Drama.

Also, is it easier for most students to live on campus or can some oversea students afford a flat?

Also, does the quality in which you sing count? I've been told I was good,but I do not want to take chances. What should I expect applying to the above mentioned school?

Thanks again!

[Polwarth]

You didn't say you were interested in Drama and Music - you said ART SCHOOL! You need to be aware that when you use the term 'Art School' here, we would assume you mean fine art or allied fields, including in some instances computer generated art forms.

The 20 hours rule is because you are a foreigner, here on a student visa. To get that student visa you have to prove that you could 'keep' yourself adequately - so I suspect the 20 hour rule is to stop taking a job that a Scot might be able to take on a full-time basis.

I do not work in the V&D fields of education and have no idea of HOW they select their students. I don't know whether they have any overseas bursaries or whether they select on the 'quality' of your voice. Surely that would be too subjective a criteria? The entry requirements for all courses at Universities are usually contained in the prospectus of the HEI. There should also be a section on their websites to help foreigners find answers to their questions re fees, et.

Whether or not students live on campus depends on where they attend uni. Some of our unis are green field sites, others are central in the towns or cities where they are sited. All unis have Halls of Residence, but there are also houses owned by unis, or private landlords who lease to students.

Frankly, unless you have a really LARGE amount of money saved up, I think that coming here for a full undergraduate degree may be more expensive than if you read the subject in your own country and perhaps saved up enough money to allow you to come here and do a postgraduate degree. I would not recommend coming here to study and committing all that money to that aim - until after you had visited the place more than once or twice.

[auldnjaded]

I have to agree with everything Polwarth wrote. The fees for overseas undergrad students are roughly £7,000-£11,000/pa. That's just fees. Does not include living expenses. You'll have to get loans from a US source to pay for this; you cannot use British loans or grants b/c you are not a British resident. And you can only work 20 hours/week.

The RSAMD is a performance academy/conservatoire - it may be difficult to get a US lender to give you a loan to study there, as it's not a university.

I work in music academia. Entry to RSAMD will require an audition in which you will need to demonstrate your sight reading skills in addition to your singing voice, to British board grade 8 or higher. You may also be asked to submit material you've composed and/or CDs of your recorded performances.

Post-graduate programmes are shorter, and there may be greater funding available.

For further info:
http://www.rsamd.ac.uk/

[Polwarth]

I found your 'entry requirement' info very enlightening, A&J.... Thanks.

[auldnjaded]

It's pretty basic among performance academies and conservatoires that a degree of prior musical training and/or demonstration of performance/composing is necessary to undertake a degree course in music.

Many of the BMus students at the RSAMD are seeking professional careers as performance musicians, although they do offer a programme in conjunction with The University of Glasgow for teacher training.

B/c the RSAMD is a conservatoire, they use the new CUKAS (Conservatoires UK Admissions Service) for purposes of application. http://www.cukas.ac.uk.

Another, cheaper option might be to do a degree course in the States and evaluate what their study abroad options are. Many universities (by the way 'college' in the UK implies that you are undertaking vocational training as opposed to university education) in the States offer junior year abroad opportunities.