PR: Universities

• Higher Education courses – courses that are available after secondary education and college / sixth form (18+ usually), a common one being university degrees.

The University Route

Instead of the old way of applying for universities, one by one, UCAS now offer a cheaper and quicker way of applying. You write your personal statement, reference etc and then send it all of to 5 universities at once, saving the costs and efforts of doing it individually. UCAS points can be received by doing various thing, but people mostly get the bulk through their course or A/AS level results. You can also do extra curricular activites to get more points, such as getting a certain grade in an instrument, taking an extra A level or level 3, volunteering. If I were to go to universtity, I would most likely pick a course in film production generally, as opposed to specific part. Here are two university courses I researched that interested me and that I think I’d consider:

Film Production (BA Hons) at University of Gloucestershire

The first sentence is ‘learn how to make films by making your own’. I think this is very important to me as I am able to focus a lot more and learn quicker if I’m doing instead of listening and writing etc. It is a very practical course according to the website which is what attracts me most. Also, students are put on placements and are taken on regular trips to things such as film festivals. Also, the students are monitored by active filmmakers, with several team members being BAFTA winners or nominees. The entry requirement for 2018 is 129 tariff points. http://www.glos.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/fpr/pages/film-production-ba-hons.aspx). 

Practical Filmmaking (BA Hons) at Central Film School London (2 Years)

This course focuses on giving students the skills desired by employers, which I think is good as it seems to perfectly set you up for going straight into the professional work place. Also, the modules look interesting as they seem to cover a lot of content in a short time. Furthermore, a part that would draw in a lot of people your final project receives a screening in Central London. Also, another attractive part of this course is that it’s only two years, which would be good for me as I am not too keen on the idea of going to university so if I didn’t want to do a full three years I wouldn’t have to, but could possibly do it if I wanted to. Also, only 64 tariff points are needed which is quite low of a university. https://digital.ucas.com/courses/details?coursePrimaryId=63df5176-f1b0-7225-acda-4f53a4fb4bf6&courseOptionId=850e2168-c4b5-7fbe-f8dd-cdae1328e76a

 

Positives of going to university:

• Moving away from home could better your independence
• Getting work may be easier to get after you’ve finished your course
• You could get a lot of experience while still being in education
• You’d have more supervision when working if that’d be preferred
• Meet new people and get contacts for the future

Negatives of going to university:

• No guarantee you’ll get a job or a well-paying job in the industry just from a degree
• Fees of about £9,000 a year, with loans being paid off after
• May have to work multiple jobs to pay for living expenses
• It usually takes 2-4 years to get a qualification at university, but during this time you’ll be more in education than the workplace (depending on university courses)
• Moving away if someone doesn’t want to yet
• Some people work better in different environments that aren’t educational