GoldNetwork

Primary page content

UCAS: Next steps

The undergraduate application deadline is here! You might be ahead of the game and have submitted your application weeks in advance and already have replies from universities, or you might be cutting it close to the finish, making last minute decisions on what courses to apply for. Either way, the waiting game begins…

What happens next?

If you’ve got your applications in before the 15 January deadline, your universities will give you a decision by 2 May, but these are often received much earlier. As you can imagine, January is an extremely busy time for university admissions teams so don’t worry if you are waiting until February or even March to hear back. Keep an eye on UCAS Track and your email to follow your applications.

When universities do get back to you, you’ll see one of the following in Track:

– Conditional offer: you still have some entry requirements to meet before you can take up a place (these are usually results from current qualifications)

– Unconditional offer: you have met all entry requirements and your place at the university is confirmed (though you may need to show proof of qualifications or for certain courses undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check)

– Invitation received: you’ve been invited for an interview, audition, or similar (the university will likely contact you via email with details)

– Unsuccessful: you haven’t been accepted (feedback can sometimes be seen in Track or you can contact the university)

– Withdrawn: the university has withdrawn the choice (the reason should be shown in Track or you can contact the university)

Making your decision

Once you’ve heard back from all universities, you’ll be given a deadline to respond to your offers. This is no earlier than the start of May, but may be later if you’ve had to wait a longer time to receive responses from universities. You have these choices to make:

– Firm: this is your first choice of course and university

– Insurance: this is your back-up choice if you don’t meet the requirements of your firm choice

– Decline: all other offers need to be declined

If your firm choice is a conditional offer, you’ll now have to wait for your results and work hard to make sure you meet the requirements. As soon as you have your results, Track will be updated to confirm if you’ve fulfilled the conditions of your offer.

If your firm choice is an unconditional offer, you’re pretty much there. You’ll just need to check if there are any extra requirements from the university (such as DBS checks and proof of qualifications).

Aside from your university application, you’ll need to start thinking about applying for student finance, looking into bursaries and scholarships, and if you need to apply for accommodation. Watch this space for future posts on all of the above. Good luck to you all!

Subject Spotlight: Electronic Music, Computing and Technology

Freida Abtan leads on the BMus/BSc Electronic Music, Computing and Technology degree, a new course for September 2019. This interdisciplinary programme gives students the opportunity to create their own tools for performance and develop their own instruments, interactive installations or reactive sound design. Read on to find out more!

Hi there! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I’m a Canadian audiovisual composer and interdisciplinary artist. I work between fixed and real-time computational technologies in sound and video for concert diffusion, installation, and large-scale multimedia performance situations. My academic background is split evenly between mathematics, computer science, electroacoustic composition and visual art.

Please can you give us a quick overview of the degree course?

Electronic Music, Computing and Technology investigates the cutting edge of music technology. At Goldsmiths, this is an interdisciplinary programme offered between the departments of Music and Computing. After their first year, students can choose to pursue a more artistic or technical path of study, leading to either a Bachelor of Music (BMus) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree.

The course combines electronic music composition, production and performance with software design and digital signal processing. Students create original performances; instruments; interactive installations; and reactive sound design. Alongside developing their own musical practice, they learn to create custom software that can be used to further their own artistic goals and to pioneer the future of electronic music.

The degree is designed to meet the opportunities, challenges and intellectual demands presented by careers in the arts and creative industries, in music technology and in audio, music and media-related computing.

What makes the Goldsmiths course distinctive?

The Computing department is a world leader in creative computing practice and has a strong research community focused around new technologies for musical expression. The Music

department is famous for its innovative and passionate teaching, and its exploration of modern musical practice. Students have the opportunity to study and participate in both departments and don’t need to choose their specialization until the end of their second year. The degree supports a wide range of outcomes between musical and technological practice and encourages each student to find their own unique identity between the two fields.

What are you looking for in an applicant? Do you have any tips for a great personal statement?

I’m looking for electronic musicians who have already mastered the standard tool set for production and want to go deeper into their understanding of digital audio. Usually, they suspect that a standard production degree might bore them.

There is a certain kind of artist that finds themselves subverting their tools rather than using them “properly”. It shows a kind of creativity in exploration, but also a curiosity towards how the tools work.

These are the people who will make the future sound different than the past.

How does this degree support students practically for life after university?

I recently went to the Audio Developer Conference and met a crowd of former students working in industry. Some of them were balancing independent contracts with their own musical careers and some of them were working for their favourite audio companies. I was happy to meet students there from both specializations of the degree, though of course, many who pursue the BMus find other destinations for their talents.

Our graduates have started their own businesses, joined the professional audio developer community, pursued PhD studies in science or art, toured as musicians, and shown their installations internationally. I think the programme really encourages the mastery of an individually chosen topic in third year and this helps to launch students into the next phase of their lives.

And finally…tell us a joke!

I’ve had enough of the dubstep jokes. I wish people would just drop it.

Find out more about the BMus/BSc Electronic Music, Computing and Technology

Eye on admissions

With many changes to the education system, and a focus on encouraging those from non-traditional backgrounds into higher education, our admissions experts explain how this translates to applications.

GCSEs

The new grading system for GCSEs has not fully started to affect universities yet but some applicants who have been taking GCSEs alongside Level 3 qualifications are now presenting with the new grades. Most higher education providers have agreed that the equivalent to an old style C grade is grade 4. Finding an appropriate equivalent for a grade B at GCSE has been more complicated, with grades 5 and 6 to choose from. Goldsmiths have settled on grade 6 for programmes where a GCSE grade B was previously required. However, we are looking at this flexibly, particularly where the applicant can demonstrate that they have the required skills in these subjects in other parts of their application.

A levels

In the summer we received the first results for reformed A levels for our offer holders. Most applicants had a mix of reformed and old style A levels. While overall there was a drop in the number of applicants achieving top grades in the reformed subjects, at Goldsmiths this did not have a noticeable effect on the number of applicants meeting their offer conditions.

Extended Project Qualifications (EPQs)

A very common question at open days is how we consider EPQs. At Goldsmiths we don’t ask for a particular grade in the EPQ in an applicant’s offer conditions but this does not mean the EPQ is not considered at all. The research element of the EPQ allows students to gain skills invaluable to them on a degree programme, and can help demonstrate a genuine interest in a subject. In addition, a good grade in the EPQ may allow us to confirm an applicant who has not met their A level/BTEC requirements. Find out more about the effect of the qualifications reform from UCAS and other universities on the UCAS website.

Widening Participation

The Admissions team at Goldsmiths clearly sets out criteria when assessing applications to ensure a fair and consistent approach for all our applicants. A core part of this approach is ensuring that applicants who come to us with a non-traditional range of qualifications or from backgrounds that have not tended to access higher education, have an equal opportunity as those students who come with more traditional qualifications. We particularly look at certain groups of applicants, such as care leavers or those from local boroughs, and ensure these applicants receive extra consideration. This can take the form of an interview, a piece of written work, or an offer with a lower grade requirement from our typical offer. We don’t make decisions on the basis of this information alone, but, through the coordinated use of contextual data, we aim to ensure we take account of the effect that applicants’ social and cultural backgrounds might have on their ability to enter university. All of this is designed to draw out the potential to succeed that may not be obvious through a simple consideration of the qualifications obtained.

Where applicants have either left school with lower-than expected grades or left school many years ago with no formal qualifications, we also offer a number of foundation programmes. Initially these were designed for mature students, but they are now also popular with students who have perhaps not achieved the qualifications they had hoped for, and who decide to take a year or more out of education to reflect and develop, and seek to re-enter education with renewed zeal to succeed. These programmes provide an excellent introduction to both the subject and the important study skills needed to succeed on degree level study.

As a team we believe that, given the right encouragement and support, admitting students who have faced challenges to entering higher education is a positive thing, and these students can achieve the same progression and degree classification as their more advantaged peers when given the chance.

Jennifer Geary, Head of Admissions, and Yeliz Ali, Admissions Policy and Fair Access Manager