I was told by my Foundation tutors to be prepared for a lot of criticism. I had a video reel that played continuously. There were 3 interviewers – two tutors, one student. One looked through my portfolio while the other asked questions. They were playing good cop, bad cop – one was asking quite critical questions and the other was being quite encouraging. I was prepared for it though – I thought it would be a lot worse than it was.
- Ali Eisa, 20, Year 1 BA Art Practice
Goldsmiths College
I was completely terrified as Chelsea was my first choice. But I met the Course Leader at a UCAS fair in Manchester who told me to keep my portfolio minimal. I went through my portfolio and cut it down to what I thought they would want to see and I got really good feedback on the day. They were critical though – they wanted to see a reaction, they wanted to see if you could take it and if you were passionate.
- Danni Matthews, 19, Year 1 BA Graphic Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design
The foundation interview was good because it was a group interview, and I presented my work to everyone else there which got me over my nerves. It was good to see everyone else’s work too.
I prepared really well for all my interviews on BA. I think you have to, especially in art and design when you have to show physical evidence of what you can do. All my interviews were really good – I know that sounds a bit weird because they are nerve-wracking, but I enjoyed them – they felt exciting. Having the chance to get to talk about your work and what you enjoy making doesn’t happen every day.
- Elly Strigner, 24, Graduated BA Illustration with Animation
Manchester Metropolitan University
I didn’t feel prepared at all. I was preparing my portfolio on the journey over. In fact, I thought the interview was concerning my philosophy knowledge!
- Daniel Dewhirst, 22, Year 3, BA Art and Philosophy (with Chinese)
University of Reading
The interview here was tough, really nerve-wracking. There’s only so much you can prepare for because you can get asked a question and have no idea how to answer it because of nerves. They asked me who my favourite artist was and I couldn’t even think of one artist! But they also make you ask questions about your own work which I’d never really experienced before.
- Kate Adamson, Year 2 BA Art Practice
Goldsmiths College
