Unit 11

Today (05/09/2019), I attended a speech from a member of staff from University of Portsmouth. She spoke about the general stuff about University, such as the stages you have to go through when you are applying for a university, for example details about yourself, personal statement etc. Also she mentioned how "the finance" system works and it explained overall everything about student loans. The speech was very useful as I understood what I have to include in my personal statement, such as positive stuff about me, my hobbies, why I chose any respective course, etc; but also about stuff that I shouldn't include for example cliche quotes that have no relevance to my desired course, I shouldn't start my personal statement with "I have always wanted..." and also I shouldn't say negative stuff about myself. Especially in my personal statement and University application overall, I have to get my reader's attention. 

Also this speech was very useful as it made me understand how the student finances work.
I understood that if I am living with my parents I will get less student loan but if I live away from home but outside London I will get a less student loan than if I lived away from home but in London. This is because London is much expensive than other cities, such as Portsmouth. Also if my parents get a higher income I will probably get less student loan and if they get a lower income I will get a higher student loan. The student loan needs to be repaid only one year after you finished  your University and it will start from April. However, if you don't earn over 25.000£ per year you will not have to pay back the student loan. 

A personal statement should have a maximum of 4000 characters and it should fit an A4 page. I shouldn't copy anyone's personal statement and the Universities have a very evolved system of plagiarism and it will definitely know if I copied someone's personal statement or not. 

This speech made me think about "If I should go to a University in London or outside London" because London is much more expensive than other cities. Also, if I study outside London, if I want to visit my parents it will cost more money than if I studied in London and I wanted to visit my parents. 

I have just started my UCAS application. So far I have added almost all my personal details into the application. In my opinion, my best course for me will be "graphic design". During this summer I went to an open day at Middlesex University and I really enjoyed the campus, especially the building where my desired course is located. However, I am not 100% sure that I will go there, I might change my opinion throughout this year. 



The jobs that are related to a multimedia degree are Animator, Concept artist, Games Developer, Graphic Designer, Photographer, Illustrator, VFX Artist, Web Designer. I am most interested in Graphic Design. Therefore, as a Graphic Designer I will have activities such as websites, advertising, books, magazines, posters, computer games, product packaging and so on. In order to be able to create the product, I will arrange a brief that will be agreed by me and the client, creative director or account manager.
The responsabilities as a Graphic Designer include:
-metting clients to discuss business objectives
-estimatng the time required to complete a job and providing quotes for clients
-thinking creatively to produce interactive and new designs
-working as part of a team if necessary

The salary for a junion Graphic Designer will be around £15.000 to £19.000 per year, latetely it will rise up to £27.000. At a middle level, it might be between £25.000 to £35.000 per year. However, the salary will be different from person to person because of the experience, location and reputation.

I did some research on what subject I want to study and I realized that Graphic Design will fit for me as I am interested in typography, design for book covers/posters, t-shirts.

Considering Graphic Design is a good course for me, I started to do research on what universities I should look at. Therefore, I found out about: Middlesex University, Ravensbourne University, Kingston University, University of Westminster and London Metropolitan University. From those ones, I really want to go to Middlesex University as I once went to an open day and the campus had lots of facilities such as areas where you can chill to study, or chill with your mates and places inside the campus such as coffee bars, Subway.

After applying on UCAS for these Universities I got an offer from all of them to go for an interview and in some cases only to send in the portfolio. However, for Middlesex my application was unsuccessful and they gave me another offer but I have to do an extra foundation year; but for the foundation year the entry requirements are 48 UCAS points, but I can get more than 120 UCAS points as in the first year I got distinction and I am predicted Distinction again for this year. 

Furthermore, I got an interview for University of Westminster on 26th of February, Kingston University on 5th of March, London Metropolitan University on 18th of March and I couldn't manage to book in an interview for Ravensbourne University as there were no dates available when I checked up to book in my slot time.

Even though Middlesex offered me an offer in which I have to complete another year. I think I will still go there as it is my first choice because I liked the University when I went for an open day last summer. Most probably I will give them a call to check why they declined my first offer and why they decided to put me on foundation year. 

One of the designers that I like is Neville Brody. I like his typography works in general and I like this "Just do it" work. I like the way he expressed the word "bounce" with words going up and down as they were bouncing. 


Down below I created a chart about my skills audit. In my opinion my strength is Design and Photography, as enjoy doing it in my spare time. However, I am not that good at time management because I leave all the tasks till the last moment. I should obviously work on this weakness for future projects as it is a disadvantage and I should improve it because having better time management you can get tasks done quicker than before. I'd also like to improve my drawing as it really helps with creativity while doing a project because you can express your own thoughts in drawings, easier than you could have done with words; it will only be an advantage for myself so I should really consider improving it.

Thinking about future careers I have in my mind, graphic design, photographer, illustrator artist, concept artist and VFX artist. I am not definitely sure which pathway I will follow after I graduate because there is lots of options that interest me. For example, I can be a full time Graphic Designer and in my free time I can be a Photographer that will record events such as birthday parties, weddings etc. I can also be a concept artist or VFX Artist because I think creativity is one of my strongest skills. Also Illustrator artist will fit me as it involves creativity and I can express my thoughts through drawings.