Portfolios and interviews
Writing your personal statement
Your personal statement is all about you. It’s your chance to tell us why you are applying for your chosen subject, and why we should choose you.
What are admissions tutors looking for?
- Why you are applying for your chosen subject.
- What you have done so far and how this has led to your chosen subject; think of your experiences and skills gained.
- What you hope the course will do for you; think of what you will learn, experience, and how will it help you in your chosen career.
- What you are like as a person; think of your likes, interests, hobbies, personal qualities, positions of responsibility held, and activities/challenges undertaken.
Tips on writing your personal statement
- Make it positive, enthusiastic and forward thinking – you want to keep the admissions tutor interested.
- Keep to the point; avoid using jargon and overly long sentences.
- Keep it concise; around 47 lines – admissions tutors don’t want to see pages of your personal statement.
- Think of how you can link in your hobbies and interests with the subject you are applying for – admissions tutors will be looking for your passion and commitment.
- Include any relevant work experience.
It’s written, what next?
- Read through it and ask your tutor or careers adviser to check it.
- Check your spelling and grammar.
- Does it clearly answer why you have chosen the course?
- Does your personal statement flow?
- Keep a copy for yourself, as it’s likely to be referred to at interview stage.
Preparing your portfolio
- The work in your portfolio should reflect the course that you are applying for*
- Your portfolio should include a range of ideas and different approaches; include your finished work, sketches, notes and contact sheets.
- Presentation is important.Think about using plastic wallets to present your work.
- Your work should be logically organised, showing a clear progression.
- Don’t include all your work, be selective and choose your best pieces.
- Your portfolio is about you, so you want to be looking at including work that reflects your personality and creativity.
*Please note that for our Foundation Diploma courses, tutors will expect to see a variety of work in your portfolio. Only for a degree course portfolio does your work need to be subject specific.
Mounting and presentation of your work
The purpose of your portfolio is to create a sequence of images that tells your visual ‘story’ – your story needs to make an impact quickly, while also making sense to the viewer. By clearly grouping related images and sheets together, in an appropriate sequence you help communicate the flow of your ideas. Poorly judged mounting and presentation can instantly devalue the quality of your work and distract the viewer from recognising your true potential; especially when the mounting is fussy or complicated.
Sketchbooks
When including sketchbooks in your portfolio, consider the following:
- Only present full or nearly full sketchbooks.
- Most sketchbooks can be improved by relevant additions or removal of selected pages.
- Get rid of any loose material, which could fall out e.g. exhibition catalogues.
- Do not treat them purely as scrapbooks e.g. relate drawings to ready-made imagery.
- Clean up covers and cover any dominating colours or brand logos.
- Sketchbook titles are best placed on the inside page unless you have good typographic skills.
- Write your name inside the front cover, not on the cover.
- If you have several sketchbooks, it’s a good idea to number them in sequential order.
Preparing for your interview
- Know you work, as you will need to talk about it – identify the strengths and weaknesses with your work, and be analytical.
- Brush up on your knowledge of Ravensbourne and the industry you are applying for.
- Be knowledgeable about the course you are applying for, the admissions tutor will be looking for this.
- Demonstrate that you are a team – worker, and that you can use time effectively.
What else do I need to know about for my interview?
- Arrive on time.
- Report to the main reception.
- Your interview will last approximately 20 minutes, but you should expect to remain on the campus for a maximum of two hours.
- You will be interviewed by at least two people, including a member of the course staff.
- You may be interviewed within a group situation.
- If you are applying for certain TV and Broadcasting courses, you may be asked to sit a short maths/physics assessment.
Applicant selection statement
It is Ravensbourne policy to use an interview as the primary means of assessing your suitability for your course of choice. We believe that the opportunity, provided by interview, for you to meet and talk with staff and student from the course teams gives the best means of taking full account of all your skills and characteristics. Ravensbourne does not make decisions regarding suitability solely on the basis of information available from an application form (academic qualifications, personal statement and reference) where an interview is possible. We reserve the right to not invite applicants for interview in certain circumstances including cases where a candidate’s application form indicates that they are ineligible for consideration or where the programme of choice has no places to offer. You will be considered for entry if you have any qualification at a suitable level for entry as identified on individual course documents. Should you wish to defer you will be treated on an equal basis to other applicants.
RSS Feed
