RWCMD Vs LIPA

[World_Lighter]

To start with.. many apologies I havnt been posting in aaggesss. But I got work at a semi professional volunteer theatre now so muchos work..

 

Anyway

 

Its coming up to january and at that point I have my LIPA interview (For anyone that doesnt know what LIPA is see here.)

 

Also a few days ago I had my interview at RWCMD (again for more info see their website ) and I felt it went well. The course itself looks absolutly brilliant and especially since I had a good chat with the head of the department.

 

But my question is to anybody else who's applied to / attending these uni's. Which one do you think is better and why? Its so damn hard to choose.....

 

 

 

 

(that is IF I get a place at LIPA)

 

Ta

 

Dan

[danburns]

I have applied to RWCMD for the Stage Management course. Went up for an open day earlier this month and it looks great. Only just got my UCAS stuff sorted out (I'm sure there's some conspiracy against me!) so haven't yet heard if I get an interview.

 

Not sure about LIPA. But I do know that peter is at RWCMD, so maybe he could post something...

 

Whats your top choice, and have you applied anywhere else?

 

:) Dan :)

[PDD]

I can't really help you in the comparision as I never applied to LIPA (can't remember why not), but I did spend a reasonably happy time (!) doing the Stage Management course at RWCMD... I don't suppose there is really much between any of the major colleges in terms of facilities and course content, so it really has to be down to your impressions and whether you think you'll "fit in". I didn't 100% fit-in at RWCMD, but I can now look back and say that it was the best course for me and I wouldn't have got my current job without it. You do need to be aware that it's not just a Stage Management course, there's quite a heavy technical element, as well as fair academic element, so don't give up on your essay writing skills just yet!!

 

Anyway, I used to be the token college rep for the ALD at RWCMD, and for them I wrote an article about the college, so I'll refer you to that:

ALD/RWCMD course description

is the link (if it works; if not it's in the 'Students' section under 'Course information from a student's perspective'). It may be a little out-of-date now.

 

Paul

[ChrisW]

I have got my interview at LIPA in january as well, LIPA looks like a nice place and a decent place to wrok, it has all the mod-cons. about the comparason, I was talking to my head of 6th form who did his stuff for me and came back and told me for what I want to do (sound engineering) that LIPA was the best choice out of the two (for that course I don't know what the uni is actually like though) what date is your interview as I may see you there.

 

Chris

[Guest lightnix]

...LIPA looks like a nice place and a decent place to wrok, it has all the mod-cons...

Not necessarily a good thing, it might be better to go somewhere more equipped with the kind of gear you will find in the "real" world. It will help you become more resourceful in your approach to your work, more flexible and more able to deal with the shortcomings of most of the venues you will ever work in.

 

Apart from that, Cardiff is a nicer location :(

[peter]

I was in exactly your situation a year and a half ago - an unconditional offer from LIPA or a conditional from RWCMD. I was pretty much sold on LIPA - the facilities looked good, I had a couple of friends in Liverpool already, and their main production venue was a proscemium arch venue. However, I decided to go with RWCMD. Why? Well, for one, its closer to home - I live in Bristol out of term time, so it made sense to be less than an hours journey from home. The RWCMD course is also a lot broader than the LIPA one, and (don't shoot me down for this one, anyone) it helps to know what the other departments are doing, and why they need x amount of time compared to you. Another big deciding factor was the fact that LIPA isn't NCDT accredited. Although you could say that doesn't really matter, it does make you worry 'why not'.

 

I suppose you could summarise your decision like this:

• If you want to play with a Hog3, lots of moving lights, and don't really mind about the city you're living in, LIPA would be a good choice
  
• If you want a broad experience with a fairly decent amount of kit, lots of opportunity for external placements and an industry recognised qualification, come to RWCMD.
  

 

However, don't come to RWCMD if you're not prepared to work VERY hard. Its important to know that the degree isn't a 'normal' degree where you turn up for one or two lectures a week, do a couple of courseworks and thats it. Even in your first term you're in 9>5 most days and have a week of 8am>10pm days. It only gets longer and more committed after that. Lectures are scheduled in 80% of the timetable slots at least, and attendance is compulsory for EVERY lecture - they have very strict policies on attendance and lateness. This isn't to scare you. Just to make you think.

[Guest lightnix]

Well there you have it, from someone on the inside...

 

Another big deciding factor was the fact that LIPA isn't NCDT accredited.

That would be a big minus for me.

However, don't come to RWCMD if you're not prepared to work VERY hard.

In fact, don't come into the business, either.

Even in your first term you're in 9>5 most days and have a week of 8am>10pm days. It only gets longer and more committed after that.

Sounds like a pretty authentic schedule to me, except you seem to be getting a bit too much of a lie in

...they have very strict policies on attendance and lateness. This isn't to scare you. Just to make you think.

That's right: take no prisoners and carry no passengers. Show up late for the tour bus and it may well have gone without you, leaving you to cab it to the next venue 500 or more miles away, at your own expense (this has happened BTW, but not to me).

 

Also, you can often judge a college by the quality of its graduates. Now, it's probably not fair to judge an establishment on the basis of one person, but I work quite often with a fairly young ex-LIPA bloke at the moment. I don't know what they taught him while he was there, but it certainly wasn't the importance of plugging things up logically or writing down what you've done. Or working quickly. Or in an organised fashion. Apparently he was unanimously voted "Person We'd Miss The Least" by his colleagues in the last round of staff appraisals. OK, a couple of bad apples will always slip through the net; each year will see one or two fall by the wayside and leave to pursue a career in retail. What worries me is that this guy made it all the way throught the course and walked away with a qualification at the end of it :(

 

Again, this isn't meant to scare you, just help you think a bit. It's important that the training you receive reflects real life situations as far as possible (although it can never be 100%), that way your job may seem a bit easier one day :( Don't forget that an interview is a two way thing: you are interviewing them, too. Don't be afraid to mention interviews at other colleges and ask what their training offers that the others don't. Listen to their answers: are they selling you the benefits of their course or just slagging off their rivals?

 

Good luck with the interviews, don't forget to let us know how they go :P

[PoppaDom]

Ex RWCMD myself as well and have to agree with everything Peter said. To go to welsh college you have to be prepared to work hard! Something that seems to lack from some of the applicants that I have seen drop out in the first year!

If you want to go to university to get drunk and enjoy the easy life then the course is def not for you, I don't know about LIPA!

 

I got unconditional from RWCMD (and a few others) and having looked around other faculties I concluded RWCMD was the place for me mainly due to the broad grounding that it provides gradually allowing you to specialise as your time there progresses. If you are looking to learn sound engineering specifically then I would suggest welsh college isnt for you possibly, sound design then maybe so!

 

Sorry for rambling but am suffering the flu and my head is fuzzy!

Dom

[ChrisW]

While on the subject of Unis, was anyone at mountview Acad. or know much about them, I heard about them and would just liek to know any information you have on them?

 

Cheers

 

Chris

[Guest lightnix]

While it may be a bit of a darkhorse, Mountview is a long established college with a very good reputation. The high quality of their lighting degree has often been remarked on.

[World_Lighter]

yeah sorry for the late reply.. but I've had exams and stuff all this early jan

 

So this is how it went...

 

I was rejected from RWCMD and I had my lipa interview 2 days ago now

 

Just checked UCAS and I now have an Unconditional offer from LIPA :D

 

I know some people dont think its as good but its my only choice now really :P and I really did love the place. The atmosphere is great and :P lightnix from what I saw a student could get through LIPA doin a minimum but most of the people I talked too were spending most of their time at LIPA sorting stuff out for another show. Because the way it's set up is that you can either do a bare minimum but lots of responsibility is placed upon you to get all the experience you can. And its avaliable. So maybe the guy you got was just a ######ing lazy sod heh.

[Guest lightnix]

Just checked UCAS and I now have an Unconditional offer from LIPA  :D

 

...and  :P lightnix from what I saw a student could get through LIPA doin a  minimum but most of the people I talked too were spending most of their time at LIPA sorting stuff out for another show. Because the way it's set up is that you can either do a bare minimum but lots of responsibility is placed upon you to get all the experience you can. And its avaliable. So maybe the guy you got was just a ######ing lazy sod heh.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You could be right, but surely there should be some kind of filter in place to prevent such people from qualifying - after all, they are hardly an advert for the college. I'm fed up with this idea that nobody should ever fail an educational course (of any kind), they'll just do less well than others. It deludes the student into thinking they have a future in a business to which they may not be suited and makes it difficult for employers to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Orchytech]

Got to admit that when interviewing I couldn't care less where people came from. I base my decisions on your experience and your answers in the interview.

 

At my Uni we saw a Golden Scan 3 once in three years and that was run off a Sirius. That hasn't stopped some of the students on the course from now working with some of the biggests installed moving light rigs in the world and all the new mod cons that flash and buzz.

 

Make sure that you make the most of all the opportunities that the course offers and if you think your missing out on something find out where you can get the experience from.

 

Some of the best knowledge that I gained at Uni was from shows and events totally unconnected with the course.

 

Orchytech

[TwC]

But my question is to anybody else who's applied to / attending these uni's. Which one do you think is better and why? Its so damn hard to choose.....

I know this topic has been covered a few times in the past, but I am also having to decide between RWCMD and LIPA at the moment and I'm finding it very difficult to choose! I know people have discussed the whole LIPA not being NCDT accredited thing, but I've spoken to people working in the industry to say that really makes no difference. -They havn't found that in any way to be a barrier in terms of getting work. So, that aside, is there anyone who has knowledge of both LIPA and Royal Welsh and can shed so light on this, what seems to be a big dilemma for so many people looking for what might be the best Stage Management and Technical Theatre training.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[Thom]

Hopefully, I will be in this dilemma too soon. I have a place at RWCMD and am pooled and awaiting a reply from LIPA within the next month.

 

However, speaking to a friend of a friend of a friend in the West End suggested that if I have the option go with LIPA.

 

 

 

Moderation: As already noted by one of the posters, this topic was covered at length before so we've merged the new discussion with the old topic to keep it all together.