University of Hull is my top choice as of right now due to the impression I got from their open day, as everything seemed really comfortable and professional from the accommodation to the specifics of the course and the studio availability and booking system.
As Hull is too far away to travel to, I would be staying in accommodation. We were able to explore the on-site accommodation as of showing up to the entrances. The two accommodation choices I looked at were fairly priced, well laid out and no more than a 5 minute walk from any of the major buildings, so carrying equipment to studios would be easy enough. Both options looked really tidy and not prison-like, which means I would be able to work effectively and not feel like I’m trapped in a tiny room. The prices for next year were averaging at £150-160 per week, which is manageable, especially considering I plan to work full-time to put towards cost.
The course itself is very open and very practical, which is ideal for me. The overall music course is the best choice, as the others are the same structure of course but with pre-chosen specialisations. The overall music course allows you to choose what you want to specialise in per project in the moment, so you can choose to do different things each project. Non-production students can go through a studio induction process so they can use the studios freely, so long as staff are confident they can trust students and know that they know enough to get songs recorded and mixed.
As it’s not more than a two hour train ride each way, it would be easy to travel home for the weekend if I wanted or stay home over holidays. I’m happy with this as I get to have a lot of independence but not feel completely alone. When on campus and walking around, one of the things I discussed was that it didn’t feel necessarily ‘away from home.’
Entry requirements are reasonable and achievable, there’s a requirement of grade 7 in an instrument or equivalent if not officially graded, sent as a clip of me playing. Otherwise, they need 112 UCAS points and some kind of formal education at level 3 in music.
There are plenty of societies and clubs that encourage musical people from any course to play, like the funk band and the electronic production group, which means there are plenty of internal performance opportunities.