[OhJane]

Anyone doing the fashion photography & styling course?

[Aimeeeee]

Has anyone done the buying and merchandising short course? or any of their short courses for that matter - are they worth the money? What's it like? I'm thinking of applying to do some next spring.

[maganda_x3]

is anyone going to london college of fashion in the fall? i'll be going for a postgrad course and doing campus housing too. would love to hear if anyone will be in the same situation!

[Katie123]

InnocentFairy, i'm afraid after this summer that i've had i'm goin to have join your side . let me share my traumatizing LCF experience with you.

I did my Foundation course that ended last June in LCF. basically when we handed in our final major project it was divided in two parts: the final work (which on my case was a frame) and some boards/sketchbook/journal. We were all meant to hand everything in on a certain day, just leave our work in a room that would be locked and the teachers would later mark it. Before that they were to choose who had the best work to go in the exhibition. I was told I was selected for the exhibition so I went into the room like everyone else that was chosen, got my frame and left the rest of the work (the development part) there.

So the year ended, I came back to my house in South America, and in the end of June I get an email from my teacher that I hadnt handed in my final work, the development part. I emailed him back but he left for his holidays so wouldnt reply. Another teacher even told me he tried to find me on the private view of the exhibition but couldnt (i was there for 3 hours). they got everyones mobile numbers in case of emergency and i never got a call. After emailing the course director many times saying I needed help because getting a student visa is not quick or easy (so I needed a letter to say I'd passed and gone to my BA just for visa purposes), I finally got an email from someone in the International Office saying that if i didn't sort out my problems quickly, my offer for my BA would be withdrawn. I got really desperate and decided to go all the way to England to show my work again and prove it was there all along. I spent over 1000 pounds on a ticket and had to stay in a hotel for a week since I had no place to stay.

I showed my work and was told from the lady at the international office that if i sorted everything out they would give me a letter just for visa purposes. I travelled to Italy and when I came back home I hoped things would move faster and someone would help me since i'd done my part. They have now said they can't help me until the final board gathers to decide on my pass, which will only be on the 10th of September. the official results will come out on the 18th and only then they will be able to issue me a letter. my classes start on the 24th which gives me only 6 days to receive an international letter and apply for my visa which takes at least two weeks. I have called everyone I can imagine and they have not moved a finger to help me.

My question is, how can a school that takes in what, 50% or more international students, treat us like that? Show little care or consideration for students that pay a lot more and who don't live half an hour from London and can't afford to lose time.

I know it's a veryyyy long text but i needed to get it out of my system haha. I'm just trying to warn you all who are starting there to ALWAYS keep prove that you've shown your work, keep pictures and copies of everything, and NEVER trust that people there are genuinely trying to help you. they're only trying to get read of you so they can move on to do something else

[InnocentFairy]

^^ My point exactly. I am so sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience, they don't care about the student and only the money. I am so glad I got my refund in the end and got out when I did, it is disgusting that universities treat individuals in this way.

[MUXU]

wow, im sorry for the situation you got in with the office and LCF katie123

i do agree that the offices of UAL and LCF is really undependable, especially during the summer. i recently got a letter from UAL saying my offer is conditional and i need to send some sort of document or proof i am accepted but it doesnt state WHAT document they need. so i send an email to the person who send me the letter and 2 weeks gone by without receiving ANY reply. so i forward my original mail to LCF office and hopefully someone replies!
honestly, UAL colleges are notorious for their unorganized teaching and handling of paper works. while i was at CSM foundation year, people were saying how bad some of the paper handling were done but i can imagine LCF is possibly just as bad. though i do have to say CSM international office is quite efficient, even during the summer. they reply fast and there is always someone there even if the person you send the email to is on vacation.

i cant wait for my bespoke tailoring course to start this september and i hope everything run smoothly with registration and i get the 'conditional offer' thing sort out soon.

also, anyone study at the curtain road campus? how is the campus like there?

i think the school really dont give a damn about how the campuses are like now since they are moving away to elephant & castle in a couple years anyways

[Katie123]

thanks for the sympathy, MUXU

do you mean the LCF curtain road campus? i know quite a few people that are going into menswear, i dont know if it's tailoring, or just menswear..i'm not sure. i've passed in front of it and it looks quite small, but so did the LCF foundation in hackney and it was a bigger than i imagined inside. also shoreditch is a great place to study cos it's away from all the crowds of oxford street (that i'll be facing next term bahhh)

also do you know when we need to enroll? cos some people have been telling me that they have to do it next week but my international friends haven't even received a welcome package yet! also well i can't do it next week because of my little problem..i'm really scared i might lose my spot, seriously, and if i do it will be all their fault, so i just need to pray that everything will get sorted

[MUXU]

^yea, the campus i studied at for my CSM foundation also looked small on the outside but it was rather big inside.
im glad it's not so central too haha. and i plan on living in east end which is a cool area too. too bad LCF is moving soon though

i got my package saying i enroll on monday september 29th at the oxford circus campus.
i dont know if it's the same date for your course though.

do you know if the curtain road campus is only for men's wear and bespoke tailoring students?

[Miss Laura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InnocentFairy I doubt ALL the courses are this bad, I think MA courses in general can be quite bad...not as appauling as this MA Fashion Journalism course.

I was thinking of going there to do post grad in Fashion Journalism
but it worked out it would be way too much to live there.
and now im glad...
I just do regular Journalism.

[rainbowrosa]

has anybody done the BA Fashion Journalism course? i was thinking about maybe doing that when i leave college

[rockitgirl]

Hey everyone

This topic may or may not have been done already...I have skimmed all 11 pages and if it is here I missed it somehow.

I would like to know what the pros/cons of LCF vs CSM is. Someone told me that LCF is the school that takes those who did not get into CSM, they had a very high opinion of CSM but I think that every school has it's good and bad points. So between the two schools what would be a reason to go to either?

The one thing that does concern me is I know someone who got into LCF and not CSM and please do not think I am being rude here but he is REALLY not very good. He is not very creative, his technical skills are poor, and he has bad highschool grades. I almost felt like they were just filling their quota of offer letters by accepting him and was shocked that he got in. They even told him his drawing and illustration is weak (and I'd say that is his best skill related to design). Although he is more interested in PR than design so maybe this was a factor...?

Anyway I would really like to hear the difference between these schools. International tuition is roughly the same and both produce good grad shows though I read at the beginning of this thread (2006) that LCF grads have beaten CSM grads in competitions.

[Katie123]

well to be honest CSMers and LCFers have different reputations in London. CSM does have the reputation of being more criativity-based and teaching you do free your mind etc. basically, the crazier the better. i remember taking a short course i had a friend who did really dark stuff, and our tutor told her "oh this is very morbid. you should apply for CSM they love that sort of stuff". you're not going to be given a lot of theory or designers you should know and books you should read. it's very independent study oriented i think. i know that because a friend studies Product Design and he's missed every single one of his tutorials and he's never heard a word from his teachers, he just does his own thing in his own time and hands it in on the date.

on the other hand LCF is known for being better in the technical part of fashion. It is known for being better in less "creative" careers (in terms of creating garments, prints etc) such as management, journalism, marketing. i know a lot of both types of students and to be honest when i finished my Foundation course i was completely decided on LCF. it's a much more care free environment, as opposed to CSM. me and my friend that studies there always joke saying that you can recognize a CSMer on the streets, judging from their style and attitude. the crazier the style is and the more superior the posture, that's a CSMer (of course i mean from the one's i've met and seen, i'm not saying they're all like that, after all my friend isn't!)

[Meg]

For the person who asked above, I did the buying and merchandising short course at LCF and it was good, I enjoyed it. It's not mind blowing or anything, but the instructor was good and it was chock full of good info.

Sorry to hear about all the problems. If people don't respond to your email though - CALL THEM! I understand how frustrating it is, there is a lot of red tape at these places. I think my experience when I was applying was a bit better simply because while I was international, I was living in London at the time so it was easy to stop in at their office to get them to do things. I don't think it would be quite as simple if I was far away. Katie, if I were you, I'd phone them and ask to speak to the head of international student admittance and explain your problem and how you will now be delayed for classes, etc. and see if that gets you anywhere. Good luck

[fashionjunkiexx]

hiya i was wondering if anyone could help me?
im about to pick my college courses as im leaving school in june next year and ideally id like to go to uni at either london college of fashion or st martins, but im not sure which qualifications i need to get into the ba hons fashion design womens wear course as its not very clear on the website can anyone tell me what they did at college before going there?
neither my school or the college im going to is that helpful so any advice would be really appreciated!
thankyou!
xx

[Katie123]

have you done a foundation degree already? its not mandatory but everyone I know did it. those courses usually help you put up a portfolio for your the course you want. I remember womenswear was extremely competitive, especially CSM, and basically 70% of the people in my foundation at LCF wanted to do it.