<p>@frazzled35, HOW EXCITING!!!</p>
<p>@GSOTMom, exciting and scary :">
We are really just waiting on her father to officially “pull the trigger”. He has said “yes”, but there are a few financial things he is checking on. Once he gives me the final go ahead, we will make it official-and I will inform the other schools.</p>
<p>Congratulations frazzled!!</p>
<p>The opportunity to study in the UK is amazing. We , however, found the budget slipping away as the USD weakened against the Pound Sterling. When we made the decision for our son to attend a BA program in MT in London the dollar was hovering as low as $1.48 and it is now $1.68 (the highest in five years). This made a difference of well over $3,000 over the past nine months. We underestimated the expense of London in general as well but the fact that the program is three years over four years is certainly a huge consideration. Glasgow’s cost of living is more reasonable. Airfare home is a challenge as well as one cannot be quite so flexible with the dates that the students need to fly back and forth. The student Visa does allow them to work in the UK but my son had no time to do that but that is a nice option if it can be worked out. Best of luck to all going…it is an incredible opportunity.</p>
<p>I agree that the opportunity to study in the UK is amazing but also that the costs can be higher than most expect. The other issues that I’ve cautioned others against, and this is in no way meant to discourage but simply to inform, are the differences in school year schedule dates, which can affect summer work opportunities on this side of the Atlantic (have the schools there changed to be more in tune with N.A. dates? I know that was discussed by several schools at one point); the inability, related to that, to get summer work (and make those valuable contacts) in N.A.; the inability to remain in the UK after graduation to work, unless you have particular levels of immigration status; a student visa won’t be enough. And, the obvious issues of travel, both the expense and the likely reduction in frequency, both for the student coming home and the family’s ability to visit, see their shows, etc. All things to consider.</p>
<p>zonolo, could you share what costs in London were higher than you expected? My S has been accepted to LAMDA and is seriously considering it. He was also accepted to RCS and Royal Welsh. We are looking at budgets. Thanks. We have an idea about Glasgow as he went to RCS this past summer for 4 weeks.</p>
<p>We aren’t planning on flying him home frequently - once a year. He’ll have to stay with friends during break. I don’t care about the shows. I mean, it would be lovely to see him in a show, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. My D goes to Northwestern and I can’t afford to see her shows either. I’d appreciate any insight into budgeting you’ve had!</p>
<p>The biggest underestimation was around the weakening dollar vs pound sterling…it literally created a $3,000 plus difference in what we estimated. I am very familiar with the cost of London and thought we had figured everything out. General food costs were high when you calculate in things like bottled water. He did not go to shows or eat out often but a meal out cost in pounds what it would in dollars in the US. A trip to the pharmacy for incidentals was pricey. A cup of coffee was almost double what it would be here. One can get a student Oyster card for transport but it stll adds up. He
Sometimes took Four busses a day to his classes and at £ 1.40 a trip…it sure added up. We were very lucky in accommodation as he lived at the International Students House which was very affordable. He did, however, have to have 3 roomates to make it affordable. He only came home for Christmas and for the summmer. It is a fantastic city and there is so much to see and do but it is truly one of the most expensive cities in the world. We figured for that but not for the currency fluctuations.</p>
<p>Zonolo, thanks for this. This is all very good information to have. The $3000 is definitely quite a bit. What does your son think about his experience?</p>
<p>We made our decision…she is heading to RCS- we are taking a leap of faith and hoping in the end this will be a good thing for her. She understands that she may only be heading home once a year-and she will be expected to find some work during breaks, whether it is waiting tables or whatever. We did discuss at length the fact that she will not be able to audition for summer stock, but she is willing to make the trade-off. </p>
<p>It has been 22 years, but I can second zonolos point about the cost of items in London. I spent a semester there in college and the exchange rate was bad. But items cost about the same amount of pounds as dollars. So if a cup of coffee was a dollar in the US, it was a pound in London, but I had to use 2 dollars to get that pound. This basically doubled the cost of everything I bought.
However, you can get awesome prices for shows!! I saw Phantom of the opera in the 6th row for 5 pounds.
Let’s keep our priorities straight. 
</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I went to school for a year at University of London, Queen Mary College. This was 30 years ago (boy, does that date me!) At the time, the exchange rate was about the same as now. I actually didn’t find London more expensive but I was married and lived on a frugal budget, although honestly it was no different from what the vast majority of my British friends lived on; actually I was more ‘rich’ in that many of my friends couldn’t afford phones in their homes. I didn’t ever go out to eat–the most I got was fish and chips (still served in newspaper cones then) or for a treat, I got Indian. I didn’t have coffee out; I don’t think they served coffee out actually! I did nearly all my shopping at the market, buying fruits, veggies, cheese, and my shopping budget was about the same as it was in the US. </p>
<p>But I don’t know how it would be as a student now and how much budgeting is required; that’s why I want to hear from others’ experiences. I appreciate zonolo’s sharing of her son’s experience. </p>
<p>I definitely agree about shows! I saw Die Fledermaus at Covent Garden for 5.50 pounds; this was with then-opera stars Kiri Te Kanawa and Hermann Prey. It was a wonderful evening!</p>
<p>I want to write this carefully so not to deter any prospective UK student based on our personal experience. We also took a leap of faith for a program that was extremely rigorous training wise and very focused which was what my son felt he wanted and needed. We researched everything carefully and everything fell into place including acceptance to his first choice school. London was great and he loved the experience. He realized, however, that the 8 to 10 hour days of straight training without the shows and regular performance opportunities made him feel dispassionate and regimented. He had a 30 to 45 minute commute each way and battled fatigue and sickness the first several months which did not help. We made the difficult decision that he will not return in the fall and will view this year as a gap year with some fantastic training and experiences. He learned alot about himself and what he wants. The financial impact was very challenging and it made no sense to push through the program if it was not what he wanted. He hopes to return to the UK down the line for an MA program but wants a more traditional college experience despite the fact that a year ago he couldn’t have been further from that. It is a bittersweet subject for me and it has been a difficult conclusion to reach. I have no doubt that others will do just fine in their prospective programs. The experience was tremendous and positive despite making the ultimate decision to return to the US and embark on a more traditional path…same goals, different path. </p>
<p>Thank you for sharing this. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for him despite all your planning and tremendous help, but I think the way you’re framing it is marvelous. You’re right, it is a learning and growth experience. <em>Many</em> students - not just those in the UK - leave their programs for a wide variety of reasons. My oldest son did. It was scary and confusing and disappointing at the time, but in retrospect, for him, it was absolutely the right thing to do. This is why people transfer, this is why leaves of absences exist. This gap year will help him figure out what he wants and you’re right, he will be that much more mature. Best of luck in his journey.</p>
<p>I second what connections said…part of the growing experience as a young person and an artist will lead to some changes. Sometimes those can be a little painful and expensive. I certainly worry that the same thing could happen to my D. Of course, she insists this is what she wants. As for the expense-I am scared to death we are not going to budget correctly. * Time for deep breathing exercises *</p>
<p>frazzled35, I think I mentioned my S studied at RCS last summer for four weeks. He loved it. I was very worried beforehand but he easily managed and extra costs were not high. THere is a Sainsbury’s (a supermarket chain) right there and he picked up food to cook there. If you want, you can pm me for a cost estimate. Of course, it depends on how frugal your daughter is. If you want to keep your budget down, you can’t eat out a lot or buy a lot of packaged foods. In general though, Glasgow is not nearly as expensive as London. YOu won’t need public transportation. They will put you up in Liberty Houses at least the first year and this is only a 10 minute walk to the school. It has nice kitchen supplies. Bear in mind <em>all</em> the students cook and budget on their own and also many students will not be wealthy, so many will be budgeting. She won’t be on her own that way. The city has some very nice places to visit and explore, although it does have its ‘bad’ areas (like nearly all American cities). </p>
<p>Connections is correct, Glasgow is much more reasonable than London and alot of the kids live at the location (Liberty House)…at least as first year and not having to commute all over the city for classes is a big plus. Frazzles35 you will be able to establish a budget and stick to it and I cannot see the dollar/pound fluctuating like it did in the past 12 months…in fact, it could begin to work in your favor in the future. The kids get very good at shopping and making their meals and my son became quite a good cook in the process. The kids will chip in for meals and cook together as well. My son’s friends were all on budgets as well so they made it work. Our issues on cost came more from currency fluctuations and things we didn’t budget in, haircuts, extra transportation, pharmacy supplies but Glasgow is so much more reasonable a city expense wise. We also always packed him up with food items whenever anyone was going back and forth…giant jars of peanut butter, snack items, breakfast bars. I am sure your daughter will have an incredible experience and I believe fully (despite our experience) that it is such an amazing opportunity to take advantage of. Our son was able to transfer to a school that he had been accepted into last year in the MT and dance departments who re-accepted him without having to audition again so he will be going there. It will give him the more traditional focus with lots and lots of opportunities for performance between the Dance Company and the theater stuff…so all worked out in the end. He has learned a lot as much as it was a “painful and expensive” year for us and I know he plans to audition for Masters programs down the line in the UK. For now, I will live vicariously through your kids as they embark on this fabulous adventure.</p>
<p>Thanks for your posts, Zonolo-- They are very informative! . My son has also been accepted to RCS’s MT program, along with frazzled35’s D. My son hasn’t made his final decision yet, but RCS is very much in the running. I’m the nervous mom, knowing I’ll worry about him “over there” but I can’t help but think of how (potentially!) amazing his experience could be there. During this whole audition process and campus visits, he’s gravitated more towards the urban-environment schools. We live in very boring suburbia, so I think RCS and Glasgow will be good for him, in many ways.</p>
<p>I’m bumping this thread up, in case any of this years parents or students have any questions about RCS. My son is there now-- he’s a first-year Musical Theater major, and living in Liberty House. There are 5 first-year American kids in the MT program-- the most they’ve ever had in 1 class/year. 18 kids total in the MT class- a very nice number. (The rest are from all over the UK-- Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England and London.) The first-years do not audition for shows, but there seem to be many outside opportunities for these kids-- my son joined the Youth Symphonia and will be performing in a concert in February that is being produced by some folks from the West End. </p>
<p>RCS-- and Glasgow especially-- has been a wonderful experience so far. Granted, he’s only got 6 weeks of classes under his belt, but he’s been busy, and he says it’s hard work. (The course starts at the end of September, and last day of classes is mid-June. So-- the RCS schedule is about 5-6 weeks different from the US schools.) RCS requires the students to take an instrument, in addition to the vocal, acting and dance classes, so the kids graduate as “Quadruple threats.” They are also very keen on introducing newly written material into the curriculum. There are 4 dance/movement classes that he takes a week. In the spring he’ll start tap. He has private and group vocal lessons. </p>
<p>He’s grown up a lot in these last 2 months! There is no meal plan at the dorm, so he’s on a budget and is cooking all of his meals. (He admits that that was a lot tougher than he thought it was going to be, but he’s surviving-- and eating! He likes to take pictures of his “creations” and send them to me. Oh, my…some are a little scary, but whatever! LOL). We use PayPal to transfer his money to him-- That was easy, and totally the way to go. He needed a brand new phone there-- his U.S. Verizon phone wouldn’t work, and we knew that prior to going over-- so he got an iPhone for graduation. Drinking age is 18-- but no driving to worry about as the dorm is in city centre and the kids walk everywhere.</p>
<p>I could go on and on… But if any one has any Qs, I’ll do my best to answer them.</p>
<p>Did your S do a walk in at Unifieds, or did you plan to audition? </p>
<p>He walked-in at Chicago Unifieds. I was able to get in touch with the RCS scheduler when we arrived in Chicago, so it was scheduled a few days before the actual audition. RCS was the only school that my son asked me to schedule a walk-in for in Chicago…he’d been on their website prior and liked what he saw. My S had not applied to the school prior to the audition, but was told to when we were leaving— he was accepted into the program on-the-spot. His auditioner was Andrew Panton, who’s the head of the MT dept. (but we didn’t know that at the time. Andrew is why my son is at RCS today.) </p>