About the Schools this Year

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I received an email from a student at OCU asking me all kinds of questions about studying abroad in the UK and the two schools in particular. I figured my email back could be useful to other people, or at least just be good reading material. I'll post my lengthy response here.

"Hey!

I think it's a great idea to study abroad, especially here. I am currently trying to figure out how I can stay here forever and never have to leave so you should definitely come!

As far as the two schools go, it really depends on what you're looking for. My favorite by far has been LAMDA and I will cry my eyes out when the semester is over. Basically, the two schools can be summarized as thus:

Edge Hill:
pros: cheaper than OCU (at least for me), scholarships apply, lots of free time to meet people and travel, good way to see a small English town which is more "real" England than London, safe transition to a new country
cons: I'm not a small town girl so I got bored with it fairly easily, the school itself is not great for theatre and I was not really challenged much outside of my academic classes.

LAMDA:
pros: LONDON!!, one of the best acting schools in the UK (second only maybe to RADA), good way to meet people who are from other parts of the world besides the US and UK
cons: VERY expensive on all aspects of life, besides school, more difficult to meet British students (although they do give you opportunities, you really just have to be outgoing and initiate conversation in the common room, etc), not a lot of time to travel

And to answer your other questions: I did not have to audition for either school. It was merely an application to both schools and OCU and a headshot for LAMDA. The application fee for LAMDA was fairly expensive, if I remember correctly. At Edge Hill, they let you have a lot of freedom with your classes, which was nice. I took a class in history, film, theatre, and literature. The film class was by far my favorite and the theatre one was somewhat frustrating as the work ethic of the other students was greatly lacking compared to people at OCU. LAMDA does not let you choose courses, but they switch the schedule around regularly and you get a great variety of training. I absolutely love it here, but if you prefer to come and travel, etc, it might not be the best place. I am in class Mon-Fri 9-5:30 and they frequently schedule rehearsals or workshops outside of those times.

It was pretty expensive to come to LAMDA, but like I said, Edge Hill ended up being cheaper than OCU. The International Office is also great for scholarships if you apply early. It seems like a first come- first served sort of basis but they gave me $3500 for this semester. I think LAMDA was something around $17,000 and Edge Hill was around $9,000. I tried looking for scholarships outside of OCU but gave up quickly as there were not many options that were easily available.

I think that it would be a good idea to come to LAMDA and schedule a month or so afterwards for travel if you have the money. It is really difficult to travel, because I really like having the weekends to unwind and get to know other students. As for travel, there are a lot of cheap airlines and hotels/hostels here which makes traveling pretty nice. I figured that for each weekend trip I took it would cost me about $300-$400 for everything, but it's really hard to estimate.

I also think it is a great idea to come here by yourself. Part of the allure of studying abroad is putting yourself out there and seeing what you can get yourself to do, and being forced to do it on your own is a great experience. People are mostly friendly and generally really like Americans (with a few exceptions), so I have had no trouble making friends. Coming by yourself is great.

The dorm rooms at both schools were average. Nothing like the new dorms at OCU, but they're typical dorms. Edge Hill automatically gives you singles, but the quality is not wonderful. I'm pretty sure there was black mold in the walls. You also share a toilet and shower with your hallway which is coed, but it really wasn't a problem. There is only one shower and one toilet so you never have to be in the room with a boy at the same time. You have a kitchen but it's not stocked with pots, etc., so you eat in the cafeteria which gets old quickly. LAMDA gives you the option of staying in the IES Residence halls or finding your own room elsewhere. They really do not care where you live or what you do, as long as you're in class. IES is very nice quality and is in a super posh area called Chelsea. I guess you've probably heard of Chelsea. It's very safe and I think that the students are the only ones who can afford to live there who do not have grey hair. It's not really that bad, but you get the idea. LAMDA is only 3 stops on the tube and it's very convenient. Plan on spending a lot of money on trains, though. I get a monthly pass with a student discount that is about 70 GBP per month... London itself is just really expensive.

I hope this helps a bit! Let me know if you have any more questions. I'm very glad to help. You can also find me on facebook if you like!

Hope you're liking OCU!

Erin Sanzo

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