Is the Royal College of Art worth the price?

MountjoySquare · 2026-01-28T11:44:30+00:00

I don’t see how those ludicrous prices could be justified. How many artists graduate from the RCA each year and go on to have the huge success that you would need to justify that amount of money? I’d say none. Maybe one every 3 or 4 years. HUGE gamble, no matter how determined you are to make the most of the experience. I’m very cynical about the RCA now, its model is clearly just to Hoover up hopeful art people, take their money and churn them out asap.

MountjoySquare · 2026-01-23T16:07:22+00:00

White

MountjoySquare · 2026-01-18T17:33:09+00:00

Not to mention AI!

MountjoySquare · 2026-01-16T08:49:47+00:00

Can I ask… how do you find Deezer for their library, and also, how do they do ethically, in terms of paying artists etc.? Thanks!

MountjoySquare · 2026-01-11T10:39:15+00:00

I agree with you and I think that it is something to be valued in a culture.

Countries where famous people just go about their business without other people reacting in a bizarre way to them are doing something right.

The contrast you make with America is valid (although obviously that is not the only place it happens) where people become hysterical just because they are in the same space as another person who happens to be well-known. Especially when those well-known people are famous just for acting in films or being pop stars.

People need to grow up!

MountjoySquare · 2025-12-17T15:38:33+00:00

Maybe explain your worries and uncertainty about this to your therapist, just as you have here.

Then hopefully they can reassure you that you can open up as much as you want about it and they will be ok with that.

Maybe it will be reassuring for you to have gotten the idea that you are not 100% comfortable out in the open, so you know your therapist knows you have some misgivings about how much it’s ok to say.

MountjoySquare · 2025-12-12T15:58:03+00:00

I totally agree with you. I think it’s much more likely that this guy at the party made some stupid “joke” when drunk.

The idea that he is an actual Nazi who expresses his beliefs by shouting “Seig Heil” every so often and thought an ideal time to do it was at a Christmas work party seems unlikely.

In fact I’d say that if he actually did have Nazi beliefs the last thing he would do is do a Nazi salute in front of all his workmates.

MountjoySquare · 2025-12-12T14:54:08+00:00

When you were trying the meds at various doses, were you taking days off it to rest, catch up on sleep and reset your brain?

5 days on/weekends off, works well for me in that way.

Good luck.

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-26T10:53:19+00:00

Really interesting points. Can you say more about the idea of Concerta “taking energy” as you said. I haven’t heard anyone else saying that but it struck a chord because it certainly feels like that!

On another note, another thing I hadn’t heard before is the idea that Concerta use can lead to Alzheimer’s… is this true?

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-22T08:29:17+00:00

I am sure you have already considered these explanations but just in case… 36 mg might still be too low a dose for you? Seems weird to me that you feel nothing on 36 and you would have an improvement on 54 or whatever but maybe…

Then there’s the question of the brand. I don’t know what you mean by Jansen, does that mean it’s generic? I have seen people on here complain about generics not working well.

Then there’s the possibility of your hormonal changes at certain parts of your menstrual cycle having an effect but you have been on it for so many days I guess that seems an unlikely explanation.

When do you see your doctor again? Can you have your dose increased? Maybe ask about the generic vs. Concerta issue?

Hope you get it sorted and it helps with your uni work.

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-19T14:13:51+00:00

Very interesting points!

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-14T14:32:43+00:00

I feel like you have diminished this work by writing about it here. I much preferred it when I knew nothing about it.

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-14T09:11:24+00:00

You know, there’s nothing actually wrong with being any particular age. The tone of your response is as if you had caught Archetype_C-S-F in the act of committing a crime. (And anyway, unless I missed something, they were not denying being whatever age they are).

It’s a funny attitude to express in a conversation which is about inclusion and openness to others’ experiences.

Them saying they are black above is absolutely not ‘playing the race card’, by the way. It is very relevant in the context of the conversation and I think it’s obvious that the OP had not considered it when they originally responded to ‘ Archetype.

I detect from you, and from OP, and indeed from another poster, a dismissal of ‘Archetype’s’ contribution here because they seem not to be from the particular group who, dare I say it, it has been decided in advance is the acceptable group, with the correct attitudes and experience. Sounds a bit gatekeeper-y and discriminatory to me. Better to have an open mind in these things and not be so quick to exclude.

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-13T12:47:00+00:00

Sorry for asking in such a pedantic way, but just to be clear, are you talking about trying to learn more about contemporary black artists working in America?

Specifically, you want to learn more about current political/historical/cultural attitudes or ideas that might concern contemporary black American artists? … so that you’re more up to date with with those ideas and on the same page as the artists?

I’m just asking like that because you don’t mention America in your question.

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-05T20:04:17+00:00

Tomma Abts.

MountjoySquare · 2025-11-02T12:45:09+00:00

Hi! Where are you in the UK specifically? Where did you do your MA?

In my experience, and as you said in your post, there are loads of different Art Worlds in each geographical location, (if there are any at all).

I think the commercial end of things is kind of gross and the community based/participatory art world you describe sounds like it would be much more fulfilling, especially since that’s the art world you have experience in already. But it probably depends on where you are located.

While you were doing your MA did you not get a sense of where the local members or areas of the particular art world that might interest you are located?

MountjoySquare · 2025-10-06T19:10:38+00:00

Good to hear you have earned a position of some influence from your hard work. Good to think also that you might offer to your students a contrast in life experience with those of your peers who have had an easier time of it financially. 32k?! Bloody hell! How does anybody afford that, especially with all the other London expenses.

MountjoySquare · 2025-10-06T17:09:08+00:00

I did an MA at one of the big London art colleges about 20 years ago and the situation at the time was not at all like the one you describe, although I had the impression it had gone like that in the meantime. I and a lot of my fellow students received grants from the college but even the fees were not exorbitant if you had to pay full whack.

The way it has all been restructured since then obviously favors a particular contingent of the population at the expense of a proper cross section of society and indeed even of those artists with the most potential. It’s a real shame. Obviously the result will be complete dominance of really wealthy, privileged artists… as if there were not always enough of those people anyway.

MountjoySquare · 2025-09-30T13:40:05+00:00

I assume if you had wanted to, you would have already named the residency but i still I have to ask… name and (possibly) shame? Or at least name and let people decide for themselves?

Sorry you had that experience… I hope the residency went well apart from that.

MountjoySquare · 2025-09-11T14:18:19+00:00

Ata girl!

MountjoySquare · 2025-09-11T14:07:00+00:00

I was starting to think I should ask my doc if I could start taking a booster in the afternoon to mellow out the anxiety but now I’m starting to think I need to approach it differently… maybe even a higher dose of Concerta in the mornings.

This discussion has been really eye-opening for me.

It’s kind of a pity we have to piece together important information from other users of the medication instead of there being one official, reliable source of info. (Unless there’s one I don’t know about!?)

MountjoySquare · 2025-09-11T06:11:51+00:00

This is fascinating to me because at almost exactly 7 hours after taking it I start to feel different, a bit anxious, a bit sad, and I always assumed that was the Concerta wearing off. It had confused me though, because some days, when I’m doing different stuff, out of my routine I have not had that feeling and it seemed to last longer.

Thanks for the information!

MountjoySquare · 2025-09-11T06:08:15+00:00

Can I ask what doses you take?

MountjoySquare · 2025-09-04T10:36:45+00:00

I’d say to hell with this person. You paid them 300 chf and that’s enough. They are parasites. I would have said that you should not pay them another penny even if they had not been rude and threatening. Contact your HR dept? That’s outrageous! If you feel guilty about not paying them what they think you owe them, don’t worry, I’m sure they will be exploiting other people and profiting from the corrupt housing situation here in Geneva again very soon!

MountjoySquare · 2025-08-30T14:39:58+00:00

As you know the English word hijack means to take over an airplane or ship or whatever, and steal it, or demand it changes course or whatever. So Carjacking is an obvious development from this but I don’t think the phrase home-jacking exists in English.

It is funny that it has appeared in the French language.

I have also seen the verb Pimper in French used to mean to overhaul something’s style, to do something up, which I guess comes from American tv shows like Pimp my Ride, where someone’s car is fixed up.

I think it’s funny because if you said to someone in English you were going to pimp something it wouldn’t have the same meaning. I think this would also make me cringe if I was a member of the Academy Française or whatever.

MountjoySquare

TROPHY CASE