Following Your Audition

When will I know the outcome of my audition?

If you applied on time and submitted your audition recording by 2nd of October (1st of December for Overseas applicants), you will receive an outcome before the end of December.  All decisions will be posted on UCAS Conservatoires following your audition via UCAS Conservatoires Track, https://accounts.ucas.com (you will need your username and password). If you are offered a guaranteed place, you will also receive an offer email. You will also receive notification from UCAS Conservatoires when decisions on all your choices (other Conservatoire and courses) are available.

Please see below for an explanation of UCAS Conservatoires codes:

Guaranteed Unconditional (GU) RCS is satisfied from the information you have given, that you have already met the conditions for entry. Unless your application and/or qualification are subsequently shown to be fraudulent, a guaranteed unconditional offer is binding.

Guaranteed Conditional (GC) RCS has made the offer subject to you meeting certain conditions such as examination results, references, etc. Conditions can be viewed via UCAS Conservatoires Track.  You must meet the conditions of the offer by 30 August 2024, unless an earlier date is specified.

Reserve Unconditional (VU) RCS is satisfied from the information you have given, that you have already met the conditions for entry and you have been placed in our reserve pool.

Reserve Conditional (VC) RCS has placed you in its reserve pool subject to you meeting certain conditions such as examination results, references, etc. Conditions can be viewed via UCAS Conservatoires Track.

Unsuccessful (R) RCS does not wish to offer you a place.

What does reserve mean?

If you have received a ‘reserve’ outcome, it means that RCS is not able to offer you a guaranteed place at the time of making our decision. A ‘reserve’ outcome indicates that RCS would like the opportunity to review its outcome to you in the light of acceptances/declines to its guaranteed offers. You will become part of a ‘pool’ of ‘reserve’ candidates and RCS may choose to make you a guaranteed offer if a suitable place becomes available.  Reserve does not mean that a place has been ‘reserved’ for you. If RCS chooses not to make you a guaranteed offer, you will not have a place to start at RCS.

If you have been given a ‘reserve’ outcome, in order to be considered for a guaranteed place (should one become available) you will need to accept the outcome (and meet any conditions if applicable).

I have a reserve outcome, can I accept another offer?

You can accept a reserve outcome as your 1st choice and a guaranteed or reserve outcome as your 2nd choice on UCAS Conservatoires.

I have a reserve outcome, when will I find out if it will be converted to either a guaranteed offer or made unsuccessful?

Reserve outcomes remain active until the end of August.  The decision to wait and see whether a guaranteed place becomes available, or to accept an offer at another conservatoire is entirely at your discretion. As soon as your situation changes, this is updated on UCAS Conservatoires.

Replying to offers

You can only reply to offers or a reserve outcome once you hear back from all your choices. You must reply online via UCAS Conservatoires Track (https://accounts.ucas.com). Your reply date is displayed on Track. If you do not reply by the date given, your offers will be declined automatically. The reply date may be different to other people’s as it is based on when you receive your last decision.

Please see the UCAS Conservatoires website for more information on replying to outcomes (https://www.ucas.com/conservatoires/replying-your-ucas-conservatoires-offers). If you make an application through UCAS Conservatoires, UCAS or UCAS Teacher Training, you cannot hold more than one confirmed place. A confirmed place in UCAS Conservatoires is a guaranteed unconditional offer as your first choice (GU1) and in UCAS and UCAS Teacher Training it is an unconditional firm (UF) place. If you receive more than one confirmed place, UCAS will ask you to accept one offer and withdraw from any others.

Where can I send my references?

It is your responsibility to ask two separate referees to write references and ensure that these are sent to RCS.  References can be emailed directly from your referee to references@rcs.ac.uk  or sent to Admissions, RCS, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G2 3DB.

Does the Conservatoire offer Scholarship?

The Conservatoire offers a limited number of entrance scholarships each year and these are awarded as part of the audition process. Scholarships are competitive and, should you be successful, you will be notified directly as soon as possible. Any enquiries regarding scholarships should be emailed to rcsscholarships@rcs.ac.uk.

I’m having problems with my UCAS Conservatoires login. What do I do?

Please contact UCAS Conservatoires directly on 0371 468 0470 (UK) or +44 330 3330 232 (outside the UK) or email them at webenquiries@ucas.ac.uk.

Guidance for Applicants with Criminal Convictions

The Conservatoire is able to give specialist advice and support for student entering our community from many different backgrounds. Students coming to the Conservatoire with a spent or unspent conviction may find it useful to connect with these services and gain additional support with studying at the Conservatoire. Disclosing convictions in order to utilise a service is dealt with confidentially and you will only be asked for enough information required to provide the service you require. If you would like further information on the range of services, or to confidentially discuss a licence condition which you believe may prevent you from fully engaging with a course, please contact Leanne Stirrat (l.stirrat1@rcs.ac.uk) in the first instance. For more information, please see our website.

What fee do I pay?

Please see below for an explanation of fee eligibility –

Scottish – Scottish

RUK – Rest of UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)

EU/International – outside of the UK

Further fee information can be found on our website – https://www.rcs.ac.uk/apply/finance/feesandfunding/.

Eligible undergraduate students from Scotland should apply to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to pay their tuition fees (http://www.saas.gov.uk/).  Eligible English, Welsh and Northern Irish undergraduate students can get help with tuition fees and living costs through Student Finance:

http://www.sfengland.slc.co.uk/

http://www.studentfinancewales.co.uk/

www.studentfinanceni.co.uk/

What is the cost of living in Glasgow?

In general, we would recommend you will need approximately £11,200 – £15,300 for living costs (including accommodation) in Glasgow, but it could be more or less, depending on factors such as your choice of accommodation and your lifestyle. Below is a breakdown of the approximate cost per month for a single student living in either private rented accommodation or halls of residence self-catering accommodation:

Programme Costs

Please click on the link below to view the relevant programme costs and more detailed information about the hardware and software that you might need to use during the coming year –

School of Music Programme Costs and Things you may need

Some students secure part-time work outside of their studies, but this is not possible for the majority of students due to the intensive nature of most of the programmes at the Conservatoire.

Scotland has a rich and diverse artistic heritage and Glasgow is famed worldwide as a city of culture – Glasgow is a UNESCO City of Music. The city is home to most of the national performing companies, including Scottish Opera, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Ballet, National Theatre of Scotland and more, which are situated in the streets around the conservatoire. Without a doubt, this contributes to the intimacy and success of our professional partnerships for the benefit of our students. Glasgow is exceptionally student friendly, home to a substantial student population of 80,000. And with two international airports serving the city, getting here and travelling further afield is easy. The world is on your doorstep.

I have accepted my offer, what happens now?

If you have accepted an offer from the Conservatoire, further information including term dates and fees  will be emailed to you towards the end of April.

Accommodation information can be found on our website – https://www.rcs.ac.uk/why-rcs/campusandfacilities/accommodation/.  Base Glasgow is the Conservatoire’s student halls of residence and is situated in the centre of Glasgow, within a two-minute walk of the Renfrew Street building.  Applications to Base Glasgow are made directly with them.

We understand that this is a period of time where difficult decisions need to be made to decide on where you want to study. As part of the decision process, we can offer you two 30min consultation lessons. If you wish to request a consultation lesson, please complete the following form RCS Consultation Lesson Request Form, the deadline for submitting your requests is Friday 12^th January 2024 at 5pm.

Want to know what studying at the RCS is like? Come and join us for an in-person discovery event on Friday 26^th January 2024 to find out more about what we offer. The event will run from approximately 2pm – 9pm and you will be required to bring your instruments with you.  More details will be available in January 2024. This event is for all UG and PG pathway applicants, who have either a conditional, or unconditional offer. To sign up for this event, please use the following link: RCS Offer Holder Discovery Event, the deadline for signing up is Friday 22^nd December 2023.

Can’t make our in-person discovery event? Online sessions with both Heads of Departments and students will be available in January. More details will be available soon.

If you have any questions please email hello@rcs.ac.uk.