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The short list

The toolkit.

Applicants get sold a lot of kit they do not need. This is the short list of things that measurably improve applications, most under £30, plus the professional software that costs nothing.

How we fund this: some links on this page may be affiliate links, marked "ad". If you buy through them, About Uni earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing appears here because of a commission, no university pays us, and free options are listed wherever they exist.

Portfolio and application

  • An A4 or A3 sketchbook you are not precious about ad

    under £10

    The single highest-value purchase for any art, design or fashion applicant. Cheap enough to fail in; that is the point, and it is what selectors want to see.

  • A phone tripod with a remote ad

    £15 to £25

    Fixes the two most common portfolio and audition-tape problems in one go: wobbly framing and having nobody to press record.

  • A daylight bulb or cheap softbox ad

    £20 to £40

    Poor photography undermines more portfolios than poor work. One consistent light source photographs paintings, garments and models properly.

Auditions and performance

  • A lapel mic for audition tapes ad

    £15 to £30

    Panels forgive average video and never forgive inaudible audio. A wired lavalier into your phone transforms self-tapes.

  • The 16-25 Railcard

    £30 a year

    A third off train travel across five auditions and open days pays for itself in one trip. The closest thing to free money in this process.

Software that is actually free

  • DaVinci Resolve

    free

    Professional-grade editing and colour for film applicants, free. No student needs to pay for editing software before university.

  • Reaper (60-day full trial, £48 licence)

    free to try

    A serious DAW for music production applicants without a serious budget. The trial is unrestricted and the licence is a fraction of the big names.

  • Godot Engine

    free

    Fully free, open-source game engine. More than enough to build the playable prototypes games design courses want to see.

One kit recommendation a month, max.

Offered occasionally includes kit picks like these, always marked, never the reason the email exists.

Join Offered free