Need assistance with University Application

Armageddon2016

Hello everyone,
First time forum user here! I am currently 18 years old, just graduated from school and looking to apply for a University course at RMIT, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. I'm wanting to become a game animator/character designer in the JRPG genre (as I like drawing anime style characters, and idolise Tetsuya Nomura's works, and manga artists Kentaro Yabuki and Takeshi Obata). The course I'm interested in is called "The Diploma of Interactive Digital Media" which runs for 1 year and leads into another course called "Advanced Diploma of Screen and Media - interactive specialist stream" which runs for another year.

I'm going to be completely honest here, I have no real experience in animation, other than drawing (which I feel isn't that great either), and I would like to know just what kind of things would be included in a folio when applying, I attempted asking the university themselves, they simply sent me an email which didn't explain anything at all.

Secondly, what are some of the tools/programs/equipment I might need to purchase/familiarise myself with in order to prepare for the course (preferably cheap whilst maintaining quality if possible).

Finally, if there is any reference material/tutorials that can help shape my drawing style to become at least some way similar to my idols (although I know their art styles differ slightly from one another).

Thank you in advance!

MagicSugar

Armageddon2016 said:

 they simply sent me an email which didn't explain anything at all.

Search for current or past students of the program.  They might have tumblrs where you can ask them of there experiences.

ZacD

I would definitely suggest following MagicSugar's advice, try to find anyone that has taken the program, and ask about their experiences and what they are looking for with the portfolio. Just Google searching for the program name and resume should give you people's websites and resumes. I found a few pretty easily. 

Armageddon2016

Thanks for the advice! I've found a persons tumblr who has just completed the course, I'll have to wait until they email me back, but it's still a hell of a lot closer than where I was before, thanks again!

Steve Schulze

Jumping on the IGDA Melbourne Facebook page would probably yield some more former students. It's also pretty much a requirement if you're going to be working in games around here.

Armageddon2016

Thank you steve, I had no idea that something like that even existed, and it seems there are a lot of people I can ask for their experiences, thank you!