Glasgow or Edinburgh art school

[wido]

If you had your pick? Which would you choose?

Glasgow.

Why would you choose Glasgow?

Glasgow, hands down. It's got major kudos throughout the real art world. Can be very challenging but is definitely worth it. Also student scene is better in Glasgow.

Thanks for opinions. Child has choice of both and just looking for information to help them decide. I know nothing about that world.

Glasgow is world renowned. Didn't even know Edinburgh had an art school tbh.

GSA is world renowned and rides on its reputation but have you ever seen the results of the student satisfaction surveys? Pretty awful and worth keeping in mind when selecting.

Yes this is the type of thing I'm trying to understand. All I know is Glasgow is famous and I know nothing about Edinburgh.

Depends on the course, what will they be studying?

My friends daughter is at Edinburgh and loves it. She's very busy during term time with the projects but says it's exactly what she wanted.

Also check out the one in Dundee - it’s very highly rated (depending on the degree, of course)

Edinburgh - the quality of the degree shows is astonishing.

my understanding of GSA is that it is violently and aggressively competitive. Maybe all art schools are like that, I never got that impression from ESA.

My son is at Glasgow just now, he's on one of the courses that has a good reputation and he likes his course and tutors but the class numbers are high and tutor time much less than I expected ( he applied to and didn't get onto the same course at Edinburgh and their class sizes were smaller and staff student ratio better). This is forcing him to be more of a self starter than he has been up to now which isn't necessarily a bad thing!
My brother works there and my SIL and mother were students there and have mixed reviews.
I went to Edinburgh and so did DH and still drop in for exhibitions etc as we know some of the staff. We had a great time and many of our peers have gone on to have good careers in a wide range of creative areas
Glasgow relies on it's past reputation but doesn't always deliver these days, management can be a bit sub par (according to my inside info) and academic standards have been very variable but are improving from what I've read, they aren't sheltered by being part of a big Uni like Edinburgh ( you can choose modules from other uni departments), I'd be a bit concerned about their finances in the current climate, the buildings are not as nice as Edinburgh, the area is a bit run down and it's lost the iconic Mac building
DS was at FE college in Edinburgh last year and enjoyed living there it but is also really enjoying the more "urban" less touristy scene in Glasgow.
Glasgow appears to have more local students than Edinburgh at the moment.
It really depends on what course they want to do, there are top notch departments at both for different things.
I'd still choose Edinburgh over Glasgow if it was me going today.
PP mentioned Dundee, it is very good and Dundee good ( and affordable) for student life.
I have to give GSA credit for taking a chance on DS3 though, his portfolio was quite out there!

My dd1 graduated from GSA last summer. She did a course called Communication Design which is made up of Photography, Graphic Design and Illustration. She chose Illustration as her major in 3rd year.

While she had a good time there she found the tutors very difficult, it was all about whether they "liked" her work, rather than whether it was good or not. It seemed to be very formulaic and her off-piste cartoony style didn't go down well, though she's had several commissions since she graduated.

That said, having GSA on your CV is a big thing. She didn't (on advice of art teacher) even apply to Edinburgh, her 2nd choice was Duncan of Jordanstown (DJCAD) in Dundee.

She's currently working in an upscale restaurant, managing the bar and running the social media and website for them. It's not what she planned but it has an art component and is a lot better than some of the jobs her student friends have. An art job should appear at some point!!

Glasgow is also cheaper to live in than Edinburgh!

Depends on what they want to do. Glasgow is definitely higher rated in the artworld. That said, I know people who went on to the RCA, RA etc top london masters after BAs at both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Glasgow has more of an art scene but there are contemporary art galleries in Edinburgh too.

I'd look at the bigger picture, which city your child would be happier in, whether they want to become a professional artist or something else. They can also look up degree shows of previous years and see which work looks more up their streets. And if there are tutors that appeal more.

Personally, I love Glasgow as a city.. but I can see the draw of Edinburgh too!

@weegiemum GSAs reputation amongst Glaswegians is second to none 😉 it's more nuanced elsewhere.
It is equally hard to get a place at either which says a lot ( and is probably why your DD was advised to put DofJ as second choice).

When I was applying for art school I was told don't put one as first choice and the other as second. Best putting a first choice of either 2 and then Dundee as the second choice. Not sure if that still applies. I still regret not accepting my offer of a place at Dundee. It's a fab art school and Dundee as a place to live now is great. Really up and coming.

We were told something similar but that was in the days of separate applications for Art Schools now it's UCAS it's not quite the same.

Edinburgh College of Art is world, renowned, and known to be one of the best art schools in Europe. Having said that, it's an unfriendly and difficult place to study. Edinburgh is also a lot more expensive than Glasgow. On that basis, alone I would go for Glasgow.

Brilliant feedback everyone. Thanks for commenting. Lots to think about.

Meant to say it's textiles if that makes any difference?

I follow the textiles dept of ECA on Instagram, it looks lovely, I fancy it myself. DS3 was actually offered a place there but turned it down as he really wanted to do fashion and GSA offered him a place for that.

The info I gleaned when DS3 was applying ( he's in first year) is that ECA textiles has particular strengths in printed textiles and GSA has particular strengths in woven and constructed fabrics ( they have lots of looms). The college in Galashiels is really good for textiles but DS would not contemplate moving from one small town to another!
Check them out on Instagram to get a flavour.

Thank you

Forgot to say that DS took the route of going to FE College to do a textiles course for a year before applying as he hasn't done any textiles/ fashion at school. This is another option as a back up, you can do one or two years at college then transfer to Art school, there are recognised articulation routes. I felt this was a safer option for him, I don't think he would have got in straight from school.
You can tell I got a bit over involved with getting DS3 into art school. He was terminally laid back about the whole thing, luckily he has upped his game now he is in and I can stand back.
Good luck!

Thank you. Yes I wish in Scotland there would be more of a culture of taking a year or so after school to work out what you want to do before uni. I suppose they're still quite young at 17/18. I think the advanced higher was so short before doing portfolios that not sure how the kids would know where their interests lay. Going to be interesting. Do you think it's oppressively competitive in an art degree, with it all laid out there, or do they all just mind their own business and do their own thing?