Ringling vs. OCAD

Things I like about being at Ringling:

- weather!
- the pretty and luxurious campus
- laser color printers in labs with money in account
- the various types of paper you can choose to print on
- having studio classes where you make websites
- the IT department and their services including communications
- having web-space and network easily accessible
- great use of labs and G5s with classrooms
- cafeteria, dining hall
- library: one of the best I've seen with amazing art and design book collections
- class dynamic, more exciting people with a lot to say (very good, but to an extent)
-studio web-design classes (not at the level I was expecting however)
- Chinese culture class: I am loving this course! It's a liberal studies but small scale, not in a lecture hall


Things I like about being at OCAD:

- Toronto! Downtown! Culture! City life! Diversity!
- Having briefs that clearly outline projects, due dates, requirements, specs, marking breakdown,
- Teacher feedbacks, one on ones
- Once a week classes rather than TWO!
- Longer time to develop ideas, concepts and design: focus on process
- THINK TANK! I love Keith, Lewis and Bruce etc... teachers that change your life, make you see a new light, inspire you, break you away from anything you ever knew
- Typography classes
- The Advertising crowd, I miss you kids! There's no ad department here.
- Teachers in general (even though I have two web classes which I haven't had at all at OCAD, I still prefer OCAD education) this is still undecided but I'm sure all the teachers will help me a lot and I will learn from every single class I have at Ringling. But OCAD has some very amazing teachers with very high level of teaching and background that will have significant impact on your development as designers and thinkers. I'm not saying I don't like the teachers here, but judging from the full course load that I have here versus the full course load that I would have had at OCAD, I know I would have definitely learnt a lot more at OCAD and used my brain a lot more and felt more like an intellectual than just a designer that has to constantly produce without even having time to think.
- Creative, conceptual projects
- Doing something for a cause, being more than just "designers" but rather thinkers.
- I actually enjoyed that Research class, I don't know about all you other OCAD kids, but that Research and Methodologies class really makes you see how how important it is to know how to write and read and research and present. I liked how that class proved me that I am more than just someone who can make things look pretty to look at. I am a problem solver. We all are, we just need to spend time figuring out what the problem is and take more time to figure out how to solve it with exploring many solutions.
- I enjoy that there is more time to do your projects and having less projects per semester. I don't think as a student you should feel overwhelmed as soon as you are assigned a project. OCAD is less demanding in time sense, slower paced and a lot more focused on quality than quantity. I think portfolio pieces are important and need more time than one week for great layouts and concepts. Three or 4 projects per semester sound about right to me. At least I can breathe, think, design and not produce crap that I'll just want to get over with and never see again.
-Graphic Design curriculum is a lot different than Graphic and Interactive Communication curriculum. I thought I'd come here for some really advanced web design, which is very basic for me, leaving me with more knowledge than my classmates in my web design classes, which is something I really did not expect. I am not complaining though, I enjoy having classes that are only for web design and again I am sure I will be learning tricks here and there that I did not know before. I already have. However, I'm more about concept, cause and impact. Those are things I want to develop upon more and more while I'm a student. Fourth year is going to be awesome. OCAD I'm ready for ya!
-Oh yea, OCAD kids, don't complain about the laptop program. Get a little more money from OSAP (the government) and pay it back. It's really well worth it, compared to more than double your tuition in the States, and a good education on top of it. Use it effectively, be wise and don't complain. Yea, we could be better, but so could other schools, in different ways. Laptops are a genius idea. Well worth the few extra grands. Who doesn't love their powerbooks and notebooks that they can take anywhere with fonts and software?
More to come, hopefully more likes about Ringling.