Nottingham Trent Uni or Lougborough for Art?

[ericofarabia]

One of my daughters has ben offered a place at Loughborough and Nottingham Trent Unis studying Fine Art. She was very impressed by both and is struggling to make a decision on which to make as her No 1 choice.

 

Anybody been to either or have offspring/friends that have been to either and able to make any comments pros or cons? Especially with refernce to Fine Art.

 

Cheers eric

[swannymere]

Not a hard decision academically.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-art-and-design

[SuperMikey]

Loughborough is a better University, but it's difficult when it comes to an Art course. One of my best mates is studying Graphic Design at Ravensbourne College in London (one of the best for Graphics in the UK), but he's not enjoying the course very much as it's not really focussed on the fields of Graphics that he's most interested in, so it's a bit tedious at the moment for him. Fine Art is slightly different though, as I imagine you'd be given more artistic freedom than on a Graphic Design course. Course content is a big winner - if the course at one place is centered more around what you enjoy and are good at, then that's always a good choice.

 

Having said that, it's not all about the academic side of things. Accommodation is a bit thing - if one of them offers much cheaper accommodation without much difference in quality, then that's a big plus. There's also the nightlife of the city to take into account - I can imagine Notts would be far ahead on that side. Is it a campus uni, or is it in a city centre? Will there be much travelling involved to get to lectures etc? What is the cost of living in the area?

 

I'm very pleased to have my place at Southampton, as it ticks all of those boxes for me (aside from cheap accommodation - i'm currently paying £4450 p/a for catered accommodation).

[Verbal]

Loughborough. Nottingham Trent is a post-92 University and will struggle under the new fees regime, especially in subjects like Fine Art. Even if that didn't happen, Loughborough is a FAR better choice.

 

Did she get a conditional offer? Is it the same for both universities?

Edited 25 April, 2011 by Verbal

[Window Cleaner]

One of my daughters has ben offered a place at Loughborough and Nottingham Trent Unis studying Fine Art. She was very impressed by both and is struggling to make a decision on which to make as her No 1 choice.

 

Anybody been to either or have offspring/friends that have been to either and able to make any comments pros or cons? Especially with refernce to Fine Art.

 

Cheers eric

 

My sister was at Nottingham yonks back.....Pharmacy though, she loved Nottingham, I thought Hornsey was the place to study art.

 

I have one leaving for England next year as well, Engineering Doctorate at Cranfield, haven't a clue how good that is but he says it's the bees bolleau because he'll be at Rolls Royce working on jet engines most of the time.

[ericofarabia]

Loughborough. Nottingham Trent is a post-92 University and will struggle under the new fees regime, especially in subjects like Fine Art. Even if that didn't happen, Loughborough is a FAR better choice.

 

Did she get a conditional offer? Is it the same for both universities?

 

Unconditional Offer - didn't seem much difference in fees on first perusal - but will look into projected fees if info avbl.

 

Intakes this Sept will not be charged at the increased rates as far as i can tell. Fingers crossed!!

[ericofarabia]

My sister was at Nottingham yonks back.....Pharmacy though, she loved Nottingham, I thought Hornsey was the place to study art.

 

I have one leaving for England next year as well, Engineering Doctorate at Cranfield, haven't a clue how good that is but he says it's the bees bolleau because he'll be at Rolls Royce working on jet engines most of the time.

 

Don't think anybody doubts the joys of social life in Nottingham - especially males if the old stats of 1 in 5 students are females stories are true!! And Nottingham is easily accessible from Loughborough so no ned to miss out on that front. I think she'd enjoy that more than "campus life"

[swannymere]

My sister was at Nottingham yonks back.....Pharmacy though, she loved Nottingham, I thought Hornsey was the place to study art.

 

I have one leaving for England next year as well, Engineering Doctorate at Cranfield, haven't a clue how good that is but he says it's the bees bolleau because he'll be at Rolls Royce working on jet engines most of the time.

 

Cranfield is the mutt's nuts for engineering.

[ericofarabia]

Not a hard decision academically.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-art-and-design

 

Thanks for the link much appreciated.

 

As you say Loughborough would appear to win hands down - but it is the sub divisions in Art & Design and Fine Art which are the cruncher.

 

Interestingly from those stats Notts Trent show the student satisfaction %'s higher than many of the uni's above it in the rankings. In fact on the student ratings alone Notts Trent would be just about in the top 10 not too far behind Loughborough.

 

As someone else mentioned, course content will be a major factor in th final decision.

[Saint in Paradise]

Good Luck to her when she starts her degree, however as I am a thickey please

would you explain what "Fine Art" is and what career it is needed for ?

I am serious, I am Not being a "deppo"

 

Thanks

[ericofarabia]

Good Luck to her when she starts her degree, however as I am a thickey please

would you explain what "Fine Art" is and what career it is needed for ?

I am serious, I am Not being a "deppo"

 

Thanks

 

LOL .... I wish I knew the difference as well!!

 

And that wasn't a deppo answer either!!

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

hAs your daughter visited both? I went to each of my offers (a while back now...) and went for the one that just felt best.

[St Chalet]

Employers would rate Loughborough higher than Nottingham Trent purely based on the fact that NT is an ex-poly.

 

Don't know either, don't know whether that prejudice is valid - just how it is.

[Saintandy666]

Loughborough. It has to be Loughborough.

[so22saint]

Loughborough. I went to Loughborough - it's a bit mental as it's possibly the most American place in Britain. Once the art college merged into the Uni (the year I left - the ****ers), it turned into High School Musical! I popped in last September and there was a bunch of lads shooting hoops as the music and drama lecture turned out - felt like walking through a casting for Fame (or Glee for you younguns).

 

Anyway, best bits were the fact it's all on campus, they aim to get you into halls for years 1 and 3 so it's a good, safe lifestyle, the town is a bit of a whole but has 3 clubs and a couple of decent curry houses, and it's 20 minutes closer to Southampton for the football (I had a season ticket through all 4 years - ****). The art department had loads of investment when it was taken over, and the student union is absolutely superb.

 

Towers Hall if she gets a choice - great social life in a listed (though ugly as sin) building at the lower end of the campus. Used to have single sex floors in the east tower, mixed in the west.

[Verbal]

Unconditional Offer - didn't seem much difference in fees on first perusal - but will look into projected fees if info avbl.

 

Intakes this Sept will not be charged at the increased rates as far as i can tell. Fingers crossed!!

 

If it's unconditional, she needn't worry about 'firm' and 'insurance' choices then, and there's no long summer wait and nail-biting few hours in August when the A-Level results come out.

 

As you say, by getting in this year, she won't face the extortionate fees, this year or in subsequent years. I would just emphasise when she registers that she's residentially a 'Home/EU' student, otherwise you might get a hell of a sticker shock.

 

I'd still go for Loughborough. It's very highly regarded as a university and a department. And when it comes to finding a job, a more established university like Loughborough will count for more than a post-92 (sad but true).

 

Most of all, though, she needs to be comfortable with her choice.

[dune]

Push for Loughborough Eric. It's a nice safe student town with a very good student nightlife. I've some cracking clubbing nights in Loughbrough - it's no backwater in that department. Nottingham on the other hand is a rough city where the women out number the men more than anywhere else. Do the maths and it's simple where any father would advise his daughter to study.

[JonnyLove]

Why bother with uni at all as if your going for an art degree you might as well not rack up all that debt and just go and get the job you will at the end of it at McDonalds.

 

 

 

 

(only Joking). Having done work with both Uni's I would suggest Loughborough.

[bridge too far]

I know nothing about the relative merits of each course. I would venture to say that Nottingham itself is reputed to be quite a violent place.

 

My son was at Nottingham University (not Nottingham Trent) and he still occasionally goes back to the city to visit friends. He says it is nowhere near as pleasant as it was when he was there (mid 90s).

[Window Cleaner]

I know nothing about the relative merits of each course. I would venture to say that Nottingham itself is reputed to be quite a violent place.

 

My son was at Nottingham University (not Nottingham Trent) and he still occasionally goes back to the city to visit friends. He says it is nowhere near as pleasant as it was when he was there (mid 90s).

 

 

I didn't even realise that a second Uni had been installed in Nottingham, why would they do that? Can't they just make the old one...the real one,collegiate? I'm sure that they could cut some costs with a centralised administration like that.

[dune]

I know nothing about the relative merits of each course. I would venture to say that Nottingham itself is reputed to be quite a violent place.

 

My son was at Nottingham University (not Nottingham Trent) and he still occasionally goes back to the city to visit friends. He says it is nowhere near as pleasant as it was when he was there (mid 90s).

 

Notts isn't as bad as it was a few years back with gun crime and heroin addicts on the periphery, but it's still not a safe city. It's alright for shopping and a night out in the city centre (although the city centre still has a small town feel with fighting a regular occurance on a friday/saturday night), but I would't want to live there. And student digs tend to be located in cheap inner city areas and these areas are not nice and not safe environment for a young lady to walk home at night.

 

Loughborough on the other hand is a Conservative area with civilised locals.

Edited 26 April, 2011 by dune

[Window Cleaner]

Notts isn't as bad as it was a few years back with gun crime and heroin addicts on the periphery, but it's still not a safe city. It's alright for shopping and a night out in the city centre (although the city centre still has a small town feel with fighting a regular occurance on a friday/saturday night), but I would't want to live there. And student digs tend to be located in cheap inner city areas and these areas are not nice and not safe environment for a young lady to walk home at night.

 

Loughborough on the other hand is a Conservative area and that says it all.

 

 

is Loughborough still stuffed full with hunky,future PE teachers?

About the only thing is was famous for in my day. All the top sports folk with a couple of brain cells went there, the others went to Borough Road College in London.

[Verbal]

is Loughborough still stuffed full with hunky,future PE teachers?

About the only thing is was famous for in my day. All the top sports folk with a couple of brain cells went there, the others went to Borough Road College in London.

 

Things have changed since the late 1700s.

[bridge too far]

is Loughborough still stuffed full with hunky,future PE teachers?

About the only thing is was famous for in my day. All the top sports folk with a couple of brain cells went there, the others went to Borough Road College in London.

 

One of my cousins went to Loughborough to read some sort of Engineering but his main reason for going there was because of its sports reputation. He was a very good athlete and water polo player.

 

I didn't know Borough Road College was known for sports though. I used to work there when it was known as South Bank Polytechnic (now South Bank University I think).

 

Nottingham Trent University was formerly a polytechnic so the city now has two universities - much as Southampton does with Southampton University and Solent University (I remember when that was a Catholic teacher training college).

[Window Cleaner]

One of my cousins went to Loughborough to read some sort of Engineering but his main reason for going there was because of its sports reputation. He was a very good athlete and water polo player.

 

I didn't know Borough Road College was known for sports though. I used to work there when it was known as South Bank Polytechnic (now South Bank University I think).

 

Nottingham Trent University was formerly a polytechnic so the city now has two universities - much as Southampton does with Southampton University and Solent University (I remember when that was a Catholic teacher training college).

 

Well I know people like Alan Pascoe and Mike Gratton (who??) and they both went to Borough Road.Not sure it wasn't TT in the main though, Mike definitely started out as a teacher (didn't take long for him to jack it in though)

 

I thought solent Uni was the old Tech college next to the Eye Hospital, can't remeber the name of the Catholic Teachers place up the Avenue, should do really, spent quite a bit of time in there.

[bridge too far]

Well I know people like Alan Pascoe and Mike Gratton (who??) and they both went to Borough Road.Not sure it wasn't TT in the main though, Mike definitely started out as a teacher (didn't take long for him to jack it in though)

 

I thought solent Uni was the old Tech college next to the Eye Hospital, can't remeber the name of the Catholic Teachers place up the Avenue, should do really, spent quite a bit of time in there.

 

I remember Alan Pascoe! Borough Road may well have been a TT college. It was also very well known for the Built Environment and for Catering.

 

So'ton Tech was surely close to Six Dials? And it also had sites in Albert Road I think? My dad used to teach maths to bricklaying apprentices there. The Catholic Teachers' place was De La Salle maybe? And it was off The Avenue but would have been close to Carlton Place which is opposite where the Eye Hospital used to be (I was a patient there when I was little) if my somewhat hazy memory of that area is right (later in life I lived in Henstead Road).

[Window Cleaner]

I remember Alan Pascoe! Borough Road may well have been a TT college. It was also very well known for the Built Environment and for Catering.

 

So'ton Tech was surely close to Six Dials? And it also had sites in Albert Road I think? My dad used to teach maths to bricklaying apprentices there. The Catholic Teachers' place was De La Salle maybe? And it was off The Avenue but would have been close to Carlton Place which is opposite where the Eye Hospital used to be (I was a patient there when I was little) if my somewhat hazy memory of that area is right (later in life I lived in Henstead Road).

 

The Eye Hospital moved to Six Dials ages back even when I lived in town in the 70s. It was on the Ring Road just up from the Tech College,maybe the Art College was sandwiched between them although it could be the Tech was between the EH and the AC.

[bridge too far]

The Eye Hospital moved to Six Dials ages back even when I lived in town in the 70s. It was on the Ring Road just up from the Tech College,maybe the Art College was sandwiched between them although it could be the Tech was between the EH and the AC.

 

I didn't know that! I lived in Henstead Road until 1973 and I'm sure it was still on the corner of Bedford Place opposite an Italian restaurant then. I know there are flats there now. But I moved away in about 73 and haven't been back to that area since.

[Window Cleaner]

I didn't know that! I lived in Henstead Road until 1973 and I'm sure it was still on the corner of Bedford Place opposite an Italian restaurant then. I know there are flats there now. But I moved away in about 73 and haven't been back to that area since.

 

 

i think there's still a laser eye job place there now. I remember the old eye hospital in Bedford place though, remember my grandad being in there for something or other. It could be that the 2 places existed in tandem for a while with different functions.

 

The "italian place" was the Piccolo Mondo at that time, next to Channon's Hairderessers.

[Ludwig]

Thanks for the link much appreciated.

 

As you say Loughborough would appear to win hands down - but it is the sub divisions in Art & Design and Fine Art which are the cruncher.

 

Interestingly from those stats Notts Trent show the student satisfaction %'s higher than many of the uni's above it in the rankings. In fact on the student ratings alone Notts Trent would be just about in the top 10 not too far behind Loughborough.

 

As someone else mentioned, course content will be a major factor in th final decision.

 

Guardian league tables are generally absolute ********. Though for many courses you can look at whether a uni is an ex-poly or not and compare as such, with fine art it really will come down to course content and facilities provided (so, if she hasn't already - visit!) as opposed to whether it'll tick certain target boxes for employers. Most of the 'best' places to study art etc. aren't the universities generally considered to be the top ones, be aware of this.

[Nick65]

Don't know about the relative merits of the respective Fine Arts courses, but one of my daughters is currently at Nottingham Uni (not Trent). Nottingham is amazingly lively on a Saturday night, but quite safe unless you're looking for trouble. There's a very large student population and not very much contact with the locals - they frequent different bars and clubs.

Loughborough as a town is apparently pretty staid in comparison, but nothing wrong with that I suppose.

[ericofarabia]

Thanks for all your comments - much appreciated.

 

We had a look around Loughborough Campus in August, unfortunately the Art block was being redecorated!! Certainly had a nice studenty feel about the place, (and plenty of eye candy for the girls!!)

 

After she had had her interviews she said she preffered Trent - just the feel of looking around the Art dept and the general feel of the place and staff.

 

I'd have thought that she'd prefer the campus style of life at Loughborough, but she has survived a year of living in town digs in Carlisle so she should be okay with either!!

 

So it's looking like Trent. Half hoping Forest don't get promoted now I've got somewhere to crash if we play them whenever I''m back home!! (Assuming we won't be playing Notts County next year of course!!!)

[stkev7]

I went to Nottingham Trent, graduated in 2005 and have to say that it's a great university. I loved the city so much that I ended up living there for another 3 years, probably would still be there now if I didn't end up going travelling. What campus would she be on? The City campus is great but if she would be at Clifton Campus then even better.

 

All in all it's a pretty safe city, as long as you aren't looking for trouble and stay clear of the rough areas then there are no problems.

 

P.S: I was living in Nottingham when I met you Eric, years back at an away day in Barnsley.

[ericofarabia]

I went to Nottingham Trent, graduated in 2005 and have to say that it's a great university. I loved the city so much that I ended up living there for another 3 years, probably would still be there now if I didn't end up going travelling. What campus would she be on? The City campus is great but if she would be at Clifton Campus then even better.

 

All in all it's a pretty safe city, as long as you aren't looking for trouble and stay clear of the rough areas then there are no problems.

 

P.S: I was living in Nottingham when I met you Eric, years back at an away day in Barnsley.

 

I remember it well ........ well most of it anyway!!! A great day out - hopefully I'll get a few games in Sept / Oct whilst i settle my daughter's into uni.

[st alex]

Not a hard decision academically.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2010/jun/04/university-guide-art-and-design

 

Not sure about that table, having done Graphics at UWE and visited a few degree shows, heard about & seen work from the various courses at other universities, I'd really question the placement of some of those - like Brighton, Bath Spa, UWE being below Southampton, Dundee, Lancaster etc.

 

I think that if a uni offers really good creative courses then this is reflected in the city, Southampton is pretty devoid of the arts when compared to cities/universities like Bristol and Brighton. I'd say go to Nottingham, as long as the course isn't terrible the opportunities the city offers should outweigh anything Lougborough has.

[Robsk II]

Echo what others have said. Loughborough is by far the better academically and in terms of reputation, but Trent actually has a fairly decent and regarded art school. if she's hoping to work as an art type, as such, then it may be possible that Trent is better. There is certainly more of an art scene in Nottingham than Loughborough...