Colleges

It is almost impossible to recommend a film school – lecturers leave, courses change, certain courses suddenly get large cash injections, etc, etc. However here are some general tips:

Research

Research your choices thoroughly, take your time and arrange your own visit to places you are interested in and see how they feel to you.

Ratios

Check out how many people will be on your course (so you can work out a genuine staff to student ratio) - some courses have hundreds and hundreds of students.

Money

Do they have money and do they have kit (on some courses this is not so important, good lecturers can be enough) On a film course you will soon notice if your course is cash-strapped, when you are fighting to book out the last piece of ageing kit from an exhausted technician.

Colleges outside Scotland

Have you looked outside Scotland? Although you might need to get external funding to go abroad there are scholarships available. And there are many courses you might be eligible for.

Location

If you are going to college, consider the location. If you've been bought up in the city consider a campus college or somewhere with lots of green around. If you live in the middle of nowhere check out courses in the big cities. Being a reasonable distance from home can help you concentrate on your films and studies and be more fun.

Links

The BFI with Skillset have put together a lengthy comprehensive list of all courses including short courses. Skillset provides excellent lists and is gradually putting together industry-accredited courses. The site for creativeloop has some interesting viewing and the screen academy is another place to research.
And if you are considering college have a look at this youtube clip.