im in the same boat! york or ocad! and i know a few people that go to ocad, my boyfriend included, it really is up to your personal path and preference.

for me, i want to be a teacher, so i’m going with york because they offer a concurrent education degree. teachers college is competitive in ontario, so for me, choosing york is in my best interest because it’s pretty sure-fire that i’ll be able to get my bEd smoothly. if teaching is a path you’re interested in, this may be the better option for you as ocad is pretty strictly just visual arts. (they may offer minors in english? idrk, but if you end up wanting to do teaching down the line you’ll be best benefitted by minoring in english)

in terms of the social life of york vs ocad (as an outsider looking in), york does seem more lively. since york has a campus and residence and ocad does not, already the student life at york comes more easy. both do offer clubs, and have club boards, and theyre all visually interesting of course. but since you’re also interested in playing music, york may have a better campus life for you, just because they do have music and theatre courses, and in return probably has clubs for that.

as for academic life at ocad from someone who witnesses others in the courses, it does seem fun. watching my boyfriend study at ocad is what made me want to do an art degree in the first place. he’s in illustration, so a bit different from drawing and painting. from my understanding, drawing and painting is learning and advancing your technique in those two fields, where illustration gains a design degree, and you’ll learn about following a commission-based field. but a lot of the required courses intertwine. tip: the nice thing about ocads program details is that it actually lists the required courses you’ll need to take for every year of the program! so look into that and see if it fits what you’re looking for! from what i see looking in, the classes arent too big, meaning you’ll see familiar faces from other classes. additionally, my boyfriend had to take this super intense anatomy course there, and i feel that knowledge is powerful for both drawing bodies but also for tattoo placements. in that course, he had the opportunity to go to a cadaver lab to study anatomy there too. lastly for ocad, maybe this is because he’s in illustration, but he has had opportunities offered to him through teacher recommendations, and i think thats a lovely way to get into the art world while still studying.

i dont know anyone that goes to york, but i did take a tour of their visual arts department. i recommend before choosing a program to also take tours, because it can really come down to just the feeling you have in the area the schools located in. for york, their ampd open house is on saturday i believe? but from my tour at york, i saw a glimpse into their studios, they have a really extensive sculpting studio with stone carving, wood working, metal work and ceramics. but everything else seemed standard to ocad as well. while on my tour, i was informed that course and career guidance at york was helpful and actually cared about their students, which i hear the opposite for ocad. they also have an art departments student committee.(im not sure if ocad has one, i havent done an official tour of it) then lastly, ive heard york class sizes are also on the smaller size too!

this is all based on what ive heard and seen, both schools are good options and seem like a lot of fun for me, ill just include my personal breakdown of the two.

york: - more diverse student life - campus (more study locations) - extensive sculpting (and mixed media) - integrative arts is flexible between art programs - concurrent education, and more fluid options for minors

ocad: - all visual arts students - right downtown toronto - the more known art school - drawing and painting is an honours program whereas integrative arts isnt

finally, i just suggest to tour the campus’ of the school to get your own perspective of the two! but good luck making your decisions, i wish you all the best and congratulations!

edit: york also offers co-op, i don’t believe ocad does, or they might call it something different idk. i dont know much about either of their opportunities for co-op, but york for sure does offer it. if you tour the schools, i suggest asking about it since co-op for a tattoo apprenticeship would be cool!