<p>Hi. Would like some input on architecture school choice for my son </p>
<p>My son has been accepted to:
Tulane MARCH-<br>
Cal Poly SLO Barch -in state tuition
N eastern BS Arch
University Arizona Barch</p>
<p>Waiting to hear from Cornell Princeton Syracuse</p>
<p>Tulane Scholarship puts Tulane's overall cost about 8k/year more than Cal Poly- affordable but x 5 years significantly more. Issue is he is very intrigued by the Tulane experience; New Orleans being different from his CA home, the music, diversity, culture, the ability to be part of and giving back to the community with urban build and a strong liberal arts foundation with teacher to student ideal ratios. But how do you turn down the # 1 school for architecture at State tuition close to home , job placement opportunities, for the experience, or do you? </p>
<p>I think your son should wait and weight – wait for all the acceptances to come and weight the financial packages and degrees. As you’re aware, there are many different ways to configure architecture degrees usually resulting in a trade off between time and money, technical concentration and academic diversity. The time and treasure commitment can vary from 5.0 to 7.0/7.5 years. He should also consider whether he wants to attend an “all-purpose” university with a liberal arts options or one more focused on design and technology. </p>
<p>Has he visited his top choices? Big difference in physical environments too.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Tulane’s national status for architecture, but I agree that New Orleans would be a great place to study. My son’s Cornell M.Arch program spent a week there because there was so much sustainable design coming out of the area. The five year “undergrad” M.Arch is a relatively new concept: I’m not sure how it is viewed professionally.</p>
<p>To me the biggest question among the acceptances in hand is where your son is likely to live and practice as an architect. The field tends to be regional, not just for post graduate employment, but also for internships and summer jobs and connections with architects and professor, all of which are so critical to career success. My observation (I am just a parent, not an architect) is that most architect-partners at top firms now have the M.Arch, even those with B.Archs – often with some work experience in between.</p>
<p>You might also post on the Architecture board on this site. </p>
<p>Thank you all for your great advise. Yes where he will live after is really a huge factor and really the only thing holding him back from Tulane. I think the idea to go and experience New Orlenes in a college environment is very different than the prospect of living there long term, away from a large close family in Ca.</p>
<p>Going to New Orlenes for Honors weekend in April. Planning east coast also in April Hoping and trusting this will help us all become confident in the right choice???</p>
<p>Cal Poly is well known for having an absolutely fantastic architecture program. It’s about as good as it gets for that. I think going anywhere else would be a waste of a tremendous opportunity.</p>