<p>Hi. I am a senior, who has committed to the long and bloody path of becoming an architect. I have applied to many schools, all to their specific colleges of architecture. I have applied to Cornell, Notre Dame, USC, WashU (St. Louis), Syracuse, Pratt, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Iowa State, and Arizona State. I have been accepted to every one except for Cornell and USC, both of which have not released their decisions yet.
Assuming I do get into the rest, where should I go?
I don't really care about the surrounding city. What I care about is the program itself.
I was originally really excited about Notre Dame, as it was very focused, and I would go to Rome for a year. However, I found out the program is supposedly geared towards revival architecture, namely old stuff.
WashU is a great school, but it is a 4-year program and you don't get a professional degree.
That puts my decision leaning towards Cornell. How is their architecture program??</p>
<p>They’re the #1 B.Arch program in the nation. They have a design studio every semester that you’re there, and it is a very rigorous, focused program. They are a design and theory based program, but they turn out some of the best architects in the nation. If you can get in, it’s hard to go wrong if you really only care about the program.</p>
<p>Wait until you hear from Cornell and USC before making your final comparisons. Cornell is a wonderful program (and also has a Rome campus), but you have other good options too.</p>
<p>You should carefully appraise the finances of attending each of your top choices.</p>
<p>You should also compare the time involved in getting the professional degree, i.e., the BS/BA+M.Arch vs the B.Arch. The timing of the different combinations can be variable. For example, WUSTL’s BS+M.Arch is 5 or 6 years (I don’t remember which), not that much different from the B.Arch at other schools.</p>
<p>IF the cost of your education is an issue, determine which school offers you the focus you want at the most affordable price. Incurring huge amounts of debt (for you or your parents) for an undergraduate architecture degree is not wise.</p>
<p>Ditto to what KandKsmom said!! Do not incur significant debt for an architecture degree.</p>
<p>A couple of other points. Every school of architecture has a certain regional strength. One thing you might want to think about is where you want to live and/or work after graduation. </p>
<p>This is from word of mouth so I really don’t know how accurate this still is, but Notre Dame has a reputation for classical hand drawing/sketching with a low emphasis on computer modeling and design. My understanding was that it’s only in the last year or so of your schooling that you have classes on computer programs. You might want to check this out as I’m not trying to unfairly criticize an otherwise fine program and school.</p>
<p>What test scores/ portfolio/ extra credentials did you send in to these schools? I’d really like to know as I’m now in the process of applying!</p>
<p>Where did you end up going and how do you like it there?</p>