Architecture: USC vs. U Oregon vs. SCAD

<p>I'm a senior in high school, and can't decide between the Architecture programs of University of Southern California, University of Oregon and Savannah College of Art and Design.
Here's the pros and cons for each university:
USC
pros: good weather, close to family, parents' alma mater, loads of friends going there, good NCAA teams
cons: no financial aid :(</p>

<p>Uni of Oregon
pros: got into the honors program, got a scholarship for $10,000/year, good football team
cons: not into the whole cold/rainy weather, small city</p>

<p>Savannah College of Art and Design
pros: good financial aid
cons: on the east coast (too far), have never been to Georgia, thus unfamiliar with Savannah, not meeting people with other interests i.e. majors</p>

<p>So from the three which should I choose considering the above? I'm interested in environmental/green architecture</p>

<p>Not sure that Savannah has an accredited professional degree program in Architecture. So, if you want to study Architecture, but don’t have the professional degree, you’re going to have to go for your masters degree if you want to practice. </p>

<p>You should check the National Architectural Accrediting Board web site for the list of accredited schools.</p>

<p>The Architecture program at these schools is the best at USC. However since you didn’t receive any type of aid, Oregon seems to be the front runner. If USC is reasonable financially then I would go there, but from my calculations it looks like USC is twice as much as Oregon.</p>

<p>I’ve never heard of the 3rd school, but you should check out what Felixnot said.</p>

<p>Sounds like money will be doing the picking.</p>

<p>NAAB lists all of their accredited schools on their website. SCAD is accredited by them for a 5 year M.Arch degree.</p>

<p>[NAAB:</a> Schools Database](<a href=“http://www.naab.org/schools/results.aspx?vSchoolYMGHFREschool_name=&vSchoolYMGHFREState=GA&startrec=1&searchtype=A&nextbttn=Search&union=AND]NAAB:”>http://www.naab.org/schools/results.aspx?vSchoolYMGHFREschool_name=&vSchoolYMGHFREState=GA&startrec=1&searchtype=A&nextbttn=Search&union=AND)</p>

<p>I would say USC, it seems very right for you. I am sorry about the financial aid, but if you are able to provide the money, you definitely should. Plus you can always get private loans and things like that to help you a little.
Yes Oregon’s football team is great, but…its Oregon. You’re going to be in rain and cold most of the year.
If you haven’t been to georgia, I would not decide to go to a school there. It is very very southern, I heard especially around the area of SCAD. The good thing there though is that alot of out of state students go there!</p>

<p>I am having a similar trouble to you, I am deciding between USC and UNC Chapel Hill. I know I said USC for you, I wish I could make my own decision! hahaha good luck :)</p>

<p>Oregon! Nice offer I would take it.</p>

<p>sorry to burst ur bubble but i go to scad and i would deff not recommend it. im leaving here for the reason that its super expensive and even though u pay 3000 dollars for a class ur still crammed into one studio space because the upper classmen doesn’t want the sophmores to have their own space. there are too many people in the program no space constantly fighting to get a desk to work at night. we have one studio space 15 desk for 90 pple to work. btw scad apparently on probation for accredation so i dont know if they will be accredited they just came for a visit and the graduates kept putting us sophmores down</p>

<p>I would like to clear up any misconceptions about SCAD. Yes 2nd years are required to share studios but it is a rite of passage – the current sophomore class just seems a little agitated by the situation but we all had to do it to prove that we are truly dedicated to studying architecture and not having a desk to call our own wasn’t going to stop us. Last year I transferred from SCAD to Yale for Architecture (I’m from Connecticut and I had to do so because of a family death that made want to be closer to my mother) – a complete 360! SCAD is an art college – therefore more free thinking and a heavy focus on ascetics from the creation of structure and space arrangements. Yale is VERY different! Not so free spirited but by no means a worst program – they simply have different means of instruction which do not support my artistic mindset. SCAD-Arch is accredited, last year the school underwent reaccreditation (as all schools do after a certain period of time) and I had the privilege to come back and see the exhibits – I have never been more proud of the school. </p>

<p>sky7walker – Savannah is in the South but not the “redneck, confederate flag waving, South” – the city has more of a Southern Gothic feel to it. The college is the city – an art gallery on EVERY corner and plently of nightlife. I will say this – you should visit the school FIRST! I did not visit Yale (because I have lived in New Haven all my life and thought I knew the university well) big mistake.</p>

<p>Look, you don’t want to be in over 200,000 dollars debt to go to USC. According to US News a couple of years ago (not posted on the website now for some reason) USC had a top 3 architecture program. The university of Oregon was 7 or 9 in the nation. Employers are not going to say, “This college is 4 spots better, that’s why we hired you.” Take the money. And btw the university of oregon is a great college town.</p>

<p>Both Oregon and USC have top architecture programs. DesignIntelligence ranks Oregon 7th and USC 10th in 2010 (<a href=“http://archrecord.construction.com/features/0911BestArchSchools/0911BestArchSchools-2.asp);%5B/url%5D”>http://archrecord.construction.com/features/0911BestArchSchools/0911BestArchSchools-2.asp);</a> in 2011, USC is 10th while Oregon drops out of the top 10 but is 1st in sustainable design practices and principles ([2011</a> America’s Best Architecture Schools | Features | Architectural Record](<a href=“http://archrecord.construction.com/features/Americas_Best_Architecture_Schools/2011/schools-1.asp]2011”>http://archrecord.construction.com/features/Americas_Best_Architecture_Schools/2011/schools-1.asp)).</p>

<p>You can’t go wrong with either one if you are sure you want to be an architect.</p>

<p>p.s. Consider how much you get paid before you get your license, you don’t want to carry a big student loan if possible.</p>

<p>Ucla vs woodbury?</p>