<p>Dear all,</p>
<p>I found myself into a tough situation. I always planned to study architecture at Cal Poly SLO but just now, I started to receive some material from other colleges. I've already checked that Poly is a great one but I'm now interested on UC Berkeley and Virginia Tech too. Can anyone help me? What are the pros and cons of each? Tough decision to make.</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>If you are in state for the UC programs, I wouldn’t hesitate to attend one if you are accepted. While I have the ultimate respect for VT, it wouldn’t make sense to travel cross country and pay OOS tuition instead of either of your other choices. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>For undergraduate, both VT and Cal Poly are top 5 architecture programs in the US, whereas Cal’s undergraduate architecture is not.</p>
<p>TOP 10 UNDERGRADUATE ARCHITECTURE SCHOOLS
1 Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
2 Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.<br>
3 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
4 Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University
5 University of Texas, Austin, Tex.
6 Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kans.
7 University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
8 Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I.
9 Rice University, Houston, Tex.
10 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.</p>
<p>Also, I think both VT and Cal Poly grant B. Arch, whereas Cal does not. This means if you choose Cal, you will need to attend graduate school shortly to be employable. I am not an expert on this, but this point could be a deal breaker for you. </p>
<p>Architecture is sort of a specialty major, you can’t just go by the overall brand name of the whole university as the primary decision driver for your choice of architecture school.</p>
<p>If you want to be a practicing architect immediately after graduation, I would lean toward VT or Cal Poly. The UCs definitely does not come anywhere near to ruling the roost in architecture.</p>
<p>Enzotessi, are you applying as a high school student or a community college transfer student? At which three of the universities that you have mentioned so far would you have to pay out-of-state tuition?</p>
<p>If you will be attending a four-year university as a freshman, and you go at the expected pace for the architecture degree:</p>
<p>-CPSLO’s B.Arch is a FIVE-YEAR program that results in an ACCREDITED, PROFESSIONAL bachelor’s degree by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) [<a href=“http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/current/idp.html][/url”>http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/current/idp.html][/url</a>]. It will count as FIVE YEARS of education/experience toward CA licensure.</p>
<p>-UCB’s Architecture A.B. degree is a FOUR-YEAR program and is UNACCREDITED and PRE-PROFESSIONAL.
-It will not, by itself, meet the professional degree requirement for NCARB licensure, which may interest you if you want the option of reciprocity (licensed in multiple states) in case you want to work on out-of-state building projects. [<a href=“http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/abdegree][/url”>http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/abdegree][/url</a>]
-Although the FOUR-YEAR A.B. degree presently counts toward the 3.5 YEARS of 8-year education/experience needed for California’s Architect license, it may change to 0 YEARS IF California decides to adopt NCARB’s more stringent requirements as most other states have, though there is no word of that right now. [<a href=“http://www.cab.ca.gov/pdf/publications/table_equivalents.pdf][/url”>http://www.cab.ca.gov/pdf/publications/table_equivalents.pdf][/url</a>]
-In order to meet NCARB requirements, gain reciprocity, and protect against future CA license changes, you must supplement the Architecture A.B. degree with an additional TWO-YEAR, PROFESSIONAL M.Arch degree. Keep in mind that you will have to go through a competitive application process, reapplying along with other students with bachelor’s degrees from other schools, to get into the M.Arch program at UCB even if your A.B. degree was at UCB. If you get into and complete the M.Arch program from UCB, you will have spent at least SIX YEARS in university, but have done FIVE YEARS of the 8-year education/experience for CA licensure.</p>
<p>If you transfer from a California community college:</p>
<p>-At CPSLO, you will most likely NOT arrive there at junior standing as most CA community colleges do not have equivalent courses for all of the second year architectural courses at CPSLO. As far as I know, Cuesta College is the exception as they do have equivalents for all of the second year CPSLO architectural courses. This means that most transfer students to CPSLO will arrive as sophomores, with more 4-YEARS of instruction to complete the B.ARCH.</p>
<p>-At UCB, a transfer student who has met all of the necessary prerequisites to enter the A.B. Architecture program will be juniors. They will have 2-YEARS remaining until graduation. After that, they can pursue the M.Arch, with will take another 2-YEARS for a total of FOUR-YEARS.</p>
<p>Summary (CPSLO vs. UCB)</p>
<p>If you are currently a high school student applying to be a college freshman:</p>
<p>CPSLO will:
-Allow you to obtain a professional architectural degree in one fewer year
-Allow you to obtain a professional architectural degree without having to reapply to grad school</p>
<p>It may not be for you if:
-You are not totally sure if architecture is what you want to do</p>
<p>UCB will:
-Allow you gain a design-related degree in four-years, but it will not be professional and will not meet licensure requirements for most other states. So if you change you mind on architecture midway through the program, at least you won’t be stuck for five years.</p>
<p>It may not be for you if:
-You are dead-set on architecture and do not want to reapply to grad school in order to get an accredited, professional degree.</p>
<p>If you are currently a transfer student applying to be a college junior:</p>
<p>Both CPSLO and UCB will most likely require that you spend four years there to gain a professional, accredited degree, unless you transfer from Cuesta College, in which case you would be a junior at CPSLO after transfer. You will still need to reapply in order to get into the M.Arch program if you choose UCB.</p>
<p>[Note: Sorry for the CAPS. I could not format certain words to be bolded]</p>