I’m a rising senior looking to go into college for architecture. I prefer to stay in California, but I know that may not be likely. I want to keep my options open, so I want a school that’s NAAB accredited but not a specialized school just for the arts. I feel like I’m lacking in rigor and extracurriculars, but is there a chance that I am able to pursue architecture? I do not have a portfolio yet but I am planning to make one so that I am able to apply to more schools and be more competitive.
Demographics
US citizen
California
Public High school, top 80 in California, mainly Asian population.
ACT/SAT Scores: SAT is 1410 (may increase because I just took the June test). Math: 680, English: 730. No ACT
Coursework
AP Classes: APUSH (A) and AP Physics 1 (B), still awaiting scores (I don’t have high hopes).
Electives: I went up to French 4 Honors (4 years), took Architectural Design (Dual Enrollment class), and had a Mythology class.
Other: I’m in accelerated math and took honors chemistry (B).
Next year: I’m planning on taking AP Calculus AB, APES. I also want a class called Civil Engineering & Architecture, but if I don’t get it I will take Architectural Design 2.
Awards
I’ll get the bi-literacy seal by the time I graduate, I don’t think it counts though.
Participation awards for Grand Concours (French test) for 2 years.
Extracurriculars
Global Glimpse (leadership trip to Costa Rica for 2 weeks focusing on the environment)
French Honors Society (3 years) & French Club (4 years)
Gardening Club
Non-profit work where we seek to promote gardening and its benefits on health
Animal shelter volunteering
Schools
Safety: Cal Poly Pomona, University of Oregon, Portland State University, Arizona State University
Match: Cal Poly SLO, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State University,
Reach: UCLA, UC Berkely, UCS
I would like either of the Cal Poly colleges, but I know architecture is an impacted major.
For CSU other than CPSLO, recalculate with each semester of transferable college course counted as two semesters and two grades, and use the weighted-capped version.
For CPSLO, use the CSU version, but include courses and grades from 9th grade (the other campuses use courses and grades from 10th and 11th grade).
CPSLO and CPP are the only California publics with NAAB-accredited BArch programs.
Freshman Student Profile indicates that CPP architecture required an index of 4522 for the most recent admission year. This index is calculated as GPA * 1000 + 450 + bonus points (unfortunately, the value of bonus points is not disclosed, although the types are shown on that web page under “MFA Model”). If you have no bonus points, that index threshold needed a 4.072 recalculated GPA for admission. Threshold could change next year due to varying level of competition.
CPP civil engineering required an index score of 4200, which would have needed a recalculated GPA of 3.75 for applicants with no bonus points. But civil engineering is very different from architecture in what aspects of building design civil engineers focus on versus architects.
A young person in my family left architecture after a bachelors and masters, because they found jobs hard to get. Some two years ago. They moved into ui/ux. I just wanted to bring this to your attention so that you can investigate more before you go down this path. I don’t have first hand knowledge.
If you haven’t already looked into it, you might want to read up on an adjacent major to CE and Arch: Construction Management. It’s an interesting option to combine interests in architecture and engineering.
Multiple CSU campuses offer it, including SLO, Long Beach, SDSU, Fresno, Chico, so you should be able to find some California Likelies and Matches for your list.
I’m at a 4480…
My dad works as a civil engineer and I know he works more on bridges and highways rather than actual buildings. I thought that it would be a meh second choice because I’m ok at maths. I guess that landscape architecture would be easier for me to get into since I have more environmental extracurriculars and meet the count for that.
Agree with @neela1. My neighbor’s child attended USC and also received her Masters and found it very difficult to find employment in architecture in California. I don’t know what other states have for work availability but before you invest a lot of time in this field, ask about future employment. (“Sara” took some additional coursework in animation and graphic design and ended up designing some toys for Mattel. Didn’t use her architecture degree but used her Trojan alumni network to get her feet in the door.)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the profession’s growth is projected at 3% to replace retiring workers.
I don’t believe that workers are retiring at expected age levels and are staying on to accrue more retirement income.
My kid has some interest in architecture, and an architect acquaintance strongly urged an engineering focus instead. But @bgbg4us has a kid who recently graduated in architecture and might have additional insight. Also, @MaineLonghorn might have some advice, too.
I am not as familiar withsome of the specialties,but perhaps architectural engineering or structural engineering might appeal with your interests, too.
In addition to looking at NAAB-accredited schools, make sure you look at ABET-accredited schools for engineering. Will think of additional schools that may be of interest. What’s the budget? Also, besides these fields of interest, what else do you want from acollege?
I majored in architectural engineering which has a focus on building design and/or construction management. I wanted to concentrate on the structural design of buildings and not have to study things like site drainage or highway design. Yes the economy can be challenging but it seems like there’s a shortage of structural engineers now. I met my husband in grad school. We started a business 24 years ago this month. It’s been a good career for us.
I will say that architecture and engineering require very different skill sets. I couldn’t be an architect, ever! I graduated with high honors but made a C and a B in my two architectural design classes even though I worked very hard in both. Make sure you pick a major that you enjoy and not one just to make money. I wouldn’t go into architecture or engineering if I weren’t passionate about it.
Architectural engineering isn’t well known but the major has been around for a long time. My dad majored in it over 60 years ago. He had a wonderful 52-year long career as an engineering professor and consultant. He’s still doing some consulting at 86.
Dad makes ~170k a year, mom has ~400k in savings.
I’m mostly looking for public colleges that aren’t rural. No religious school and I don’t care about sports, but I’d like some diversity within the college.
Your family’s income and savings are not the budget. You The savings might be intended for retirement. The income won’t all be spent on your college expenses. Talk to your parents. Are they willing to pay $20k/year? $30k? More?
While you wait to hear about the budget, you may also want to check out some of the threads about the pathways to an architecture career, whether doing a B. Arch or an M. Arch.
For instance, you have Arizona State on your list which has a NAAB-accredited M. Arch, while the U. of Arizona has a NAAB-accredited B. Arch and M. Arch. If you are wanting the B. Arch route, switching those 2 schools out would probably be a good idea.
Some WUE schools you may want to consider are U. of Idaho, Montana State, U. of New Mexico, Portland State, UNLV, and U. of Utah. For general admission, all of these schools would be extremely likely admits for you. Take a look to see what the entry requirements are for the architecture ma, though, as that might be more selective.
Note that all of these schools are accredited for the M Arch, but may have accelerated degrees or guaranteed admission for students who got their Bachelor’s from them. There is, however, no requirement to get a Bachelor’s degree (in any field) at the same school where you will pursue your M. Arch.
say - my kiddo just graduated with an M.Arch… . . but didnt go to a CA school; from the midwest. she got a very cheap undergrad degree in architecture design. . . . then spent the money to go to a top architecture school.
her dad is an engineer. He’s intrigued with some of her projects but in no way would have done architecture because of the art/design required.
i guess that’s my first question to you to think about. Do you like the artsy side of things? or are you more on the math/science/physics? Maybe both?
we know two girls who are architecture engineers their mid- 20s. Both got out of school in 4 years and like their jobs with engineering firms. . . . it wasnt as long or expensive for them as my daughter. She took 7 years of school; and probably makes less than those girls with the engineering background.
but she liked her schooling. the process. the creative side. the theory, the purpose behind everything and is so excited to start her real job.
I think its great you are asking questions. . . . If interested in architecture, I’d start saving works of art for your portfolio. sketches, projects, photos . . .they like to see your thought process from beginning to the end. Some schools dont require portfolios like my daughter’s midwest undergrad school; her grad school certainly did!
keep thinking and reading and exploring. You’ll figure out things. Going to add its probably easier to change from arch to engineering in college than the other way around. good luck!
Since Architecture and Civil Engineering are both impacted majors for the Cal Poly’s, you are not guaranteed admission into these majors so Cal Poly Pomona cannot be considered a Safety school. I would place CPP in the Match Category.
For Cal Poly SLO, I would be put it in the Low Reach to Reach category, since Architecture has a projected admit rate of 23% and Civil Engineering at around 15%. Since Architectural Engineering was a major option brought up in this discussion, the projected admit rate is around 46%.
For the UC’s, it is more difficult to determine your chances since they have a more comprehensive and holistic review process.
Below are the 2022 Admit rates based on the Capped weighted UC GPA and not major specific. Engineering and Architecture majors usually have lower than the overall admit rates.
Civil Engineering for example had a 16% admit rate for 2022 at UCB and around 23.6% at UCI. UCLA’s Art and Architecture School had a 5% admit rate.
Campus
4.00+
3.70-3.99
3.30-3.69
3.00-3.29
Berkeley
17%
3%
1%
0%
Davis
58%
20%
5%
2%
Irvine
35%
10%
3%
0%
Los Angeles
13%
2%
1%
0%
Merced
97%
97%
95%
85%
Riverside
95%
83%
42%
17%
San Diego
37%
8%
1%
0%
Santa Barbara
41%
8%
3%
0%
Santa Cruz
69%
45%
16%
4%
You should also calculate your Fully weighted UC GPA since the UC’s consider all 3 UC GPA’s in their application review:
He had a wonderful 52-year long career as an engineering professor and consultant. He’s still doing some consulting at 86.