Hi,
I’m a rising senior in high school who has a few options for where I go to college. Fortunately, since my father is faculty at Kent State University in Kent, OH, I could get free tuition there up until I’m 28 years old (so…basically for all types of undergrad and grad programs). However, I think I have grades and test scores that could surpass what KSU asks from students, so I feel that I could get into some better schools. But then again, Kent State isn’t a bad school per say, especially their architecture program, which is what I’d want to major in. So, I guess my question is: Do you think I should play it safe and go to KSU (assuming I get in), or should I go elsewhere if it’s a better quality school and fits my needs more than KSU? Is it worth sacrificing a ‘better’ education to save myself a lot of debt from student loans? Thank you so much!!
Apply to other schools and see what need/merit aid you may get there.
Are you talking Harvard/Stanford type of better or Ohio State type of better.
I’m talking like…some substantially better (like cornell maybe), and also some moderately better (like U of Maryland in College Park or Drexel University).
Drexel and UMCP would not be worth it. Are your parents willing/able to pay for Cornell etc.?
Looks like Kent State has a 4 year BS in architecture (not NAAB accredited) that allows for completion of a Kent State MArch (NAAB accredited) professional degree in 1 year after that.
https://www.kent.edu/caed/master-architecture-degrees
Since any NAAB accredited architecture degree will take at least 5 years (BArch programs are 5 year programs, and MArch programs are 1-3 years after a bachelor’s degree), that makes the Kent State BS + MArch program at free tuition to be attractive for you in comparison to most other options that cost significantly more and/or take more time to complete the professional degree.
Be careful with debt, since it can limit your life choices, as well as be more stressful during an economic or industry downturn.
If I could get into Cornell (and my other reach school is the Cooper Union in NY… which is a great but highly selective architecture school), my parents said they’d very seriously consider making that investment for either of these schools. Another school they’d consider paying for is somewhere like Carnegie Mellon University.
I would only go elsewhere if it were a comparable or better deal financially. For example, my daughter could have gone to her in-state university with a full tuition scholarship – a deal that is offered all top students in the state. Instead, she wound up getting offered a scholarship package for full tuition plus nearly all of her room and board expenses at another university out of state. Her dream was to go out of state, so that worked out perfectly. If she had not been offered those bigger scholarships though, she would have stayed in state.
If you are wanting to live on campus or in apartments with other students rather than stay at home, that is something to discuss up front with your parents. My daughter’s friend was talked into going to a university in her city by her parents, thinking she would still get to move out and live on campus or with other students in an apartment. She is a rising junior, and her parents are still forbidding her from moving out of their house. It has led to numerous arguments. If you are happy to stay at home with your parents, then make sure they are okay with that, too. Discuss what rules will apply if any for curfew, etc., and whether they will expect rent at some point.
Looks like all three of Cooper Union, Cornell, and CMU have 5-year NAAB accredited BArch programs.
Can your parents afford the price of these schools without parent loans or cosigning student loans for you, or compromising their retirement savings or college funding for any younger siblings that you have? Have you and they checked the net price calculators of these schools to see what financial aid may be like?
I think you should apply to those schools, see your financial aid packages and decide later.
What are your stats? Cornell’s program is one of the top schools in the nation, very competitive and runs $71k per year. I’m sure you know this, architecture students live and breathe their classes and at Cornell they barely get sleep.
My advice would be to find affordable undergraduate colleges that you like (both reaches and matches) and major in whatever you want then come back to Kent State for your free Master’s if your Bachelor’s degree didn’t take you to an affordable M.Arch.
There are about 500 colleges between Kent State and Cornell or CMU, without exaggerating. Kent state is mostly commuter and close to open admissions. Even if that’s not true for architecture and you’d be in the Honors College, if you have stats for Cornell you could get into tOSU or Miami or OU, which are better than KSU - not to mention countless other private and OOS universities. Create a rational list with residential colleges, run the NPC and talk with your parents. If your choices were KSU, Cleveland State, UAkron, or YSU, I’s say KSu free tuition and don’t look back. But you shouldn’t be limiting your choices that early on.
So, run NPC’s and look for matches (not just KSU and two reaches).
I’ve also looked into arch. programs at UofMD, Pratt Institute, Penn State, UofMiami in Coral Gables, FL, Drexel, and even GWU in D.C. So, I’d consider Cornell, CMU, and the Cooper Union to be reach… and all those other schools I just listed are somewhere in between. Kent State is definitely a safety for me.
Right, and realistically, I think the odds are stacked against me when it comes to Cornell. But then again, a lot of it depends on my portfolio. I have a 3.61 unweighted on a 4.0 scale… and a 3.95 weighted. My SAT is a 1230 on the 1600 scale… so that’s also a bit low for Cornell. But, I guess we’ll see what happens
However, note that the Kent State MArch program after an unrelated bachelor’s degree starts with a second bachelor’s degree program for a BS in architecture for two years, then the MArch program, a total of three years after the unrelated bachelor’s degree. In addition to the first bachelor’s degree, prerequisites to this program include calculus and physics.
https://www.kent.edu/caed/post-undergraduate-bachelor-science-architecture
However the undergraduate program COULD be related or not, that’s the nice part of it.
What’s your parents’ budget?
What else do you see yourself majoring in beside architecture?
Anything below 1400 isn’t competitive for Cornell so if you don’t score that this August, cross it out. Are you studying for the test right now?