<p>Hi everyone. I just wanted some advice about the grad schools I got into...
Columbia, Rice, and Georgia Tech. Each one is at a very different price point, but I was wondering the pluses and minuses of each program, how they are viewed by employers, rankings, is one way better than the others, etc... As of right now, I'm really torn. As a native New Yorker, I'd love to go home (I eventually want to end up there anyways), but Columbia is so expensive and I got a relatively small scholarship award. Georgia Tech would be a free ride, with a position as an intern at Perkins+Will in Atlanta or assisting faculty with research. Rice is about half the cost of Columbia, and only accepted 12 people into the program. Another thing I've been considering is the length of each program. Columbia is 3 years, Rice is 2.5, and Tech is 2. I'm willing to take out loans to pay for school, I just want the investment to really be worth it. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>hard decision,</p>
<p>i would pick Columbia, out of curiosity what school did you get your b.arch?</p>
<p>also do you have any working experience?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>I don’t have any working experience in a firm yet. Its been a tough job market, especially now. </p>
<p>I am graduating in may from Georgia Tech with a B.S. Arch, so it is not a professional degree, which is why I’m going for my M.Arch while the economy is slow.</p>
<p>I am biased because I am a Columbia grad, but my feeling would be;</p>
<p>1) Columbia</p>
<p>2) Rice</p>
<p>3) Georgia Tech</p>
<p>If you went to undergrad at Tech, then go somewhere different for grad school. Rice has a good program, but its strength is in its BArch program. Studying graduate architecture in Houston is not the same as studying in NY. Go to Columbia.</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>I’m sure three years at Columbia would be a wonderful experience and possibly make you a better architect than two years at Georgia Tech, but man, look at the cost difference… Don’t forget to add the interest on those student loans and the extra year you won’t be employed. One other thought, can you really financially swing 3 years at Columbia? Getting part way through and having to withdraw due to lack of $'s would be a huge setback.</p>
<p>ya, the fact that you have a free ride to Tech should be a strong consideration. Having an MArch is still having an MArch and seeing as though you went to Tech for undergrad, you probably have the same philosophy about architecture as the graduate schools, so it probably would not be as much of a transition.</p>
<p>If Columbia is really beyond your budget, go to Rice (even its ranking is higher than GT).</p>
<p>Columbia 3 3 9 4 4 3 (from 2009 back to 2004)
Rice 16 10 6 7 9 11
GT 17 - - 15 - -</p>