<p>My daughter has narrowed the field to two finalists: Northeastern and MIT. Both have good architecture programs and are in Boston so location isn't a comparison issue. Of course, the $$ difference is big. (25k/year more for MIT as they do not offer merit aid.)</p>
<p>I would love to hear from current students, parents, or alumni. She is struggling with this decision. MIT is a great learning community and it comes with a great name. But NU has such a pragmatic approach to college and we know she'd gain a lot from their co-ops and other real-world experiential learning opportunities.</p>
<p>It's a great problem to have to choose between good programs. She knows she is lucky. She is just stressed out by this huge decision.</p>
<p>So, I have a couple of friends who did architecture at MIT.</p>
<p>One got her B.S. in architecture from MIT, then her M.Arch from Harvard (graduating with distinction).
She is now an investment broker.</p>
<p>The other got his B.S. in architecture from MIT, then his M.Arch from Syracuse U (graduating with honors).
He is now a lawyer.</p>
<p>In both cases, they struggled to find architecture work, due to a certain housing market crash a few years back.
The job market for architects can be pretty tough. Your pay is lousy until you become a partner at a firm… and that can be a rare occurrence. </p>
<p>My friend was making $40K in Boston as a junior architect after finishing grad school. And when the housing market started to crash, junior architects were the first to be let go. It is why he decided to go to law school… it was just too hard to find work as an architect.</p>
<p>^I’m not sure how those anecdotes would help someone make a decision between Northeastern and MIT, except that it may be harder to repay debt with a 40K salary, which would argue for Northeastern, and (2) that MIT may be a better choice because its easier to switch careers.</p>
<p>Architecture is known to be one of the hardest careers out there. It may be even harder getting into the right job situation if you don’t come from a top school. I don’t know. </p>
<p>One of my course 4 friends is now in grad school for architecture in Texas and has interned at two firms. My other two course 4 friends are currently undergrads. We’ll see what their outcomes are.</p>
<p>Architecture is one of the hardest programs at MIT. I don’t know what it’s like at Northeastern. At MIT your daughter will spend most of her life in studio.</p>
<p>The great thing about MIT is that if your daughter does decide to switch majors (and many, many MIT students do not end up in the department they thought they’d be in), she will be in an absolutely fantastic situation no matter what career she chooses.</p>
<p>My course 4 friends have told me that architecture is basically a no-go if you can’t get a master’s from somewhere. I suspect that going to MIT undergrad would increase your chances of getting into good master’s programs.</p>
<p>@Piper part of that is that MIT’s undergrad architecture program does not directly lead to an accredited architecture degree <a href=“https://architecture.mit.edu/overview/undergraduate-degrees”>https://architecture.mit.edu/overview/undergraduate-degrees</a>. I’m not sure if Northeastern’s architecture program does.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, the 3 guys I knew in my living group who were course 4 (a longish time ago) are all still working architects; two of them run their own small firms.</p>