Hi there!
I really thought all the headache will go away once I get into college. but now I’m stuck between Washington University in St. Louis (Architecture) and Rice Architecture. I got full scholarship from both school so money is not a problem for me. I would definitely choose Rice only if I were sure about my future in Architecture (sorry I’m a ranking snob). But Washington University has so much more academic flexibility and they would allow me to double major in Fashion design - which is my second career option. And if I graduate with 4 year degree from WashU, I can basicallly work in any design industry. However, if I graduate with 6 year professional degree from Rice, I’m afraid my degree will be too specified in case I decide that Architecture really isn’t for me. Also, I believe that Architects are to be a renaissance man, with little knowledge in a lot of field. I’m afraid Rice’s course will be too intense for me to take any other courses outside of Architecture. I have yet to visit Rice, but I fell in love with WashU when I visited, especially the people of the campus.
So, cry me a river because I’m stuck between two of my dream schools, but can anyone give me some advice? It brings me down every single day to think that I have to turn down one of these schools.
Congrats on your acceptances!!
If you are using Design Intelligence to compare WashU and Rice - you’d have to use the Grad school ranking because the undergraduate ranking is only for BArch programs. WashU doesn’t have a 5 year BArch undergraduate degree; instead they have a 4 year BA in Design and BS in Architecture which are both undergraduate degrees. Both universities offer a Masters in Architecture.
If you compare the rankings from 2006 to 2015 Wash 's ranking ranged from 4-11. Rice was from 5-16. So in my opinion they are comparable. The rankings fluctuate because I believe they are based on votes.
Back to your question, I would pick WashU over Rice because it will allow you more flexibility to see what you really want to major in. Rice BArch is for students dedicated to Architecture and it’s also an accelerated program. You won’t have much freedom to take other courses, if any, because you have to take quite a few courses - many semesters of 18 credits.
Wash U offers a BA in Design which you could pursue if you want to double major or minor. You don’t have to decide your major at Wash U until your Junior year which allows you take fashion design courses as well as studio courses to see if you like either one.
Based on what you’ve said - it clearly shows that you like WashU and in my opinion FIT is really the most important thing when deciding a college. You have to be happy where you end up. They say happy students are successful students.
Good luck. This is a nice problem to have. 