<p>Hello, I am a M.arch applier and I have received five schools admission. UIUC , TAMU , U of Cincinnati , IIT , Iowa State U. </p>
<p>After my former consideration, I have three chooices: UIUC(2years), TAMU(2years) and U of Cinicinnati(3years) .But I don't know how to make a decision. And here are some my points.</p>
<p>First, in the Design Intelligence, the ranking of the graduate architecture school, Cincinnati(15th) >TAMU(20th)>UIUC(after 20th). Second, someone told me to go to UIUC, for its great reputation. However, despite the UIUC was famous in architecture, the architecture program is not as good as before. Third, I want to have an architectural job after finishing the graduation in US, so the opportunities of getting a good job is also an important fact I need to take into consideration.</p>
<p>Could you gays recommand me a wise choice? and why? Thanks! </p>
<p>Getting a job in the U.S. is a challenge at this time as the entire profession is in a recession and has not come out of it completely. You probably have the best chance of getting something if you are in a large city where the Studio Professors are practicing architects. Of the three you have narrowed it down to, U of Cincinnati is in the largest city. Just a word about rankings, don’t take them too seriously. Every ranking has a flaw or maybe many flaws. For architecture, since it is a professional program, make sure that your program has accreditation and otherwise consider finances and whether the program fits you.</p>
<p>II don’t have information on TAMU or UIUC. Cincinnati has a well deserved good reputation for both design and practical structural training. The co-op program is a definite boost in resume building that leads to job placement after graduation. </p>
<p>If you are not an American citizen or green card holder you should be aware that it’s quite tough for non-citizens to get entry level architecture positions in the U.S. The more work experience you can chalk up in the form of summer jobs, internships or co-op programs, the better. This is the key to getting hired on graduation.</p>
<p>You could ask each school’s M.Arch adviser (or career counselor if there is one) where its students ended up, especially if they were internationals. If you can, attend the accepted students information session. If that’s not possible, ask questions by e-mail. The kind of answers that you get may help you make up your mind.</p>
<p>You should also double check the time required to complete your M.Arch at each school. Requirements vary widely, so don’t assume you can do it in 2 years unless the school has looked at your undergraduate transcript and confirms that this is the case.</p>
<p>And lastly, and most importantly, compare the money. Minimize your loans as much as possible.</p>
<p>@xraymancs These three schools expenses are almost same, and they are all not give me scholarship. Besides, the programs I applied in these three schools all have accreditation.</p>
<p>@momrath I asked the school and they all said that the phonomeno of architectural employment is getting a litte better. In addition, the years of programs are certainty with the excatly courses plan. Besides, these three schools expenses are almost same</p>
<p>From the experience of my son and his classmates (M.Arch 2012 & 13) I’d say yes, employment opportunities have loosened up somewhat. They found acceptable employment, either with a firm or with a college. Maybe not always with their top choice firm or institution, but a good starting place at a live-able salary. It’s still difficult for non-U.S. citizens to get sponsorship at the entry level, though not impossible. (I’m assuming from the way you phrased your posting, that you are not a U.S. citizen. Sorry if I got that wrong.)</p>
<p>If all else is equal, try to visit: see how you react to the professors, the quality of the work, the focus of the program. If visiting is impossible, ask your questions by email. The responses you get – or don’t get – will be revealing.</p>
<p>Of the three programs you mentioned I think UC has the best reputation, mostly due to its coop program. I would rank UI second and A&M a distant third. The job market has very quickly turned around. I am frustrated right now because of the five job offers I made this spring I only have one acceptance, all have multiple offers from around the country. The one acceptance I have is from an international student. Don’t worry about school location, for the good schools I am finding firms coming to recruit from all around the county. </p>
<p>Smaller firms may hesitate to hire an international student, but I don’t think you will have an issue with the larger firms. When you graduate you will get a work visa for a year which will give you enough time to get an H1 B visa. Make sure that your coop experience does not affect your one year visa upon graduation.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about school location? you must not have visited Clifton Heights (UC) lately B-) </p>
<p>Agreed with Rick’s comments, all three are in my daughter’s list for M.Arch and she has visited DAAP. The co-op drags it out a bit but also gives valuable experience. Also all three programs are on the large side, in terms of students and faculty. </p>
<p>@momrath Yes, as you gussed, I am an international student. It seems impossible to vist the schools and talke to professors by myself. I have asked the students in these schools, and they gave me lots of useful suggestions. May be i will go to UIUC, thanks for your patiently answer.</p>
<p>@rick12 It’s very well that get the advice from the one who is employer. To be honest, I can have a good job with high salary in my city, but I decided to study aboard is not only I gonna have a different life experience but also get more chance to learn and see much more high level architectural knowledge. </p>
<p>I decided to go to UIUC with large possibility. And your viewpoints are extremly cruical for me becuase mostly people just give me the equivocal words. Also, UIUC 2years program is not a long time.</p>
<p>Thanks again, I hope one day maybe I would be the employee in your firm.</p>
<p>@turbo93 Do you mean that place (Clifton Heights) is a good one or?</p>
<p>I thinks UC 3years is a little bit long, and I may go to UIUC. And how about your daughter? Thanks for your kind reply which gives me a lot of useful imformation.</p>
@bobo727 Hi…I applied to UIUC for M.arch(2 years) this year and got the acceptance. I am an international student from India. The posts show that you were positive about joining UIUC last year and if you have joined it, could you give an insight about how do you find it and how has it been so far. It would really help me in going forward with the decision. I have kind of got mixed reviews about UIUC, though more of positive but I think your experience would help me a great deal in deciding whats best for me.
One suggestion only - go thru the school’s web site and find student work, review pictures, samples, etc. See if they match your preferences. You may like the “a bit too conceptual” stuff like West Coast schools. Maybe you’re a paper and pencil type. You may have things you don’t like. Look at the curriculum. Is that something you can do?
My daughter is wrapping up her BA Arch and applied to (and was admitted to) an unthinkable number of schools (where is the Common App where you need it). She had screened out schools using the above criteria and only applied to schools that matched her philosophy. Thankfully she received a couple of hefty aid packages that made the decision easy. Still…
UIUC is in her list and she spoke very highly of it. UIUC is turning out to be quite an international magnet and it’s close to Chicago for travel. In reality in any school you’ll like some, dislike some, and eventually survive one way or another. Make sure the financials work out and life will take care of itself.