<p>Hi I'm high school senior and I'm having a hard time deciding which school I want to go.
I'm torn between ND and Rice.
Any advice?</p>
<p>rice is a very good architecture school (I think that they are in the top 5 at the least for 5 yr BArch). ND is also very good for architecture. </p>
<p>2 things to consider</p>
<p>1) ND’s religious affiliation - do you mind going to a Catholic university with required theology/philosophy courses</p>
<p>2) ND is not in a city. They are building a shopping village and there are some shops around, but ND is a town will Rice is in a city, with city life. </p>
<p>That beings said, I think that ND has one of the best campus and social environment, especially if you like sports. </p>
<p>ND also focuses on a more traditional form of architecture, but I do not know about Rice. </p>
<p>I will be attending ND in the fall, but that is mostly because I like traditional architecture (and liked their architecture program structure), enjoy theology and philosophy courses, loves sports, and really enjoyed the campus life. If you like the same, then ND is a great place. </p>
<p>good luck, both schools are great for architecture.</p>
<p>I would go to Rice— there program seems to be one of the better ones in the country and Rice has the benifits of being around some amazing architecture. It also seems to be much more interested in producing real world architects, without some preconceived notion of style. ND is a school I don’t know much about and a school I haven’t really ever heard much about.</p>
<p>I don’t know about Rice, but at ND they spend a mandatory third year in Italy, which is the place to view the best architecture for traditionalists. </p>
<p>one additional note: I do believe that Rice isn’t in the best area. the campus is great, but surrounding area is sketchy.</p>
<p>ND is a very unique program; it focuses on classical architecture. What this means is that you will graduate with a unique skillset, and probably be in high demand by firms that do that kind of work. You will also be somewhat limited in the firms that will be interested in you. We can argue about the merits of classicism, but you will work for firms that operate on the margins of the profession, no matter how many commissions they may pick up from developers and institutions who love that sort of stuff. Rice is what I would consider a more mainstream school with a broad range of architectural viewpoints, and a much broader range of places to work after graduation.</p>
<p>BTW, Rice is in a nice neighborhood. The neighborhood just happens to be located in Houston, Texas ;-)</p>
<p>rick</p>
<p>granted that i am only a senior, and those who I talked to at ND were still only students in the program, but the people I talked to said that while the program is very unique, there is a lot of wide ranging applications for it. They commonly said that you need to know the rules before you break them. My point is that while yes, you will be more concentrated in classical and traditional architecture, you are not narrowed into this type of architecture for the rest of your career as a number of ND grads have gotten involved in a things like modern architecture. Its just that the normal sequence is into traditional architecture because of their program.</p>
<p>you may also want to look at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/architecture-major/701461-undergrad-washu-v-upenn-v-rice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/architecture-major/701461-undergrad-washu-v-upenn-v-rice.html</a> where rick talked about some topics at Rice.</p>