<p>I am a senior from California deciding between Penn State and Virginia Tech. My intended major is architecutre but I got in as undeclared at VTech. I did, however, get into Penn State Architecture which is quite selective (60 spots, ~800 applicants). Any insight would be appreciated (:</p>
<p>Both are good schools for architecture, probably VA Tech has a better reputation. That said, if you were not admitted to the architecture program at VA Tech, there is no guarantee that you will be able to transfer into the program. For that reason, I’d go with Penn State. Good luck.</p>
<p>Have you visited either college? My daughter is in the exact same boat as you, but Engineering instead of Architecture. She was also accepted to Pitt, along with Penn State (right into Engineering) and VaTech. Even though we live in Pennsylvania, she’s still picking VaTech over the two in-state … the campuses don’t begin to compare.</p>
<p>D2 is a second year arch student at Penn State. She was also accepted into the architecture program at VT, and her mother is a VT grad. She chose, for a couple of reasons to go to PSU. In fact, several of her classmates also made the same choice. This is not to knock VT, which I think has one of the nicest campuses anywhere. You really should visit both schools before you decide. A few things to think about:</p>
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<li> (By far the most important point to think about!!!) Transferring into the Arch program at VT is difficult at best. You should NOT plan on doing so. VT does have an explantion of the transfer process which is onerous, and offers no guarantees of acceptance. Further, even if you are accepted you will be starting out as a first year student in a 5 year program. And this is after you have already put in one year as a freshman, which means it will take you six years to get a BArch. (VT does explain the transfer process on their website and I’m sure somebody has succeeded in transferring, but…)</li>
<li> If you are traveling from CA, take a look at travel arrangements for both schools. Neither one is located in or near a major airport so compare ease of travel. (This is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but you should be aware of this.)</li>
<li> VT has a very highly regarded architecture program. If you were accepted into the arch program, I would probably recommend VT over PSU for you. But the PSU program is pretty good as well and the facilities are as good as VT’s. (I’m assuming costs for both schools will be similar since you are OOS for both.)</li>
<li> Consider alternate majors. If you were to start in architecture and change your mind, does either school have a suitable alternative? (By the way, the majority of college students change majors - I have no specific facts, but based on what happened to D2’s first year class, I would be shocked if the percentage of incoming arch students changing their minds isn’t even higher than average. It’s a tough, time-consuming, life-consuming major!)</li>
<li> You really do need to visit. Look around and decide where you could best see yourself living for the next 4-5 years.</li>
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<p>Good Luck!!!</p>