<p>First, thanks to all the people who are willing to read my question and description.</p>
<p>I am a Chinese student, having the goal to get the B.Arch degree(Of course I have the strong interest). However, the problem bothers me most is that I don't have any foundation in the field of sketch or painting skills. It means that I can't offer any portfolio(In fact, I have almost 4 years experience in photography, but I don't think it is qualified to apply for a good school)</p>
<p>Now, here is what I want to ask. If I enter a university, which offers architecture major(of course, it can't be very good. And the requirement of admission doesn't include the portfolio).Is it possible that I can transfer to other good school, such as sci-arc, after sophomore?</p>
<p>I have to repeat that I DON'T HAVE ANY FOUNDATION! So I must make a fresh start. But I don't fear ANY pain and work hard. And I think...well...I have a better sensibility to art than most the ordinary students in my high school.</p>
<p>Here is another question: How about the risk and difficulty I have to face since I almost a outsider at the beginning? What about the result in the worst situation?</p>
<p>There are something that I need to mentionMost the people around me believe that I have the ability to enter the TOP50 university. It seems that the test score is not a big issue.</p>
<p>So, can anyone recommend some schools that are suitable for my situation? Is it necessary that I must take a 5-years professional program, or both professional degree and pre-professional degree( BS,BA in architecture) are possible?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the people who are willing to give me a hand!!</p>
<p>PS:I am so sorry for speaking too much nonsense. Please forgive my poor English writing skill and grammatical errors.</p>
<p>There are many schools here that offer the B.Arch that don’t require a portfolio. Like you said, the top schools do require a portfolio. Some of them don’t. </p>
<p>These schools all offer the B.Arch that is the professional degree, visit each site to see if they require portfolio. :)</p>
<p>You do not need a professional degree, but it is for people who know they want to do architecture and don’t want to do the 6 or 7 yrs of school. B.Arch is 5 yrs usually and then you’re done with school (if you want). It would be BS+MA if you don’t choose B.Arch.</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about the process to tell you if you could transfer after a year or two…I don’t know if that’s possible with the B.Arch. Maybe it is. Other people probably know more than me.</p>
<p>Also, there are many international students at the schools so don’t worry about that. You’ll fit in.</p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>If anyone notices any mistakes I made, please do correct me. I’m no expert at this either haha.</p>
<p>Two schools that pop right into mind are Virginia Tech and UT Austin. Both are top schools that are always ranked highly among the top 10 B.Arch schools but don’t require a portfolio.</p>
<p>Pratt Institute, if your GPA is high enough will not require you to send in a portfolio either.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO was ranked #1 undergrad architecture this year and does not require or accept a portfolio. Applications are closed though. I was admitted there and love architecture, but don’t have a true background in it.</p>
<p>Quite a few schools that offer the B.Arch don’t require a portfolio. I don’t know of any way to find out which ones do and which ones don’t except by checking their websites one by one.</p>
<p>Without knowing your academic or financial situation it’s difficult to predict your chances for getting into and affording a B.Arch program. </p>
<p>The other issue that you need to address is how you’ll do once you get in. Though many programs focus on computer aided design, drawing is still a part of the architecture curriculum – in some cases a big part. If you have no drawing skills whatsoever you may be at a disadvantage. </p>
<p>You might try to attend an architecture career program over the summer. That way you could build your portfolio and get a better sense if architecture is for you. I don’t know of any programs in Asia, but some of the US programs offer financial assistance.</p>
<p>You might also consider the BA/BS + M.Arch route. For admission to a good Masters of Architecture program your undergraduate degree does not need to be in architecture or architectural studies. It can be in something related like art studio or art history or something totally unrelated like math or science. You just need to fulfill the requirements (usually some art studio, art history, physics and calculus) and submit a competent portfolio.</p>
<p>As noted the BA/BS + M.Arch can take 6 or 7.5 years and cost a lot. Financial aid is available if you qualify. Considering your personal situation – in China, no art background – that is what I’d recommend. Do your undergrad in China or elsewhere in Asia. Save your money, get your architecture foundation, and set your sites on the U.S. for a master’s.</p>
<p>There seems to be a resurgence of hand drawing after the last few years of CAD. Some schools are more, for lack of better words, CAD-friendly and some are not. Even in the same school you may take a course with Prof. X who is King of CAD or with Prof Y who has a line of Staedtler drawing pencils named after her…</p>
<p>The portfolio has other uses, some to the school and some to the student. In both cases it shows the student has the determination and patience to do this type of work. If you can’t see yourself spending months and months working on portfolio items then when push comes to shove you may not have the perseverance to go on. It happens.</p>
<p>Art also teaches one to eat humble pie once in a while - unlike calculus where everyone solves the same problem more or less the same way, in art and architecture there’s infinite ways to do it. You will run into people better than you and I feel understanding what it took to create such things is helpful. </p>
<p>Then there’s the studio culture. Understanding what that is all about means understanding that things are never really ‘done’. Again, it’s not some derivative that once you dot the QED you’re done. Art is never done. You have to know when to stop and declare it finished. Training helps.</p>
<p>This is not about drawing, btw. The hard part is getting into conceptual stuff, which is tougher than a lot of people think. Also exposure to art gets one thinking about art history too and once you hit some of the more esoteric arc history and theory classes, it helps.</p>
<p>Along with art art (i.e. drawing and the like) you also need to learn Photoshop and similar. They won’t be teaching that either in college, so the more you know the better. </p>
<p>I would agree with Momrath above - try to find a program during summer to at least get the basics. It won’t guarantee you’ll be the next starchitect, but at least you’ll know what it takes to create art. If you could find one like NOW or a private drawing tutor it would be just as good. We live in a US community with a sizable Chinese community and you would not believe how many HS kids do art classes on the side, on top of our HS that offers a considerable number of art courses.</p>