<p>I would respectfully disagree with some of the points made by previous posts. First of all, diversity, whether it be racial, gender, or of thought should be highly encouraged in a university environment and especially in a creative field such as architecture. I would hope that discouraging people who seek diversity is not the attitude of the SLO campus.</p>
<p>“Chances are we probably wouldn’t want you anyway.” Zungra</p>
<p>Second of all, architecture isn’t like the sciences, where the best work is created by full time researchers at a university lab. The best work is created by practicing architects and their labs are their real life projects. As architecture students, we learn from their slide lectures, by visiting their buildings, talking to their clients, experiencing their spaces and watching their buildings go up. I think most schools (UCLA, USC, SciArc, Berkeley) have both types of professors, but I have yet to meet a student who would rather learn design from a professional professor than a practicing architect. SLO might have practicing architects but the subsequent posts have yet to name them.</p>
<p>As far as rankings go, my hat’s off to SLO for their DI ranking but keep in mind this is just a popularity contest in which one of the (if not the) largest programs in the country inherently does well on. I agree that both programs are top notch and any prospective student should visit the campuses, talk to the faculty and students, but It is also very important to check the faculty’s portfolio.</p>