Pratt vs Virginia Tech (B.Arch)

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everyone

I am an international student from Taiwan and I have been accepted to Pratt Institute, Virginia Tech, Penn State University, Syracuse University, Iowa State University, and University of Oregon’s B.Arch program and University of Toronto’s four year architecture studies. I am currently torn between the first two.

I love Pratt because of its location in NYC, the museums, galleries and so many other things omg. And they offer students a lot of opportunities to take some other applied art courses because its industrial design also has a really top ranking. that attracts me a lot because i am so fond of those things. Pratt also has a study-in-Rome program in 3th or 4th grade but it seems to be a bit competitive, i heard that only fewer than 40 students can go per semester. also i heard that it’s easier to get interns and jobs with a Pratt certificate in NYC, and I really want to work in a city like that. But Pratt is a bit too small, and i heard many people saying the administration staff are not very friendly and they charge for everything. btw Pratt gives me scholarship so the total cost would be something same as that if I go to VT.

I am also attracted to Virginia Tech because their strong technology background. I believe that it’s really important for architecture students to have a strong science and tech basement for their further study. And VT has a lot of study abroad and travel programs, it’s really great. The campus is huge and students variety is so amazing. Some people said that in VT, students can really build things because of the large campus. And VT is very high ranked for many years. Their students are one of the groups that companies love to employ. But it’s a bit remote and i am kinda a city person.

I am so torn right now and hope that some people from these schools can give me some thoughts, experience, and advice!

THANK YOU

2

I just checked Design Intelligence for 2016 rankings as well as historical and V-Tech has pretty consistently been ranked below top 10 (most of the time top 5). Pratt’s B.Arch has been ranked top 10-15. It’s hard to make a lot of money in architecture so rankings matter. Both are obviously excellent schools but I’d have to say that V-Tech has the edge. That doesn’t mean it’s the best fit, of course. A lot depends on whether you think that the creative environment at Pratt will be more your style or are you the tech-y sciency type. It’s a large place as far as art and design institutions go but in reality it’s more of a specialized college rather than a university. The School of Architecture is actually a couple blocks away from the main campus in a really cool repurposed building.

My daughter is a first year design student at Pratt and her roomie is in the school of architecture. In fact there are a LOT of arch. students in her dorm which is Pantas Hall. (It’s the closest first year dorm to the school of architecture). D1 tells me her roommate works extremely hard. The B.Arch is a demanding program regardless of where you go so vou will be spending a LOT of time on campus working. The social life and culture of NYC is very attractive but I’m not sure how much you will get to enjoy it directly - more likely you would benefit from visiting instructors and other professionals on campus who are potential mentors and leads for internships and job placement. Pratt has a very diverse student body geographically - over 25% from foreign countries (many from Asia), and over half from out of state. I believe that architecture is the single biggest major at Pratt, perhaps 25% of total graduates each year. (the School of Design is larger than the School of Architecture; however, Design encompasses several majors: ComD, interior, industrial, and fashion).

Virginia Tech is about five times the size of Pratt (25,000 undergraduates enrolled), has a variety of schools and colleges, is a state university so has mainly in-state students (70% of the undergraduate population are in-state, 23% from out-of-state, 6-7% from foreign countries) and is going to have a wider variety of student groups and sports programs etc. Nearly 25% major in engineering but there is also a sizable number majoring in business (just under 20%). That’s practically half the undergraduate population just in those two majors so those departments will influence the academic and social culture of the school. That’s not a bad thing, of course - it just means that your orientation will more technical than artistic.

Both programs will have similar content, of course, in order to satisfy the B.Arch requirements for licensing, etc. You might check out who the instructors are at each institution - academic quality is a big factor that doesn’t get talked about often. Also, how many other arch. students will you be entering with? A quick check on College Navigator tells me they are similar programs in size.

Good luck to you!

3

@iiiirenechou, Congratulations on some good acceptances. I think you shouldn’t eliminate your other choices just yet, especially Syracuse, which is also highly rated, at #4 this year. Penn State, Oregon and Iowa are also rated in the top 20 and would provide a solid architecture education.

First, how is the comparable affordability? Are there any that you can’t afford (or that would result in burdensome debt)?

Second, where do you intend to practice architecture after you graduate? Pratt and Syracuse both have strong connections to New York firms. The others are more regional. If you intend to return to Asia, you’ll want to consider name recognition too.

Third, what kind of environment is most appealing to you? Pratt is an art and design school. Virginia Tech is, of course, a tech school with a significant business element. Syracuse, Penn State and Oregon are “full service” universities with large student bodies and a wide range of majors and professional schools.

What will differ is the overarching environment of the school as a whole, reflected in the student body and campus activities. At a design school, your friends will all be involved in design. At a tech school they will be focused on tech/STEM. At a large university, even though you may spend a considerable portion of your time in the studio, you will have friends that are studying everything under the sun.

None of these is better than the others; just different.

The BArch curriculum is closely monitored by the Architecture Board and doesn’t vary too much from school to school, though the approach of each school will have nuances, e.g., more design driven, more tech driven. I don’t think you necessarily need to attend a tech school to gain exposure to architecture design technology, but it’s true that some BArch programs feature more digital representation than others.

4

@momrath Virginia Tech is more than a “tech school.” It is a public , land-grant, research university with a variety of schools and majors (therefore, also “full service”). It is most well known for engineering but does have many other programs.
http://www.vt.edu/academics/academic-departments.html
http://www.vt.edu/about/factbook/student-overview.html

Congratulations on such great acceptances and good luck with your decision, @iiiirenechou !

5

@Mamelot Thank you for your response! you really gave me a lot to think about.

Since your daughter is at Pratt right now, I’d love to ask something about Pratt’s overall environment. Does your D1 love Pratt so far as she studies for about one year? What does she love about Pratt, faculty, facilities, or anything else? Also, do you and your D1 think that studying architecture and design within NYC a big city surely a beneficial thing? I heard an architect say that in NYC, meeting and listening to some great master’s speech is as easy as drinking water. And receiving new information is of great significant for a design student.

btw I really hope that I can have a chance to ask someone from Pratt B.Arch program directly, but I couldn’t find one. I know your D1 is at Pratt and her roommate and friends are arch, could you let me contact your D1 or introduce some arch students for me? I will be more than grateful. Thank you!

6

@illirenechou there is actually an architecture forum on CC so you might find some commentary over there:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/architecture-major/

My daughter has both a roommate and a suite mate who are first years in Arch. so I’ll pass your questions on for her to ask them especially concerning the first year arch. program and instructors. (Keep in mind that my D1 rarely sees her roomies because the arch students spend a LOT of time over in the school of architecture so not sure when she’ll get a chance to ask them these but it’s worth a shot!). While they all have different foundation studio profs. from one another they do share some of the other course instructors such as their English lit professor. Right now no one is really crazy about that person! But my daughter loves her other art/design studio profs. and really enjoys her classmates. For art and design they divide the 1st years into groups and you take all your studios with that group so she’s gotten to know those people very well. Next year she’ll be over in the school of design so will get to know a whole new group of kids. She’ll also be able to take a couple of electives and is really looking forward to that. Finally, she just chose her new residence hall which is more of an apartment with a kitchen so is very excited about that. She definitely feels challenged and she told me that there are a few kids in her group who are planning to transfer out of Pratt due to the workload.

I’ll let you know if I hear anything from my daughter.

7

@Mamelot Thank you so much!!! I posted about Pratt in architecture major just now!

Thank you and your daughter for all the info. I really appreciate your response.