Recent Bachelor Architecture Graduate looking for the right Grad School ?

Graduate School
1

Hello,

I’m a recent architecture bachelors graduate looking to apply to grad school. As for now my choices are :

Attending 3 year MArch program - Prices below are per semester :

Columbia @26K > Pratt @22K > Parsons @22K > Bernard and Anne Spitzer @6k

Obviously Columbia its and would be my dream choice. I’m fascinated with their program and would love to be part of this great school. My main obstacle of course its the money and its acceptance tolerance. My parents have offered me full support if I decide to take this journey. So is it possible money wise ? Yes.

Now the question is, how hard is to to accepted ? It’s the 156K worth it in the long run? Does the name of the school really matter when applying for a job ?

Columbia Requirements:

Submitted online application Transcript(s) Letters of recommendation Statement of Purpose Portfolio GRE - A minimum score of 144 (Quantitative) and 153 (Verbal) or above is suggested. GSAPP requires a minimum verbal score of 150 (equivalent to 450 on the old test).

I feel confident I could complete each and one of these requirements not to mention "The GSAPP does not have a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) " I have a very decent portfolio to present and great letters of recommendation from past professors.

Now, Pratt and Parsons are my back up choices. I’ve heard great things about Pratt, being an art school it offers you a much bigger imagination door to create and design as an architect. Not to mention it also has a campus, beautiful by the way. Parsons on the other hand may not be very well know but I’ve read various firms claim that the Parson students make some of the best portfolios around. It terms of the cost, both are just a bit cheaper and require just about or a bit less than Columbia. Bernard & Anne Spitzer its obviously the cheaper choice and what many students might take. People say don’t let its affordable price fool you because behind that price hides a very solid, well put together architecture program.

To conclude, I’m very undecided on which path to take. My main choices in order are :

Columbia > Pratt > Parsons > Bernard & Anne

Money wise, I’m willing to take the responsibility but my fear its would it worth it ?

Note : I’ve thought about attending Bernard & Anne Spitzer for two semesters. In my time being there I would enrich my portfolio and boost my GPA as high as possible to then transfer to one of these three top schools, is that’s possible. What do you think ?

I would to hear from students or professionals that went to one of these schools. Any feedback its welcome and would help me a lot. Thank you for your kind help guys.

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If you have an NAAB-accredited BArch degree, shouldn’t that be sufficient as a first professional degree to enter the architecture job market? Also, aren’t there some MArch programs that are only 2 (instead of 3) years if you come in with a BArch degree?

$156,000 is a huge amount of money to pay off compared to the pay level an entry to intermediate level architect tends to earn.

CCNY Spritzer is NAAB accredited (both MArch and BArch): http://www.naab.org/r/schools/view.aspx?record_id=20441

3

@itsdaniel,
You might have more responses if you posted in the Architecture Careers board.

First a few questions:
What is your undergraduate degree? BA, BS or BArch? From where?
Did you hold any architecture related internships or summer jobs during your undergraduate years? What are you doing now?
How much of the cost of your MArch will your parents absorb and how much will fall on you as debt? For Columbia or other?
Are you determined to study in New York City or would you look at other parts of the country (or even the state)?

Columbia’s GSAPP is a great program and yes, if you do well, pursue internships, make connections etc., a Columbia MArch will lead to a solid job opportunities. The fact remains however that the first few years of an architecture career – even with an MArch from a prestigious university – are paid in the $50 to $60K range. You’ll still need to get licensed, which will take more or less 3 years. If you live in NYC there won’t be a lot left over to service that mountain of debt.

Unless you’re living at home, a three year MArch at Columbia and other Ivy League level schools will end up closer to $200K than $150K. You may get a grant (usually in the $15K per year range unless you have some extraordinary attraction) and you may get a teaching fellowship in about the same range.

So realistically repaying that kind of loan will take about 20 years and by the time you’re done the interest will have doubled the amount. Now, many people will think I’m out of mind to say this, but, in fact many architects do just that: take out exorbitant loans to secure prestigious MArchs and pay them off over decades. If you don’t have a BArch and you want to practice architecture at a top firm, your choices are limited. So it’s not out of the question, but it’s certainly something to consider carefully.

(If your parents will finance Columbia no strings attached, then I think you have to ask THEM if it’s worth it.)

As for your choice of schools to apply to, if you want to stay in New York, then your choices are limited. I have nothing against art schools, but the environment is different from a university architecture school like Columbia’s. Columbia’s MArch program IS insanely selective, moreso if you are a White male. Your chances of admission will be influenced by your demographic and life experience. Transfers are even more difficult.

If you can widen your geographic horizons, then you should add some less selective schools that are not art schools, like WUSTL, Michigan, Virginia, Auburn, Syracuse, Clnncinnati, Northeastern, Kansas State. There are plenty of others in this category.

My advice would be apply to a range of schools and see how the money shakes out. I would also consider working in architecture for a couple years before applying in order to enhance your application to top MArch programs.

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@momrath

First of all thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

I’m a recent graduate from CUNY New York City College of Technology with a Bachelor of Technology in Architecture.
I haven’t done any internships at all which I regret tremendously, but I do have a decent well put portfolio. My parents had been very kind to support me in any choice I make, in terms of which university I decide to go. They would take the loans under their name to later transferred to me (when I’m working) to care of it. They are old school, they think only universities with great names are the only ones that would guarantee good jobs. We come from Peru, a country in which education and job wise opportunities all belong to those who had money.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to go to Columbia but I also know that at the end of the day its me who its going to end up paying the loans. 200K its very scary especially knowing architects don’t really make that much income.

I have looked into Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design and I absolutely love it. According to several sites, they’re #6 in the nation. Their co-op program is amazing , not to mention the tuition is very affordable around 9K for state and 16K out of state.

“Within the curriculum, students cross back and forth between the academic and commercial worlds of architecture, strengthening their understanding of the integration of theory and practice, discipline and profession. At the graduate level, the co-op experience includes specific learning experiences that operate between these two traditional sites of instruction, linking our 700-firm employer network into academic course work and research objectives through a guided, 26-week graduate co-op experience related to each student’s thesis topic.”

By doing some research and re-think my plans I have decided I’m not fully ready to enter a master program. There are too many questions to be answered. What i want to do and focus all my time is to find myself an internship even if i don’t get paid but at least I would gain tons of experience. Build it up my portfolio, work with real architects, see how things work in the real world and then I would be ready, confident and secure to apply to the right university.

Once again thanks for the feedback.