Hello everyone. I was happily surprised to be accepted into Harvard, Yale, and University of Cambridge (King’s College) but now am having trouble choosing which institution to attend. I plan to study Architecture (at Cam) or a major in Architectural Studies (at Harvard or Yale). While I loved the feel of Cambridge, I am not sure if it carries the same clout in the US. I am also not sure how the recognition of the Architecture compares. Any advice / commentary would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Are you a US applicant or an international applicant?
If you are a US applicant, the US undergraduate degree will be more useful to you when it comes time to get a job, and the US university will be more useful to you while you are looking for summer internships.
If you are an international applicant from the UK, Commonwealth, or EU, the Cambridge degree is the one you want because it will be better recognized when you hit the job market.
If you are an international applicant from outside the EU and Commonwealth, then you need to be talking with the people in your own country about which (if any) of these universities will be useful when it comes time to get a job after you graduate.
I am from the US… However I think I would like to pursue further edu (grad and doctoral school) abroad and potentially work in the EU.
Then do your undergrad here, and grad school in the EU.
Will you be allowed to work in the EU?
Is there a difference in costs for your family?
If you want to work as an architect, neither Harvard nor Yale has an accredited undergraduate program in architecture. Attending either would necessitate getting a M.Arch afterwards.
Note that the MPhil program at Cambridge (and other RIBA Part 2 programs elsewhere) requires an undergraduate degree in architecture (RIBA Part 1). I’m somewhat skeptical the history of art & architecture programs at Harvard and Yale would qualify; they have very little in the way of hands-on architectural training at the undergraduate level. For an overview of the British system:
Harvard or Yale wouldn’t qualify you for architecture at Cambridge indeed, but it’d qualify you for many fields.
Before you make a decision, check whether you’d be allowed to work in Europe?
Finally, sidenote, but are you sure you’ll meet your conditions for Cambridge? If theres the slightest possibiity you might not, deposit at either Harvard or Yale, and once your conditions are met (or not) deposit at Cambridge when you’re supposed to (July).