Our tourguide at Cornell entered as a bio major but in the first week transferred to Civil Engineering, but also said she would get an M. Arch. She’s currently a sophomore, so it might be some sort of program. So that’s another pathway to architecture, with the added advantage that the stuff you design won’t fall down!
My D is a freshman in AAP (Art). Art isn’t architecture, but D is still putting in very long hours in the studio. The weather can be very dreary during the winter. Cold and lots of snow. She jokes about seeing the sun about once a month during the winter. Spring, summer and fall are lovely. D absolutely loves it there. There are lots of places to hike, camp, etc. Ithaca is very isolated, and for some that doesn’t work out so well.
As for transferring, portfolios are a big deal for art and architecture. If you don’t have one, yet, transferring to AAP probably isn’t going to happen.
Thank you for your input!