<p>I know that this topic has been addressed multiple times on this board, but I would like some personal advice on my "situation".</p>
<p>I'm planning on enrolling at Columbia in SEAS as a civil engineering major with the career goal of becoming an architect. BUT, the more time passes towards hs graduation, the more I gravitate towards the pure arts, such as architecture as a major. Mostly I feel that I am better at spatial and aesthetic thinking than stuff like physics, which I am decent at but far from outstanding. In fact, I think my art supplement was the tipping point that might have just squeezed me into the acceptance pile. Anyways, this conflict of interests is the main reason Columbia is my top choice school, because i got the impression that Columbia would provide so much more than just education in my major. </p>
<p>My thinking right now is that although I am not that good technically, I need to build that technical foundation to give me a real edge in the architecture industry. And then I would go into architecture itself in grad school, where I would be able to branch out and explore visual arts more. Yet I think my real strengths lie in my artistic more than scientific abilities. </p>
<p>My question is, how plausible might it be to transfer from SEAS in CC from civil engineering to architecture? I know that you are supposed to be treated as a "regular" transfer student etc., but does the fact that I would be switching between two arguably similar majors count for anything?</p>
<p>And for anyone who is in this field/interested in this field, I would appreciate any advice on how I should approach my education. I think that getting nice balance of art/science would help me in my career (ie civil engineering undergrad architecture in grad), but I really do not know what would be most beneficial for breaking into the industry upon finishing my education.</p>
<p>i guess a very practical question: do you want to be an architect (as opposed to let’s say design, or art) as a career? in this - you are honestly better off staying with a more technical education because that is what a) firms want, b) m.arch programs desire. this being what arch programs say (they have a lot of minimum desires for math/sci experience). and i know quite a few civ eng students who have gone into m.arch programs at yale, columbia and harvard (3 good programs) and all have gone more design. but you’ll realize its easier to learn design aspects and theory than it will be to learn the technical background as time moves on. a friend of mine who did the BA in arch had a great design experience, but got disappointing news applying to grad school precisely because he didn’t have the technical background (sure one anecdote, but he knew it was going to be his toughest obstacle, even though he worked at a top-rated firm).</p>
<p>but as i’ve noted before it is easier to transfer if you want something different, but a few other things will help, maybe take a class in arch/arch his, stay involved, form a good relationship with your CSA advisor. prove you are sincere as much as you can.</p>
<p>also, talk to your CSA advisor as soon as you can about this. they might give you more information (some that might be helpful or like with beard they might say if you really want a softer arch major to consider somewhere else).</p>
<p>regardless, give the first semester a shot. see how it feels, you might be surprised.</p>
<p>It’s definitely not hard to transfer from SEAS to CC. I’ve had a number of friends who did it. Get a 3.6+ GPA, have an interest in what you want to do in CC, write a bunch about how you adore the core and you’ll be in. As long as your GPA is good, it’s not too difficult.</p>