I am a senior in high school and just applied to USC to the School of Architecture.
Here’s my stats:
Unweighted GPA: 3.83
Weighted GPA: 4.08 (my CSU GPA is 4.17)
9 AP/Honors Courses: AP Euro, Spanish Honors, APUSH, AP English lang, AP Spanish, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP Calc BC, AP Physics
ACT Composite: 28 (English 29, Math 30, Reading 28, Science 25 (yes I know, it’s quite low), Writing 26)
Here’s a little about me:
First Generation College student
Full Mexican
Female
In state
Extra Curricular Activities:
CSF member for 2 years
NSHSS Member for 2 years
Leadership camp
Top 10% of my class (I don’t know my exact position)
Summer Computer animation camp
I am interning at an architecture firm (wrote my essays on this!)
President and founder of a community service club
Vice-President of another community service club
won a county community service award
Did a summer architecture program at a university
-Volleyball team captain for 2 years
Graphic designer for my school’s robotics team
I know CAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Rhino, and Revit (i put that in my college resume)
I have been told that my portfolio is quite good (let me know if you want to see it)
I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to read this and help me. Also, let me know if there is anything else you would like to know to help make a more accurate prediction. Thank you!
I have a very good friend whose dd attends the USC school of architecture. Similar skills, but higher ACT scores.
She pays full fees. It has been an expensive education.
Her concern now is finding a job because the outlook is not good.
Have you checked your job prospects in your town?
@“aunt bea” , Thank so much for responding. And I feel that going to USC, a top 10 architecture school according to design intelligence, would make me prepared for the competitive job market in the future. However, it is important that i consider the future’s job outlook.
Is there another school you recommend me looking into? or is there another school you think i would have a shot at?
Based on my friend’s daughter’s education at USC, she will struggle to find employment. She loves the major and USC, but there just isn’t that much work availability. She’s graduating in May. She found an internship, but they can’t hire her.
She is exactly this:
First Generation College student
Full Mexican
Female
In state
I think that if you love architecture, you should study that, but be aware that you will be challenged to find employment. If you really like USC, apply there. I think you will get in, and you may have to get loans to pay their tuition and fees. You just might not be able to repay your loans. $72K per year is a LOT of money to not find a job.
It’s not the school, but the forecast for the major’s future that is the problem. Research current job trends in architecture before you commit to this major. Look at ads on Indeed and Monster.
(Her parents have taken out HUGE loans to pay for this school. She’s middle-class and doesn’t really qualify for need based aid. Don’t take out huge loans for something you and your parents can’t repay later)
No worries, protect yourself and do some research. Talk to your school counselor and ask everyone you know about this field. Go into this with your eyes wide open. Reread that last paragraph. I added some more information.
FWIW, we know a young woman (recent Arch major grad) who had her choice of 3 excellent positions. I was surprised but she tells me the slump following the economic plunge of 2008 is lifting. Please be sure to get the current/near future picture. That said, arch is a career that is greatly affected by the economy, so there are sure to be upturns and downturns. Good luck.
USC has an incredible architecture program, and if architecture is all you want to do, then I think the above shows there are very few schools in the US that would be a better choice. One thing I discovered is that public school arch degrees are typically 4 years, but you need 5 to become licensed. I’m not an expert in this, but I think the point is that no matter where you go, you have to spend at least 5 years of tuition - and if you were to go to a public school, you’d had to pay for an expensive master’s program. If you’re first generation, then it might be a safe assumption to make that you would receive financial aid from USC.
Finding employment is something everyone’s been struggling with unless you’re in one of those “safe” majors. Even Stanford engineering grads are beginning to have to send out a lot of resumes. Just do your best to earn a good GPA and get started on finding internship experience as early as possible.
My middle son is about to graduate with a BArch from USC (thie five-year professional degree), and he has nothing but praise for this highly ranked major. Son was also able to minor in Cinematic Arts, which is a bonus at the best film school in the world. He has had no problem getting internships (where better to study architecture than the city of Los Angeles?); we’ll see how that translates to an actual job come May, but he’s not worried – the career center indicates that the job market is picking up, and architects are in demand.
Here’s a quote from US News, “The economy is recovering, which is good news for everyone, but it’s especially good for architects, who took a beating between 2009 and 2011. Job losses have leveled off considerably, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted 17.3 percent employment growth between 2012 and 2022…”
As for your own chances, remember that (as with all USC “talent” majors) your portfolio will be very important. If possible, get a professional architect to review it.
@epicer thanks for the link! That definitely cleared things up because I also applied to UCB for Architecture. Also, how easy is it to get financial aid at SC?
@CCMThreeTimes Thanks so much for the link about the arch jobs in the future! I already submitted my portfolio to SC so fingers crossed :).
You can run some estimated numbers using the financial aid calculator on USC’s website - try googling it. In any case, you’ll get your award letter well before you have to decide where to go.