<p>I'm currently a junior looking to apply to both the University of Virginia and Carnegie Mellon. I think that my chances in getting in to those schools are good, but I'm not sure which school I should go with. Right now, I'm leaning towards UVA (I'm in-state so the price is right...), but it seems that CMU is consistently "ranked" higher and is more difficult to get in. </p>
<p>I like CMU for it's size, D3 sports (tennis), and urban feel, but I'm worried that it might be a little too "artsy" or progressive. Also, CMU is very expensive, and I wouldn't be able to pay for it unless the price was more comparable to UVA's.</p>
<p>I like UVA for it's strong academics, honor system, and tight-knit community. It's basically a second version of my high school, but I'm worried that it might be too "preppy." </p>
<p>I know that both schools have good architecture programs, but does anyone know the benefits of attending one school vs. the other, or maybe someone's personal experiences of attending one of the schools? I'd appreciate any advice/insight. Thanks!</p>
<p>Two things…</p>
<p>1) UVA has a BS in Architecture and CMU is a BArch degree. These are very very different degrees. BArch is a professional degree program that leads to becoming an architect. A BS alone will not allow you to become an architect and you would then need to get an MArch to become an architect. I suggest at the very beginning of your college search process, that you learn the difference between these degrees and depending on which sort of degree you want, proceed from there.</p>
<p>2) It doesn’t matter whether UVA or CMU is better than the other. You are not picking a college to attend at this point. You need to build a balanced college list of options. See where you are accepted before picking one school over another.</p>
<p>@cavaliers71593: Yeah, I’ve heard that both programs are really good. I’m not too familiar with UVA’s program though. I’ve attended the architecture summer program at CMU and it was awesome! The professors were really nice and they’ll gladly talk to each students, providing feedbacks while not forcing their own ideas on students. The students there are really nice. Like, I was working on rendering a design for one of my projects and I was having difficulties. It was about 10:30 at night and one of the graduate students helped me out even though he didn’t even know me. But the bad part is that there’s no AC in the studio so it was kinda hot. But I guess you wouldn’t need ACs since it’s only hot during the summer when students are having their summer vacation. As for CMU’s architecture program, it’s more well-rounded, going into various aspects of architecture. They got some pretty cool 3D model-making machines too, but I never got to use them though.</p>
<p>@cavaliers71593: And yes, soozievt got a good point. You need to research and find out about more schools instead of only limiting yourself to 2 schools. I started off with a list of 21 schools and I finally cut it down to 7. And now I’m finally done with all that college app stuff 
Going to Syracuse for B.Arch this fall 
And you should also research more about architecture and see whether it’s really the major you wanna go into because it’s really demanding and architecture students normally start off with lower salaries compared to students in other majors.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to limit myself to two schools, but I feel that UVA and Carnegie Mellon are simply my top two choices. </p>
<p>Could anyone elaborate on their experience (or someone else’s) at Carnegie Mellon, either in the Architecture school or just at the university in general? I know a lot about UVA, but I don’t know as much about CMU from an insider perspective. I appreciate any insight.</p>
<p>I never thought you were trying to limit your list to two schools. However, I see no reason to have to “decide” between the two at this juncture. All you need to do at this juncture is create a list of schools that you like enough to consider attending. THEN, once you have been dealt your admissions results, you can pick which one you like the best. </p>
<p>Further, I can’t tell if you understand the critical difference between a BS and a BArch, which in my mind, is the FIRST decision to make. You are comparing apples to oranges with UVA and CMU. Both are very good at what they offer but they don’t offer the same thing and you need to decide if you will seek a BArch or a BS/BA path for undergraduate school. </p>
<p>I’ll let others give specifics to UVA and CMU. My only familiarity with these is that my own kid got into grad architecutre programs at both, but declined the offers, though thought both were very good. She recently met with the head of the Architecture Dept. at CMU and he was very nice.</p>
<p>caveliers,
You also mention CMU as being “artsy”…I will just mention that while CMU has top notch programs in several facets of the arts, they are also HUGE on sciences and technology and so it is hardly an “artsy” school overall.</p>
<p>Yep, soozievt is right. CMU’s Com Sci program is ranked No. 1</p>