<p>Hello everyone! This is my first post as a College Confidential user, a community I am excited to be a part of after years of just viewing. Thanks to everyone who helps me in my search and the voyage of college admissions that I will navigate over the next year.</p>
<p>About me:
-White male, rising senior at a competitive/respected Catholic college prep in Chicago.
-34 composite ACT
-3.87ish UW GPA, 4.03 W, school does not rank
-ECs: President of Spanish Honors Society, Secretary of National Honors Society, Model United Nations, Track and Field (2 years, 1 varsity), Arrupe Mentor to incoming freshmen in the fall (40% acceptance rate in school), maybe a couple other clubs here and there
-Service: nursing home, soup kitchen, historic home museum volunteer
-Summers: Exchange student to Chile 2011, Notre Dame Career Discovery in Architecture 2012, perhaps a job later this summer (wish me luck)
*-Have always intended to be an architect, but I will not be putting together a portfolio for admissions. So suggestions need to have an architecture program that does NOT require a portfolio.</p>
<p>The list (in preferential order):
1. Yale University
2. University of Notre Dame (love the unique focus on traditional architecture)
3. Washington University in St. Louis
4. University of Virginia
5. Tulane University
6. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>Is this a good list for me? I'd like to keep it to 6-7 schools. Any suggestions? I feel like i need something in between UVA and Tulane...
Thanks!</p>
<p>tbo, Mother of a future architect here. </p>
<p>The first question: What’s your financial situation? Full pay, or do you need aid? If the latter do you qualify for need based aid? Don’t go any further until the money part is crystal clear as it will greatly impact your list.</p>
<p>The second question: Do you plan to go directly into a B.Arch program? Or are you thinking of doing a BA/BS in architecture studies or something related like art? Or don’t know yet? Yale and Virginia, you may be aware, don’t offer the B.Arch. </p>
<p>If you get an undergrad in a BA/BS architecture program you would still need to get an M.Arch in order to practice architecture. Many architects adopt this route. The positive is that it allows you a wider, less-architecture intense, liberal arts education. The negative is that it takes longer and costs more.</p>
<p>As far as I know no BA/BS program requires a portfolio. I’m not up to date on portfolio requirements for B.Arch programs. You might post on the architecture board of this site.</p>
<p>Although they may or may not have a BA/BS in architecture, Yale and UVa do have undergrad major in architecture available – I won’t pretend to know the difference because neither of my kids were in that field. But I think you will need to get a master’s in architecture.</p>
<p>And I think your list looks pretty good. Again, I don’t know enough about the field to make any suggestions.</p>
<p>@momrath
Oh my well I have to chat with my parents a bit more about the specifics, but they seem to approve of all the colleges on the list from a financial perspective.<br>
I would go for either, but would prefer the BArch path because it is shorter than a 4+2. However, the 4+2 is a fine option especially at Yale and UVa. You basically said it! I think Rice required a portfolio, otherwise that would be on my list as well. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>If you go to ND for architecture, I think you’ll love it. An old boyfriend went there for it and loved spending a year in Italy…I think it’s the 3rd year that is spent in Rome?</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Yes, have that chat with your parents about how much they’ll pay…keeping in mind that these programs are often for 5 years. Have them run the Net Price Calculators on ND and others’ websites.</p>
<p>The number of years required to get an M.Arch on top of a BA/BS varies widely, and each M.Arch program is slightly different. I wouldn’t assume that you could complete the M.Arch in 2 years unless you enter into a program that specifies that you can. Read the fine print here, as it’s very confusing.</p>
<p>My son is in an M.Arch program at Cornell and he says that everyone in the program seems to have different course requirements and exemptions. For most it’s the full 3.5 years, unless they already have a B.Arch.</p>
<p>Yale admits many of its own architecture studies majors into its M.Arch program, but admissions is not guaranteed. I believe they expect their BA architecture grads to do the full 3.0 years of the M.Arch program. </p>
<p>You may be able to do a 2 year M.Arch (Path B) on top of a BS Architecture at Virginia. Their website is not clear to me, so double check. If the BS leads to Path A, it’s +3.0 years + a summer session.</p>
<p>The costs of a 7 years of private education can be enormous, more than $400,000, so it’s important to be very clear on what your parents can afford. Grants are available for graduate school, but they are limited.</p>
<p>@momrath Well this adds a level of complexity that I did not previously fully know about. I did meet a recent MArch graduate two weeks ago from Notre Dame who received her BS in Architecture from Virginia and then spent two years as a graduate student at Notre Dame and graduated with an MArch in June. So I guess it does vary greatly from school to school. The “simple” five year professional program is looking quite attractive now, especially financially. </p>
<p>After speaking to them again, my parents are able to pay for whatever undergraduate program I choose from the schools on this list and most others. However, any graduate program that I attend would have to come out of my pocket (which will be quite difficult).</p>
<p>tbo, In spite of the costs, I wouldn’t necessarily discourage you from going the BA + M.Arch route. Architecture is a complex field that involves a lot of different kinds of skills – design, collaboration, presentation, abstract thinking, problem solving to name a few – and the foundation of a wide liberal arts education is a positive. </p>
<p>I know my son, while feeling anxious about the cost of graduate school, would tell you that if he had to do it over again, he’d do the same thing. His route was BA in art and art history at Williams, 2 years working at a design focused architectural firm, then Cornell for his M.Arch. We paid for his undergrad. He’s covering graduate school by a combination of grants, loans, savings and family contributions.</p>
<p>At this point, I’d suggest that you pursue both routes and apply to a few BA/BS programs and a few B.Arch programs. I wouldn’t limit the non-B.Arch schools to those with architectural studies majors. You can get into top M.Arch programs with degrees in just about anything. If you like Yale, you might apply to some other schools in the same ambience, like Harvard, Princeton or Brown. Don’t overlook the small LACs like Willilams too. </p>
<p>As for affording graduate school, you can approach that from several directions. Many, I think most, M.Arch students work for a couple of years before starting graduate school. There are also some very good co-op programs that help defer costs. Or you could seek merit scholarship for your undergrad and use your parents’ generous offer for grad school. Many students are willing to absorb crazy debt for graduate schools like Yale, Harvard or Cornell because of the prestige and networking opportunities will have a positive impact on their eventual careers. This may or may not be the case. We’ll see. :)</p>
<p>Those are good points momrath, thank you. I still like the schools on my list where Yale, WashU, UVa, and UIUC all have BA/BS in architecture for four years, which should lead to a 2 year MArch (looked it up), and Notre Dame and Tulane with 5 year professional programs. So thanks for the great suggestions and I definitely agree to apply to some BArch and some BS/BA in architecture programs</p>