Apples and oranges.

New York vs. New Haven? One is the biggest city in the country and the center of world commerce with over 8 million people, the other is a college town of 130,000. So pick the one you like.

Better professors at Yale than at Columbia? They are typically more famous, I don't think that necessarily makes them better. Though there are plenty of famous profs at Columbia as well.

Yale more prestigious than Columbia? In general, sure. In architecture, a little. Does that matter? No.

1 and a half year program at GSAPP vs 2 years at Yale? Is the Columbia one accredited? That specific degree doesn't sound like it would be, so that might be the only factor you need to consider if you are looking to get licensed someday.

I was in the same situation, chose YSOA and absolutely adored it. The pedagogy is incredibly pluralistic - in any semester you'll have a Gehry/Hadid teaching advanced studios alongside a Krier/Eisenman and sitting in on each other's reviews. The intellectual dialogue those situations generate alone are worth experiencing. As a post-pro you are able to design your own curriculum, with a full smorgasbord of university-wide classes open to you. Studio facilities are unparalleled. Rudolph hall is gorgeous, each student gets two gigantic desks and two monitors with a fully equipped system. The school arms you with a full set of tools - CNC facilities, 5-axis robots, the works. After that, whether you want to pursue parametricism, neo-classicism, or anything in between is left up to you. 

With Bob Stern retiring at the end of 2016, the next two semesters are going to see a fantastic collection of studio masters in the event of Bob's swansong, and there is a sense that now is perhaps the best time to be at Yale. As a post-pro, you will have three fully-funded travel opportunities(externally funded, not part of tuition) as well as a shot at spending a month taking drawing courses in Rome in the summer(also paid for). 

YSOA is also known to be generous with funding and open to negotiation, especially if you have comparable acceptances. Most students have multiple jobs within the school, and are able to take care of a significant chunk of living expenses. My biggest issue with GSAPP was that they offered zero money to international students (I'm not sure if that's changed now). I also could not afford to live in NYC and wanted to avoid commuting. New Haven is certainly not the most exciting of places, but the Yale campus is lovely and most of us live within a 3 block radius of Rudolph. Many will end up spending weekends in NYC. I'm also not a fan of the facilities at Avery - I felt like I'd be miserable there!

I seriously doubt one school is more prestigious than the other. AT this point it simply doesn't matter. Both have great alumni connections, both set you up for networking in the same New York circles. To me it came down to pedagogical bent, lifestyle, and money. PS: we also have the best parties!

If you have any additional questions, please do feel free to shoot me a message and I'll be happy to help.

@WanderLust That is all really helpful information! Did you have a reasonably easy time negotiating for more money at Yale? I haven't received my financial aid information from them yet (or most schools), but I do have a full tuition offer at another "top 10" and am wondering if that could be helpful to get more money at Yale. Also, were you picking from any other school besides Yale and Columbia?

congrats on your acceptances; both excellent programs.
i'm in a somewhat similar situation, so i'm interested to hear thoughts as well.

as a post professional, what are you hoping to gain from an additional degree?

I was picking from a couple of other programs but eventually ended up boiling it down to Yale and GSAPP. I did not use any other school's offer as leverage (although lots of people here did). I was going through a particularly difficult time financially, so I simply explained my situation. They were super co-operative and able to re-evaluate my scholarship amount to a point where I could afford to attend. 

@natematt Thanks for the comments! Neither of the programs are accredited, see reasons why I chose these degrees below please. 

Thank you so much @wanderlust! I really like the traveling opportunities offered at Yale, and I wasn't aware of all the opportunities you've mentioned before. I couldn't make it to the student open house before applying but I did visit Yale before applying, got a tour, and everyone was super friendly. At Columbia they didn't even receive me. I had to contact a student by a mutual friend and that's how I got to see the studios etc. However, I feel that now, being accepted to both programs, things change and I would like to visit the accepted students open hose. At Yale, I did get the feeling that it's a more pluralistic program and of course, the facilities don't compare to any other school.

I also like having the opportunity to work within the school, I didn't apply for financial aid and I will be paying for the programs myself. Columbia is a bit more expensive but I really want to make an informed decision, since it's going to be a huge investment.  

My biggest setback for going to Yale is that it's in New Haven and I absolutely love Nyc. Having said this, it's grad school and it's architecture and I do not know how much free time I will actually have to enjoy the city.

Any ideas of best places to live near Rudolph?

Thank you so much once again! I would love to chat more with you after I've attended the open houses!

@asystemofbeliefs I've always wanted to do a masters degree and I knew I would have to do it to stay competitive. I live in the D.R so after I finish my masters I would love to work for a while in the states but I think I'll ultimately come back to the D.R. I didn't want a 3 year long program since I already have a 5 years bachelors degree, so this was one of the main reasons why I applied to post-professional degrees, I don't intend to get licensed in the U.S.

I've also applied to Upenn, Pratt and Parsons but these two are my top choices. 

Hi! Congrats on being accepted. As far as I know, both programs are excellent, but Yale's MArch II is accredited while Columbia's is not. Given that you're an international student, graduating from an accredited program won't hurt!

And, by the way, I've read far more plaudits here on Archinect for Yale's MArch II than for GSAAP's alternative.

Thank you! 

Actually neither of the programs are accredited @extry. The accredited programs were all 3 years and +, that's why I applied to these schools.

Any other advices?