Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
Please help me choosing undergraduate school...
Hi, I'm an international student who's choosing between schools. I have moved to the states about 4 years ago and I'm not a permanent resident. So job opportunity is a huge criterion for me when choosing school. Here's a list of schools that I have to decide between.
1. Cal Poly SLO with about $5,000 merit-scholarship from school and $7,000 from outer source(merit-based). Which will leave about $25,000 a year for me to pay. Cal Poly was my first choice school ever because I feel like that it'll really help me become a good architect. Also, the 4th year out-of-school program that it offers seems to be great.
2. Pratt Institute with about $18,000 merit-scholarship from the school + $7,000 from outer source(merit-based) = $40,000 for me to pay. But I would love to live in Brooklyn and just embrace city life! Also, some people are telling me that urban setting is essential for architecture major, which I partly agree with.
3. Cornell with a financial aid which costs me about $30,000 a year. And since I'm receiving scholarship from outer source, I think that they'll make me pay $7,000 more when I report it to the school. I know that Cornell is an excellent school with a great program. Also, my parents are telling me that it's crazy not to choose an ivy league school...
4. USC with full-tuition scholarship + $7,000. And I can stay home with my parents. So it's basically free!
And I have been either waitlisted or not accepted to UCBerkely, UPenn and RISD.
Also, I'm about 80% sure that I will go for M.Arch2 degree when I graduate. So a part of me is telling me that undergraduate school's reputation does not really matter. But other part of me is saying that it really does...Oh god..Please help me!! I really need some other points of views!
If “job opportunity is a huge criterion…” I would put Cincinnati’s Coop on your list. Of course “free” is probably the highest criterion.
@riley123 - Take the money and run kid. You'll be thankful in the long run. USC is pretty pricey, so if you got a full tuition from them then someone should chop off your hands because you're pretty much stealing from them. Besides, if this is just your first degree/B.Arch, then you'll be getting a free education and when you burn out of the profession you'll look back and say "Hey at least I didn't spend a fortune on architecture school like _______________ (insert your favorite Archinecter here)".
go trojans
From what I gather USC has a strong undergrad program. I would do that one no question. But that's me. Cornell is supposed to be the best undergrad according to rankings, but that is a hefty price to pay for an undergrad degree, especially when you can go to another great school for free.
PS, if you get a MArch later no one will care where you did your undergrad from a name perspective.
I'd go to Cornell. Amazing atmosphere for undergraduates as well as the best program. The university is really well known for its architecture program. Dragon Day is a good enough reason to go there. Only go to Pratt if you're into parametric stuff. Cornell has a larger variety of styles and has a more passionate faculty. Also, Ithaca is AMAZING. Don't go there if you want to go to an Ivy, that's a silly reason. Also most graduates from Cornell get an MARCH 2 and large chunk of them go to Harvard GSD. I can't tell you how obvious this answer is.
Good luck!
Riley123,
I graduated from Cal Poly SLO and it is a great school. However it does not cost 25,000/year. In all five years I managed to only spend around $17-18,000/year including tuition, suppplies, rent, food, and fun and that was not going cheap either. After graduating I had a lot of firms wanting me due to Cal Poly's teaching style. We are said to be some of the most professionally prepared students but we also have a very strong theoretical and conceptual side of architectural thinking. Definitely Cal Poly is the best bang for your buck but this is coming from an alumni.
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