you seemingly have enough to get started with ARE and acquire licensure and NCARB certificate at a far lesser cost than tuition, so why would you further diminish yourself with more academic architecture?

Are you looking to actually practice the profession or just live off of research grants?

I want to practice.. I'd like to start an MArch program next year

Also, any comments on International schools? Will I get as good of an education there? Will a masters there be recognized and valued if i want to work in the USA?

Take the cheapest option.

So why not begin your pursuit of licensure now and save your money? A "related" but unaccredited degree in architecture can certainly get you an intern position and the ability to sit for exam.

Architecture favors the bold my friend!

Tulane?

Auburn?

Rice?

All have good design-build programs, focus on sustainability and regional modernism, and do good work. Or do you just not like the South?

I would send out as many apps to diverse schools as possible...  you need to find someone willing to give you at least 50% scholarship.

I had Rice on my list but heard that they have a strong focus on Architectural History and Theory (maybe I heard wrong) and I'm not too interested in that. It's basically what I did for Undergrad. I will look at Tulane and Auburn.. But if I start adding to my list, then what comes out? 

Chiamakaez, from an employer’s point of view I see U of Cincinnati on your list that has Co-Op opportunities which I favor. Nearby consider Miami of Ohio if you want to have a cool/fun experience, its Ivy League on a budget. There is still a lot of school snobbery amongst colleagues so some of the schools on the list fit that bill including U of Michigan. Contact Jasmine Al Momar on this site she is at U of M right now and could give you some insight there. But overall with a C+ Average I have a jaundice eye when looking at some of the schools on your list.

Also consider schools in the area you may want to grow and practice in. This is a good time in your life to begin networking and learning the market while in school.

You have Cal Poly and Sci-Arc on there. Those two schools could not be more different. 

It may help you to narrow down the direction you would like to move in a bit more, or at least be more realistic about narrowing it down.

Carrera thanks for the info! I'll try and get in contact with her. With my average being what it is, and from your point of view, what are some good schools you suggest I look at and what schools do you think I should take off the list?

Archanonymous, what are the major differences between the two? And what do you mean by direction specifically?

Thanks!

Sci-Arc is a research based school with a high-tech focus and lots of exploration, tangential courses, forays into materials, hands-on fabrication, robotics, etc...

Cal Poly SLO is a "meat and potatoes" school where you will (hopefully) learn how to put together a building, do some design build, some scripting, get software skills, and learn the general procedures of design thinking. 

Both are excellent schools, but they have very different focuses and are aimed at much different personalities. 

Chiamakaez, glad it was of some help. Know that I’m retired and the help you need in choosing best comes from those attending. Your post is drawing some of that out. Search the People Section on this site which is full of young students obviously looking for dialog.

I can’t create a short-list but you can certainly cross off Columbia, Yale and MIT, reaching that far would be a waste of postage. If I were you I would be considering schools that are smaller and less competitive where you can get-in at a reasonable cost and get more attention and help in pushing yourself to a higher finish. I’m geographically partial but The University of Cincinnati, Miami and The Ohio State University fit that bill.

I like the idea of pulling the plug and go for licensing but if you think you can improve and polish your apple by all means do so. You may have a decent portfolio but with a C+ as a BA I’d be afraid to end up in a CAD cubical somewhere in Iowa.

I’ll leave you with this: “Sisu”. It’s a Finnish word meaning “Tenacity of Purpose". I think you have some Sisu left in your educational journey.

Good luck!

Archanonymous I mostly came up with this list from the Design Intelligence rankings and word of mouth. From what you've said about Sci-Arc and Cal Poly, it seems that Cal-Poly fits more with my personality and the direction i want to go in but the problem is getting this kind of real info about these schools; they don't exactly write it on their websites.

Carrera, thank you for the advice. I have already started to reach out and hopefully find the information that will lead me to a very good shortlist. 

Cal Poly slo , only has a Master of science in Architecture(2yr) , and is a non professional degree. I would make sure you know the difference. Cal poly pomona, however does have a professional graduate degree.  

If I may delicately ask is money an issue, or more specifically do you plan to put yourself in ungodly debt if you get into one of the "elite" schools?

ROB4, thanks for pointing that out! I've been to the website but apparently that completely flew over my head! I am definitely looking for a professional Graduate Degree.

Volunteer, while money is not that much of an issue, I would still like to keep costs low while getting a great education; ungodly debt only if absolutely necessary.

From scouring these boards and getting in contact with students currently in M. Arch programs all over, i'm starting to discover that schools such as Sci-Arc, Columbia and Pratt are more theory based and i'm not interested in that. Also, having participated in Career Discovery, I think the GSD is also like that. (Let me know if you have differing opinions though!)

Keep the advice coming guys! You're all giving me different views that will help towards a more concise list. Thanks!

The debt is not even the half of it. While you are paying back double the amount you borrowed because of the interest you are not able to set aside money for a 401k or IRA or Roth IRA in any meaningful amount in your younger working years while the amount has an opportunity to achieve compound growth. You are sabotaging not only your younger and middle years, but your retirement years also. For what, exactly, that you could not achieve on your own as other posters have suggested?

Volunteer, you bring up a valid point - Retirement. I’m in retirement and I can speak to the subject quite fluently.

First, chiamakaez, I spoke of this already. If you think that you have reached the peak of your academic development and cannot see any ability to reach higher academic levels by all means get out and fly. Continuing on to finish with a C+ in MArch will not bring any more real fruit.

Volunteer and others, if you see yourself working for others your career, which is fine and great, retirement programs are fantastic and please start early even if it does not make any sense now early in your life. But for those flying free a word of warning. The recessions will get you and your 401K’s. Every time one hit I lost most everything and had to start over. The secret is insurance annuities; they never looked there when they cleaned out my vault. I know you may think of me as a sleaze-ball but later in my life I went off-shore. I never skirted any taxes, never, but they never could find it either. This recession thing hit me hard in the early 80’s and I learned that nobody really gave a shit; they would just squeeze me hard and go away. Remember the recessions are not your fault and you owe it to yourself and your family to protect what you’ve built-up it’s not theirs it’s yours. I went though 6 recessions since college got slammed 3 times, I lost a lot but in the end we are in tact and quite comfortable.

I most definitely have not reached my academic peak.. I am definitely capable of so much more (made the deans list my first 1.5 years in school taking biology, chemistry and calculus 1&2) but then transferred, lost a close aunt to breast cancer and changed my major about 5 times before I rediscovered my love for art, design and that led me to architecture. I get so angry when i think of my graduating GPA because I know that I'm capable of a great deal more. However, I definitely think I'm not ready to pursue licensure on my own.. I still have a lot to learn and I'm just not comfortable with that route (still have a lot to learn). I've been doing a LOT of research these past few days and now my word document looks something like this:

1. Sci-Arc – (parametric design, avant gaurde. Do I really want that or just cuz it's cool?)
2. UC Berkeley 
3. Columbia (more theoretical. Dream school but be serious, is only cuz of Ivy tag and NY? Other than that, what do u like about it??)
4. USC                       
5. U. Mich (M. Arch + Eng or MBA or UP)
6. UCLA (M. Arch + UP)
7. U Penn (parametric design, less so than sci-arc..strong alumni network)
8. Cal Poly pomona (?)
9. Kansas state
10. UVA
11. Pratt (very artsy, designy)
12. U. Cincinnati (allows you to apply for in-state tuition after your first year, and you can earn money during your co-op semesters, seems more technical)                             
13. U. Illionois (M. Arch + MSCEE (structural eng or construc mgmt.) or MBA or UP)

But then again, a more varied as opposed to technical education could lead to variety in job opportunities after. Dual degrees interesting, more options.

I finished school in December and have been interning at an architecture firm in Lagos, Nigeria for he past few months where I will probably be until I go back to school. Due to my low GPA, I've been thinking about waiting another year to three before applying, to sort of put some distance between myself and my chaotic undergrad and underwhelming GPA. I've also been scouring these forums and this post is making me consider giving more weight to schools that offer dual degrees. I love architecture and i have a passion for it, but I would also like to make a good living and afford to "hang" with my peers. (I have a friend that just graduated from school in GA with a degree in finance and started at Goldman Sachs with a starting salary of around 75-80k with benefits.) 

I would love to visit all these schools but I wont be able to. I might be going to LA in 2 weeks so if I do, I'll definitely visit Sci-Arc, USC, UCLA and try for either Berkeley or Cal Poly. These past few days have really opened my eye towards all this. Thank you all!

Subgenius has it nailed for the OP. Hope she considers that all these collegiate "Discovery Weekends" are sales events exactly like a car dealer's "special weekend". Move the metal or put derrières in the seats - same thing. Have you ever heard of a medical school having a "discovery weekend"?

If you are interested in parametric or generative design, really the only way to make money in it, is to pair it with structural engineering as a dual degree and shoot for a career working for someone like Arup, the ACM group of TT, Buro Happold, Black Box @ SOM or the like. That seems to be where the biggest $$$ is right now. You are basically a facade engineer/ facade consultant, but you make a good deal of money and get to participate in interesting projects.

Are you a mathematical wunderkind? Do you love geometry? Engineering, science? Computer Science? Even then, U Penn or UICU would be best (better than SciArc or Pratt)  for the exceptional engineering staff and facilities. 

If not you are not exceptionally endowed with math and comp-sci skills, I would skip Pratt, SciArc and the like and shoot for Cal Poly, UICU, Kansas State or UVA and get a solid "meat and potatoes" architecture education. Otherwise the only thing you can do is be a parametric wanker making $36k for the next 8 years at some studio in LA. 

I'm not so interested in parametric design or generative design schools. I think the reason i still have Sci-Arc on there is for the "cool" factor. I've heard so many things about it, even during undergrad, and I have a friend that goes there now, that I've almost convinced myself I want to go there but the more I learn about it, the more I realize it may not be for me.

And I do love math and am great at it. I've given the dual degree route a lot of serious thought lately (especially with my strong math skills and interest in engineering), that's why UICU and U Mich have stuck out to me; they both have dual degree options (Arch and Eng).

I started out with an eye towards enrollment in 2015 but more and more i'm thinking 2016 and beyond. I might apply to 2 or 3 schools this year and if I get in, i'll consider it but if not, I'll just keep working and learning.  

You can tell i'm still not exactly sure but, i'm working on it

So, this kind of question gets asked around here all the time. Here's a dose of realism.

Your GPA is below 3.0. Why do you think you deserve a spot in a top-10 program? That portfolio had better be amazing (it's not), or you're just wasting everyone's time.

Your list is hopelessly uninformed. You need to do your own research on what the differences between programs are, and what program is right for what you want to do. If you want to succeed as a graduate student, you'll need to get used to showing much more responsibility and work much more independently than you have so far.

A dual degree with engineering? Did you study engineering in college, when you performed terribly? Do you really think any school is going to take that big of a chance on you in two different departments? 

Placebeyondthepines I actually put up this list just as I was beginning to look into different schools and programs and I am using the information I get here in addition to what I get from doing research on my own. Also, I plan on visiting at least 7 schools before heading back to Lagos and have been emailing many schools (not just the ones on these lists mind you) so I should have a clearer picture in a few weeks; these lists are on a word document, not carved into stone.

As for the GPA, and the engineering, how about you let me worry about that. If I get rejected from every single school that I apply to, then it's on me to make whatever improvements I can, wherever/however I can, and go from there, no matter how many time I have to do it.

Thanks for your input though, it's always nice to have someone willing to shovel you a dose of realism your way when making plans.

"made the deans list my first 1.5 years in school"

LOL. I am told that when I was potty training my aim was spot on the first two times. After that, boy let me tell you.

The OP still has not answered subgenius' question at the start of the thread - why piss away more money on academia - just start booking hours toward the ARE.

"As for the GPA, and the engineering, how about you let me worry about that. If I get rejected from every single school that I apply to, then it's on me to make whatever improvements I can, wherever/however I can, and go from there, no matter how many time I have to do it."

​I'm just trying to help you understand that many of these schools may never be an option for you, no matter what you do. I'll ask you the two basic questions any admissions committee is going to require an answer to:

Why did you get such embarrassing grades in college? Why do you think you'll perform any better as a graduate student than you did as an undergraduate?

Without an outstanding answer to that question (especially since you studied architecture!), you're going to need to look at much less selective programs and stop worrying about things like how highly ranked schools are. That ship sailed with your C average.

Yes if you want to become a pair of hands, and a shill at irrelevant firms, and die in 40 years without anything meaningful you can listen to subgenius.... see it is easy to play as ignorant and arrogant on the other side of the aisle.

You have to ask what you want to do, what firms you want to work for, what cities you want to work in and live in, use grad school as a means to gain the connections to make that happen. The fucking dark reality is an M.Arch means a lot especially to large or international firms, they want people with masters degrees. The connections you can gain from a Masters program are valuable, and you will have opportunities you will not even have the opportunities to go after without such an experience or degree.

But yes, if you want to stay in a tiny pond, with irrelevant opportunities, please listen to subgenius. - Archinect is filled with those who have given up on life and simply debate the work of those who aspired to actually be something instead of becoming anything themselves.

Well, the OP comes across as a bit scattered and unfocused. I don't think it is at all untoward suggest that working in an architectural office would be a better path to obtaining a license than going heavily in debt for a "masters" program. It is difficult to understand how someone with a degree in Architectural Studies would not already have a short list of two or three schools that would suit her needs. As for the high value placed of these "masters" programs by employers - I doubt it. Telling someone who typically majored in Transvestites at Sara Lawrence (and now can't get a job) that they can be an architectural "Master" if they only cough up $150,000 for 27 months of instruction is one of the bigger lies in academia.

Volunteer I gave some thought to that route but ultimately, I have my heart set on grad school. I really didn't have any sort of short list out of school because i knew then that grad school wasn't something I was going to face for at least another year or two, and while in school the only programs I really heard about were the big, cool names (Harvard, Sci-Arc,Yale etc). But now that I'm really beginning to look, ask questions and visit, everything's becoming clearer.

Placebeyondthesplines My Architectural Studies GPA is actually decent (3.52) but I didn't have that major or take those classes until my senior year and while it did bring the gpa up, it wasn't enough to overcome 3 years of a lot of shit. But i definitely understand where you're coming from, and it's something I remind myself of a lot instead of just thinking my GPA wont matter. I have been looking at less selective programs recently.

Yeah, I realize now I jumped the gun with this post. My list has gone through more changes since the last update about 4 days ago... i should have just waited until it was concrete but, oh well. Thanks anyways for the advice everyone.