lets see-

New Orleans--great city to live or visit, you would have a great time going to school here for a few years

Tulane--average to above average school, a little full of itself and always trying to compare itself to the ivy's which is a joke

as a combo city/school match, kinda hard to beat. the only better enviroment/education combos that I have seen personally are Austin/UT, San Fran/Berkeley and the Boston scene

good luck

You simply must visit New Orleans. That will sell you on the whole prospect of moving there. The city is incredible, and provides a diverse backdrop for architecture studies. The school is (I think) well above average - with excellent opportunities to study abroad. And, rumor has it that the latest dean selection search has turned up one Mr. Reed Kroloff. So you can bet that next year's lecture series will be better than this year's.

Ddot,

from what i've heard (and assume) the french quarter isn't the real new orleans....could you point me out to some of the must see's for my next time around?

The French Quarter is real. Just not the parts most tourists see - which is about 7 square blocks. There's obviously a lot of history in the city - and people actually LIVE on Bourbon Street. Some very wealthy people.

There are something like 86 distinct neighborhoods in the City. And every location has either 'Lakeside' or 'Riverside', and 'Uptown' or 'Downtown' for the address.

These are a few things I try to do when I go visit. If you're spending 3 days or so:
If you're not interested in a riverboat ride, at least do the ferry ride to Algiers Point, just to turn around to see the riverfront and skyline.
A walking tour of the lower garden district.
a streetcar ride for the entire route - from Canal up through Carollton and back.
see Audubon Park/Zoo and waterfront at the Riverbend uptown.
Go for a drink at Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith shop.
If you're into the college drinking scene - do a Tuesday night out from Rendon Inn, to AT II's (which may have been renamed, but everyone knows where it is) to Fat Harry's.
get a tour of St. Louis Cemetery, or visit some others spread throughout town. But be very careful.
See a concert at Tipitina's uptown.
Drinks on the porch at the Columns Hotel on St. Charles Ave.
Breakfast at the Bluebird Cafe.
Late night dinner at the Camellia Grill.
shop at the French Market.
Listen to the musicians in Jackson Square.
Get beignets and coffee at 3 in the morning at Cafe du Monde in the quarter.
When you're there, pick up the latest issue of the Gambit newspaper - that will fill you in on the events of the week. There's great music every night.

These things are all still not a great representation of a city that has so much to do and see, but it's a start.

just wanted to say thanks everybody for ideas and advice so far. am really starting to look forward to going.

While I was there I was never under the impression that we were trying to compare ourselves to the Ivies, and thank goodness for that. Some of the professors were educated at the Ivies, so maybe that's where the impression comes from. If you can't be unique in New Orleans, then where? If you want to be an automaton, by all means reapply and head north. (See, I sounded a little full of myself just there.) Living in New Orleans WILL make you a little full of yourself, full of life, full of food, full of joy. Occasionally, you'll feel enraged and totally insane, but it's just that kind of place, beautiful and infuriating all in the same breath, a tempestuous, lovely city. I have yet to encounter anyone I know who went there who says they regret it.

You'll take all the architecture courses required to have a good base, and, as Ddot mentioned, opportunities to study abroad or within a specialty that may not be available to you elsewhere. Hopefully the curriculum still allows for plenty of electives, because there are so many interesting courses unique to Tulane that are offered university-wide. There are world-class professors in every department. If you have any inclination towards historic preservation, it's the place to be. Gene Cizek is amazing and hopefully still running the Masters in Preservation Studies Program. When I was there they were starting trips to Cuba. You'll have the opportunity to take cool studios that you won't find anywhere else, listen to music and eat food that you'll miss every day after you've moved away (maybe enough to make you want to go back..) and you'll never, never be bored or feel like you're at an average place. There's nothing like starting a conversation with, "when I lived in New Orleans."

Enjoy!

lookin for some help...

i'll be starting my final year (5th) to get my Barch and was looking for advice on applying to grad school. when do you start applying? how do you do the research? do i have to take any exams? portfolio? any help would be good...thanks!

slomo-

my suggestion is to get a few experience before grad school. i wanted to go straight to grad school after my 5th year but took the advice of a professor friend and have waited a couple years. now i realize there are a lot more specializations out there that are veeerrryy interesting for someone with an architecture degree to pursue. i was going to apply for for an MArch program somewhere, now i am looking at different types of programs at more specified schools...granted they are all based around architecture or design of some sort but i feel as though my aspirations have become more focused and i can now do something a bit more specialized...and the more specialized of a degree one has the easier it is to teach, and why the hell else would you go to grad school other than for the added opportunity of teaching.

So goes my answer for your "when do you start applying?" question. all of this is assuming you are looking at MArch programs right away.

as for the others...
Internet for research
(check out the Archinect Links, great resource to begin with)
most schools require the GRE (Graduate Records Exam)
yes on portfolio, everywhere, it has to be veeeerrrrryyyyy good, i think that is what is given the most in a decision (from what i've heard)

thanks captain.

I have been thinking about gaining the experience first before grad school. but i've heard it go both ways. some say go straight to grad, others say get experience first. i guess i just want to cover my bases for now. get the research, have the portfolio and test. that way when it comes time to apply, i can make my decision either way further down the line.

what March programs are u looking at?

thanks for the helpful advice

i'm actually not looking at MArch's much anymore...though they are still in my sights. i'm looking more at the MAUD's (masters of arch & urban design) at a few places...GSD, U of Toronto, UCLA, The Bartlett (longshot), uuuuhhhhhh, i think i recall U. of Cinci having an urban design program but not integrated with an architecture program, university of Oregon...i have a list at home but cannot for the life of me remember any more than those i have just mentioned. to be honest, i have a lot of work to do on my portfolio before i will feel comfortable applying anywhere. and i am right in the middle of a relocation attempt so it may actually be a year or so before I start applying myself and I am already two years out of school. i have a friend that is thinking about seeing if he can create his own program, basically an MArch with a major concentration in product design so he is looking strongly at SCAD...not a great arch program but a really good product design program. another friend is looking at public policy and community planning, she has a BArch and plans on owning a firm and probably getting involved in politics. if there is anything i have learned out of school it's that being an architect is definitely not just about buildings, a second degree in Architecture seems redundant to me now...that's why i am searching alternate avenues...i'll shut-up now.

Most places to be a visiting prof. or adjuct whatever you don't need to have a Masters Degree, just a first professional degree and a license. If you're interested in teaching only as recreation and to supplement your income a little, then why bother spending $20,000 or more for an extra year past the professional degree? You might as well do something else (like the post above suggests) that's more of a specialization. If you want to teach as an entire career, apply to PhD or DArch programs.

captain -- have you checked out WashU's MUD program -- it's formerly a MAUD and they still basically treat it the same (I think). Their rep is growing well into the top 10, so it may be worth a look (...if the GSD, Toronto and Bartlett don't work out...) ...

no DB- i have not considered WashU...I assume you mean in St. Louis. what have you heard? off what do you base your info?

WOW. the dual/joint degree program MArch/MUD seems very enticing...i wil definitely have to look more into this program...as with alll the others.