I'm not sure what your parents mean by the UK is 'currently in decline'.  Certainly not in terms of their world-class academic institutions, of which UCL just got very highly ranked ( http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/16/cambridge-imperial-oxford-ucl-in-top-five-worlds-universities ), and may I add, higher than Cornell.  And also not in the job market, of which construction in particular is rebounding fairly well after the damage done by the recession.

You can still do an MArch in the states and get licensed, so if your goal is a US license, I don't see that a degree from UCL will damage your professional path.

I suppose one thing to be aware of is that UK universities don't run the way US ones do, if for any reason you aren't sure about architecture, you won't have the same flexibility of 'changing your major' or taking classes outside of your department the way you would in a US school.  If this matters to you, it's something to think about.  You also won't have the same 'college experience' as a US school- again, this is only important if it's something that matters to you. 

On the plus side, the Bartlett should be significantly cheaper than Cornell and it's a three year program instead of four, so you should really be able to save money while still earning a world class degree.

I haven't talked about the program differences because I'm not sure it matters too much at this stage.  It sounds like you know what sort of program you want, and it sounds like the Bartlett is offering it.  I just thought I'd add some other stuff that might help with your decision.

Good luck.

Your parents' opinion of the UK versus US doesn't seem well-informed. America's somewhat less tepid economic recovery doesn't seem to have made it better for architects. Over the last few years several of my friends left unsatisfying positions in the US for much better architecture prospects in Asia and London. On the whole both the UK and US offer opportunity, but it won't be easy to break into the profession either way.

Really though the key is that you have to believe in what you're doing at university. It's very challenging to do well and get into the profession. If you don't like it, you'll never make it through.

If your parents are set on sending you to the US and you don't want to disagree you should look into other schools. Your impression is accurate: Cornell is well-regarded for its practical program, so if that's not your interest it won't work for you. There are plenty more theoretical schools in the US: Sci-arc, Cooper Union, Rhode Island School of Design, the Pratt Institute all take a more expressive approach to design, and offer accredited undergraduate architecture degrees. There are plenty others too.

If you do study in the US, you should consider whether you want to work there later. Getting an accredited B.Arch 5-year degree will allow you to get licensed without a master's degree. If that doesn't matter to you, you can also study at a school that offers a 4-year Bachelor of Arts (or Bachelor of Science) degree in architecture - these degrees won't be sufficient for a license in most states, but can prepare you for a Master's degree.

And to repeat: working as an architect is tough. It doesn't matter what country you are in, school is competitive and good jobs are hard to get. Make sure what you spend on school is something you or your family can easily afford or it will limit your options later.

Good luck!

definitely do consider the AA; it's where Zaha Hadid studied :)

@CHI-GMP i have definitely looked into AA before i do very much like it. It is concentrated into the post-moderism/ conceptual realm of arch, which i happen to be very interested in rn. However the school only offers architecture and this is both an asset and a hindrance, to me, because it would be extremely hard for me to even touch other majors/minors... That being said i still think it's a great school and i'm applying for it for sure. Same goes for Sci-arc.

i didn't want to come off as an Zaha fanboy who wants to go crazy abstract purely for glorifying the form while discounting the function. Don't get me wrong but ergonomics is also very important to me too. I just want to move to a less mainstreams architectural direction that deals with both function and form while giving me a lot of room for practicing and learning creativity. I appreciate people like Holl and Koolhas a lot too and those people are other inspirations to me.

Thank you for your suggestions. :)