Do you have the financial wherewithal not to make ANY money for the better half of a decade ?

(yes, I do mean after you finish grad school)

Regardless of age, architecture is not what most people think what it is. Do you have realistic expectations of what you'll be doing? It can be a rewarding career if you truly love it. I would recommend finding an architect that will let you job shadow them for a week. 

When I applied to architecture school, I also didnt know what a portfolio meant. I still don't. Portfolios are meant to be a representation of yourself and your work. I would include writings, photography, drawings, paintings, etc. Try to keep it simple. 

I remember a few students from my undergrad who decided to jump into arch school well into their 40s... if not 50s. If you're financially stable and are looking for an expensive hobby, then sure, give it a shot.

The real question is what will you do afterwards? You cannot automatically start practising architecture straight out of school and I doubt you would want to start as a low-wage intern for 3 to 5 years until you're eligible to write your exams. Perhaps there are construction managing or building technology that will allow you to have the required background to run your own projects if you align yourself with the right people.

If I had the chance, I would have done Columbia's Ny/Paris thing for a year. Would be a great experience 

i don't believe that you need to re-take calc unless a specific school requires it.  All your classes (building systems, structures, etc.) will be algebra based.

Thanks for the comments, especially about the portfolio and Columbia NY/Paris program - will definitely look into that (yours too shuellmi)

About being financial stable, yes I have been fortunate in my career and am financially stable.

Non Sequitur - I am not viewing architecture has a hobby, I respect the profession and am taking the pursuit more seriously than viewing it as a hobby - expensive or not.  This isn't a casual pursuit that I am going to give a shot.  When I decide I want to do something, and give it my full attention, I am usually successful.

vonzippa

I did what you are thinking about only at age 50 and I thought I was financially set - 1 1/2 years after I graduated M.arch and accumulated some experience, then the  recession hit. lets leave it at that. If you were to start school now and graduate 4 years from now, that's 2018, 10 years from 2008(recessions hit 8 - 10 years apart) are you prepared to deal with that eventuality? We all want to self actualize, however risking our finances is not financially responsible. If I had a crystal ball then when I made the decision to study architecture, I wouldn't have done it. I survived and have 5 1/2 years exp. But jeez at an extreme cost?

Go ahead but be warned. 

an architect wins the lottery and goes to tell his friend...

"what are you going to do with all the money?"

"practice architecture till it is all gone"

no joke.

In my original post I said that I wasn't interested in discussing age, or if I am too old to study architecture.  I should have said the same about money.  For the past 20 years I have been advising businesses on what and how to spend their money - I don't need any further advice in that area, although I do understand and appreciate everyone's concern.

On a side note.  If you're an architect and win the lottery (say more than $10M) and you spend it all in your lifetime, then practicing architecture is the least of your worries - no joke!

vonzippa, are you looking to study architecture design and history or start a new career as an intern architect? If it is the latter, how familiar are you with the process once you leave school? The point I was trying to make earlier is that if a professional license is your goal, then you need to evaluate if you're cut for a return to the office life and scavenge the required hours in order to eventually practice on your own.

Hi Non Sequitur, Thank you for you comments and your question. My goal is to become a student of architecture - learn, then practice, and then maybe teach. I would keep all my options open, understanding my goals may change as I learn more. But I think the premise of your questions/concerns doesn't fit my post. For example, you imply that I would not want to intern for three years because my wage would be low. If my goal is to learn, then why wouldn't I want to intern? I want to go back to college, and obviously I'm not earning anything while a student. You also mention the word scavenge when describing gaining hours of experience. To me that's just working hard and putting in the time required. Remember, compensation is not the point of my post. Preparing to study architecture is the point, and I'm seeking advice on the best approach. Thanks,

Vonzippa, I remember a first year student of mine I somewhat took under my wing, many years ago, who had left a successful restaurant business to throw himself into architecture. He was easily twice my age but had a thirst for learning and, more importantly, did not care to fail at trying. By the end of his second semester, he had picked up enough to compete with the younger crowd and although I have not heard from him in a long time, I am sure he's on his way.

My comment earlier was not to belittle your ambition but to add a layer of caution. If you're determined, then very little will convince you otherwise, and perhaps that is a good thing. There are many graduate level programmes who take in non design degrees. Find one in the local you would eventually like to practice and throw yourself head first. The practice of architecture is not all it's romanticized to be however, but that's a topic for another post.

Feel free to post portfolio pieces for comment, most is usually decently constructive.

Vonzippa

then go for it - that's what I did - take the student attitude to learn - actually internships are very informative, and since you got your finances handled - great - having been in finance, you know to watch the horizon for any sign of trouble(NASDAQ) tech bubble? and would know what to do unlike myself, who was like a deer caught in the headlights when the market crashed - 

" don't allow those who gave up on their dreams to discourage you from yours"

People might disagree with me on this one, but I think that your foray into architecture should start with cultivating taste and an awareness of precedent. That said, I think that you should take some art or architectural history courses to get yourself familiar with the canon.  You should at least take a survey course that covers something Egyptian/Classical/Roman; then Gothic to Renaissance; then a course that covers proto-modernism to postmodernism.  

Frankly, I think that the best architects know art. I'd also take an art history course.

I'd recommend that you read "Modern Architecture Since 1900" by William J.R. Curtis. Read it from cover to cover.

See if you can shadow architects-- you won't get paid for this. I'd look to shadow at two types of firms. First, try to get into the best boutique you can place yourself (if in LA, somewhere like Maltzan, NMDA, Morphosis, etc.; if you're in New York, somewhere like DS+R, Joel Sanders Architect, REX, whatever).  Then see how a large, financially robust corporate firm like Gensler or SOM works. This will give you an idea of the diversity of practice.  The longer you can shadow, the better you'll get a sense of practice and how things differ from office to office.

Next, take some type of pre-professional program like UCLA's Jumpstart, the GSD summer program, Columbia, etc. This will help you develop a portfolio. Go balls to the wall and treat it like the only thing that matters. Recognize how iterative the design process is-- this is one of the hardest lessons for people to learn. Take criticism from your (likely harsh, frustrated) studio instructors.  Walk away from the work after the program's over and then return to it to begin tweaking it for your portfolio.

Look at good graphic design samples to get a sense of how you a 2D portfolio should be presented to an admissions committee. The Yale School of Art's graphic design website was invaluable for references.  Look at the MFA shows: http://art.yale.edu/GraphicDesign

This guy's work in particular influenced me for typography and graphics (his website is down, but here's some of his work): http://surplusurplusurplus.com/

Take the GRE but don't stress about your score; just meet minimums.

Work on your statement, giving yourself enough time to revise, revise, revise, and think about how you want to tell an admissions committee why you deserve to get into the very best architecture program, and what kind of unique vision you bring to the table.

Apply, see where you get in, proceed with caution.

Non Sequitur - no worries, I didn't take it as belittlement. Thank you for your advice, and words of caution. Richard, Xenakis, CDArch, and Alternative - thanks for the encouragement and advice. Exactly what I was seeking and needed! Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I don't have a portfolio to post. I have some work, drawings, photographs, ceramics. As soon as I have things together I will post, but don't laugh :) Thanks to all, the comments are all very much appreciated. Kind Regards,