I agree that Uic is the most feasible but I don't hear a lot about their program. I applied to IIT because it has a strong history in Chicago and a lot of the graduates seem to end up at the better firms in Chicago ( it's only my observation ).

I like the director at IIT Weil Arets he seems to be revamping the program and making it more design orientated.

Depends on what you are interested in. If design is your thing I would probably go to SAIC. From what I hear about classmates SAIC seems to be promising. I would say UIC would be a safty school.

I went to IIT a few years ago and feel like it prepared me well for a career that I'm enjoying, though I wasn't really happy with it when I was there. Looking back on it I consider a good education. I like Chicago as a city and it's a good environment to study architecture. IIT gives out plenty scholarships so look into that if you consider applying there.

Something important to consider is whether you want to get licensed as an architect and what kind of path you want to take to do that. Of the 3 only IIT offers a 5-year B.Arch which is sufficient to get licensed with in any state. The other 2 offer unacredited bachelor's degrees, meaning you'll need an accredited master's later to get licensed in some states (including IL after 2015).

Some people prefer doing the 4 years bachelor + 2 years master because it lets them move between different schools or spend more time studying outside architecture, but it can cost more too. Give it some thought.

UIC looks very promising to me especially because it a cheaper school.

But I keep hearing problems about it. But its not clear what the problems are or if they are true. I also have a visit to SAIC for presidents day and would love to know what to put into my portfolio. Even though the chances of me going to SAIC is low due to its crazily high tuition's (In my perspective). This is one of the reasons why UIC seems more logical to study at.

IIT is a little bit cheaper than SAIC and from what I searched, they offer 23k worth of financial aid. But what made you (midlander) unhappy at IIT? Thanks for the response btw.

Cors, are you committed to staying in Illinois and Chicago, The two other state architecture schools SIUC and U of I Champaign Urbana are considered as good if not better than U of I Chicago and they both have strong alumni connections to the city.

But as with any program look at the work they produce and decide if it is the kind of architecture you want to learn how to do in your career, Some schools are into architecture as sculpture some into architecture as complex social problem and other see a building as a technological exercise. Decide what is important for you to learn and then find a program that will let you learn how to become the architect you want to be, otherwise you will be fighting and entrenched and change adverse establishment and that can make your college education difficult. If you don't have a fully developed idea of what type or architect you want to learn to be then I would recommend a larger over smaller program as there are more likely to be niches and people specializing in something that will be of interest to you. Be wary of academic programs that feature the same sophomore junior projects year after year, or graduate programs that produce thesis projects that don't vary much or you don't understand to be architectural design.

look for programs that change and adapt on an annual basis, that the students are producing intriguing work that you find interesting this is more important than some ranking system or prestige.

 

Over and OUT

Peter N

Cors,

I felt like there was insufficient leeway for students to develop design and presentation skills early in the program. The first 2 years excluded any digital presentation and insisted on hand-drafted drawings which was very limiting. It was jarring to get to the upper level studios and try to pull together a thoughtful design and make a sophisticated presentation while you were just using these tools for the first time, and left me worried I was behind other graduates in looking for a job.

I'm pretty sure this was already changing by the time I left. As it turned out there hasn't been any noticeable impact on my career and I've been quite happy with the design culture they promoted, which really developed during the upper level studios. I think a moderate level of dissatisfaction regarding the difference between education and practice is extremely common among new architects.

If I had to do it again I would of put more effort into learning some of the digital tools early on my own time and making presentations for my own portfolio regardless of the instructor's own requirements. If you approach education with that independent focus on what you need to learn you'll do well almost anywhere.

For you the question is what kind of career do you want your education to lead into? If you want to practice your goals will be a bit different than if you want to stay in academia. Likewise there are some differences between practicing as a typical architect who designs buildings for paying clients versus being engaged in social activism or community development - and both much different from the more experimental practices that focus on specialty projects like installations and competitions. Which school is best depends in part on your feelings about that.

Along with visiting the schools, ask to be put in contact with recent alumni who can talk about the program and where it led them. It can give you a sense what kind of person appreciates each program, and how they make use of the education.

If you're a dedicated student you'll do well at either of those schools (you'll get a job afterwards) and each one has a unique character. The majority of my friends that went to IIT graduated before Arets' tenure, but the ones that graduated recently have complained about his leadership and I guess working in Crown Hall kind of sucks. The  5 year B. Arch is a sweet deal though if you don't want to go to grad school.

UIC is a lot more into theory so you'll be discussing a lot of disciplinary issues in depth, which may not be a good fit if you want a more technical education. The faculty is relatively young and publishes and exhibits a lot. They do however have more experience technical faculty too for their structures courses.

SAIC is the newest program, and on top of that recently go a new Dean (who looks solid), so I don't know much about it. One of my friends transferred out after a year because it was too "artsy." I think the program is probably on an upward trajectory though.

The cool thing about Chicago is that your professors will have firms and contacts in the city. The other state schools have robust networks yet are pretty secluded from practice in general.

Thank you so much for tell me more about the schools. I am more aware of what the schools are focused on.

 I'd love to go to SAIC, for i'm more into designs and how humans interact with buildings, structures and such. I am also currently taking Arch CAD (and then Revit) and engineering classes. Both in which I find interesting, but I don't find myself in becoming a technical architect. SAIC is becoming more of a dream school to me, for it has the type of program for me, but then it costs way to much for me and my family. Also I live at SOIL (southern Illinois) in between U of I and SIUC. But I was born in the city and my desire is to live in the city again.

Cors, based on what you've said about the cost of university it sounds like you will need to find work to support yourself after you graduate. The kinds of part-time and low wage jobs that cover some of the costs during school are hard to build a career on.

For your own future well being give some thought to what kind of career you expect to have. Schools don't actually guide you into any paid career - if you don't come up with your own plan you might end up working a job you hate when all is done.

There really isn't much of a role for architects who don't care about how buildings get built (the technical stuff), which makes me wonder what kind of work you do see yourself doing in the future. All architects who build projects need to deal with this, and starting out all interns do this kind of work exclusively. If you don't position yourself and plan you might end up doing a job you find unsatisfying.

If your goal is to be an academic - that's great. Just talk to some people doing that work and find out how they got into it and what they feel about it. It's not easy and simply getting a degree isn't going to make it happen for you.