In state tuition is nice.  I paid off my loans (albeit with the aid of 20k in scholarships) in 5 years making minimum payments with the occasional extra thrown in. VT has nice facilities.  In the school of architecture there are tons of other classes you can take like pottery, printing, screen printing, industrial design related (Bill Green's history of Industrial design classes were awesome), interior design, landscape architecture, etc. 

Blacksburg is very different from Atlanta.  Size, weather, demographics, etc.  Can't speak for Ann Arbor. 

No clue on teaching assistants.  Didn't have time for that. 

I think for all the discussion we've had on here over the years, the consensual conclusion has been that if you must go to architecture school, and all things being equal with state schools (maybe not the consensus) go with in state schools and you'll be on a tenable path.  I'll assume money is an issue if you're worried about financial aid, etc. so unless it's full-ride room and board at an out of state institution, stay closer to home, and graduate with less debt...

agreed, VAtech is the way to go, unless you have dreams of living/working in michigan

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I've read those threads and yeah, the cheapest school / least debt is recommended. When I applied, I only applied to schools I would be happy at, but now that's it time to weigh options, I'm hesitating. I think I just needed the reassurement that VA Tech is in fact a good program.

I definitely don't have dreams of working in Michigan, but the strength of the program is undeniable. Atlanta on the other hand, who knows. I am fangirling over GA Tech because of my background in IT and their strength in robotics and the cool toys.  I guess I'm worried about how far VA Tech's name and brand will go. For example, the west coast or overseas. 

Depends what you want.  VaTech is solid but a bit conservative (tectonic/craft/traditional urbanism oriented), Michigan somewhat more progressive* and spans between that and digifab and landscape urbanism. I wouldn't pay much heed to Shuellmi's comments as most Michigan grads work out of state, and even out here (Los Angeles) the school has a great reputation and alumni network.  It's not like everyone who goes to VA Tech ends their career in in Blacksburg or Alexandria...

More importantly, I assume this is for a graduate degree? There are very significant differences between the undergrad programs.

*Not always a good thing.

true Janosh - frankly I just don't like U of M much

This is for a 3 yr M.Arch. Yeah, I kinda cringe at the 'conservatism' part, though although craft is very important to me. Do you mean hand drafting and building models by hand? I'm also interested in how 3D printing and robotic arms and all these tools can push architecture forward, though, so it's a bit worrisome to me if VA Tech is stuck in the past. Is that the case? Hmmm, so much to think over. Does VA Tech do an open house for prospective students?'

Also, do you guys think I should visit GA Tech or U Mich's open houses?

VT's M.Arch. 3 program is heavy on hand drafting and models. From what I hear, you don't  use any software first year and thereafter it is frowned upon.  I saw a portfolio from a three year graduate, with just hand drafting and models. Not bad drawings mind you, but these days employers are expecting you to know software on day one, and godspeed if another recession hits and you haven't used Rhino/Autocad/Revit at all before.

Wow... I get learning to count before using a calculator, but even after the first year  those programs are frowned upon?! Can anyone else confirm that?

That's interesting actually because my application portfolio was entirely hand drafting and models constructed by hand via Career Discovery and a few other courses.

I didn't do Masters, but I can say that I saw a mix of production methods.  It is true some professors do prefer manual drafting and modeling.  Others don't care, so long as the idea is being communicated.  

They're not going to teach you how to do the programs.  There are some classes for that.  Also, they're not going to teach you to hand draft.  

You go to school to learn to design.  The production of that design comes with it, in whatever form you choose.  The nice thing about Tech is that you can choose.  You can choose which professors you want to take, and with them, which method of production you prefer.  

I'll say that intending to pigeonhole oneself with only using software is just as silly as wanting to with models and hand drawings.  You should use every method at your disposal to effectively convey your ideas. The method that works best for you may be the one you least expect. At Tech, they'll at least allow you to explore those routes, rather than having some damn program shoved down your throat.  Like I said before, there are tons of studios/shops in that building.  We had people doing screen prints as part of their work, vacuum forming, water colors, etc.  

Ah ok. That sounds great, then! :)  I will be visiting in early April but you have quelled my fears.