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Is going to top colleges worth it?

Kraye

hi,

Im only a rising sophomore and I have Plenty of time to decide what universities I want to go to. I see lists of the same old same old “top architecture schools” and we all know college is super expensive. My state doesn’t even have an accredited program till masters so I’ll be going out of the state for college most likely. 

Long story short. Is it worth paying 50k a year for an architecture degree and going 5 years usually? Architects make decent pay (80k in my area after like 5 years) but is being in that big of debt worth it? Only cal poly tech has a cheap tuition and is pretty good.

 
Jun 25, 18 1:28 am
randomised

don't fall in the trap of confusing top dollar colleges with top colleges

Jun 25, 18 7:02 am  · 
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geezertect

Architecture degrees are not great investments.  If Cal Poly is good and cheap then do that.  Better yet, do your homework on the profession before you decide to incur debt trying to be one.

Jun 25, 18 7:49 am  · 
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Non Sequitur
You’re a fool if you think $50k/year is anything but absurd.
Jun 25, 18 8:01 am  · 
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Kraye

It’s not absurd, other schools are way more expensive. But being able to get cheaper education but good anyways would be good if scholarships and financial aid aren’t an option.

Jun 25, 18 8:50 am  · 
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Non Sequitur

It is absurd to pay that much for an architecture degree.

Jun 25, 18 9:04 am  · 
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Kraye

My school already is 30k a year and I’m only in high school

Jun 25, 18 11:38 am  · 
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SneakyPete

To put it in perspective, my first salary was about what you pay for high school.

Jun 25, 18 11:42 am  · 
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Non Sequitur

who pays for high-school? man... your country is broken.

Jun 25, 18 12:03 pm  · 
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SneakyPete

Careful, NS. The disease we have seems to be contagious, and I dont think Canada lacks for xenophobes.

Jun 25, 18 12:12 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

We're still a little far from that cliff's edge Pete... but I see where you're coming from.

Jun 25, 18 12:16 pm  · 
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OneLostArchitect

Move to Canada if you want an Arch degree

Jun 25, 18 12:32 pm  · 
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Kraye

I’m a she and yes it’s a private school

Jun 25, 18 1:57 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

Then I guess wasting money is not a new concept then. Go forward and spend more of your family's money chasing a $200k arts degree.

Jun 25, 18 2:00 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur

^Correct Ricky. See Kraye's history. There was actual good discussion in that thread.

Jun 25, 18 3:24 pm  · 
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Kraye

MN and yes I did ask in March about even considering. The best outweighs the worse and now I’m taking one step at a time and trying to learn as much to be prepared. Archinect helps me see what people say if that’s complainers or genuine people.

Jun 25, 18 8:37 pm  · 
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flatroof

Are you in CA? Cal Poly SLO is like #2 or #3 in the country on DI rankings and has a 5 year program, so if that is instate go for that. Cal Poly Pomona has a 5 year B.Arch as well.

Jun 25, 18 8:32 am  · 
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Kraye

no unless im able to say family lives there. And I know that and that’s mainly why I’d want to go there. My 2nd choice as of now is UT Austin but I’d need to look into the actual program. I love the vibe and campus and I’ve heard the program is good.

Jun 25, 18 8:48 am  · 
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thisisnotmyname

UT Austin is an excellent program. I know a few grads that secured jobs at top firms. In-state tuition is low there as well.  An out-of-state candidate may have problems gaining admission, as the architecture program is a selective major.  The Austin employment market seems very healthy.

Jun 25, 18 11:44 am  · 
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LITS4FormZ

Look into “in-state tuition waivers.” Texas offered them in the past and that’s what I used to come from out-of-state and be automatically given in-state tuition as part of my scholarship package. Your 80k after 5 years figure is certainly possible but not exactly the norm. Be very careful about the debt you take on.

Jun 25, 18 1:33 pm  · 
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LITS4FormZ

For grad school, yes. For the OP going to undergrad, no.

Jun 25, 18 4:08 pm  · 
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Kraye

I would not particularly be able to move to any other state as of now. My current schooling is the best in the state and I hope the schools average of 31 on the ACT will help me. Cali isn’t somewhere that’s desirable in the long term (as it is literally burning down) but it has great opportunities. If I could somehow get residency that’s be great! Also community college I’m not sure I’ll do, but work experience is something I will. Thanks for a good statement!

Jun 25, 18 8:41 pm  · 
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eastcoast

As a current student who is probably a little more loan conscious than most, I couldn't imagine coming out school with an excessive amount of debt that was unnecessary and would take the rest of my working life to pay off. I was instate and one of the only options for accredited programs. Its not a top school but its certainly less expensive than most and I feel like in the end it doesn't really factor into the profession all the much. If i were in your shoes I would probably find the least expensive options. I don't know what that would be, maybe not going to architecture school right away and doing something similar with plans to get a masters or maybe just doing the bachelors at the out of state school. I would research more and figure out what you can do the most inexpensively. You also have to factor in the added costs of being an architecture student in the form of a laptop, printing, materials, software, and also less likely having time to have a job on the side like most other college students. It adds up really quick and can easily be several grand in the time you are there which just adds into more student loans if you aren't careful. While I can't totally say just yet, I think the profession (as with any job) would be much more enjoyable if you were excessively in debt while beginning your work. 

Jun 25, 18 10:22 am  · 
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JLC-1

cal poly slo is an excellent school

Jun 25, 18 12:16 pm  · 
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SneakyPete

Oh, man. To be able to relive college in SLO. That would be fantastic.

Jun 25, 18 12:28 pm  · 
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JLC-1

half hour from the beach, 1 hour from sta barbara, what could be better?

Jun 25, 18 12:49 pm  · 
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Kraye

Santa Barbra is nice, that’s where family is too and it’s underrated tbh

Jun 25, 18 9:24 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

If one top college is good, then several is great.

Jun 25, 18 2:44 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

It depends. Getting out of college with no debt will feel amazing, can you do that? If so, do that. Working, scholarships, in-state tuition etc are all good. Go to the best school you can that gets as close to free as possible. Going to a good school does matter. You don't have to go to the best school no matter what, that will backfire. You are looking for appropriate value here and only you know that. Good enough works. Don't go to a bad school, that will be hard to overcome. SLO is good, go there if it is a possibility.

Jun 25, 18 2:53 pm  · 
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Bloopox

"Worth it" is so very subjective - nobody here can evaluate "worth it" except you.  But, I'd say don't take the sticker price tuition at face value.  I and others have written many times here about our own experiences with the private, higher-ranked, "name brand" school ending up being the better deal for us financially.  Again it's highly individual - there are so many factors: but If you've got very competitive grades and tests scores, a strong portfolio, and will be able to pull together several excellent recommendations, then you may be a highly sought-after candidate who can come out ahead in grants and scholarships at a private university - particularly if you fall somewhere in the middle to low end of the applicant pack in terms of financial resources.

Personally I got a better deal with my private university than at the public colleges to which I applied - even the in-state ones.  The private school had much higher tuition, but also had much deeper pockets - i.e. far better endowment - but there's also the fact that, because of the make up of their respective applicant pools, I was comparatively needier among my private school classmates than I was among those who applied to the public schools, and that meant that I qualified for a bigger slice of the financial aid pie at the former.

Apply to the schools in which you're interested and can see yourself attending.  Don't rule out any of them in the application process solely on the basis of tuition.  See where you get accepted and what they can offer before you decide which are worth it for you.

Jun 26, 18 12:57 pm  · 
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thisisnotmyname

Yes, I understand Rice University has both a "no loans" policy for lower and middle income applicants and a $10,000 USD overall cap on loans to undergraduates over their course of study. Most public schools will blindly load you up with the maximum permitted amount of student loans.

Jun 26, 18 2:21 pm  · 
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proto

out of state costs for top programs are similar to privates now

almost worth taking a year off to go live in the state of the program you want to attend

Jun 26, 18 6:07 pm  · 
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splinesbetweentheplace

The very very top programs like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and MIT are worth full price even for a degree like architecture.


Where you have to be careful are the 2nd tier schools (Columbia, Penn, etc) that have the same ~$50,000k+/year price -- those are def not worth the full price for a degree in architecture.

Or God forbid you pay that much at 3rd and 4th+ tier schools (USC, RISD, etc).

Jun 27, 18 1:11 am  · 
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kjdt

Setting aside any evaluation of your ranking/tier opinions, the OP is a high school student intending to apply to 5-year B.Arch programs. Nearly all of the schools you've listed offer only the M.Arch, so are irrelevant for her purposes. Cornell is the only Ivy still offering a B.Arch - where do they land in your tiers?

Jun 27, 18 11:15 am  · 
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BR.TN

100% agreed. FINALLY someone gets this right!

Jun 27, 18 12:36 pm  · 
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Kraye

Thanks for the summery reputation of schooling helps a bit espeically for jobs right out of college

Jun 27, 18 1:53 pm  · 
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Kraye

Update: Someone mentioned a school I know Someone goes to and now on google it gives the cost going to that school (approx) after financial aid and stuff. Does that happen for anyone else?

Jun 27, 18 1:52 pm  · 
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archeyarch

a lot of applicants are questioning the value of the degree at any cost, especially the lost opportunities one could of had in other fields.  After a  few years in the field many wish that they had taken another path, regardless of what school they attended.

Jul 8, 18 10:03 pm  · 
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danauk79

Architecture rquires investing time and money. Worth going to a good college but worth the money? Sometimes the most expensive are not necessarily the best.

Jul 9, 18 4:40 am  · 
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geezertect

Your parents are paying $30k a year for your high school (obviously a toney private one) but you are obsessing about cost of college?  Are they blowing your potential college fund on high school and then expecting you to pay your own college?  None of my business but seems odd.

Anyway,  you need the Ivy if you want to make starvation wages at a starchitect firm.  Otherwise, the school won't matter much in the long run.  If you know where you want to settle down and practice, go to a school in that area so that you can plug in to the network and get the lay of the land.

I repeat:  research the profession before you research the schools.

Jul 9, 18 7:34 am  · 
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Volunteer

I don't think the Princeton architecture program is ranked very well at all. They were trying to boost their ratings by hiring the Spaniard as dean and then found an excuse to can him to bring more of the special snowflake faculty crowd.

Jul 9, 18 9:31 am  · 
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reix

I pray to God you came to your senses and realized there isn't a single undergrad degree on planet Earth worth $250,000.

Nov 14, 23 11:43 pm  · 
1  · 
Non Sequitur

Good thing for them that there isn't a single god on planet earth (or anywhere) worth praying to.

Nov 14, 23 11:45 pm  · 
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Volunteer

If the OP's parents own a house in Santa Barbara and are footing the $30,000 a year bill for high school finances would not seem to be a problem. 

Nov 17, 23 7:26 am  · 
1  · 

I see the green eyed monster . . .

Nov 17, 23 11:46 am  · 
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I would not put too much emphasis on ranking and most other measurements. Most undergraduate programs are good and upon the degree of your commitment, they will provide you with a decent education for entering the job market and the next level of academia. If you want to be selective, save it for graduate school. I've taught at CPP and Woodbury in California and have reviewer relationships with most schools of architecture while interacting with what the students are producing currently in local schools.
I won't say going to a school with a good academic reputation doesn't matter as they provide you with better financial aid sometimes have better facilities and sometimes provide sought-after faculty.

Nov 17, 23 3:56 pm  · 
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