This. Also pains me to see a fellow Canadian spending foreign US tuition while still holding undergrad debt. School is so much cheaper here. It’s basically free compared to M’erica. You should even be able to earn enough to cover tuition while working 15-20hours part time.

I'd argue that generally it's a similar stance here in the US though. Most people don't really have much concern about which school, unless maybe it was the one they went to.

I always find the rankings interesting, but no one ever seems to look into all the other data DI collects. They actually collect data on employer hiring practices, explicitly asking what they hire around, and school is mid-low tier on that list. Design quality (portfolio), and past work experience (sorry fresh grads if you don't have any) are the top two by a landslide.

50k (total) for a M.arch is about the highest I'd value the degree... x6 that is so far beyond ridiculous.

glad i'm (closely) within your spectrum of reason! so naturally i agree.

^to clarify, that's 50k total net cost after bursaries and whatnot. Anything less is gravy. I think my entire M.arch was under 23k CAD before bursaries.

yeah, luckily i had pretty good assistantships and other positions that actually reduced the cost a bit lower if you add it all up. and this was a "top" school, though not ivy (thank god).

I've always like the rule of thumb of don't take out more student debt (total) than your salary (one year) would be at your first job out of school. So if you can, with a straight face, tell everyone you'll be getting a job out of school paying you $300k ... go for it. Realistically though, I think it's probably closer to $50k for most grads in most major cities in the US so I'd say NS's valuation is about right assuming it's just talking debt.

@ NS, I down-voted your comment on 50k total as that's the single year cost of basically any out-of-state institution at the moment, much less grad programs and architecture specific. I'm not saying it's right, but it is the current state of things. I appreciate the advice given of "don't sell your soul" but don't pretend anything is cheap these days. [you did say "net"...so maybe i'm overreacting to the number...]

@ OP, be well aware living in NYC isn't exactly cheap & U housing isn't a slam dunk by any means at Columbia

not entirely true- i got out of grad school with a little over that amount not too long ago, and it was a "top" private school. but yes, it is not uncommon to see the amounts you are describing.

out of curiosity, what is the average interest% and amortisation for this level of student debt?

if you're getting them through the department of ed (us govt), it's currently zero because of covid, but around 6% previously. not great, but not as bad as the additional private loans that op would require (can be upwards of 10%). my debt amount was the max permissible loan/year by the govt.

ultimately i feel bad for people like orange, having to make this decision; the schools should be held accountable for perpetuating this fiscal nightmare.

what about cornell?

ehh im not sure about cornell's funding situation

OP is Canadian, so international students. And it is for Masters, not undergrad. Which is considered to be luxury rather than necessity. If anyone is very familiar with Ivy Grad school funding. I am very interested to hear. I know there are full rides, but I think the amount of people receiving it is very very few. And is it even available to international students?

GSAPP is a poorer school compared to the other Ivies. The quality of its facilities is atrocious.

yes, it is available to international students. These are private schools, so they don't care where you're from. And most do a mixture between aid and merit, so if you get in you should receive a decent amount of help (unless your really rich and barely got in)

No harm in giving them a call and explaining your situation. You can say, if Columbia gives you X amount to meet what you are willing to pay, you will accept their offer. See what they say; you don't have a lot of leverage so just be honest.

I'm not saying you should'nt, but keep in mind that starting salaries for grads up here is about 45-50k CAD... Your academic credentials won't carry much weight besides a slight head nod. You'll have friends finishing up paying their cars & houses before you can rustle up enough cash for a downpayment.

Rather than money, I am more concerned in your expectations in Architecture education & the field. is your undergrad in Arch? Are you familiar with what Architecture degree teaches? Honestly you probably will get the same thing by doing design competitions or do your own research. Since studio classes does not teach, just critique. Software is almost exclusively self taught. Structure, construction, history courses are generic. You could easily learn them by reading textbook. Real skills come from practice, which you will start at about 50K/year with slow increase over your career. 

Those of us giving advices here have been through it. Understood what you get from the school, what the field is like. Some even went to the top schools.

Just hope that you are not thinking going to ivy=starchitect.

Beware of being a poor kid at a rich kids' grad school. It can suck to be living on a budget when your classmates have their parents' credit cards to pay for everything.

@ orangepeel, NO degree is worth that much money. employers also don't care what school you graduated from honestly. maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it doesn't seem like this is your dream school, considering you didn't get accepted to any other one and now it seems like you're "forced" to attend columbia.

have you considered reapplying to other Canadian schools next year, and take this year instead to work? You'll gain much more practical and valuable experience rather than worrying about paying off student loans for the rest of your life.

sad to hear this orange. unfortunately, i think you will remember this forum once you've started working and that first loan bill is due. and it won't be a pleasant memory.

some good advice here to reapply- people do it all the time.

MSAAD is 3 semester 1 year. So potentially vs 2 year maybe 3? Isn't this just for your resume shine? I would do the shortest. 50K total is still ok for ivy league title. Don't forget about the opportunity cost too. One year in school = one less year working.

I am more curious as to why you want to go back after 5 years working experience besides resume shine.

have to agree with jay, 50k for an extraneous degree just doesn't seem worth it, which is really unfortunate- i think we would all be a lot better off if pursuing as much education is appropriate for each individual was a feasible thing, but the system has become intended to produced workers who are in debt, i.e. must continue to work and not pursue thing like more education, art, etc.

i've toyed with the idea of more school, but the price tag is something i just can't swallow. 5-10k? for that price, sure, i would love to get a random humanities masters (part time).

50k? i'd rather put it towards a down payment on a house.

Thanks for the comments, Yes, I agree that Cornell can be a more reasonable option. Here are the reasons that I need a graduate degree in the US. 1. with BA degree (none accredited NAAB) there were always disadvantages in getting a good job. 2. Working visa is almost impossible without a master's degree nowadays. 3. I have outside funding that covers one-year living costs approx.26K abroad only. 4. I need some time to pass all ARE 5.0 exams in the next year or so. 5. I haven't had enough time to think and do my own work while working more than 250-300 hours per month in the most intensive architecture firms.