Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
What to opt? Good ranking of an architectural college or more scholarship?
I am trying to choose between Washington University in St. Louis and Clemson University in South Carolina for MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE (M.ARCH). One of the reasons of giving a thought to Clemson U is Finance. Clemson U is offering me 50% scholarship on the tuition fees (est. tuition fees $37000) while Wash U is offering me a scholarship of $12000. (tuition fees being $57000).
So, is it beneficial to opt for a college with a good ranking or should I go for the one giving me more scholarship but does not have a prestigious rank?
I don't know if you're going to do the two year program or the three, but consider the fact that the tuition & fees are per year. It doesn't really matter how much money they give you, it only matters how much you have to give them.
So with the scholarships you mentioned (I'm assuming its 12k total not per year), the total costs remaining for two years would be:
Wash U - $102,000
Clemson - $37,000
If you're going to require loans, consider that the $65,000 difference plus interest is a lot of money to pay off once you get into the real world. It gets worse if you're going to go for three years.
Just food for thought, don't make your life decisions based off of a random persons post on the internet.
Full disclosure: I opted to go to a big state school instead of Wash U, Columbia, Michigan & a few others because I was able to come out of school essentially debt free by going there instead. Once a year or so I think well maybe it would have been nice to go someplace else or tell folks I have an Ivy league degree. But then I look at my financial situation & know I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now if I was paying off the loans still. It's a trade off I was willing to make, but clearly I'm biased.
What RJ87 said above. Keep in mind a $57K loan will cost your around $400 a month for 15 years. Your starting pay will be around $41K a year or $2,500 a month after taxes. Reducing those monthly loan payments even a $100 a month can make a big difference.
Generally speaking, for the most part, ranking only really matters for Phd, and that also depends on the size of the school. Basically what usually helps in ranking is how many peer reviewed articles faculty is publishing-- the bigger the school the more articles published. Otherwise for an M.Arch ranking does not mean that much. Honestly go for the school that reflects your interests most. But definitely consider the cost. If I were you i would definitely go for the cheaper option.
Both are good programs - outside of the previously mentioned costs and what interests you, think of where you might want to practice. Neither program will be a hinderance to you but with WUSTL it would unlock networking doors in the Midwest, Clemson in the South.
Go where you will end up with the least debt (preferably zero). Don't forget to consider cost of living differences between the locations.
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