Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
University of Southern California (USC)
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
Kansas State University
Rice or USC?
Hello Everyone! I would greatly appreciate some help in ranking colleges. I am applying to questbridge which gives low-income families a 100% need met scholarship, but if a college decides to match you it is binding.
Here are the colleges that offers accredidated/renowned programs from Questbridge that I am currently looking into:
- USC
- Rice
My goals:
- Attend Grad School in the near future, my dream program is GSAPP.
- Able to do hand-on studio works as much as possible, being able to experiment, fail, repeat, given independence.
- On the cutting edge of architecture field. Go to a place with passionate forward thinkers in architecture.
Rice:
- Pros:
- 1 year internship to renowned architectural offices (researched and i love the offices's works)
- in city
- constantly ranked higher than USC for undergrad in Design Intelligence
- Academically Intensive
- well-rounded, middle of the road approach to architecture
- very safe neighborhood
- no state-income tax, cheap to live in (i come from low-income afterall)
- Prestige, it is Rice, after all.
- Cons:
- in houston (urban lab. may not be well-developed as LA)
- student thesis work is so uninteresting to me, in comparision to USC and Yale... Yes, their presentation and style is impeccable, but feels so familiar to each other that I question the value they place on creating independent thinkers, rather than big company-approved architects.
- falculty undiversed, little to no Asian representation (I am a Chinese Female).
- wonder if the 1 year internship is all that glorious at all? USC offers internship oppurtunities every summer? So does other schools?
- long... 6 years in total including the perceptionship. I am looking into taking grad school anyways, so this is kind of not worth it for me.
USC:
- Pros:
- Study Overboard oppurtunities better than Rice, for me personally, due to the fact they have sectors in Chinese offices (invaluable to me because I can speak Mandarin like a native)
- LA Labortory... and the entire state of Cali... come on now.
- I love Sci Arc's work so it would be nice to go and see their open houses, even though I have no prospects of attending Sci Arc.
- firms such as gensler, and first office.
- Undergrad program director is led by a Asian Female, and its undergrad falculty is filled with diversity, not to mention it takes an emphasis on Sustainability and Green Buildings, which I would like to specialized in the future.
- Student work is incredible and mind-bending, revolutionary. Each is given a lot of independence in their thesis, it seems like. I believe I would enjoy this type of independence.
- Trojan Network? Is it a real thing lol.
- Diverse Body of students (23.5% Asian), I would be very happy if I can connect with people like me who is bilingual and share similiar interests! - student life seems more interesting?
- Overboard opportunities in Summer... but can i afford it lol that's a problem.
- Cons:
- Expenses - i heard that they don't cover for student's building fees, and living is LA is probably gonna be wayy expensive than houston (second cheapest town to live in).
- The neighborhood is not that good compared to Rice.
- Ranking/Prestige is lower than Rice.
- Fear that the academic intensity will not be as much as Rice. Fear the cirliculum will not be as well fleshed, well-rounded out as Rice.
- Overboard opportunities in Summer... but can i afford it lol that's a problem.
Currently I am leaning towards USC... but the fear is that USC may not have as a good coursework cirriculum as Rice... since it is not ranked as highly on Design Intelligence, while Rice is consistently up there. Also the fear that it is expensive, even with a 100% needs-met scholarship. However. I believe that I will enjoy life in USC more, and it is a better fit for my character and passions. Anything else I should take into account on top of the list above?
Thank you so much!!!
I cannot answer definitively, but... as an asian myself, and who went to quite prestigious undergrad and then GSAPP, one advice I would give is that you should not fixiate so much (if at all) on whether the student body or the faculty is made up of how-many-percent asians.
These aren't diverse groups picked from diverse backgrounds who have diverse views. They are the bluest-bloods of their respective countries whoes parents paid top dollars to game the system to the maximum legal extent so that their family gets an American university name under their belt.
Don't go to GSAPP just because it is presitigious. It is not a bad place, but level of work is... let's just say I couldn't understand how this school was the supposed rank #2 - ranking meansnext to nothing.
Sounds like your mind is made up. You don't seem interested in getting away from your comfort zone and experience a different way of life in an unfamiliar place, which I believe is as important to one's education as what is taught in the actual curriculum. I would place very little value on DI rankings. Either school would be pretty good choices to offer what you are looking for.
Rice will give you a better chance of getting a scholarship at GSAPP. USC, I dont think so.
Hey! I'm also applying to Questbridge, a Chinese female, and thinking about Architect. I personally am leaning more towards USC because there is more student life and ranks highly in other programs. We should get in touch:)
Do you have the grades, extracurricular activities, and advanced coursework needed to get admitted to Rice? If you do, I don't quite understand the interest in USC, as you should probably be looking at more selective schools like Cornell and maybe UT Austin.
As a low-income student, I think Rice will offer you a better campus life because the housing system and social activities don't favor rich students they way they might tend to at USC. Being a poor kid at a
rich kids college is something you should approach with great caution.
Academically, there is also a well-trod path from Rice undergrad to top MArch programs like Harvard, and Yale.
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