I get where you're coming from, I had a similar experience. I would say that the grass isn't always greener and I'd hesitate spending/extend anything more for a degree that's ROI is miniscule pay. I've visited a lot of grad schools since my friends fanned out after undergrad and I had worked for a while before getting my MArch and can say that you're not alone. I might change perspective and look at it as a networking opportunity, it's a time to connect with peers and teachers that can open doors. Don't go down the rabbit hole of shutting yourself in. TBH, a box well illustrated suffices for most studio projects, use the time outside of class to experiment on your own interests and connect with peers and faculty and think about setting yourself up best for your future career.   

If the Dean was worth anything you wouldn't be having these issues. 

In short, there is no sense of rigor and no sense of consequence for not
doing the work--it feels like a participation-trophy culture

this is unfortunately common in architecture school; remember typically you're being taught by either practicing architects, who are principally concerned with outcomes, or faux-intellectual hacks who cherry pick whatever half-baked idea happens to be floating in their head at the time. in both cases unfortunately there is little serious effort in developing a rigorous pedagogy, since the profession is full of folks who have a bootstraps/ "i did my time" mentality on both sides of the equation.

on the other hand, you can see the fruit of the history professor who was most likely trained as a serious academic.

i too was frustrated by this. on occasion i had some serious professors in studio who were dedicated teachers, but in terms of intellectual rigor, i would seek guidance from those trained in historically rigorous disciplines like those in the humanities. does your school let you take electives outside of the department? i found this the best way to supplement my studio professors who were disinterested.

if its the only school you can afford and get into then i think you're kind of stuck. why are you so confident you can get into a 'top ten' school as well as afford it next year?

you should feel inspired in architecture school but honestly its a total bubble and has little to do with practice and working in real firms and companies. I mean hardly anything to do. so it's less important than you might think.

working hard and teaching yourself, being self-motivated and driven will get you way way way farther than being around good or great teachers and fellow students. trust me. lean into those relationships w/ professors and students you respect and admire. and then focus on distinguishing yourself from the herd and teaching yourself. i blossomed as an architecture student when i realized i just needed to take my direction more seriously and work hard to become better. it had nothing to do with my schools and studios which are very ephemeral in the grand scheme of your career.

find work you admire in books and the web and start learning and emulating it. if a professor has no track record of good design work then take their feedback with a grain of salt and keep doing what you're interested in doing.

Not a masters but currently in a B. Arch program now and I've had similar experiences with a couple professors. I've taken it as a free course where I can do whatever I want within the given program. I won't say that my projects are good because they were second year projects, but I had fun making them. There are several students in my cohort that just skate and while it bothers me (group projects with them were a nightmare) I don't let it sour me on the students that are doing good work too. My suggestion is to rise above and let your work speak to your abilities without regard for your classmates. 

Transferring to highly ranked schools will not guarantee you finding what you are looking for. Literally the only thing that is guaranteed is the prestige of the name that you will be able to put in your resume.

Do you want a rigorous cirirculum that focuses on fantasy super structure that will somehow solve the problem of the lack of public infrastructure in SE Asia? That is the bullshit I was forced to entertain; doing "research", making up pseudo jargons, deriving design from collages I did not want to do. Because the professors were "rigorous" and passionate about their method, every session was a fight and a waste of time in hindsight. 

I am sure there is a program somewhere that fits you better, but don't go by ranking. Lean into professors that are competant, and the books from the masters.

First year can be a disappointment. See what the upper years are doing. Are they doing interesting things? Is there depth/breadth in their work? Talk to them about what their first year was like. See if there's a prof doing interesting stuff that you want to learn, and see if they will let you work for them during the term. Or if you don't have specific interests, start working at a firm part-time.

I went to a school that had great resources but the dean at the time was antagonistic toward my area of interest. I still learned a lot but I spent as little time as possible on the studio courses. My portfolio upon leaving contained zero studio projects -- all independent studies, elective projects, and internship work. You have to be thick-skinned, but it can work. At most schools in North America they're going to pass you if you put something on the wall, so you sort of have free reign to learn whatever you want.

As for your classmates: there's a lot of groupthink and misdirected stress in first year, it will subside. You might be one of those people who gets along with people outside your cohort, though. It happens.

Hi all, thank you for your comments. I really appreciate the variety of perspectives and straightforwardness. After a bit more consideration, I'm going to stay the course with the program since I see that the work that the upper years are doing is interesting, and there is one professor (and I'm sure more) that teach at that level that I will work to study under. Other thoughts that stuck with me is what exactly I can do to make myself attractive to employers... considering part-time work... not being too rigid with studio (this is a big paradigm shift for me)... and taking electives outside the school. Feeling a bit more optimistic. Thank you for stomaching my rant. Just the act alone was a relief. 

School is what you make of it.

No discussion between students? Well, get up and go talk to your classmates.

The whole point of working in studio is to talk to and learn from/help your classmates. Rigor is not something created by a professor, but by the level of engagement with the semester project by the students. I've had some total blowoff professors who didn't give a fuck, but my talented classmates still engaged with the course and we all pushed eachother to do the best work we were capable of doing. 

You're in a master's course, there is more self direction and rigor expected. Do what YOU find interesting, don't wait for your professors to tell you to do something.

Actually, this school is the perfect place for you to learn the most important skill in an architect - how to do great work despite everyone around you trying to prevent you from doing so.

Here you will learn how to learn from the bad, from the lazy, from the unmotivated, from the self-interested. You will learn in spite of the negative environment.

As you have also pointed out, there are gems everywhere (like your history professor). No one else may notice it, but you do. Then you will suck in all that you can learn and grow with it.

And most importantly, you will learn by yourself. You will learn that the greatest learning comes from within you. Not from others.

(from an old dog)