Hello, 

I am applying for a bachelor's degree in architecture as an international student from the Czech Republic. Among my top choices are Virginia Tech, University of Washington, UVA, University of Notre Dame, and UCBerkeley. I have already been accepted to some of these universities. Anyway, I was wondering if I were accepted to all my top universities, which one do you think would be the right choice for me?

My preferences are:

• Warmer weather .

• Larger city (assuming it's safe) .

• Nice and Individual approach to international students.

• Cooperation with companies, internships, studies/internships abroad.

• Good student life.

• Quality job placement or easy admission to graduate school.

• Diversified studies - by that I mean that the study includes design, the technical part of architecture and, in general, everything that architecture contains.

• Student diversity

• and above all I want to have a quality study at a good university, but I also want to enjoy it and not stress so much. I want to have some free time when I will immediately know what to do, where to go, who to go with, etc... I just don't want to be disappointed that I didn't imagine it like this and now I don't mean studying architecture but life at that university, in that location, among those people.

My opinions about universities:

Virginia Tech: In my opinion, it has a high-quality 5-year major, which I don't know if it's an advantage because I would still like to go on to study a master's degree. I think Virginia Tech has a name in the world of architecture, but not so much outside of architecture. The environment around Virginia Tech is nice, but the town is really small and there aren't any big cities around, which scares me and I'm afraid I'll start to feel like there's not much to do there, because I'm not the type of person who would spend every day in the forest.

UVA: A quality university that is generally good for architecture, but I don't know if it's better than Virginia Tech for architecture. Anyway, it definitely has a bigger name overall. I can study architecture there for 4 years, which I probably don't mind because of the master's degree, I just don't see how high quality the study is. Maybe the four years are even better because I would like to have the study more free. The town in which UVA is located is small but quite nice. I guess I don't have a problem with the location, anyway I would still appreciate a bigger city.

University of Washington: I don't know much about their architecture study and I don't think it can match the other four universities. In addition, only architectural design can be studied there. Now I'm studying digital design in high school, so it would be easier for me, anyway, I doubt that it wouldn't be a full-fledged study of architecture. the university is located in seattle which is absolutely perfect. I love the western United States and Washington in particular. The University of Washington has a name, but I don't think so much in architecture. Anyway, the location is amazing .

University of Notre Dame: Undoubtedly a quality university with a big name. It has a beautiful campus and their architecture major is of high quality. Anyway, it's a Catholic university and I'm definitely not religious, so I'm scared of their rules, connection with faith, etc... I'm not exactly happy with the location either. I don't think Indiana is very interesting, and overall the middle of the USA is not quite what I'm looking for. I know their study of architecture is good, but I heard it's too religious and not much about design. The weather is probably the worst. I reluctantly applied to that university only because of the prestige of the architecture and the university in general, otherwise I would not have considered a Catholic university somewhere in Indiana.

UCBerkeley: Probably the most prestigious university of the five. It is possible to study BA in Architecture and I like their subjects. I've just heard so many bad things about the university that it puts me off quite a bit. By that I mean unsafe location, student depression, staff ignoring student requests and so on. Berkeley has a huge reputation for job opportunities, I wouldn't have to worry after graduation. What scares me is what is being said about the university and the environment, which is probably the most dangerous of all the 12 universities I applied to.

Funding is not a problem. 

Could you please advise me where to go, or refute or add something to the universities. I would also like to say that my ambition is to work primarily with sustainable architecture and to participate in international projects that will heal the planet.

Thank you very much.