State schools usually come in pretty close, with grad being a little more expensive. You won't get around the costs, though, with room and board, supplies, computers, etc., it will add up even if tuition is next to nothing.

Nice try.

well we all know you should stay away from the Ivy's and design schools like Parsons, Sci-Arc, and RISD... actually I heard Rice can be very generous with their financial aide.

If you're a resident of Arizona, all you have to do is get into the top 10% of your class, and then they give you half tuition (at least they did when I graduated hs)... maybe I should've gone for that!

that's to ASU or UofA, that is.

why even go in the first place. You can still be an architect without school. Just go to community college and learn AutoCad. 'Interesting' questions are not necessarily intelligent questions.

end of conversation.

Try Canada!, Lower tuition, better value for the American / Euro dollar.

IDAHO IS DIRT CHEAP!

i think its worth the extra money for a good education though but i suppose that depends on what your looking for. my suggestion is to go for a school you will be happy with and figure out funding later. cali schools will give u instate tuition after one year of residency and u will get a good education from UCLA, Berkeley, and the rest of the UCs. I am at a Ivy right now and funding was a big consideration when deciding. I had to decide between several schools when considering a grad program, some giving a full rides while others gave me nothing. I went for the best program for me and although it was the most expensive i still feel it was the best decision. if you look and ask the money is there, whether in the school or through private scholarships, u just have to look for it. TA positions and work-study also helps minimize the cost of a good education.

Its not really for me, i was just curious. I was wanting to hear some numbers and compare to what im paying now.

Im already at a university.

UCLA and UC Berk are really cheap public schools with good programs...

for grad programs... (i'm quoting instate resident tuition)

UCLA quotes $7500 for a year + school fee
http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/fees/grad.htm
about the same for berkeley
http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Registration/feesched.html


opposed to something like Harvard GSD which quotes
$46,000 per year...

oops... that's quoted at
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/admissions/financial_aid/costs.html

How about Cooper Union?
http://www.cooper.edu
That's a full scholarship program.

man archituregeek.... i cant believe nobody mentioned that... but if I recall Cooper Union is only good for a B.Arch

I think the cheapest schools are state schools that are in relatively rural areas. State school tuition, especially BArch is cheaper. Smaller cities also have much lower cost of living than large cities. Mid-west and mountain states are probably cheapest, at least as I'm told. Then again what's cheapest for you mostly depends on where you are now and the ability to score the all important in-state tuition rates.

Some inexpensive places, as far as I know in a somewhat dated sense, all of which I've worked with graduates of, and all have well respected programs. Not the publicity of a GSD, but not schools unheard of on the coasts either.

Iowa State - Ames IA
Kansas State - Manhattan KS
Montana State - Bozeman MT
North Dakota State - Fargo ND
Univ Illinois - Urbana-Champaign IL

I'd agree with the sentiment about going to UC schools. they are definitely cheaper than most private schools (about 1/4th the tuition). I think the level of work coming out of Berkeley has been really excellent and is getting better dramatically with new equipment (laser cutter) and all the open space to make. That being said, I think you should apply to the fancy private schools as well because certain schools are very generous with need-based scholarship that will greatly offset the price. You won't know if you can get it unless you apply.