your professional network, interviewing skills and portfolio = extremely important

where your school ranks in a silly ranking system = utterly insignificant

sectionalhealing's opinion is extremely simplistic and plain wrong. a recent grad's professional network is almost ENTIRELY determined by contacts gained from within your program and its city.

In addition, MANY firms will look first, and longer, at applicants from well known programs, or schools that they generally recruit from in their area.

I can emphatically say that it will be more difficult (though certainly not impossible) for you to get in the door at a NYC firm, if you go to UNC-Charlotte, instead of a more recognizable program.

pardon, sectionalhealing, we are in agreement—i read too quickly. i do agree that DI rankings are inconsequential, but going to a well known school versus UNC-Charlotte (which many people in the areas you listed will have never heard of) is definitely a decision of consequence

Jk, obviously what you say doesn't change but would you put NC State on the same plane as UNCC when considering the name recognition in the previously mentioned cities? Or, would a Masters from NC State significantly increase my marketability, all things being equal, when compared to UNCC?

Both are regional degrees; not necessarily bad degrees (I have no means to judge as I am not familiar with either school), but definitely regional. Truthfully, short of an ivy league degree, most degrees are regional degrees. There are a handful of schools outside of the ivies that also have a national reputation - Rice, Auburn, UCLA to name a few, but generally if a resume showed up on my desk, I would have no means of differentiating between NC State and WashU. Not a knock on either of those schools, I simply don't spend my day reading DI rankings.

my experience is in agreement with won's comment.  my application was accepted at two southeastern state universities for their respective pre-arch programs.  

i grew up just outside of manhattan and at the time, was planning to work there after graduation.  to decide which arch school to attend, i called several manhattan architecture firms and asked if it mattered which school i attended in their view.  without exception, all said that while a degree from an ivy may stand out and get an applicant a second look, beyond that, it really does not matter that much as long as the work and the portfolio is competitive.

some firms may exhibit bias for or against certain schools, but that happens everywhere.  I don't think going to a regional school is a problem.  from what I know, both UNC-Charlotte and NC State have strong points -- NC State is definitely more established and has a history of research and outreach, and UNC-Charlotte also has some very good faculty and is an active, evolving program.  

BUT, what may be an issue is that you are considering regional schools in a region other than where you intend to work, in a depressed economy --- you can do it, but you might make your path more difficult than if you spend the next few years at a regional northeast school building your network so that when you graduate you have a better shot at landing a job there.  

^ IMO, these points about "regional vs. national" or "well known vs. not" are waaaay overstated.

I have friends from both UNCC and NC State that are gainfully employed in DC and are doing really well.  There are boatloads of desperate unemployed grads from ivy league schools.  Where you went to school is pretty minor compared to other criteria, such as your skills, a good portfolio, firm "fit" and professional network.

sectional, I agree with you that where you went to school is only one among many factors, but personally, I will take notice of alumni of my university or those with degrees from schools that have a reputation for producing high-quality designers. It doesn't guarantee you a job, but it definitely increases your chances. If you graduate from a school with a regional reputation or alumni-base and leave the region (fwiw I would consider DC to be a part of the SE region), you do not have the same opportunity to connect with employers as you would if you would have stayed in that region. Dwelling on this is perhaps to overstate it, but it does matter.

If your goal is to be in academia at any point of your career, my perception is that the name carries much more weight. I can't really offer much perspective on this end- perhaps others here can. This philosophy is often passed down to students, who may accidentally transpose it to industry as well.
 

"...without exception, all said that while a degree from an ivy may stand out and get an applicant a second look, beyond that, it really does not matter that much as long as the work and the portfolio is competitive."

If your goal is to be in industry, you will find that the overwhelming majority of firms are like this- ours included. I have hired people from state schools over ivys and vice versa. It all depends on your level of competence, how your unique skills will complement our existing skills, whether or not you are competent, if you appear to have potential for instruction and continued growth, and whether or not you are a total prick.

Personally, I pretty much ignore student resumes and go straight to the portfolio. Being a babysitter at a day camp/ being a lifeguard carries more or less the same weight in my eyes as being a summer intern at a starchitect's firm. So goes the name brand degrees and highly ranked versus regional and unranked debate.

A second look at a marginal portfolio doesn't make the portfolio any less marginal.