COME ON>>>>>>THERE MUST BE SOMEONE OUT THERE

ECA was easy- they let me in- but i didnt go though....its grim up north

soul..Mao is right .its no big deal to get into univs in England and scotland.
The USA is much tougher for admissions IMHO.
I got thru 7 univs in england/scotland (including the 2 most talked abt star architecture schools)...I got my VISA ,was abt to pack up and fly off and then........I awoke !

where's signum?

THANKS MAN, GUYS.

But seriously, u gotta be pulling my leg. U mean mackintosh school of architecture and Edinburgh college of art are both easy to get in? Dude, i'm talking about getting admission into the Bachelor of Architecture studies part 1, not some masters degree.


Nevermore and Mao would you mind elaborating PLEASE?

T

i think soulikeit is a little excitable.

Write some nice things, sound interesting and hey presto- time for an interview. I think the Mac is harder, and the whole USA thing isnt entirely true- its easy for anyone foreign to get into uk universities because they equal a cash cow for underfunded universities- so the less qualified are likely to get places for that reason alone.
And because the dropout rate in 1st year is relatively high for BA/Bsc courses they give out quite a few places- not that it will be totally easy- but if you are going to become an architect- it shouldnt be a big problem.

very very insightful chairman mao. Didn't think about the cashcow concept. How do u know so much btw? are u from Mac? or do u know anyone from the mac?

a, I have fingers in many pies
b, No,
c, Yes but in Diploma

tell me more about c and uhmm,,,,,,,,,,,,, maybe 'a' too.

so is university of glasgow(mac) considered an underfunded uni?

if it is, i will be laughing my way to the moon.

a. Yes
b. maybe, gotta check with my option c from my previous reply
c. no, but gotta check my statistics

soulikeit - email me. I study in Glasgow and live in Edinburgh.

The Mac is overrated, all british universities are underfunded. And some are easy to get into, some are not (edinburgh university for example)

I'm performing CPR on this one. so please comment intelligently please.

so no one knows anything about a british architectural education? not confined to the mac and edinburgh to say the least?

yes go to london the streets are paved with gold......

and it has great architecture schools.

hey chairman mao,

are u yourself a graduate of an British architecture school?

could u tell me where u are from please?????????

fine then! All british architecture schools are pap, stay where you are, please :-)

Come on everyone (signum esp), why everyone crapping on UK arch schools? Underfunded, yes. Easy to get into? Maybe, so they can get your money, but then they flunk you just as easily if you suck.
I've done my Part 1 in the UK, in an admiteddly fairly pappy school (I name no names), and am now studying randomly in Barcelona, where my contemporaries are from all over the planet, and although I'm impressed by the work ethic from these other places, I the impression I've got comparatively from the education I've got so far from the UK compared to the others is that it's been more imaginative, open, and critical to say the least... only an impression though.
I say study in London - it has 7 schools, all pretty decent, with differnet approaches, and an immense amount of interesting lectures from all the interesting mofos who pass through town regularly, never mind everything else in London.
As far as Glasgow goes, I don't know... It IS grim up north

pretty posts we are getting so far

soulikeit, frankly your attitude doesn't deserve any proper advice!

Shambloks, London is nice, for those of us who can afford it.

Glasgow rocks, London is grim.

I like both though!

signum, i have no idea what u are talking about.

i was just saying that we are having pretty good posts on this thread from chairman mao, shambloks and you.

alright then. A BIG THANK YOU to all those who replied to this post. I mean it.

do i really need to get down on my knees?

wow.. where was I when this thread started

I havent applied to the GSA nor do I know how hard it is to get in..HOWEVER I did look into applying there for grad school (before I found out that you have to have an undergrad arch degree to get your masters)

When i was in Scotland this past summer for an architectural conservation field school, we went and toured the GSA, primarily to examine what i think is an architectural masterpeice (C.R.Mackintosh contributed a whole hell of a lot more to the world than just the raincoat.. thats for sure). I got to see the arch. studios and they are very spacious and inviting. The students I talked to were so enthusiastic about their program and its collaborative nature that before I left I actually asked where I could find an application!

Glasgow itself isn't too thrilling, at least it sure didnt seem like it the one day I was there. Aberdeen is FAR more exciting and Edinburgh is a close second. everything in Glasgow just seemed opressive, with GSA as the rare shining light. This is my opinion, but I'd rather go to Edinburgh if I were to go to a huge scotch city.

Hope this at least helped.... I think i was just excited to talk about the GSA... sorry :-/

so where did u finish ur part 1 2 and 3 laxch11

i havent done any....Im going to be starting at Texas A&M for my M.Arch this august, I graduated in '05 w/ a BA degree in Historic Preservation. After graduation I went on the field school and fell in love w/ Scotland and started looking at getting my M.Arch there, but since I didnt get a B.Arch here in the states, i wasnt eligible for their M.Arch programs. My goal, however, is to move to Britain after graduation from Arch school and work toward becoming RIBA licensed.... so much more preservation for me to do over there than here, and they actually care about historic architecture over there unlike here, where they look at it as disposable... but thats another subject for another day....

so is anyone online from the GSA or is doing a Barch at the AA?

if u are, please put up a post then

In line with current global best practice I would say that the American schools are far superiour as is the population at large. Please do not invade us as we have little oil and our gas supply is running out.

Cheers
The UK

are u yourself from the GSA? do u know anyone from there?

No qualified from there but I have visited. Good things have been said about GSA and Glasgow itself is the hip place in Scotland not The Royal Borough! - Unless you are a tourist.

u know anyone from the GSA?

GSA!
GSA!
GSA!

Look, just like the AA has a reputation beyond it's reality - so does the Mac - all it has in reality is a cool name - or so I hear.

GSA!

AA!

GSA!

AA!

are u from the GSA? signum?

No I'm from it's poorly named cousin (but of roughly equal (but different) quality) - Strathclyde Department of Architecture.

But if a name is important to you...I would understand, I wince at the above name anyway, and no one has heard of it.

Grays at Aberdeen University is on a lovely campus by the river. The issue with Aberdeen is the lack of daylight in the winter (though in the summer it is the opposite).

Glasgow is a great city. Do not be put off.

Edinburgh is made for tourists, though I have relatives there who (study architecture and) have a great time.

Nottingham has a good Arch school, a great campus in walkable distance from a buzzy city centre.

Bath apparently does a fairly technical Arch course in a (small-ish conservative but) very pretty city.

London rules, but you need to be well-funded/on top of your game to survive.

The UK is an excellent place to be.

I concur with PsyArch, that all tallies with what I've heard.

I think London is doable on a lowish budget... but only part time. I'm applying to London Met next year for part 2, and going to work part time as well. I'm hoping I should just about survive for 3 years on the meagrest of incomes (+full time work during holidays)... Has anyone else attempted this? Am I being unrealistic? Is this response hijacking the discussion?

If your doing undergrad i'd suggest you go somewhere other than london.
You dont get the type of student experience in london that you do in smaller more closeted cities where theres a real student commuity, esp with regards studio atmosphere. Stduio space in london is riduculous and stupid as it sounds i really buzzed off being in a studio with 40 other over caffeineated students at 4.30am, that sort of thing doesn't really happen down here. Most people where i am (bartlett) work at home and when i interviewed at the AA they pretty much said the same.

Saying that, in london you get access to a range of resources and people that you just dont get anywhere else in the country and the environment is far more competetive. Studying in london makes studying elsewhere seem quite parochial, i have close friends who studied at Bath and Manchester agree.

I did my undergrad at edinburgh (uni not ECA) and yes on the surface it is a bit of a biscuit tin tourist city but stay there for longer than a tourist and you'll find thats just the surface. The edinburgh uni arch department is great, had quite a theoritical undergrad under some fantastic tutors.

Glasgow is a hip city, cant really say much about the GSA other than from what my friends who did their undergrad there said which generally is that they had a great time in the city but that the mac is a bit dull, alot of Boxitecture.

check out the websites see what sort of work you like.

anyone anyone??????????

It's true about London, as per many other posts.

There are free-to-attend lectures at all the schools, RCA, AA, Bartlett, Met, Westminster, even Greenwich. There is also the Building Centre, RIBA, and all the resources that they offer. London is amazing. In no other British town will you see how a global city functions (though even in London if you don't have your head up you will miss it).

There is plenty of work to be had on a part-time basis, from waiting tables to bicycle couriering.

You can live on practically nothing, though must eschew eating out, public transport, glamour clubbing etc.

If you are studying hard, you won't miss the things that you can't afford, and there is much to do for free that will blow your mind. Even strolling from Borough to Borough is an education in social politics, economic history, space syntax, blah blah blah.

London gives me a hard-on every day. She is my lover. I ride her like she was in the movies.

Thanks for the advice

very interesting