Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, San Francisco Institute of Architecture....for the non traditional types.

to tag on to tim sadler's comments above: the ky test is no longer a one-hour, on-site test. now it's a take home deal and is mailed back in. this gives potentials the time to sweat over it, which is both good and bad, but takes away the sort of communal nature of test day, which is a loss.

the change reflects the fact that ky now has much more than the in-state draw it used to have. it was no longer tenable to expect everyone to show up on the same day when students have begun to come from all over the country and beyond. 

steven: that's a bit unfortunate... I loved the energy and competitive spirit of all those people in whitehall doing the same thing but extremely differently... Was like a compressed precursor to the design studios themselves. I took the test twice and both times were incredible experiences... I kinda sliced my hand open on the third portion of the test and had to quit early... something about a blood covered model probably turned the reviewers off....

That being said, how is UK considered a program people hear little about? I mean, they pull some of the biggest movers and shakers in the profession for the Brown Foreman position and if you glance down the archinect news section, there are a bunch of stories about either UK or Kentucky as a state doing pretty great things. A bit unfortunate really that it is still considered a "regional" school with that sort of buzz. 

That's Chicago: "Joe architect is right. I didn't go to UWM (I went to IIT), but I do have some connections to people at the school and have juried up there many times, and I would say that it is better than UIUC and UMinn in many ways... My only beef with it is the quality of undgraduate students that often apply there, but the grad students are generally pretty good.

UWM is one of those schools where you can get a world-class education, or a crappy education depending on what studios you take, etc"

As someone who did their undergrad at UWM I'd generally agree with Chicago's comments, but perhaps I'll clarify from an insiders perspective.

UW-Milwaukee is the only public architecture school in Wisconsin, so it basically draws in undergrads from the entire state, plus the out-of-staters.  This creates quite a range of talents in the early undergrad years, so quite a lot of "weeding out" is done.  Entrance is entirely based on grades/exams (high school grades, SAT/ACT, transfer grades), as far as I am aware, so that leaves a lot of leeway as far as actual design talent goes.

I do certainly remember looking at a few of my fellow students projects early on and thinking, "Wow, that is terrible" but also, "Wow, that's cool".  I guess if nothing else it gives students the opportunity to see what not to do first hand.

I will agree somewhat with the "depending on what studios you take" comment by saying, yes, that is a factor, but also which professors are teaching which studios and when.  Some professors excel in early studios but just don't offer as much at the upper levels, while others are the opposite.  The first example that comes to mind are the sophomore studios, I feel some of the professors that have taught them have really dropped the ball, trading in creativity for conformity, however some the studios they teach for undergrad seniors/grad students are excellent.

Anyway, good discussion, I stopped coming to Archinect for awhile because all I saw were threads about getting into Harvard/Yale/Columbia/(insert your favorite top ranked school here).  There are, what, 123 architecture schools in America, and yet reading this forum you'd think there were only 20.

There is or used to be Umbau School of Architecture in Staunton, VA. I was following them via their website since inception, but I haven't seen any updates for quite some time.

what about savannah college of art and design?

i've visited savannah a few times and seen some of their facilities and work and it looks like a pretty cool program.

Washington State University... WSU... I've worked with some great graduates from the school... Architects and contractors...

University of Arizona has got to have some of the best facilities out there!!!

http://cala.arizona.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=372&Itemid=195

Any input on LSU?

Lebossman - I wouldn't be so quick to throw CU-Boulder under the bus especially if you don't know anything about it. The 4 yr program which leads to a BA in environmental design gives you a solid foundation to go onto a professional program. A good friend of mine graduated from the program and went onto get his M Arch at Columbia University.  After seeing his work, I would put the program up against any other state school pre professional program.

-- CU - Denver has the professional programs  for those interested in Colorado.

I am going to CU Denver in the fall, it seems like a good program form my interaction with prior students. Plus they have dual degree's with an M.Arch/MBA or M.Arch/MLA or M.arch/MUP. They seem to do a great deal of international  travel, in the program. They are working on a really interesting dual degree program with a university in Shanghai, which would be great, Shanghai  is a fun city.  But overall the professors all seem to be extremely friendly and helpful so far, and you are in Colorado which has mountains for biking and skiing which is certainly a factor. Plus it's a state school so it is much cheaper than the snobby private schools I got into.

If you want to find out what school to go, I would recommend doing the summer program DIS in Copenhagen, Denmark. The program attracts architecture students from all over the US and helps you to understand what skills each program is teaching their students. In addition, it is just a fun program overall and they have a great urban theory and urban studio class. It is a great way to put architecture students from all schools all right next to each other and help figure out where you might fit in best.

Keep in mind that some schools may only have one or 2 students in the program and that is no way of getting an idea of how the whole program at their school is. After all, one cannot judge a school just on one or two students.

@btpayne, I agree..anything on LSU at all? It's so cheap..but I can't find much on the program.

Washington State. Excellent program with strong technical curriculum and solid design program.

I am still chortling over the name Roger Schluntz from the first page...