@archicowboy

Yale's M.Arch programme, in my view is one of the best there is. They have a highly interactive and inter-disciplinary pedagogy (within the M.Arch programme) that is similar to Princeton. If you go through the list of people that teach at Yale, you'll see a lot of contradictions. People like Massimo Scholari teach along side people like Greg Lynn. Not to mention Eisenman/ Krier. Yale has an exceptionally strong roster of visiting professors including Tod Williams, Bjarke Ingels (last semester) etc. all of whom offer studios. Therefore at Yale, you have studios that deal exclusively with digital tools and fabrication (Lynn etc) at the same have studios that are very theoretical and deal with time and history layers. Also, the facilities at Yale, including Rudolph hall and the fabrication labs are perhaps the best in the United States. 

Columbia, on the hand is slightly more defined, in terms of its ideological direction with a focus on experimenting with digital methods. The facilities at Columbia are definitely inferior to the facilities Yale SOA offers. But then, being located in NYC makes up for a lot these shortcomings. 

i'm going through the exact same dilemma at the moment, I hope there will be more conversation on this topic.

I'll post my own opinions a bit later, but something which I find helps a lot is to research the faculty of both schools and read up on their writings, if you have access to any. I also had the prejudice of Yale being a more oldschool or even formalist school, but as was mentioned before, their faculty really is diverse and includes architects and thinkers from all sides of the spectrum... While I'm still convinced that the environment at Yale is not as experimental (and definitely not as digitally-inclined) as the GSAPP, you have the opportunity to go down that route if you want to.

But yes, New Haven (and really, most other cities) blows compared to New York. On the other hand you have to ask yourself how often you'll actually be able to get out of Morningside Heights and see any interesting part of New York while you're in studio-mode...

I am also having to make the same choice. I really admire GSAPP's experimental direction, but as an undergraduate architecture major at Columbia I would be concerned that spending seven years at the same school might not provide me with the broadest possible education. I am interested in both the parametric/digital/networks contemporary side of architecture and also more old-school approaches, including a specific interest in formalism, so I could really see myself benefitting from different aspects of each school. The craft/building aspect of architecture has always been my area of weakness, so Yale's building project might be really good for me.

My major reservation about Yale is that it seems, as others have noted, more conservative - I haven't found any classes at Yale specifically focusing on networks, for example, and the dean's statement contains lines like "In too many schools students and teachers now seem disinterested in building, distracted by cyberspace and a search for ways to transform the art of building into something else." As someone who *is* very interested in how the internet could transform architecture, that position seems unnerving to me. I hope that Yale's larger commitment to idea-diversity means that I could still have the opportunity to explore some of those ideas ... has anyone had firsthand experience with that?

The thing is the digital personas at Yale now are kind of has-beens compared to the people at Columbia.

With someone like Stern as dean of Yale you have a variety of discussions, among people that are more about "building". Some dismiss these debates as a distraction to ideas they want to pursue, and therefore favor the more experimental setting Columbia has. 

It would be a good idea to base your decision upon where your interests are, not upon who has better laser cutters/desk space. And definitely be faculty-specific

People definitely don't attend Columbia because of their facilities, that is for sure.

@ Building

Yes it is. The only reason I would possibly turn down Columbia is because their facilities and the avery hall itself. If GSAPP has a department like gund hall or rudolph hall, it would be the best architecture school in the world. 

@snail hah, i'm also a columbia undergrad kid... and i think we share a lot of the same concerns and frustrations about yale. if you want to chat about this off of archinect I'd love that... send me an e-mail: superstarchitect@yahoo.com

i'll also be at both open houses, hopefully this well help the decision.

Personally I would possibly choose GSAPP. I don't see Yale and Columbia have any difference of their name, either in architecture and overall, they are both super prestigious and internationally renowned. You will have tons of opportunities to live in the city and take advantage of the capital of the world. I also heard lots of columbia kids get chance to work in their professors' office, and columbia has a better employment rate. 

So, from an old codger (20 years out of Yale SOA), my experience getting out of school was wishing I knew more about "building" (you know, how a building actually gets put together) than about any theoretical language.  You can soak up all the trendy theory you want from any school, but it sure feels nice not to feel clueless when asked to draw details as an intern.  Unless you can skip over all that, or you've had construction experience.