I'm a former LAIAD student and just finished my first year of my M.Arch. In my opinion, the school is excellent. My experience at LAIAD was both helpful in preparing me to study architecture and helping me practically get into a masters program.

Their projects introduce students without backgrounds in architecture to design fundamentals through creating design narratives from systematic parameters. They are rigorous in systematic design, model construction, and diagrammatic presentation. These projects not only prepare you mentally and academically but they also add content to your portfolio. Their training in 3D modeling software and Adobe Illustrator was also important preparation for the M.Arch. I found myself spending very little time on digital troubleshooting and this past year which leaves more time for projects. Not to mention letters of recommendation from architects and architecture instructors were also very helpful! 

In addition, two other LAIAD alums are in my program and it has been clear that the foundation that was set for us at LAIAD has been a tremendous help in familiarizing us with the design process, architectural world, and practical digital skills. 

While I did not receive financial aid, I am pretty certain a few of my classmates did. Questions about that would probably be best directed to the program directors.

In short, it's very good!

Excellent jennifer! Thanks for the info. If you do not mind me asking, what M.Arch program are you in now? Where did your other classmates go?

I went to LAIAD for the undergrad program and got into Pratt (partial scholarship), UT Austin, USC and Cal Poly Pomona.

Other grads got into USC, SCI-Arc, Woodbury, UCLA, GSAAP and GSD. Some with substantial scholarships. Needless to say, if you play your cards right and dedicate yourself to developing a good portfolio here, the sky is the limit. 

Worst case scenario, you decide architecture is not for you within a few weeks and dodge a bullet.