Graduate School Window Shopping!

Umm I am from New York who wen to Parsons and going to school in New York is definitely  great but it also depends on what are you aiming for. Cooper only has MARCH 2 so it means you have to have a degree done. I know Pratt is very theoretical while Parsons is more Design and social environmental .

The schools are definitely not cheap with Columbia topping the chart with 65 k (tuition only I believe), Pratt and Parsons run around 45 to 50 K

Yikes! =S

Are there any Architecture Schools that are cheaper in terms of Tuition?...and good in terms of caliber (lol I'm asking something that sounds unlikely)

I'm Canadian, so from talking to one of my professors there is a lack of diversity and quality of architecture schools in Canada, there's alot of quality schools in the US...but the tuition is more worse compared to Canada.

I don't wanna abandon my dreams and goals (I need to get an accredited M.Arch degree as my Bachelors in Architectural Science is not accredited).

How is CCNY? I know they have a M.Arch Degree. (I'm not sure of the post secondary system in the US, apparently there are private and public, and another professors said that state universities are way cheaper than Pratt and Parsons.)

Different schools call their master's different things; basically for Master's there are:"first-professional degrees" for those with little or no background in architecture, a "first professional degree" for those with undergraduate backgrounds in architecture, and "post-professional degrees" for those with a previous accredited professional degree in architecture. Some schools keep all the "first professional" students together and give various waivers on courses for those who studied architecture as an undergraduate.

There are private schools (run independently of the government) and state (partially funded by states through their budgets -taxes).  Private schools have been traditionally more expensive, though the last 10yrs has closed the gap.  State schools offer lower tuition for "residents" while out-of-state and international students usually pay more.  In general, private schools have more money to work with, and therefore can often have better financial aid (scholarships/fellowships, etc).

New York schools are expensive, and the cost of living there is easily double some smaller cities so keep that in mind.  Take some time to look at schools and how their tuition/scholarships are structured, maybe there are ways to lower cost (unfortunately a lot of scholarships require you to be a US citizen).  I believe CCNY is a pretty good program, being able to draw from the NYC talent pool to teach.  It may be worth your time to meet faculty that have taught elsewhere to get broader advice.