jasoncross I understand it does this but what a way to discove you want to be an architect.

greed and passion. a dangerous mix.

Vado

write me a song...sweet love song...please????

sheet i dont do nothing for free...

i just graduated from UC M.Arch...had multiple interviews in NYC and LA...had offers from 3 starchitects...i turned them all down and went with the more satisfying firm monetarily and the one that is allowing me to actually design full on...

I asked in interviews about ivy grads vs public grads....it doesn't matter, it's all about who you know...that being said, the profs at ivy's might have more connections than the profs at publics...but UC has just as many as the ivy's...trust me....

betamax,

your question is not as simple as it seemed at first glance and there are other things to consider about your choices...


first off, you're deciding between and URBAN DESIGN degree and an ARCH. degree...which would you prefer to do? since it is post-professional, you must already have an architecture undergrad. do you want to expand your horizons w/ the UD or go deeper into architecture.


also, Urban designers and architects make much different salaries, and i can tell you from what i've heard the urban designers make more money (10k more than arch from what a few little birds have told me) straight out of school than the architects w/ equivalent degrees

that may partly be that a lot of people w/ MAUD go into corporate firms because that's where the UD jobs are (unless you want to do more interesting UD then you go to a landscape firm) but even within these corporate firms there is about a 10k differential between arch and ud people

so, you have to make some choices...

also, if you're in it for the money, i would refer to the above statement about the MBA...

snooker,

who is bringing us the cutting edge stuff?

it's IV league for the roman numeral IV, meaning the first 4 original colleges in the US. Other schools are biters and assume their "IVY" league status, which is a crock of shit.

I make the same salary as kids who graduated from Columbia and I can actually draw by hand.

It's your skillsets, not your degree that matters.

I agree with some of the comments that it is dependant on the person not the school how successful you will be, but you cannot tell me that there is better opportunity for that person at Yale as opposed to Ball State, not a shot at ball state, but most ivies have better faculty and resources just a fact.

Your skillz... and ability to network are key to moving you forward...

Something I noticed... there are certain office that only hire IVY...

Something else... you are who youhang out with... or what you learn... choose the school based on your interest. What they teach or promote should challenge you... or be of interest to you...
A NAME may open some doors to interviews but it will not guarantee a job...

odb is right. MAUD v. M.Arch, not Harvard v. UC. I missed that when I first posted. Why are you going back to grad school?

my initial idea was to go either MAUD at GSD or combined MSArch w/ specialization in Urban Studies and MArch from UC. i got a call from a prof. at GSD last night wondering if i had any questions...we discussed the flexibilty of the MAUD program concerning studio options and what other classes one could take throughout the GSD. It seems like a right fit for someone with intersts which span between urban and architectural form...which is right up my alley. The MSArch/MARCH option at UC is pretty separated I think... I have a feeling Im leaning closer and closer to MAUD.

and that's a much better reason to choose a school than 'prestige'!

im going back to school because a) i want the option to teach and b) working for others just isn't working for me...not that i haven't enjoyed my jobs...i need some time to reconfigure where im headed. eventually i will teach and have my own operation.

Then I agree, GSD. (You do have a B.Arch, correct?)

yeah B.Arch

I usually try to avoid bashing uc having gone there as an undergrad and been reasonably happy with it, but believe me, if you have any interdisciplinary interests, i.e. would be taking classes outside of daap, then the university as a whole matters, and believe me the resources at uc will not even compare to those at harvard....

regarding the pay issue. as everyone says, ivy degree does not equal higher salary, but it does equal more opportunities... its all about how much you put the degree to use... pimp it, if i may

cool. i've always heard so much ivy league bashing as far as the worthfulnessosity (can't think of a word) of going to one of those schools...it seems like through my research they ARE actually worth the experience if nothing else and ...hey...you only live once

I saw that Matt Damon movie and learned college is for suckers. A library card is all you need.

how exactly does it offer more opportunities? are firms coming to the school and recruiting or is it assumed that if you have a degree from an ivy that you are going to get more interviews? now in some fields this is probably true. for example, a person looking for a tenure track position in academia usually needs an ivy or better pedigree to get an interview at any college. as far as this industry is concerned, i am not convinced its the case.

It absolutely is the case if your talking about getting into the 'high design' end of the industry. As mentioned before, some starchitect's offices only hire GSD or ivy graduates.

...or if your coming from a state school you better come highly recommended from someone in the 'inner circle'

"A" students teach and the "B" students work for the "C" students.

There's a joke about the president in there somewhere...

Instead of putting so much time and energy into schools and rankings why not put more effort into becoming a better designer. If you don't have talent Harvard isnt going to help you.

MDLER WAS HERE

If you go to an Ivy league school, you can become a gentleman architect and people will just throw cash at you without having to lift a finger.

your mom goes to college.

if you want to spend a lot of time repaying your student loan, go ivy (or you are a trust fund baby), or go state. imho, thats the only difference.

im facing this very question right now, i think the choice comes down to personal accomplishment rather than salary. i for one, would not be happy at my state school, and when a chance to attend one the most elite schools comes around, i wont let something like money get in the way, there is always a way to make it, even for architects.

I think the experience you get at an ivy league school is much better than that of a state school. This is coming from a lot of my peers who transferred from a state school. They say that the students at ivy league schools work much harder and the studio environment is better. the school treats you very nice as well

I agree with mental. I don't like the idea of spending the rest of my life thinking, "Yeah, State U was pretty good, but I wonder how things would have worked out if I had gone to Cornell when I had the chance."

L.I.G.,

that is something i have been weighing heavily since i received my acceptance letter...will I regret not going to GSD when I had the chance? It has definitely influenced my decision.

I am more or less 98% going GSD next fall. Throughout the whole decision process I have been intimidated, nervous, anxious, excited, and whenever I think about it my little tummy vibrates inside. At times near vomitous. Anyone else get these feelings before or after making this decision? Is there like a support group or something? Vomitous Graduate Candidates Anonymous (VGCA)? oy...

beauty is the ability to communicate sexiness...

it comes down to conjecture- how good are you at BS. this comes in handy when you are negociating that salary figure.