I know this might sound like one of the typical "Which school is better" kind of posts, but hear me out. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my case is a little different, non-traditional if you will, sort of scenario. If you have the time, please skim through and I'd be glad to take any sort of advice or even criticism from any of you.

I'm 18 years old and have just barely graduated from high school last year in june of 06, almost a year ago. I've lived in Las Vegas, NV for most of my life, and after graduating there I got a pretty decent scholarship of 10k dollars to attend UNLV (University of Las Vegas, Nevada) for those who have never heard of it, since it's not very well heard of except for the hotel administration program there. Anyways, I've dreamt of being an architect from the age 8, which is like most followers of architecture. It's a passion for me, a hobby even. When other kids were staying up late partying, I was in my room messing around with my pencil and paper. So the education at UNLV wasn't what I wanted out of an architectural education, so I decided to venture Southwest into California, partly also because I got involved in a relationship with a girl who moved down here, but let's not get into details about that. =) . So after skipping a semester to work and support myself financially, I decided to head back to school, so here I am in the middle of the spring semester overloading on units at Pasadena City College.

The problem with my situation is that I've got a few colleges in mind, but all have different credentials and requirements. Among one of them is UC Berkeley and UCLA as a second choice. Keep in mind that this is an undergrad program. The thing about transferring to a UC is that they require at least 60 units to be eligible for transfer, which would take me about 2.5 years, considering they only accept applications in the fall and I started in the spring. I know some people on here graduated from UC Berkeley's undergrad program, so if you could give me any advice as to how the program was layed out, the direction it's taking in terms of theoretical, pragmatic, historical, of conceptual aspects of architecture. Also any info on the school's resources and faculty would be great.

My other option is to apply to schools such as USC and Sci-Arc, where I could apply this fall. The only problem with that is those schools require a portfolio, something that I dont have as of yet. I will surely develop one after taking several arch classes next semester, but that would be after the deadline to apply. Which brings me to this question: Do I need to submit a portfolio at the time of the application (I know it varies depending on certain schools), or do they want it right before the fall semester of starting there to make final admissions decisions? (kind of like what they do with transferred units and classes). I know I could start compiling a portfolio now, but I have no idea where to start, which is why im waiting to take my arch classes which will give me an idea of how to do that. I also personally know an architect who is an alumnus of USC, and he could advocate for me in terms of getting into the arch school. I personally prefer this route instead of the UC route, because I would much prefer going to an actual Arch school as soon as possible rather than taking loose architecture courses at a community college that has no real "program".

So my question is what would you do if you were in my situation? Im going to try and apply to USC and such this fall (given I get a portfolio up and running in time), and if I get in, would it be better going there, or should I wait it out and go to Berkeley's program? If I do that, I would only have 2 years to go at Berkeley, which makes me wonder if it's really worth it, in comparison to about 4 more years at SC or sci-arc and such. I've also kind of took Sci-Arc off my list, at least in terms of undergrad, because Im more of a technical-oriented person rather than conceptual. Another reason why Berkeley is so attractive to me is its M. Arch and M. S. in Structural Engineering joint degree program, because I've also got aspirations for engineering. Ive also ruled out Cal Poly, both of them, because the rural areas of the schools aren't where I want to be. Right now, Berkeley is at the top of my list, but if somehow I get into SC next semester, Ill probably go there. I would just love to be in the bay area rather than LA.

I've got a few questions for the Berkeley grads. First of all, I know they require a pretty impressive academic record for admissions. So Im just curious as to what your grades were. Also, did Berkeley do a good job in terms of preparing you for work or gaining you admission into a good graduate school? This is another reason why I left UNLV, because if I'd gone there I'd be stuck going to their grad program also, because there's no way I would get into anywhere else from that school. Lastly, I've been hearing alot of cases about graduates of the Berkeley program having a hard time looking for jobs. Is this true? And what do you have to say about it?

I know this was a pretty lengthy post, so thanks to all you who have read it. If you have any advice to give, please do so, and it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!