I went to Michigan for undergrad and loved it. Our studio classes were small (about 8 - 11 people per studio prof) and there are tons of resources available. The fabrication lab is one of the best in the country and there are tons of classes to help students use it. The professors are all excellent and they get outside reviewers (sometimes pretty high profile) to come in regularly. In my experience and from what I've heard from a lot of other people is that scholarships are pretty available; I had a full ride for undergrad and I knew of at least a few grad students that had the same. The studios are huge, there's three main studio areas taking up the entire third floor of the building (about the size of a football field) and they're separated in to smaller studio groups by lines on the floor so you can see everything that's going on around you. I really liked the open environment but some people found it distracting. Ann Arbor is a ridiculously fun place to live, although fairly expensive. The studios are on North Campus, a ten minute bus ride from Central but you can live there if you want to be in a quieter environment. 

Washington State has a very strong architecture program with a top-notch technical foundation. The college-town atmosphere of Pullman is a lot of fun, and you can spend your latter year(s) at the Spokane design campus, which has a great interdisciplinary vibe. I got a very high value for cost out going there, even against the much higher-prestige but much more expensive schools I also got accepted to but declined in favor of Wazzu. Alumni networking is also strong. If you have any intention of building a career in Seattle or the Pacific Northwest, it's hard to do better.

gwharton, I bet you got crunk to the Pullman song, didn't you?

That's a little after my time. =)

i think there are a couple thousand threads that discuss this topic

mdler: Yeah I realize that, but I guess my abilities to search for them isn't good enough, because I could not find much information about some of the more specific information I mentioned, like quality of facilities, studio atmosohere, etc. Most of the information I found was about which program was "better" than the other and mentioned the same few pieces of information that you can most likely find on the school's website. Also half the schools I mentioned are extremely lacking in information in the threads, at least to my search skills they are. Especially Washington State, UW Seattle, UT Arlington, and somewhat Arizona state.

BlackandBlue: thanks for the info, The one thing I actually have heard before about the studios at michigan was about the very large and open. That doesnt really mater to me though, unless they are right next to freshman undergrad studios, which in my experience, they can be really annoying late at night. 

gwharton: that awesome, thanks. I am having a hard time finding much information at all about Washington state. But I really liked what I saw on the website, which is why im interested.

btw, I think I forgot to mention that I have a BA of Environmental design and Im looking to apply into an MArch program.

You'd be surprised how receptive professors at the schools you listed above can be to "cold emails". Seriously, email a professor whose expertise aligns with your goals in grad school and try to gain some insight into the program. If they completely blow you off then maybe you wouldn't want to work with them in the first place. But a carefully-worded, concise email can do wonders to not only figure out if a school is right for you but it can also give you an inside tract to a generous aid package. 

Best of luck and Gig' Em

try looking for the school blogs here on Archinect

LITS: yeah I was thinking about that as well as giving a call to the department at each school to establish contact and get more info. I guess you recognized my username. Its good to see fellow ag on the site. what class are you?

Peter: yeah to be honest I totally forgot about those, thanks.

Calls can be tough because you kind of put people on the spot and they're first reaction is to say..."just look at our website"...

I'm not an official Aggie, I went to another grad program in Texas. I've just been dating one forever. 

Hmm....yeah I didnt think of it that way. I guess if Im going to call it would be prudent to have very specific questions that they could answer in more detail than the website. 

Oh I see. By "another" program are you referring to UT?

I lost my awesome comment with the site having problems with the commenting so rather than typing it all again, here are the bullet points...

• gwharton speaks the truth about WSU: good town, good value, good connections
• As an Idaho alum, I can't pass up the opportunity to plug their program. Especially since it's so close to WSU. You should check it out as well.
• Idaho alumni outnumber WSU alumni in the firms I'm familiar with here (... just throwing it out there)
• WSU leans toward CM and Engineering, Idaho leans art and design (also focuses on sustainable stuff and has a strong AIAS involvement if you want that.) Check out both and see which one you like better.
• Pullman and Moscow are great college towns, but both offer opportunities to study in larger cities, Spokane and Boise, for your later years.
• If you come to check out either program, look me up. I'm happy to show you around town and introduce you to some people (students and/or faculty).

yeah Im looking for a good program that has decent out-of-state tuiton, a good college town atmosphere (not to interested in living in huge city right now), and good resources, faculty and facilities as well. Thanks for the info. I plan to visit the final few schools I decide to apply to. So if do end up visiting I will definitely take you up on that. 

Ann Arbor is the bomb.