Hi:

Only you can answer this.  Can you shadow landscape architects?  Can you talk to some?  Can you develop some graphic skills in the time?

While I could do engineering, it's not really me.  But you have been able to propel yourself through most of a BS in Environmental Engineering with excellent grades.  That says something about your work ethic, intelligence, and general aptitudes.

I do not know what grad school in environmental engineering entails, but do know that graduate engineering school on top of the same engineering discipline is usually shorter, based on the civil engineers I know.  Evidently, you do know that the MLA is 3 years, and not any more than that, when you have an unrelated degree, though yours is somewhat related.  Also, as for the financial aspects, many state schools have MLA programs.  If there is not a program in your state, then an adjacent or nearby state school's program will usually extend "good neighbor" tuition rates in such a case.

Only you know what your current and prospective abilities are.  That means you need to weigh the variables and make that determination. 

I'm weighing in because I had an interesting MLA "option" which would have prevented me from relocating prior to M.Arch., and didn't require a refresher on calculus nor any physics, and those who knew me told me that I'd always been interested in buildings more so than public or outdoor spaces. 

Good luck in evaluating the variables.

You could look into say cornell mla program it is in the college of agriculture and science with the environmental engineering degree. Maybe you can do both and get some cross  over in your specialization for mla and your focus in  engineering allowing credit for both degrees. Landscape is really interesting at the macro scale not so much for me at the planting scale so I choose architecture and additionally cornell has a great program I looked into there and went to open house however chose to go into a standard m.arch. You do not need  a 4.0 at all I got in with decent grades but put together a well composed and graphically interesting portfolio i recommend taking drawing and 3d design or some design art courses as you finish you bs. 

@observant: Thank you. I know, only I know what I am truly capable of. I think if I did a masters in engineering, it would be 3 years as well since my BS is in environmental science and not engineering. I'd probably have to catch up by taking some basic engineering courses first year. I've been looking more into the environmental engineering field, and I'm just not sure I'm all about engineering. I can do chemistry and physics, and I understand both, but I really don't enjoy chemistry. I'm good at calculus, but I don't really feel any passion for math. And I'm really intrigued by the aesthetic side of things. Again, I just don't have much design background right now. 

@Beepbeep: Thank you, I will definitely look more into their program. And, as I just said, I don't have a big design background. I was thinking of taking my school's landscape architecture design I course, the one that freshmen BLA students take just to get a taste for that. And I'm probably going to take woody landscape plants too, in the horticulture department. The problem is that if I want to go straight into grad after graduating, I'd have to apply this coming fall while taking those classes.

And I'm still concerned about funding. I actually noticed that there are also accredited MLA programs in Canada, and I noticed that international student tuition is actually lower than many out-of-state tuitions for programs in the US. I'm going to school in Arkansas right now, and we have a BLA program, but there is no accredited MLA program in the state. I'm from Texas, but I really am not wanting to go back there. I was wanting to move to the coast somewhere, somewhere farther north. 

Also, the full name of my major is Environmental, Soil & Water Science, so there's a big concentration on soil and water systems. I've actually been reading about how environmental restoration is a focus of landscape architecture that has been growing a lot in recent years, and I'm very interested in that considering how my major crosses over with that.

And I've been getting all worked up because I realize that an MLA is 3 years and I feel like I want to go straight into grad school after graduating this coming year if the program's going to be that long. But I realize that if I'm going to take these classes and explore my interest and work on my design and graphic skills, it would probably be more beneficial to take a year and develop these basic skills and build a portfolio. 

It's just, if I really do get more and more into landscape architecture I want to jump in and get started on my professional training as soon as I can. Because it's exciting. But I don't want to stress myself out by having to get all of this in by January. Also, I started my undergrad thesis recently and I'm still just in the beginning stages. I'm not totally sure what the specific nature of it is going to be, but it involves the synthesis of sustainability and public art all centered around the idea of placemaking (relating the works to the ecology of the region and local sustainability initiatives). It seems kind of funny that this is what I'm working on considering I am a BS student, but I've just been doing what I am most interested in doing. I won't be finished with it until next April at least, and I feel that presenting that in my porfolio would really boost my application.

What do you guys think?

If you're currently in a program that has a thesis, you've got a GRE to take, you're trying to create a portfolio while acquiring the skills to do it, and you're trying to find a MLA program that fits you, then rushing this and going straight through will not be beneficial to you.  That's MY opinion and I can't run your life.  There is no way I could have gone from a completely unrelated B.S. (in my case) to M.Arch. without taking some art classes, traveling, maturing and becoming more confident.  The average entry age to MLA 3 or M.Arch. 3 is about 27 +/-, from what I've been told, so one year means nothing.

observant is right here.. no need to rush into the program. After weighing many options, I decided in my senior year of undergrad arch not to applying to grad school right away. The big projects, need to take GRE, get a portfolio together, etc. was too overwhelming to balance with trying to do my best in school. I also talked to many younger faculty (who went straight through) and many of them said they wished they had taken some time off to do something a little different.

I took 3 years off and am entering a MArch program this fall, and I couldn't be happier that I took the time to mature (get my life together) and learn more. It will only make you a better student when you enter. I too was woken up when I heard the average age in most programs was 28... I think that was the first bit of information that seriously put some doubts into my head as to whether or not applying right after undergrad was a good idea.

Yes, I've been coming to the conclusion that I really do need to wait. I don't even think applying right now is a possibility with everything I have going on. And I am kind of wanting to mature and see more of the world. I have so many friends talking about teaching English in Europe and all these things, and it's making me want to travel. I will probably find some LA firms around here at some point and go conduct informational interviews and things like that just to see what they do. And find organizations out there just doing cool things related to the field. I signed up for a drawing class this summer, so we'll see how that goes too.

And I did not know that the average age for MLA programs was 27/28. That's a big shock to me as well. Thank you, guys, for all of the advice.

Wait some, but not too long.  It really is better to finish grad/professional school before 30, be it M.Arch., MLA, or even JD or MD.  My 2 cents.  The best time to be in grad school is somewhere between 25 and 28.  Again, my 2 cents.  Good luck with this adventure!