Recently I have been brought with the desicion wether to attend UT Arlington to finish my B.S. in Arch. or to stay home and finish at Texas Tech Arch. I am asking anyone for advice on this vital desicion. Keep in mind that upon my graduation i would like to apply and attend either SCI ARC, RICE, PRATT, UPENN, UC BERKELEY, you know amongst those ranks. Also i am looking to get my B.S. at a school that is very well known for being DESIGN and THEORETICAL orientated, some where i can learn, and enhance concepts and design abilities, not just become office ready. i have a 3.85 GPA with a 4.0 in my ARCH. COURSES if that plays a factor in anything.
Anything would help and as soon as possible, please. I really need some help with this desicion. Also, just to let you known that money is an issue and i kind of wanted to avoid a full time job so i can concentrate on my studies and designs.
I was not aware that either school gave a B.S in Architecture...I thought they gave only a BArch or a MArch.
From what I understand, both schools would allow you to develop design and theoretical ideas. I suppose these are mostly one in the same. A guy in Grad school with me went to Tech, but he seemed to develop projects more on a functional/programmatic basis rather than from an ''abstract idea to spatial reality'' basis. I am not so sure you can say this is a function of the school entirely, though. Ultimately, this comes down to the interest of the student. If you believe Architecture is more than functionality, no school should prohibit you from developing ideas.
Specifically, I have heard more about UT Arlington than Tech. I have seen more work coming out of that school. In that case, the work out of UT Arlington, in my opinion, encourages exploration, experimentation, new ideas and methods...it considers possibilities rather than settling with constraints.
However, I am sure plenty of people who have gone to Tech would argue that maybe the same can be found there. I know students from both schools have gone onto great programs from MArch degrees.
My personal opinion would be to forget both of them and go to the University of Houston. I think it has one of the best faculties in Texas (in addition to UT Austin and Rice).
The program creates a very interesting mix with Architecture Design, Graphic Design, building science, and Theory to ultimately be put on display in the Design Studio.
i agree with mjh00c, it is really up to you! my last semester i organized a professor to do an independant study with since i was unimpressed with the crop of profs for that semester. the probem with switching schools is that you won't know the profs who will encourage you in the direction you want to go!
you want something...go and get it! it can matter which school, but it always matters which student!
if $$ matters...go with finishing up where you are at! (i am assuming TT?) save your money for grad school. i always recommend to work a year at least betwen UG and GRAD... each of the places you mentioned will be expensive!
more than anything design beautiful projects that will really allow your portfolio to impress! do a competition, extra work...you have to make things theoretical...it can't be spoon fed.
A Psalm for Texas Theory Architecture Student
by xpro
vss. 26-38
On Zither and Lyre
Theory for architecture
preaching to the choir
to keep a building from leaking
can't our motivations be higher?
Come let us reason together
through the comfort of sages
looking for inspiration in sacred texts
we turn the s, m, l, xl pages
Such a young design disciple!
be wary of the ideas of man
honor your own thought processes
just avoid Texas A&M*
selah.
*Some scholars argue that Texas A&M has a fine theoretical school, almost up with cooper onion. according to psalmic tradition the lyric just happened to fit. et al. theoretical schools like to use superfluous under_bars and ]brackets[ in their presentation_posters.
Thank You Everyone, for your words and suggestions. I know now, what should have known before. I guess your right it's not the school, its the student. So again Thank You!
If anyone still has some to say please feel free to, i will continue to check this everyday.
All I have to offer, is that ALL the people I know from Tech are very 'practical.' None of them know their history, or think abstractly. This may be a 'what you put into it' situation, but I get the feeling that these issues are not pushed at Tech.
I am a UTA grad from 25 years ago. I work with lots of people that graduated from both schools and I can't say they are much different in quality. I see little on the practical side from either school, you will learn as much in your first year of a real job than from your degree as far as architecture is concerned. But, you will learn some things in school that you will cherish later in life, intangible things like love of art and literature.
I would suggest staying at home, its much cheaper and familiar unless you just need a change of scenes. You already know what is expected of you at Tech and probably have many freinds already. Why change unless you are unhappy.
Texas Tech Architecture vs. UT Arlington Architecture
Hello Everyone
Recently I have been brought with the desicion wether to attend UT Arlington to finish my B.S. in Arch. or to stay home and finish at Texas Tech Arch. I am asking anyone for advice on this vital desicion. Keep in mind that upon my graduation i would like to apply and attend either SCI ARC, RICE, PRATT, UPENN, UC BERKELEY, you know amongst those ranks. Also i am looking to get my B.S. at a school that is very well known for being DESIGN and THEORETICAL orientated, some where i can learn, and enhance concepts and design abilities, not just become office ready. i have a 3.85 GPA with a 4.0 in my ARCH. COURSES if that plays a factor in anything.
Anything would help and as soon as possible, please. I really need some help with this desicion. Also, just to let you known that money is an issue and i kind of wanted to avoid a full time job so i can concentrate on my studies and designs.
THANK YOU EVERONE
I was not aware that either school gave a B.S in Architecture...I thought they gave only a BArch or a MArch.
From what I understand, both schools would allow you to develop design and theoretical ideas. I suppose these are mostly one in the same. A guy in Grad school with me went to Tech, but he seemed to develop projects more on a functional/programmatic basis rather than from an ''abstract idea to spatial reality'' basis. I am not so sure you can say this is a function of the school entirely, though. Ultimately, this comes down to the interest of the student. If you believe Architecture is more than functionality, no school should prohibit you from developing ideas.
Specifically, I have heard more about UT Arlington than Tech. I have seen more work coming out of that school. In that case, the work out of UT Arlington, in my opinion, encourages exploration, experimentation, new ideas and methods...it considers possibilities rather than settling with constraints.
However, I am sure plenty of people who have gone to Tech would argue that maybe the same can be found there. I know students from both schools have gone onto great programs from MArch degrees.
My personal opinion would be to forget both of them and go to the University of Houston. I think it has one of the best faculties in Texas (in addition to UT Austin and Rice).
The program creates a very interesting mix with Architecture Design, Graphic Design, building science, and Theory to ultimately be put on display in the Design Studio.
i agree with mjh00c, it is really up to you! my last semester i organized a professor to do an independant study with since i was unimpressed with the crop of profs for that semester. the probem with switching schools is that you won't know the profs who will encourage you in the direction you want to go!
you want something...go and get it! it can matter which school, but it always matters which student!
if $$ matters...go with finishing up where you are at! (i am assuming TT?) save your money for grad school. i always recommend to work a year at least betwen UG and GRAD... each of the places you mentioned will be expensive!
more than anything design beautiful projects that will really allow your portfolio to impress! do a competition, extra work...you have to make things theoretical...it can't be spoon fed.
good luck.
A Psalm for Texas Theory Architecture Student
by xpro
vss. 26-38
On Zither and Lyre
Theory for architecture
preaching to the choir
to keep a building from leaking
can't our motivations be higher?
Come let us reason together
through the comfort of sages
looking for inspiration in sacred texts
we turn the s, m, l, xl pages
Such a young design disciple!
be wary of the ideas of man
honor your own thought processes
just avoid Texas A&M*
selah.
*Some scholars argue that Texas A&M has a fine theoretical school, almost up with cooper onion. according to psalmic tradition the lyric just happened to fit. et al. theoretical schools like to use superfluous under_bars and ]brackets[ in their presentation_posters.
Thank You Everyone, for your words and suggestions. I know now, what should have known before. I guess your right it's not the school, its the student. So again Thank You!
If anyone still has some to say please feel free to, i will continue to check this everyday.
Again, Thank You
All I have to offer, is that ALL the people I know from Tech are very 'practical.' None of them know their history, or think abstractly. This may be a 'what you put into it' situation, but I get the feeling that these issues are not pushed at Tech.
I am a UTA grad from 25 years ago. I work with lots of people that graduated from both schools and I can't say they are much different in quality. I see little on the practical side from either school, you will learn as much in your first year of a real job than from your degree as far as architecture is concerned. But, you will learn some things in school that you will cherish later in life, intangible things like love of art and literature.
I would suggest staying at home, its much cheaper and familiar unless you just need a change of scenes. You already know what is expected of you at Tech and probably have many freinds already. Why change unless you are unhappy.
I know a recent grad from tech. I am a UTA student. She loves Autocad. I love drawing designs.
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