Yes a lot of people do that. I guess that's a good option too. But if I were to finish the professional certificate would that look good at all to employers? 

How do people even pay for arch school? 

I'm glad you came up with that idea because I've heard a lot of people go to the ucla extension program and then transfer to save money. Most go to cal poly pomona where they have an agreement with. 

but do you guys think other schools might accept ucla extension course for arch? It's reputable program in CA, but I'm also looking at schools in tx. Would courses only translate to an mla and not a standard m.arch? 

Anyone else? 

Was that for B.arch or M.arch? There is little finding for masters programs

I was almost happy lol 

anyone know about funding for m.archs? 

The question is not how but why.

Why, as in its not worth it? 

Is there anyone in here that's paid for a masters? How did you do it? Through a combo of loans grants and scholarships or all loans? 

I paid for my MArch/MSRE through a combo of federal loans and scholarships. I am swimming in debt. It's ridiculous.

What' school? So arch schools offer other aid besides loans? 

I just called usc and they offer merit based scholarships but how hard are those to get, especially the kind that pay for a huge chunk of the tuition? 

Rule of thumb: total debt should be less than expected first year salary.  There are plenty of online loan repayment calculators to help you see how much you may be afford to pay back (be reasonable on your salary expectations) - generally 10% of your take home income.

I have debt, a lot of it, I manage to pay the minimums but it did prevent me from taking certain risks in employment.  I worked part-time in a firm to help defray costs but even with some scholarships it's still a lot more debt than I reasonably should have taken out.  It prevents me from taking on work at smaller up-and-coming firms or buying a house, otherwise it's manageable.

As Miles asked - why do you want to go to grad school?  If the motivation and drive is there, there's plenty of ways to make it work.

I ave the drive and the motivation. I am not looking to be a millionaire but just want to work in the field. 

USC said they have merit based scholarships but I wonder how difficult it is to land a merit based scholarship? 

the most it covers is 75% tuition, so that is good but I would also need to take out loans to live considering its not wise to have full time work while going to grad school arch. 

I agree but was that for grad school at rice? I would kill to go there. I wouldn't even need housing since my parents live in Houston. Did u get a good job?