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Transfer, Grad school, or work?
Hi everyone,
I am a fifth year college student in my third year of architecture school at Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech's undergraduate program, as I'm sure some of you know, is not accredited and only offers a Bachelors of Science in Architecture. Georgia Tech has a program for Architecture students where a student can replace their senior year of studios with 10 credit hours of cluster electives (10 hours of classes in any college). That is the route I am currently on and will be graduating from Tech in May since I have all the required classes and hours already taken care of. (The result of this is that I will have to do 3 years of grad school instead of 2)
This has left me with many questions and options to consider and this is where I'd like to have some outside advice/suggestions/stories.
Option #1: Graduate from Tech in May and do my best to get a job and begin getting some experience in the real world and then go back to school for my professional degree after a year or two. This is the route I have most considered going with, but a new route has recently come to my attention, option #2.
Option #2: (haven't done much research on this and I'm not sure if it's even possible) Graduate from Tech in May and then transfer to an accredited undergrad program and get a professional degree after another 2 years.
Option #3: Go straight to Grad school for 3 years and get all the school out of the way and have massive student loan debt :(
Like I said, option #1 is what looks best to me, but I just want to know what others might think about these options and what experiences you've had with your decisions. Anything is helpful.
Thanks guys!
I would just try to find a job with the skill set you have now. How old are you?
No one really gives a fux where you graduated and all the crap. Companies wanna see you turn profits quick and I mean quick.
I don't foresee architecture making a huge come back for at least 20 years.
My advise is get a job asap.
You will learn, unlike school where they take your money an LAUGH, beeewhhhooohhhaaaa...
DeTwan... always bringing positivity to threads...
I do not think I am qualified to give a suggestion; however, if you chose more school you might as well just get a masters. I say this because with a BS in Arch you should be able to do a 2 year MArch from most schools anyway.
No one has ever said my advise is bad.
I would suggest taking time off and getting a job ... you will learn about a new side of the field. Transferring to an accredited program isn't something that usually happens without losing time, and the more selective a school is the less likely they will be to give you credit for all of your work. When you apply for MArch programs remember that the more selective schools are again less likely to give advanced standing. However, if you take a year off to work you will be able to use the year to work on your IDP and you will at least have more time to develop your portfolio.
DeTwan... notice I didn't either.
DeTwan, I'm 22. And we are on the same page in that I believe actually being in the field will help me learn more of what I need to know.
Natematt, I believe I wouldn't have trouble getting into a Master's program with a BS, the problem is any of them would be a 3 year instead of a 2 (essentially a masters program for someone that doesn't have an undergrad degree in architecture) because I am foregoing my senior studios and clustering out. So they tack on the extra year to account for the lost senior studio. It does make sense to do 3 years and gain a masters rather than 2 and just getting a BA though. I hadn't looked at it from that side.
Snail, very good points. That's exactly the way I've been thinking about it so far. Get out there, get some experience, test the waters, get some money, develop the portfolio. And then when it comes to it I can just go back and get it done in grad school when I need to.
Thanks guys! I feel a lot better about it hearing these words from some other people.
^ I guess that depends on what your previous years of school entailed, and what school you are applying too. I could have skipped my sr studios from undergrad and still been fine for any 2 year program. Anyway, good luck with whatever you do.
If you aren't planning on a career in teaching/academia, a graduate degree is a waste of time and money.
^ ^ Unless you don't have a B.Arch, in which case a graduate degree is indispensable...
Right. If I ever want to get licensed I'll need grad school or a B.Arch. I'll only have a BS Arch after this year.
So transfer and get a BArch. Problem solved.
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