Here's my question for you:

Why have a 'safety' if you're not going to use it?

Good question. Truth be told, I would be happy at the school - but I would be a lot happier at my other two choices.

spaceinvader,

I am in a similar position. In at Kansas, out at Berkeley, waitlist U of M, and waiting on Sci-Arc. Kansas is my safety, but it is still a school I am interested in.

I have considered holding out until next year to get into a more prestigious school, but have decided against it. I have already been out of school too long (BS arch 2003). I want to get back into school and if there is only one door open, I'm taking it.

Are you still wrapping up your undergrad? If so then a year working would do you good, both from a portfolio standpoint and a maturity standpoint (at least this was my experience).

I am not sure one can judge how happy you would be at a program until you get there and get settled in unless you have experience with the school or its professors. Its all about the prof's, students, and the energy at the school. A lot of lesser known schools have good mixes of those ingredients even though they do not have the pedigree of other schools.

Good luck with your decision!

I think you should just go to the school you got into, I graduated in December 2007 and I applied to programs this year, so far I only got into one (conditionally) and rejected from four. I'm still waiting to hear from two other schools but the one I got into conditionally is pretty good, so I'm going to do what I have to do this summer to secure my spot there for the fall. I work full-time at a university art/book store now and intern twice a week at a firm, the head architect says it doesn't really matter what school you go to you just have to make the best out of it. Your going to learn the tools you need to be an architect so in the long run it doesn't matter. Plenty of ivy league graduates can't get jobs.

I think everyone who has commented on this question raises very good points. I graduated in 2006 and decided to delay g-school due to lack of specific direction. instead i worked for a firm, and now i look back and realize it was one of the best decisions i could have made for my career. seeing the industry from a professional side allowed me to clarify my goals, as well as my desire to commit to the profession. So...if you are just coming out of undergrad, do not feel like you have to make your move. Get some experience, and IDP out of the way. you will be stronger for it when you do decide to return to school.

on the flip side, if you have been out of school for a bit, and you are feeling a time crunch/ ready to move to the next level i would consider committing to your school. As k_cous said: when you are out of school and in your career it is far less relevant where you got your masters than the simple fact that you HAVE it. i have been told that by my project managers as well. i guess just dont base your decision on the "prestige" of the school. you can be successful anywhere.

out of curiosity, what school were you accepted to?

Probably one that isn't really a "saftey school."

i chose not to include a safety school, and only apply to three schools. My idea in choosing the schools i did was that i would be very happy to attend any of them. this morning i got word from my last school.

i was accepted to IIT, and will be going in the fall.

What's the school? Does it have a decent program?

thanks for the replies everyone. the school in question is uic.

can you defer acceptance a year and reapply to the other schools?