why not enroll and start your vacation abroad now? Seems simple to me

If you are hesitant to enroll, don't enroll at all.

enroll at a school that goes abroad

o d b makes sense

Ask for your acceptance to be deferred until next year = you are still accepted but are just postponing your attendance. Most schools will do this and you won't have to reapply.

Or go on an exchange program through one of the schools.

Or go live abroad in a cheap country like Thailand. You can probably turn a four month trip into an 8 month trip. I lived and worked there for a year and it was fantastic. A great place to travel and some interesting places to work.

-Lucas Gray
www.talkitect.com

simpleisgood-

No, you're not a moron. All of the previous responses provided some great advice. If I were you, and were dead set on attending one of the schools you were admitted to, I would absolutely defer and go abroad. Makes the most sense.

I, too, was admitted to a few programs that I had my heart set on. However, I’m declining acceptance and reapplying next winter. I can’t afford any of the schools of my choice, so I’m going to spend a few months working out my financial future, plans to get married, etc. Feeling pressured to put yourself in debt, to the tune of 100K, is just not a logical place to be in. Next year, I’ll be better informed and will apply to schools that I can a) afford to pay for and b) I know are a good fit for me. There are many states schools with incredible programs, that will cost you a quarter of an Ivy or fancy private school.

just start school and go abroad during the summer (if you can)

i wouldnt blow all your cash right now..

I agree, that's a TON of cash to spend! Unless you have a trust fund, I'd think hard about doing that. That's me, though, I prefer to save for more permanent things.


I would strongly encourage you to look at any study abroad program, either for the semester(s) or for the summer. You'd have more fun with a group of people with similar interests, age group, etc., and you'd also learn a ton.

hey thanks to all who responded. To those of you suggesting that I just study abroad or just enroll and go for this summer... I didn't really stress my desire to work abroad enough in my original post. Sorry for being unclear. I'd actually like to be able to work for a firm abroad for more than just a summer stint, so that's why I'm looking to take a whole year off. While I do have enough cash just to coast for a while, that's not my real intention.

Part of it is I want more practical experience before diving into school (I only have 1 summer internship under my belt). Also, like I said before, I've been wanting to do this for a while. I figure it would be best to do this now while I'm young and relatively free of real responsibility (besides my undergrad loans). I just feel like once I'm in school on and the track to a career, I won't have the freedom to just pick up and go.

I'm glad to hear that there are at least a few of you who don't think I'm crazy for not enrolling immediately. Deferring admission is only an option at Pratt, and I'll be considering it carefully in the next couple weeks. It will be nice to know I have a definite spot held for me upon my return.

Some of you might be wondering why I even applied in the first place if I knew I wanted to do this. Well, it was a mix of family pressure and insecurity about my plans abroad. But now, things are really shaping up, I've gotten in touch with some reliable contacts and even have housing squared away. But anyway, thanks again to everyone who responded.

Still wondering what people's thoughts are on the admissions game for fall 2010 though. Think we'll see an even higher spike in apps?

I forgot to add... with my extended time off I'll be able to save up some more cash for grad school. I mean, either way I'll need loans, but it will be nice to have enough of my own money to at least cover basic living expenses for a while....

One of the schools I was admitted to (UT Austin) has a residency program where you can work aboad for 6 months and get both school credit and wages, although I think the pay is pretty low. You may want to check if Virginia Tech or Pratt have similar work/study programs.

If you think there's a big chance you could blow through your 4 months of savings just looking for a job, work/study while enrolled could be more attractive.

Virginia Tech has the Semester in Europe program. It's incredible.

I went abroad with grad school and while in Europe managed to get a job in a firm. I stayed for the summer but could have stayed longer if I wanted to. In your scenario, you could go ahead to school, do their study abroad program, make contacts and find a job while there, and then dis-enroll yourself for the following semester or year if the job is working out and you're having a good time. (I imagine your schools have options for people who need to take a leave of absence and come back without re-enrolling.)

I forgot to point out that I wasn't making enough money in my job abroad to support myself, so I was burning through my travel savings even though I was going to work every day. That's something else to consider - the job market is not very good anywhere right now.

I would make sure you can even get a job abroad. As far as I know, anymore in Europe is almost impossible to get a job coming from the US, unless you work for a company that transfers you there, i.e. one of the big corporates. Something about the EU having to hire EU people first. Anyway, I had friends who tried to get jobs there after grad school and it totally didn't work.

Australia is even more difficult, as you have to meet a certain number of points on the visa application and architects rank somewhere near the bottom (it is based on need, and frankly no one needs us right now).

Plus, right now, your trying to get a job with 0 experience and there are like 45,000 unemployed architects with more experience and more skill trying to get the same job. Unless you have something totally ironed out, I would seriously reconsider giving up entrance into a school you really want to go to on the remote possibility of a job.

Additionally you might want to consider that practical experience in another country might not really transfer back to the US. Building codes and regulations are not always universal. It might be safer to try to get in at a local office. The work may not be as amazing, but it will teach the fundamentals that you need to really need to know, rather than just being the render bitch.

^ You won't know unless you give it a shot.

It's not impossible to get a job without experience, especially in Europe where the intern / trainee / praktikant is a common and established routine that most students and graduates go through.
I can't speak to the whole visa situation as an American, but I can guarantee that if you apply as a trainee or intern you will get interest from firms. Yeah, Europe's seen a slow-down as well, but I had luck in Switerland and Germany when applying earlier this year.

Most of these positions offer little pay (usually a monthly stipend), but depending on the job and the location, it should be enough to cover your basic costs of living.

And yeah, things obviously won't directly transfer to America from Europe, but I wouldn't consider that a real hinderance. You're there to learn about architecture, not about specific codes, etc.. That information, although important, is kind of the monkey-business... Anyone can pick that stuff up, just as anyone can pick up different software platforms. The process of design however, is far more universal IMO. A good designer in Germany or France has every possibility to be a good designer in the Americas, and vice-versa. If you understand how things go together, how to convey things graphically, how to draw a proper detail, etc. it shouldn't take long to transfer those skills across the pond. Yeah, the standards, conventions, and units will change, but the underlaying ideas don't really differ that much.

But that's just how I see it. If you want to work overseas, pursue that goal. You'll never know unless you try.

Deferred admission is an option at Tech, but burning through savings for the sake of a vacation is not a great option in these times. Travel is great, and as Shakespeare once posited, a great cure for melancholy. Why not save the money for summer/holiday travel while in school? You'd have an introduction to buildings you would want to visit, and money to get there while they were still fresh in your mind. There would be an invaluable synergy between school and travel.

Go to VT and then do the RIVA study abroad program for a semester. Then you won't regret it!

VT is a very reputable architecture program with some world-class professors. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to do it over again.