two thoughts come to mind: first, have a sincere, open conversation with your professor, or a tutor/counselor at your school, as the situation you are describing happens quite often early in architectural education, and although things don't necessarily get easier, you become better equiped with time. this has a lot to do with you as a person, but your professor should give you the personal focus in order to offer you a better perspective on your decision...(more than an internet forum where no one has really seen your work, heard your thoughts, etc)

second, if you do decide to stay in architecture school, you MUST prioritize your design studios, especially when all the other assignments get on the way...and yes, it is an intense sacrifice - all the way through -

good luck!!!

In my experiences, you need to love architecture to be able to succeed. And this is true for almost all majors. I was just like you at one point and was a CS major -- hated every second of it, did horrible, and procrastinated -- I ended up walking away from it to pursue my true passions -- art which led me to architecture.

If you're having a difficult time right now, remember that it only gets harder down the stretch and even more so when you graduate and enter the professional world. It is a very challenging major in college and probably one of the most time-consuming programs out of any college on your campus. You will see that most of your colleagues who have been successful are the ones who work hard and produce quality work. It's okay if you think that architecture is not for you, many people enter the major thinking about it and realize that it isn't their cup of tea.

Also keep in mind that there is no ideal architecture student and no ideal mold for an architect practicing. Almost everyone I know in the professional world have different sets of talents and areas where they are stronger in. So don't assume that you have to do everything that your more successful colleagues do.

So all things considered, it sounds like you are having motivation and time management problems. And you said it yourself, you are primarily to blame for that. Don't worry, we all have lives and in particular I've always had time management issues in college but you learn to be flexible and versatile with your time eventually. Bottom line, if you love architecture and want to be an architect, you should continue, if not try something else.

Perhaps you need to make a distinction in your head to figure out if you want to continue pursuing architecture: will you be content with getting your fill of design if you simply subscribe to Architecture Record or Dwell or something or do you have that itch to design something yourself, instead of just viewing and observing. I mean, that's how I knew that architecture was for me.

architecture is a very hard profession.

if you don't think you can commit to it, you should get out while you can.

take something else, something safe - like accounting, or something in the medical field, etc.

raise a family, and live happily ever after.

Take a furniture design class at a local CC.

I say its time for you to fish or cut bait. Don't waste your professor's time until you've put some effort into the class. You can only learn to design by doing it. It sounds like you haven't tried it yet. If you're not willing to give it that, then you should drop the class and look into an art history major.

yeah design is the best, if you're avoiding it, somethings not right. It's ok to not love it, people change their minds. Depending on your program maybe you could experiment with some other classes. What was it that drew you to architecture? Is there any other class that stimulates those ideas? You have to be true to yourself, you can't force success in a field you aren't even passionate about, and you wouldn't enjoy it if you could! Good luck though, I feel for you.

No disrespect to other members advice, but by no means should you or could you make a decision about whether or not this profession is for you right now. To begin with, architecture is taught, discussed, and practiced in so many different ways; what a career involving architecture means is incredibly variable.

There is a doubtlessly a reason why you were originally drawn to architecture which deserves re-visiting before you shut any doors. When you have studied it previously, what drew you in and inspired you the most? Closing off options for your future and imposing unnecessary limitations is absolutely The Worst Thing you can do for yourself on an academic and emotional level. As far as your interest in other subjects go, think about how you can invoke those through studying architecture and vice versa.

Above all else, consider the situation in which you are attempting to make decision about a career path (when you are FAR too young to expect to know for sure yet) and subject which you are BARELY familiar with yet: you're overloaded, overwhelmed, and discouraged. Ask yourself, would you really be posting here if you were not invested in pursuing architecture? Would you actually be happier if you gave up before you could even really begin? Think about alternative ways of studying the subject before you make a decision.



Maybe my story will help: Recently, my feet were exactly where you are- reconsidering my interests, falling behind, close to failing, unable to complete my design courses, and dropping activities left and right from being too ambitious in my scheduling. A program was introduced to me allowing for a combination of theory and practice with a multidisciplinary approach no classes I had access to offered, called The Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies. They develop an individualized program for each student, according to their skills and interests. Starting this program, I'd never been in a rigorous studio before, and now I'm actually designing, learning autocad, rhino, and 3dmax. There are incredibly difficult aspects, of course, and self-doubt is a constant reality. However thoughts of giving up are so upsetting, it's become clear my heart is in this. Who knows HOW I will engage with architecture in the end (academia, publishing, a non-profit that utilizes architecture in projects, as a lens, or teaching tool? Maybe through another discipline entirely), but I will.

can't pin down any concrete answers for you of course, but you might want to consider:

1) it's in your head, but it doesn't translate onto paper

- if you know what you want to do, but can't draw, see if other methods of representation help, like physical models, collage, photoshop, and the easiest of all the computer modellers - sketchup

2) I've procrastinated so much out of fear

- is it a fear of looking bad relative to others? maybe you're okay with the work in a 1 to 1 setting like gwendolyn's situation...it's a lot of pressure to look as good as the next guy and when you don't have the core skills that others may already have had coming into the program, it paralyzes a lot of people...
- it's too late to say you should have explored prior to school via summer programs or intro courses, but there might be alternative ways of learning and becoming an architect...BAC in boston for one, the syllabus program by the RAIC in canada for another...

3) huge doubt about whether I can really do this (see the course through and graduate), and whether I'm actually going to be any good.

- i would say that the best will tend to show themselves quite early on...they will have had a lot of prior exposure to architecture, or have very well suited aptitudes that make things fall into place quickly...doesn't mean you won;t have a good career, but it's probably not likely that you'll be near the top of the pack...
- those that dropped out of my program tended to drop out early and hard...it was quite obvious that something was just not there...
- personally, i had to work hard to become decent at what i do...i didn't have the natural ability but had the passion for it, and made it through...all through the program, i always enjoyed the core of what i was doing...i had lots of natural ability in a different field but no love of it and turned down scholarship money for that...no regrets...

generally, you really have to pin down what it is that you like about the field and see how you can get closer to what it is that you want...what is it that you like about architecture? is your job in an architecture firm? you like drafting? or building models? or creating abstract conceptual art? or critiquing projects? there other ways into the field other than as an architect depending on what you think your end goal could be...building technology programs, fine art, journalism, etc....

good luck...

Spaceman is absolutely right.

p.s. if you were interested in the program I'm doing, they're still accepting students for the fall semester.

Thanks for all your comments, Gwendolyn especially. I wish I could do the program your doing but I'm in Oz. I've decided to see through the semester and spend the holidays doing some hard thinking. In the mean time I'm also going to be seeing one of the uni counsellors, so we'll see what comes out of that.

one can't help but be inspired by gwendolyns attitude in todays design climate, kudos to her post...and good luck to you.