I work with the ACE mentor program, a program that provides mentorship and career guidance to high school students in the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering fields; and provides scholarships to some of our most dedicated students.

The majority of our students don't graduate with pre-loaded college funds set aside by their parents, so the scholarships are an important part of what we do; but the scholarships only go so far, and I frankly have a hard time advocating for anyone becoming an architect if it means taking on substantial student loan debt. A further challenge is that your options are limited in terms of state schools that offer architectural degrees, in Indiana it's Ball State or bust.

So I'm wondering if anyone on here might have experience with alternate routes into the field, such as starting with a 2-year associates' degree, which is well within reach for an ACE scholarship; or perhaps a particular 4-year program (maybe you get a full-ride someplace other than Ball State) that positioned you well for a 3+ architecture program. Any ideas/thoughts would be welcomed.