I have been accepted to Yale, Columbia, and MIT for their M.Arch 1 programs and am having a bit of trouble deciding between the three schools. Each school has giving me almost equal amounts in funding and scholarships, so I'm essentially looking for where I think I'd "fit" best. Will anyone be able to perhaps give me some input on these three schools ? I'm particularly divided between MIT and Yale. I'm very interested in MIT due to the presence of the MediaLab, however, Yale often has professors that I would love to have, such as Bjarke Ingels, Joel Sanders, Schumacher/Hadid (on the contrary however, they also have professors I would love to not have—I'm not a big fan of New Urbanism or New Classical). MIT also interests me because of classes and studios taught by Skylar Tibbits, William O'Brien, Joel Lamere and Neri Oxman.
The thing about Yale is that I'm not quite sure what direction the school is headed due to the changes in administrative leadership (this is by no means a criticism). Additionally I'm a bit nervous about how New Haven will be compared to Boston (or New York, which is the big reason I'm interested in Columbia).
If anyone can give me any information on their perception of these schools or their pedagogy, work output, studio culture differences, facilities, location, etc., that would be super helpful. Thank you !
Katzenmaske
Mar 24, 16 11:54 pm
Hi haikevin! First of all, congrats! I might not be able to tell you where you should eventually go, but as far I know that Yale is more into architectural design and it has a relatively orthodoxical pedagogy while MIT is very interdisciplinary and supported by their technology.
I guess it matters with what kind of path you will choose and how you picture your future. If you purely like architectural design, I guess Yale might be a better option. I went to their Open House last year and was really impressed by the student works there. There I saw the most complicated and elegant models and drawings. They were better than those at MIT, GSD, Princeton. However, if you are interested in integrating architecture into other discplines, MIT is a better place. Medialab is definitely a extremely cool place, and I saw that they were designing robots there. I couldn't really imagine how cool it would be if it would be combined with architecture.
But anyway, it's totally up to you. Maybe you should visit both schools and decide later.
I do have a question though. You mentioned Mr. William O'Brien at MIT. Is he a rising stararchitect? How is he different/special from others?
James Petty
Mar 27, 16 7:09 pm
Yale if you want to do more proper architecture/urban design. MIT if you want to be more interdisciplinary.
Deborah is fantastic and much of what has been going on at YSoA will be the same. There are a few key figures which everyone hopes goes with Bob (Eisenman, Porphyrios, etc). Don't worry about New Urbanism or New Classicism. There are lots of paths in the school which makes it interesting, and there are usually plenty of kids interested in that so that students disinterested can expose themselves to other professors.
GSAPP = no. Especially if you want to go because its in New York. That is a terrible way to justify your education that will create the person you are and the network you may have for decades. If you want to live in NYC, just move here after grad school. So so so many Yalies and MIT people are here.
ArchInspired
Mar 27, 16 10:56 pm
@James Petty
It would be really helpful if you can elaborate a bit more on why March1 at GSAPP is a bad choice. I more or less only got GSAPP this year and am deciding whether I should just go or wait for one more year and reapply. The 3-year program is definitely a huge investment of time and money. Thank you!
batman
Mar 27, 16 11:04 pm
yale is such a joke of a school. it still baffles me how it's even a top 10 design school, if ranking is anything to you guys.
i dont know how it stays relevant, it's so narrow minded.
i dont know much about MIT, but if it isn't GSD, it's not worth going to Boston.
Columbia is the better choice. it's in NYC (where most of the critics/professors in GSD have their offices), better social scene, good city to network (not just with architects, but real estate people too (your future clients), etc.
3 years go by quick. it's fun.
l3wis
Mar 28, 16 6:36 pm
do not go to yale for those professors you mentioned. Bjarke doesn't consistently teach here and neither does zaha and patrick. If you happen to have one of them teach in your advanced studio year it is a toss-up whether you will get a spot in their studio. And then you will see them at midterm, finals, and maybe a couple more times over travel week. one desk crit if you are lucky. joel sanders is a nice professor but unless his areas of research are of specific interest to you i'm not sure i would count that in your logic.
im not sure that just because u like medialab you should choose MIT either. will you actually have anything to do with it?
you need to talk to former students from each and get a sense of what life is like in the program. as a current student of yale, i will tell you that it will be a very grueling experience and you will grow a lot but also probably lose a few years of your life from stress unless you are a very steady person! :P I appreciate how diverse the studio options are at Yale, generally. they also mandate a very broad foundation of required courses so you learn alot if you dont have a background in arch.
if you have a background already in arch yale's 3 years may be too much time.
Hi everyone !
I have been accepted to Yale, Columbia, and MIT for their M.Arch 1 programs and am having a bit of trouble deciding between the three schools. Each school has giving me almost equal amounts in funding and scholarships, so I'm essentially looking for where I think I'd "fit" best. Will anyone be able to perhaps give me some input on these three schools ? I'm particularly divided between MIT and Yale. I'm very interested in MIT due to the presence of the MediaLab, however, Yale often has professors that I would love to have, such as Bjarke Ingels, Joel Sanders, Schumacher/Hadid (on the contrary however, they also have professors I would love to not have—I'm not a big fan of New Urbanism or New Classical). MIT also interests me because of classes and studios taught by Skylar Tibbits, William O'Brien, Joel Lamere and Neri Oxman.
The thing about Yale is that I'm not quite sure what direction the school is headed due to the changes in administrative leadership (this is by no means a criticism). Additionally I'm a bit nervous about how New Haven will be compared to Boston (or New York, which is the big reason I'm interested in Columbia).
If anyone can give me any information on their perception of these schools or their pedagogy, work output, studio culture differences, facilities, location, etc., that would be super helpful. Thank you !
Hi haikevin! First of all, congrats! I might not be able to tell you where you should eventually go, but as far I know that Yale is more into architectural design and it has a relatively orthodoxical pedagogy while MIT is very interdisciplinary and supported by their technology.
I guess it matters with what kind of path you will choose and how you picture your future. If you purely like architectural design, I guess Yale might be a better option. I went to their Open House last year and was really impressed by the student works there. There I saw the most complicated and elegant models and drawings. They were better than those at MIT, GSD, Princeton. However, if you are interested in integrating architecture into other discplines, MIT is a better place. Medialab is definitely a extremely cool place, and I saw that they were designing robots there. I couldn't really imagine how cool it would be if it would be combined with architecture.
But anyway, it's totally up to you. Maybe you should visit both schools and decide later.
I do have a question though. You mentioned Mr. William O'Brien at MIT. Is he a rising stararchitect? How is he different/special from others?
Yale if you want to do more proper architecture/urban design. MIT if you want to be more interdisciplinary.
Deborah is fantastic and much of what has been going on at YSoA will be the same. There are a few key figures which everyone hopes goes with Bob (Eisenman, Porphyrios, etc). Don't worry about New Urbanism or New Classicism. There are lots of paths in the school which makes it interesting, and there are usually plenty of kids interested in that so that students disinterested can expose themselves to other professors.
GSAPP = no. Especially if you want to go because its in New York. That is a terrible way to justify your education that will create the person you are and the network you may have for decades. If you want to live in NYC, just move here after grad school. So so so many Yalies and MIT people are here.
@James Petty
It would be really helpful if you can elaborate a bit more on why March1 at GSAPP is a bad choice. I more or less only got GSAPP this year and am deciding whether I should just go or wait for one more year and reapply. The 3-year program is definitely a huge investment of time and money. Thank you!
yale is such a joke of a school. it still baffles me how it's even a top 10 design school, if ranking is anything to you guys.
i dont know how it stays relevant, it's so narrow minded.
i dont know much about MIT, but if it isn't GSD, it's not worth going to Boston.
Columbia is the better choice. it's in NYC (where most of the critics/professors in GSD have their offices), better social scene, good city to network (not just with architects, but real estate people too (your future clients), etc.
3 years go by quick. it's fun.
do not go to yale for those professors you mentioned. Bjarke doesn't consistently teach here and neither does zaha and patrick. If you happen to have one of them teach in your advanced studio year it is a toss-up whether you will get a spot in their studio. And then you will see them at midterm, finals, and maybe a couple more times over travel week. one desk crit if you are lucky. joel sanders is a nice professor but unless his areas of research are of specific interest to you i'm not sure i would count that in your logic.
im not sure that just because u like medialab you should choose MIT either. will you actually have anything to do with it?
you need to talk to former students from each and get a sense of what life is like in the program. as a current student of yale, i will tell you that it will be a very grueling experience and you will grow a lot but also probably lose a few years of your life from stress unless you are a very steady person! :P I appreciate how diverse the studio options are at Yale, generally. they also mandate a very broad foundation of required courses so you learn alot if you dont have a background in arch.
if you have a background already in arch yale's 3 years may be too much time.