As the title says, I am having trouble picking a school to attend next fall. So far I've been accepted to the B. Arch program at:
USC
RISD
Pratt
Cal Poly SLO
Virginia Tech
Syracuse
Please help me by giving constructive input on why I should attend which school or why I should NOT attend.
**MONEY IS OF NO ISSUE**
Non Sequitur
Mar 29, 17 1:12 pm
money should be an issue... always.
Try Boston.
TED
Mar 29, 17 1:20 pm
Hey N-S, are you keeping track of your commissions?
Non Sequitur
Mar 29, 17 1:31 pm
Yep, rolling in gold coins.
b3tadine[sutures]
Mar 29, 17 3:59 pm
Seriously? What do I know about you? All of those schools are all over the map in terms of style and teaching. This is not the time to get picky. Visit all of these schools and make a big kid decision.
When you're ready for grad school, then come back, because you will.
armannasseri
Jun 19, 17 5:02 pm
Why would you need to go to Grad school when you already have a B.Arch
? I don't get this ridiculous notion people spread around here, especially after paying for 5 years for a professional degree for a career that doesn't even pay that well.
spiketwig
Mar 29, 17 4:02 pm
Those are all good programs that I know people from. RISD/Pratt are obviously parts of arts schools which influences their focus; Cal Poly SLO by contrast has a very good reputation in CA for competent grads who can actually draw, so they are popular to hire (have worked in firms that are almost 100% SLO grads); USC is good, but UCLA is better and USC is expensive and is not in a nice part of LA; I don't know VA Tech well but have worked with a few people from there who seem good. Syracuse is a good solid and I think fairly large program, but be prepared to be cold.
I think you need to decide what kind of program you want - there's a lot of range in your options from more arty to more technical. RISD/Pratt is one group, then Syracuse/USC, then VA tech/SLO.
Also consider where in the country you want to live because your school is your way into the local professional networks - staying in the region you go to school in will be much easier than going elsewhere.
Superfluous Squirrel
Mar 29, 17 11:30 pm
VT is in the middle of nowhere.
Pratt is in the middle of Brooklyn.
Those are going to be really different environments, not that one is better than another. Which do you prefer? and how will you learn better?
Will you get distracted in the middle of NYC? Will you get bored in Blacksburg? Do you want it to never be winter? Or do you want lots of snow?
senjohnblutarsky
Mar 30, 17 11:07 am
As a guy from the middle of nowhere, I'll say VT isn't in the middle of nowhere. Statements like this indicate you're going somewhere lacking access to anything. I can drive an hour in the Blacksburg area and get to a lot of different things. I can drive an hour in a place like Atlanta and go 10 miles.
sameolddoctor
Mar 30, 17 9:48 am
If money is no object, then visit all of these schools and then decide.
Volunteer
Mar 30, 17 12:55 pm
Blacksburg, Va, has a population of 43,000. It is very close to Roanoke that has a population of 100,000. Charlottesville, Va, also has a population of only 43,000 and is not usually considered in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg is also fairly close to Lexington, Va, home of Washington and Lee as well as VMI.
tduds
Mar 30, 17 1:03 pm
It's no Brooklyn...
senjohnblutarsky
Mar 30, 17 1:04 pm
Architecture students spend their lives in studio. Like it actually matters what the surrounding areas have......
tduds
Mar 30, 17 1:57 pm
Disagree. Plus, every studio project I had (except my thesis) used a site within easy walking / transit distance. Context matters a ton in and out of studio.
Josh Mings
Mar 30, 17 1:31 pm
Money is of no issue? Lucky bastard.
accesskb
Mar 30, 17 2:05 pm
You don't get rich if money is of no issue.. You gotta start thinking pennies.. Unless you're Drumpf ofcourse.
randomised
Mar 30, 17 9:52 pm
I'm not giving constructive input on this one unless you pay me, since money is of no concern to you, well it is to me ;)
If money is truly of no concern, go and visit all these schools in person and make your own damn adult decision(s).
As the title says, I am having trouble picking a school to attend next fall. So far I've been accepted to the B. Arch program at:
USC
RISD
Pratt
Cal Poly SLO
Virginia Tech
Syracuse
Please help me by giving constructive input on why I should attend which school or why I should NOT attend.
**MONEY IS OF NO ISSUE**
money should be an issue... always.
Try Boston.
Hey N-S, are you keeping track of your commissions?
Yep, rolling in gold coins.
Seriously? What do I know about you? All of those schools are all over the map in terms of style and teaching. This is not the time to get picky. Visit all of these schools and make a big kid decision.
When you're ready for grad school, then come back, because you will.
Why would you need to go to Grad school when you already have a B.Arch ? I don't get this ridiculous notion people spread around here, especially after paying for 5 years for a professional degree for a career that doesn't even pay that well.
Those are all good programs that I know people from. RISD/Pratt are obviously parts of arts schools which influences their focus; Cal Poly SLO by contrast has a very good reputation in CA for competent grads who can actually draw, so they are popular to hire (have worked in firms that are almost 100% SLO grads); USC is good, but UCLA is better and USC is expensive and is not in a nice part of LA; I don't know VA Tech well but have worked with a few people from there who seem good. Syracuse is a good solid and I think fairly large program, but be prepared to be cold.
I think you need to decide what kind of program you want - there's a lot of range in your options from more arty to more technical. RISD/Pratt is one group, then Syracuse/USC, then VA tech/SLO.
Also consider where in the country you want to live because your school is your way into the local professional networks - staying in the region you go to school in will be much easier than going elsewhere.
VT is in the middle of nowhere.
Pratt is in the middle of Brooklyn.
Those are going to be really different environments, not that one is better than another. Which do you prefer? and how will you learn better?
Will you get distracted in the middle of NYC? Will you get bored in Blacksburg? Do you want it to never be winter? Or do you want lots of snow?
As a guy from the middle of nowhere, I'll say VT isn't in the middle of nowhere. Statements like this indicate you're going somewhere lacking access to anything. I can drive an hour in the Blacksburg area and get to a lot of different things. I can drive an hour in a place like Atlanta and go 10 miles.
If money is no object, then visit all of these schools and then decide.
Blacksburg, Va, has a population of 43,000. It is very close to Roanoke that has a population of 100,000. Charlottesville, Va, also has a population of only 43,000 and is not usually considered in the middle of nowhere. Blacksburg is also fairly close to Lexington, Va, home of Washington and Lee as well as VMI.
It's no Brooklyn...
Architecture students spend their lives in studio. Like it actually matters what the surrounding areas have......
Disagree. Plus, every studio project I had (except my thesis) used a site within easy walking / transit distance. Context matters a ton in and out of studio.
Money is of no issue? Lucky bastard.
You don't get rich if money is of no issue.. You gotta start thinking pennies.. Unless you're Drumpf ofcourse.
I'm not giving constructive input on this one unless you pay me, since money is of no concern to you, well it is to me ;)
If money is truly of no concern, go and visit all these schools in person and make your own damn adult decision(s).