Hey, new here, found this site searching for architecture school advice.
I'll try to be somewhat brief. I took an academic break for 2 years after high school to live life and learn some things about myself. Recently I've developed a deep interest in going back to school to study architecture and due to my situation I have to start in community college.
I'm an artist with growing confidence in my talent and an affinity for math, but I lack critique and networking skills, and I also don't know how to put together a portfolio.
The time it takes me to complete the program from the start of community college to the end of BArch is not of utmost concern to me.
Would it be worth getting an associate in fine arts, for which my community college happens to have an excellent program and access to a robust studio as well as passionate teachers?
Or should I take a more minimalist route and take only the necessary classes to cut down on my gen ed costs?
What I'm going for is to develop the aforementioned skills I currently lack, as well as set myself up to have a competitive edge in the BArch program post-transfer. Is there an alternate way to achieve this end if I go the CC minimalist route?
Note that at this point in time I plan to transfer to North Carolina State University into their College of Design, at which they will almost certainly start me as a quasi-freshman upon transfer.
I can provide some more information if it would facilitate your response--just ask.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to the journey ahead.
rothko67
May 11, 18 10:52 pm
Z-
I did a similar route that you’re describing. However, in my case, I took a 10 year break from HS, and had to “start over” at a community college. I took mostly general ed courses, and some art courses to build some recent work for a portfolio, and then transferred to a B.Arch program. Unfortunately, having 2 years under my belt didn’t actually give me 2 years credit towards a 5 year professional degree. I was able to graduate after 4 years (6 in total), but that meant going straight through the summers. In hindsight, I could have gone to a school that offered what is called a (4+2 M.Arch). It would have taken about the same time, but the end result being a Masters. From what I understand, B.Arch programs are being phased out in favour of graduate programs. One benefit among others for going the M.Arch route is that there more opportunities for teaching.
zerometers
May 13, 18 8:07 pm
I'm hoping that B.Arch is not totally unfashionable in the workforce by the time I get there. I do not plan to teach at this point in time. In the coming years while I'm working towards B.Arch I could end up opting for an M.Arch but at the moment the factors are too numerous for me to know. Playing it financially safe and stopping at B.Arch at least until I get some real work experience still seems like the best idea to me. It's good to see other people took a break from schooling too!
starling
May 11, 18 10:54 pm
I’m not sure what the core curriculum is for the program you want to enter, but considering you will be entering as a freshman and will probably have some general core classes, you might consider using your first year in community college to get all of those core classes out of the way (history, physics, calculus, whatever). That way, when you enter the university architecture program, you can focus solely on your design courses.
I did this before transferring to my state school program and felt it benefited me tremendously. Not only did I take all those core classes at the discounted CC rate, but I was relieved of a lot of anxiety not having to waste time on trivial courses and could devote all my time to my design courses, which I loved. When my friends had to go study for that history exam, I was able to stay in the studio and work on my project, which is where I preferred to be.
zerometers
May 12, 18 2:37 pm
That sounds like the kind of situation I want to be in--putting in time in the studio as opposed to studying for core tests. The CC and the college I'm looking at have an articulation agreement so the cores should most definitely transfer.
thisisnotmyname
May 13, 18 5:03 pm
You are doing a good thing by going to a community college first. Get all your english, history, math and science courses out of the way in community college. Take any courses they have in AutoCad and Adobe Suite. Also consider doing art history and drawing classes. An intro sculpture class can also be a nice way to prep for architecture studio work.
zerometers
May 13, 18 8:03 pm
All of that is great advice. My thought is that I would take the full associate in fine arts program, use my student account to get the 3 year trial, learn AutoCAD and Revit on my own time, and finally take some C++/C# programming electives during my AFA to augment my capabilities in CAD/Revit. I'm excited to take sculpture courses because the studios that will be available to me at CC are equipped for wood- and metal-working. Hoping to try my hand at furniture and get the basics down for model-making.
mantaray
May 15, 18 7:50 am
Agreed with the above, with one caveat--I would not bother to complete the full AA as many classes won't transfer and you'll end up wasting time and money.
The good news is, the arch dept at your intended university (not your CC) will have someone available who can meet with you and help you cherry pick which courses from the CC will best transfer/knock out reqmts for your eventual BArch once transferred. Meeting with them in advance (just literally walk in one day during office hours, the receptionist will give you the name and contact info for this person, and you can set up a mtg that way) will not only help you best optimize your CC time but also will get your foot in the door so that, come admissions time, they remember you.
mantaray
May 15, 18 7:54 am
The art/design courses at the CC (other than basic Revit / Autocad / Adobe Suite utilization courses) are LESS likely to be accepted than knocking out your gen ed's. I took a B Arch and used local CC classes both prior to and during summers and it worked well to give me some breathing room during my B Arch semesters (although didn't truthfully save me any money, bc of the way university tuition is assessed).
If you really have NOTHING you can cobble together for a portfolio, then take one art class so you can make a portfolio for B Arch admission. But otherwise I would focus strictly on transferable credits.
mantaray
May 15, 18 7:57 am
Lastly, the B Arch is a great degree, fastest and often cheapest route to a professional license. Rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated. Our office and every other one I know still routinely hires B Archs and they are often preferred as entry level candidates over M Archs -- UNLESS you're wanting to work at a tiny experimental boutique type place where there are two partners who both mostly teach and then do competitions and small projects on the side.
Hey, new here, found this site searching for architecture school advice.
I'll try to be somewhat brief. I took an academic break for 2 years after high school to live life and learn some things about myself. Recently I've developed a deep interest in going back to school to study architecture and due to my situation I have to start in community college.
I'm an artist with growing confidence in my talent and an affinity for math, but I lack critique and networking skills, and I also don't know how to put together a portfolio.
The time it takes me to complete the program from the start of community college to the end of BArch is not of utmost concern to me.
Would it be worth getting an associate in fine arts, for which my community college happens to have an excellent program and access to a robust studio as well as passionate teachers?
Or should I take a more minimalist route and take only the necessary classes to cut down on my gen ed costs?
What I'm going for is to develop the aforementioned skills I currently lack, as well as set myself up to have a competitive edge in the BArch program post-transfer. Is there an alternate way to achieve this end if I go the CC minimalist route?
Note that at this point in time I plan to transfer to North Carolina State University into their College of Design, at which they will almost certainly start me as a quasi-freshman upon transfer.
I can provide some more information if it would facilitate your response--just ask.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to the journey ahead.
Z-
I did a similar route that you’re describing. However, in my case, I took a 10 year break from HS, and had to “start over” at a community college. I took mostly general ed courses, and some art courses to build some recent work for a portfolio, and then transferred to a B.Arch program. Unfortunately, having 2 years under my belt didn’t actually give me 2 years credit towards a 5 year professional degree. I was able to graduate after 4 years (6 in total), but that meant going straight through the summers. In hindsight, I could have gone to a school that offered what is called a (4+2 M.Arch). It would have taken about the same time, but the end result being a Masters. From what I understand, B.Arch programs are being phased out in favour of graduate programs. One benefit among others for going the M.Arch route is that there more opportunities for teaching.
I'm hoping that B.Arch is not totally unfashionable in the workforce by the time I get there. I do not plan to teach at this point in time. In the coming years while I'm working towards B.Arch I could end up opting for an M.Arch but at the moment the factors are too numerous for me to know. Playing it financially safe and stopping at B.Arch at least until I get some real work experience still seems like the best idea to me. It's good to see other people took a break from schooling too!
I’m not sure what the core curriculum is for the program you want to enter, but considering you will be entering as a freshman and will probably have some general core classes, you might consider using your first year in community college to get all of those core classes out of the way (history, physics, calculus, whatever). That way, when you enter the university architecture program, you can focus solely on your design courses.
I did this before transferring to my state school program and felt it benefited me tremendously. Not only did I take all those core classes at the discounted CC rate, but I was relieved of a lot of anxiety not having to waste time on trivial courses and could devote all my time to my design courses, which I loved. When my friends had to go study for that history exam, I was able to stay in the studio and work on my project, which is where I preferred to be.
That sounds like the kind of situation I want to be in--putting in time in the studio as opposed to studying for core tests. The CC and the college I'm looking at have an articulation agreement so the cores should most definitely transfer.
You are doing a good thing by going to a community college first. Get all your english, history, math and science courses out of the way in community college. Take any courses they have in AutoCad and Adobe Suite. Also consider doing art history and drawing classes. An intro sculpture class can also be a nice way to prep for architecture studio work.
All of that is great advice. My thought is that I would take the full associate in fine arts program, use my student account to get the 3 year trial, learn AutoCAD and Revit on my own time, and finally take some C++/C# programming electives during my AFA to augment my capabilities in CAD/Revit. I'm excited to take sculpture courses because the studios that will be available to me at CC are equipped for wood- and metal-working. Hoping to try my hand at furniture and get the basics down for model-making.
Agreed with the above, with one caveat--I would not bother to complete the full AA as many classes won't transfer and you'll end up wasting time and money.
The good news is, the arch dept at your intended university (not your CC) will have someone available who can meet with you and help you cherry pick which courses from the CC will best transfer/knock out reqmts for your eventual BArch once transferred. Meeting with them in advance (just literally walk in one day during office hours, the receptionist will give you the name and contact info for this person, and you can set up a mtg that way) will not only help you best optimize your CC time but also will get your foot in the door so that, come admissions time, they remember you.
The art/design courses at the CC (other than basic Revit / Autocad / Adobe Suite utilization courses) are LESS likely to be accepted than knocking out your gen ed's. I took a B Arch and used local CC classes both prior to and during summers and it worked well to give me some breathing room during my B Arch semesters (although didn't truthfully save me any money, bc of the way university tuition is assessed).
If you really have NOTHING you can cobble together for a portfolio, then take one art class so you can make a portfolio for B Arch admission. But otherwise I would focus strictly on transferable credits.
Lastly, the B Arch is a great degree, fastest and often cheapest route to a professional license. Rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated. Our office and every other one I know still routinely hires B Archs and they are often preferred as entry level candidates over M Archs -- UNLESS you're wanting to work at a tiny experimental boutique type place where there are two partners who both mostly teach and then do competitions and small projects on the side.
Arch is a big tent.