I want to do my M.Arch and run D1 at the same time, but I want to be realistic (is it possible to do both, and do fairly well in both areas?) I fully understand both disciplines are demanding, and I'm a disciplined individual and will be putting in the work.
Has anyone heard/know of anyone or doing architecture and being in a D1 sport successfully, I'm trying to figure out if this is realistic enough to pursue both
Thanks!
Non Sequitur
Apr 18, 21 11:15 pm
Put it this way, do you think you could keep up the discipline & schedule necessary for competitive sports while working 2 full time jobs?
citizen
Apr 19, 21 1:00 am
Is it possible to do both? I'm sure it is. But one or both would suffer, not to mention the whole "sleep" thing. Worth considering for a minute, then realizing each is a full-time job.
RJ87
Apr 19, 21 12:42 pm
If you treat it like an actual job with defined hours & not the way a large chunk of you're studio cohort will, its possible. Architecture school will expand to fill whatever time you allow it to. There will be some kids who practically live there & there will be others that you see come in, put their headphones on & crank something out in 6 hour's & leave. My undergraduate class had an athlete, he was that way.
The trouble comes with the travel schedule.
You specified M.Arch, do you already have a bachelors' degree in architecture? Part of the struggle is learning how long it takes you to make certain kinds of output, whether its a model, a drawing, etc. Early on in your education the outputs are pretty prescribed, where as in grad school (at least my case) we were allowed to provide "whatever supporting materials best conveyed our ideas". Which for me meant that I stopped making things that the time / value ratio wasn't in my favor.
skyD
Apr 26, 21 3:19 pm
No, I'm coming from a non-arch background! Exactly that's what I'm trying to figure out, with travelling every weekend, especially second semester- leaving Fridays through Saturdays. That's actually smart, treating it like a job with designated hours! That's actually good!
monosierra
Apr 19, 21 1:18 pm
Well Andrew Luck did a Bachelor's in Arch Design while being a top QB. Granted, it was a college degree and Stanford doesn't have a design school proper. But I heard that he was very focused and efficient with his time - style and flash were secondary to efficient space planning and execution as far as design assignments go. He got the job done in studio and that was it.
SlammingMiruvor
Apr 19, 21 5:37 pm
I know a lot of D3 Lacrosse Coaches/Programs did not allow their athletes to play lacrosse as Architecture Majors. Maybe that's changed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't. What sport(s)?
Like RJ87 said the biggest issue with be travel times/commitments. Especially if you're expected to produce analog (physical models, hand drawings, etc) deliverables. I think your best bet would be finding a smaller conference school, with a compact travel schedule.
You absolutely need to meet with the coaches of the program you're interested in and talk to them directly. Every program will have different demands, and the coaches can/should be able to put you in touch with students who have personally done what you're asking for. Honestly, the more competitive the program the harder time you're going to have.
Personally, playing D3 Lacrosse and majoring in Architecture really worked for me. I'm sure I wasn't the best student because of lacrosse commitments some weeks, but I also think it forced me to be more disciplined and scheduled. I think having a physical outlet was extremely valuable, and just leaving studio for 2-3 hours a day (in-season) to reset was a boon. I don't think I would have been a successful college student without athletics.
SlammingMiruvor
Apr 19, 21 7:46 pm
Oh yeah, if you have ideas on the programs you want to check out, athletically and academically, check out their rosters. Every school I'm aware of lists their student athlete's majors. Zero architecture majors may be a warning sign, but check for other demanding majors like engineering, industrial design, chemistry, etc.
skyD
Apr 26, 21 3:14 pm
I'll be running track! That's what I'm thinking, with many hours studying/being in the studio, doing track on the side would be a good outlet
shellarchitect
Apr 20, 21 7:27 am
I was on udms fencing team for 1.5 years and found it way too hard. The men’s and women’s teams travelled together, meaning we were gone from Friday night until late Sunday, as the teams competed on different days.
There was another arch student who somehow did ok in both activities.
whistler
Apr 20, 21 8:43 pm
It's possible. My son is attending a reasonably decent school and maintaining a good average and still competing at the national team level for his chosen sport ( xc skiing ). Very competitive but lives like a monk. No hanky-panky, no drinking or fun university life! But that's his choice. The transition in first year was tough as it took a while to find training regime that was conducive to his classes, rest / recovery, meals. Flexibility was key ie early morning or late evening workouts helped and having athletic facilities that he could gain access pretty much 18 hrs a day help or track workouts under the lights etc. Also working closely with school admin and sport program directors helps a ton. Some schools are better than others, but I found that they really do want to assist as it looks good on the school to have top athletes who are good students. High achievers are what the schools want to promote.
axonapoplectic
Apr 21, 21 9:17 pm
I ran cross and track in college. The big challenge was being on the road (entire weekends spent going to meets) and keeping up with studio work. Other majors are more conducive with taking work on the road. I would do all of the work for my other classes and then spend my remaining time sketching out ideas. I did have one class that interfered with practice once a week, so I had to do my workout earlier in the day.
Group projects didn’t work well on my schedule.
axonapoplectic
Apr 21, 21 9:53 pm
I wouldn’t say I was completely successful, but I did graduate with ok grades and I did go to nationals. I also worked part time and I didn’t really get enough sleep and burned out pretty badly by the end of my senior year. Some profs are more understanding than others.
shellarchitect
Apr 23, 21 11:24 am
I would call that pretty impressive!
I originally was going to walk-on the track team (800 and 1600), but one look at the practice schedule changed my mind.
UuhOoh
Apr 23, 21 2:49 pm
I also ran XC and track in College. My undergrad major however was a B.A. which I hear is a less rigorous workload and by the time academic work picked up for my final 2 years I had basically decided that my priorities were my training and studio projects and that everything else came second. I'd say I spent an average of 2-3 hours a day training and while I wasn't great with time management, I always tried to start my final crit push a couple weeks earlier than my classmates (meaning no last minute all-nighters) since I knew I would want to also emphasize my sleeping and training as championship season rolled around. In general I took my sleep super seriously (9+ hours whenever possible).
I too am currently figuring it out if it is feasible to use my remaining eligibility during my M.Arch but I know that it won't be as simple as it was as an undergrad. These thoughts/warnings/advice are helpful.
skyD
Apr 26, 21 3:07 pm
That is my dilemma as well, I have time remaining on my eligibility clock too! And I don't think I know how rigorous it will be going from running at a D2 school to a D1 school and adding on an M.Arch, coming from a simple BA
Patrick Sardo
Apr 25, 21 1:41 pm
I did my undergrad while competing as a D1 athlete and it was very challenging at times. I had to sacrifice a lot of time spent practicing when deadlines were close, but I also had a very empathetic and flexible coach who knew that school came first. I would often lose sleep because of the extra time spent practicing and competing whereas many of my peers could use that time to work on studio work, take a part time job, or just relax. I think you will need to have a discussion with the coaching staff to make sure they are understanding, as it can cause a lot of issues if they aren't, which will leave you frustrated and tired.
I want to do my M.Arch and run D1 at the same time, but I want to be realistic (is it possible to do both, and do fairly well in both areas?) I fully understand both disciplines are demanding, and I'm a disciplined individual and will be putting in the work.
Has anyone heard/know of anyone or doing architecture and being in a D1 sport successfully, I'm trying to figure out if this is realistic enough to pursue both
Thanks!
Put it this way, do you think you could keep up the discipline & schedule necessary for competitive sports while working 2 full time jobs?
Is it possible to do both? I'm sure it is. But one or both would suffer, not to mention the whole "sleep" thing. Worth considering for a minute, then realizing each is a full-time job.
If you treat it like an actual job with defined hours & not the way a large chunk of you're studio cohort will, its possible. Architecture school will expand to fill whatever time you allow it to. There will be some kids who practically live there & there will be others that you see come in, put their headphones on & crank something out in 6 hour's & leave. My undergraduate class had an athlete, he was that way.
The trouble comes with the travel schedule.
You specified M.Arch, do you already have a bachelors' degree in architecture? Part of the struggle is learning how long it takes you to make certain kinds of output, whether its a model, a drawing, etc. Early on in your education the outputs are pretty prescribed, where as in grad school (at least my case) we were allowed to provide "whatever supporting materials best conveyed our ideas". Which for me meant that I stopped making things that the time / value ratio wasn't in my favor.
No, I'm coming from a non-arch background! Exactly that's what I'm trying to figure out, with travelling every weekend, especially second semester- leaving Fridays through Saturdays. That's actually smart, treating it like a job with designated hours! That's actually good!
Well Andrew Luck did a Bachelor's in Arch Design while being a top QB. Granted, it was a college degree and Stanford doesn't have a design school proper. But I heard that he was very focused and efficient with his time - style and flash were secondary to efficient space planning and execution as far as design assignments go. He got the job done in studio and that was it.
I know a lot of D3 Lacrosse Coaches/Programs did not allow their athletes to play lacrosse as Architecture Majors. Maybe that's changed, but I wouldn't be surprised if it hasn't. What sport(s)?
Like RJ87 said the biggest issue with be travel times/commitments. Especially if you're expected to produce analog (physical models, hand drawings, etc) deliverables. I think your best bet would be finding a smaller conference school, with a compact travel schedule.
You absolutely need to meet with the coaches of the program you're interested in and talk to them directly. Every program will have different demands, and the coaches can/should be able to put you in touch with students who have personally done what you're asking for. Honestly, the more competitive the program the harder time you're going to have.
Personally, playing D3 Lacrosse and majoring in Architecture really worked for me. I'm sure I wasn't the best student because of lacrosse commitments some weeks, but I also think it forced me to be more disciplined and scheduled. I think having a physical outlet was extremely valuable, and just leaving studio for 2-3 hours a day (in-season) to reset was a boon. I don't think I would have been a successful college student without athletics.
Oh yeah, if you have ideas on the programs you want to check out, athletically and academically, check out their rosters. Every school I'm aware of lists their student athlete's majors. Zero architecture majors may be a warning sign, but check for other demanding majors like engineering, industrial design, chemistry, etc.
I'll be running track! That's what I'm thinking, with many hours studying/being in the studio, doing track on the side would be a good outlet
I was on udms fencing team for 1.5 years and found it way too hard. The men’s and women’s teams travelled together, meaning we were gone from Friday night until late Sunday, as the teams competed on different days.
There was another arch student who somehow did ok in both activities.
It's possible. My son is attending a reasonably decent school and maintaining a good average and still competing at the national team level for his chosen sport ( xc skiing ). Very competitive but lives like a monk. No hanky-panky, no drinking or fun university life! But that's his choice. The transition in first year was tough as it took a while to find training regime that was conducive to his classes, rest / recovery, meals. Flexibility was key ie early morning or late evening workouts helped and having athletic facilities that he could gain access pretty much 18 hrs a day help or track workouts under the lights etc. Also working closely with school admin and sport program directors helps a ton. Some schools are better than others, but I found that they really do want to assist as it looks good on the school to have top athletes who are good students. High achievers are what the schools want to promote.
I ran cross and track in college. The big challenge was being on the road (entire weekends spent going to meets) and keeping up with studio work. Other majors are more conducive with taking work on the road. I would do all of the work for my other classes and then spend my remaining time sketching out ideas. I did have one class that interfered with practice once a week, so I had to do my workout earlier in the day.
Group projects didn’t work well on my schedule.
I wouldn’t say I was completely successful, but I did graduate with ok grades and I did go to nationals. I also worked part time and I didn’t really get enough sleep and burned out pretty badly by the end of my senior year. Some profs are more understanding than others.
I would call that pretty impressive! I originally was going to walk-on the track team (800 and 1600), but one look at the practice schedule changed my mind.
I also ran XC and track in College. My undergrad major however was a B.A. which I hear is a less rigorous workload and by the time academic work picked up for my final 2 years I had basically decided that my priorities were my training and studio projects and that everything else came second. I'd say I spent an average of 2-3 hours a day training and while I wasn't great with time management, I always tried to start my final crit push a couple weeks earlier than my classmates (meaning no last minute all-nighters) since I knew I would want to also emphasize my sleeping and training as championship season rolled around. In general I took my sleep super seriously (9+ hours whenever possible).
I too am currently figuring it out if it is feasible to use my remaining eligibility during my M.Arch but I know that it won't be as simple as it was as an undergrad. These thoughts/warnings/advice are helpful.
That is my dilemma as well, I have time remaining on my eligibility clock too! And I don't think I know how rigorous it will be going from running at a D2 school to a D1 school and adding on an M.Arch, coming from a simple BA
I did my undergrad while competing as a D1 athlete and it was very challenging at times. I had to sacrifice a lot of time spent practicing when deadlines were close, but I also had a very empathetic and flexible coach who knew that school came first. I would often lose sleep because of the extra time spent practicing and competing whereas many of my peers could use that time to work on studio work, take a part time job, or just relax. I think you will need to have a discussion with the coaching staff to make sure they are understanding, as it can cause a lot of issues if they aren't, which will leave you frustrated and tired.