I'm a senior about to go off to college this year, and I'm torn between University of Hartford, and Roger Williams University. I've gotten accepted into both schools, Roger Williams would cost me around 44K a year, and U-Hart would cost a little bit over 30K. I'm not sure which way to go and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for which school has a better overall architecture program, and if Roger Williams is better, does it really warrant going to there with a much higher tuition cost.
Wood Guy
Feb 13, 23 4:47 pm
I don't have first-hand experience at either one but I know and have worked with a lot of architects who went to Roger Williams and they have all been good to work with.
Chad Miller
Feb 13, 23 6:17 pm
I don't know anything about either of these schools but I will say this.
Back in 2002 I was $38k in debt total for a six year masters program. I paid around $160 a month for ten years before my loan was paid off.
The AVERAGE pay for a first year graduate is around $41K a year. This is taking into account the large metro areas that pay more (NYC, San Fran, ect) but have a super high cost of living.
Your initial pay isn't going to impacted much by where your degree is from, it's all about your skill, experience, and who you know. More prestigious schools MAY help in those areas . . .
Non Sequitur
Feb 13, 23 6:28 pm
30k/year is criminal. 44k is fucking ridiculous.
Wood Guy
Feb 13, 23 6:39 pm
We can't all live in your communist paradise ;-) My school was $30K/year, 30 years ago. I don't even want to know what it costs now. Fortunately I had decent financial aid and was able to pay off my loans in 10 short years while working as a carpenter.
smaarch
Feb 14, 23 1:03 am
So what's the problem? Tuition or the exploitation of faculty? Been on both sides...
OP, just out of caution...you're aware of the differences between a four year B.A. majoring in Architecture, and a five year B.Arch degree? According to NAAB's website, Neither UofH or RW offer a B.Arch degree, which generally means that you'll need to go back to school and get an M.Arch in order to meet the requirements to take the ARE and become an architect some day. Some states to have an option to eventually become an architect w/out a B.Arch but I believe only a handful of states currently have an option like that. (NY used to allow you to take the exam after 10 years working for a registered architect, but I think they got rid of that option at some point).
True story, when I was an undergrad, we were sitting around and one of my classmates said "can you believe we'll be out of here in one more year?" When we told him we had 2 more years to go, he didn't believe us at first "college is 4 years dummies." Three years in and he didn't know he was in a 5 year program. He transferred to another major the next day.
square.
Mar 30, 23 8:48 am
i don't think either of these schools is worth the money (i'm in the northeast and am familiar with both).
it would be wise to go to community college or a state school for a year or two and reapply to other programs, or even the same ones, to get more money.
reallynotmyname
Mar 31, 23 1:09 pm
U Hartford seems slightly better to me as it looks like you could get out of there in 5 years versus 5.5 at Roger Williams although there's a mandatory summer baked into the U Hartford sequence. Both seem really pricey and better deals are out there at public schools that offer a 5 year Bachelor of Architecture.
I'm a senior about to go off to college this year, and I'm torn between University of Hartford, and Roger Williams University. I've gotten accepted into both schools, Roger Williams would cost me around 44K a year, and U-Hart would cost a little bit over 30K. I'm not sure which way to go and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for which school has a better overall architecture program, and if Roger Williams is better, does it really warrant going to there with a much higher tuition cost.
I don't have first-hand experience at either one but I know and have worked with a lot of architects who went to Roger Williams and they have all been good to work with.
I don't know anything about either of these schools but I will say this.
Back in 2002 I was $38k in debt total for a six year masters program. I paid around $160 a month for ten years before my loan was paid off.
The AVERAGE pay for a first year graduate is around $41K a year. This is taking into account the large metro areas that pay more (NYC, San Fran, ect) but have a super high cost of living.
Your initial pay isn't going to impacted much by where your degree is from, it's all about your skill, experience, and who you know. More prestigious schools MAY help in those areas . . .
30k/year is criminal. 44k is fucking ridiculous.
We can't all live in your communist paradise ;-) My school was $30K/year, 30 years ago. I don't even want to know what it costs now. Fortunately I had decent financial aid and was able to pay off my loans in 10 short years while working as a carpenter.
So what's the problem? Tuition or the exploitation of faculty? Been on both sides...
Depends:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/p...
https://thebestschools.org/res...
https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/...
OP, just out of caution...you're aware of the differences between a four year B.A. majoring in Architecture, and a five year B.Arch degree? According to NAAB's website, Neither UofH or RW offer a B.Arch degree, which generally means that you'll need to go back to school and get an M.Arch in order to meet the requirements to take the ARE and become an architect some day. Some states to have an option to eventually become an architect w/out a B.Arch but I believe only a handful of states currently have an option like that. (NY used to allow you to take the exam after 10 years working for a registered architect, but I think they got rid of that option at some point).
True story, when I was an undergrad, we were sitting around and one of my classmates said "can you believe we'll be out of here in one more year?" When we told him we had 2 more years to go, he didn't believe us at first "college is 4 years dummies." Three years in and he didn't know he was in a 5 year program. He transferred to another major the next day.
i don't think either of these schools is worth the money (i'm in the northeast and am familiar with both).
it would be wise to go to community college or a state school for a year or two and reapply to other programs, or even the same ones, to get more money.
U Hartford seems slightly better to me as it looks like you could get out of there in 5 years versus 5.5 at Roger Williams although there's a mandatory summer baked into the U Hartford sequence. Both seem really pricey and better deals are out there at public schools that offer a 5 year Bachelor of Architecture.