Category Archives for Becoming an Architect

Syracuse University


Another wonderful New York architecure university is Syracuse. It’s a private school in the mid-sized city of Syracuse, New York. Here’s some facts:

  • 20,407 students
  • 49% acceptance rate
  • $36,300 tuition
  • semester calendar
  • school colors are orange and white
  • 80% graduate within six years

Syracuse offers both a B.Arch. and a M.Arch program. ArchDaily ranked it’s B.Arch. as 8th in the United States.

For more information visit:
http://soa.syr.edu/index.php

Rice University

Another university with an amazing architecture program is Rice University. It’s a private university located in the large city of Houston, Texas.

  • 19% admission rate
  • $34,900 tuition
  • just under 6,000 students, about 200 of which are in the architecture program
  • semester calendar
  • school colors are blue and grey

Rice offers a Bachelor and a Master of Architecture.
DesignIntelligence ranked Rice University as the third best undergraduate architecture program.
http://arch.rice.edu/

Want more?
Visit my reviews on CalPoly and Cornell!

National Portfolio Day Event Review

I attended National Portfolio Day at the San Francisco Art Institute this past weekend. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had never made an official portfolio before, but I learned a lot and had fun in San Francisco.
Here’s my top 5 tips I wish I knew beforehand:

1. Go late!!
-At first the lines were very long for the most popular colleges but towards the end of the event, the wait is much shorter. At noon the line for CCA was an hour long and by three, I was able to walk right in!
2. Practice Presenting
-Work on the best way to present yourself without having to write all over your portfolio. Decide on a few key things that set you apart, inspire you, or are your goals for the future.
3. Be prepared
Take notes on the colleges that are going to be there, write down questions, and make a list of the colleges in order of your preference.
4. Bring a buddy (or two)
I was so thankful to have a friend and my mom with me! Buddies are helpful for waiting in long lines, getting you food, as moral support, and as an extra set of hands for all those college pamphlets!
5. Take notes
After every review, write down unique things that college said because at the end of the day, all the feedback will mush together.

I hope this feedback helps you in putting together your portfolio or in your decision to attend a National Portfolio Day event.

Still got questions on how to put together a portfolio?
Leave me a comment below…

Cornell University

It’s my second college review! Last time I introduced Cal Poly. Today I’ll be telling you a little about Cornell. It’s a small private university in Itaca, New York. It has an amazing architecture program. Now here’s some facts:

  • the tuition is about $41,000
  • the acceptance rate is 18%
  • it’s on a semester calendar
  • it’s school colors are red and white

There are 493 undergraduates in Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, 82 of which are international representing 30 different countries. There are 278 graduate students and 56 faculty membrers. In addition to their NAAB accredited 5 year Bachelor of Architecture and 3.5 year Master of Architecture program, they offer many other degrees including a Bachelor of Science in History of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Studies.

Cornell’s B.Arch. has recieved 1st place in the DesignIntelligence(DI) survey of America’s best architecture and design schools, the fourth time in a row it’s won this award. It’s graduate architecture program placed fifth behind Harvard, Columia, Yale, and MIT.
Find out more at http://aap.cornell.edu/

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

New to If Walls Could Dream, college reviews! First, I’ll introduce you to Cal Poly. It was one of the first colleges I’d heard about with such a strong architecture program. The campus is in the beautiful town of San Luis Obispo. It’s small enough to feel safe and unique but large enough to have plenty to do. And the weather can’t be beat. Now here’s the facts:

  • its’ a public institution
  • it has a small suburban campus
  • it’s on a quarter calendar
  • there’s about 18,700 students
  • the acceptance rate is 37%
  • the in-state tuition is about $9,000
  • the out of state tuition is almost $18,000

Their College of Architecture and Environmental Design has a 5 year NAAB accredited Bachelor of Architecture program.
They offer 4th year off-campus programs anywhere from Paris or Rome, to Switzerland or Germany.
DesignIntelligence (DI) ranked Cal Poly as the top architecture program in the west.
It’s estimated that one in five architects in California are Cal Poly graduates.
Find out more at http://www.calpoly.edu/