| 1. NY and LA are both great places to practice architecture. Historically NY has the history of the skyscrapers, LA has the Case Study program, and both are booming right now.
2. Frankly no architecture school is going to offer you a ton of social life, but being within a larger university, USC would probably offer you more structured opportunities to do things with what time you have.
3. One of the many nicknames is the University of Special Connections for a reason: USC's alumni network is strong, and frequently willing to go out of their way to help a fellow Trojan.
4. I'm not sure about Pratt's 'style', but USC specifically avoids teaching a style, they don't believe that style is valid. The *teaching* style was very much based on the Bauhaus when I was there, and the work trends contemporary, but you'll see everything from very rational but well-detailed work to some much more formally experimental stuff. They really just try to make sure that you have a good reason for everything, and within those parameters most professors won't try to force a specific look on you. The curriculum is balanced in its requirements, and you use your elective credits to decide whether your education slants practical (advanced structures, lighting, construction management), experimental (furniture design, art classes), or theoretical (housing seminar, urban planning). If you could find out similar information for Pratt, you'd be in a good position to make a decision, but I'm not familiar enough to provide it. |