da_mad_cow

LP75, yet another surprise.
I never expect Yale's curriculum to give you more chance to relax than Cornell's

Lp75

It is probably not a difference between Yale and Cornell, but between the BArch and the Bachellors of Architecture. I took a look at Cornell's requirements and there are 5-6 classes a semester for 5 years. Yale's requirements are 4-5 classes for 4 years. The intensity of each class is probably similar. There are just more classes in the Cornell program.

gomestar

"i think i'm going to be honest about it. architecture major takes up probably more of your time than most majors."

having not read most of the latter posts here, I can say this is only sort of true. My gf is in arch. at Cornell and she's in the studio substantially less than most people, yet she's at the top of the class. The difference? She doesn't socialize while she works, other people are bringing in food, chit chatting, blasting music, planning parties, discussing past parties ... everything but studio work. I'm at Rand hall ALOT, and I've seen too many all nighters pulled not from an overabundance of work but rather from poor priority selection.

cheers

Finally! A confirmation of the theory of: "If you cannot do it in eight hours, you cannot do it".

A ton of time is wasted in architecture school--happily wasted I might add.

nahj

Is architecture too demanding for a person who has great techniques in pure art (painting, scetching, etc), but only does okay in math&sci and wants to major in arch for pure interest towards design? (not great at designing stuff, but interested)

sashimi46

there's not a lot of math and science involved....most of them are mainly just structure and building tech courses....and theyre not too hard. design is the main focus of most arch schools....particularly generating ideas and becoming critical thinkers.

architecture however is not pure art. it is not completely subjective and could be compared to debate..you have to be very critical in how you think (but sometimes you have to be irrational as well). however, like art, its way of teaching you how to think is very open...so being creative is very important.

Tzar

Architecture is really its own thing-- yes there is tons of design- but it is a different method of thinking altogether. You have to try it out to know if you will like it.

da_mad_cow

Yew...this is getting confusing. Sounds like arch school is darn busy for some, not that much for others.

I'm not 100% sure what to take. I love designs but I'm good at physics as well, and math...except calculus that is.

I dont mind working hard as long as theres decent time to socialize.

da_mad_cow

"As far as; will I have a social life? I always tell folks that architecture is not a major, it is a cult. Who needs a social life when you are part of a cult?"

I do.

larationalist

Lp75- you seem to be confused about the degree types. A BArch is just an abbreviation for a Bachelors in Architecture, which is the degree with the heavier workload. A BA or BS in Architecture may have a lesser workload.

I would bet that though gomestar's girlfriend is in studio "substantially less than most people", she still spends more time on her work than people in other majors do.

da_mad_cow

But is it true you need the BArch to get licensed?

larationalist

In most states you need an accredited degree to get licensed. An accredited degree can be a B.Arch OR an M.Arch. If you're planning on working in a specific state, then check with your state's licensing board for their requirements. If you're not sure, plan on getting an accredited degree at some point.

The general recommendation is that those who are very sure about architecture should get a B.Arch, and those who are less sure should consider a pre-professional (BA or BS) program, and then go for an M.Arch if they do decide they want to pursue architecture. BA/BS programs are generally easier to transfer out of if one decides they want to do something else, while B.Arch programs are so architecture immersive that if you decide to change majors, you won't have taken as many general education classes and such as people who started in that major, which can make school take a bit longer. Of course, if you're willing to take that risk, there's nothing stopping you from trying out a B.Arch program despite some uncertainty.

soozievt

Da_mad_cow...

Like Larationalist, I also think you are confused about degree types and what they are like. Even your comment comparing undergrad at Yale to at Cornell for arch shows me your confusion because Yale is a BA and Cornell is a BArch.

To become a licensed architect, you need either a BArch (five year degree program) or a BA + MArch (often referred to as 4+2 but can be as many as 4+3) degree. So, there are two routes to licensure.

What YOU have to do is to decide if you want to enter a five year professional degree program, a BArch, or a BA with a possible Architecture Major and eventual grad school to get a MArch degree. These are very different undergraduate routes and experiences.

Speaking of personal experience, I have a daughter pursuing architecture. But she only wanted to apply to BA programs for several reasons. At 17, she wasn't yet ready to commit (and a BArch involves a commitment at the point of application) to a field, particularly a field she hadn't truly studied yet enough to know if it was her true calling. Unlike English, architecture was not a subject she had had in school. She had many reasons why she wanted to go into it but wasn't ready to yet commit. Also, she truly wanted to be able to study many things in college even if majoring in architecture as she has many interests and wanted a broad education as her basis before specializing. If one does a professional degree program, such as a BArch, as an undergrad, a big chunk of their curriculum is going to be in ONE area, unlike a BA major which may represent about 30% of one's undergrad curriculum. As well, my D was well aware what it is like to do a BArch type program which involves more courses and more hours than a liberal arts degree. While it is appealing to her, and she definitely wants to do that in grad school, she didn't want to do that for undergrad. It is not like she doesn't like to work hard because she works her butt off at college and attends an Ivy League school. But even when she did summer arch intensive at Harvard and lived in the studio every evening and went to classes all day (more hours than what you do in a BA course schedule), and enjoyed it, she was glad that was not the kind of undergrad experience she had chosen, even though she is happy to do that in grad school. For example, my D is very active in extracurricular pursuits at her college.....a varsity sport team that involves a huge committment daily and being away all weekend in season, a club sport team, volunteer work, heading the undergraduate major as the student leader, being a college tour guide, being an advisor to a freshman group, and so on. That would be harder or likely not possible to do if she was in a BArch program. At her college, she can cross register with a BArch program's courses at a school next door and she KNOWS the studio hours kept by BArch students and that would not fit into her college lifestyle. She prefers to do that sort of thing for graduate school.

These are things for you to think through as to which is the best route for YOU. For instance, I also have a daughter who is in a professional degree program as an undergraduate in a different field, but it is a terminal degree like a BArch can be. She was ready to commit but also she had been in that field her entire life and knew for sure when applying to college. She also was ready to commit to taking nine courses per semester where about 75% of the coursework is in one field and where she attends classes all day and has commitments related to her major degree program every night and most weekends. It is a very different lifestyle and time commitment than a BA program. But for her, this was the right choice.

That is what YOU need to decide and to understand the differences between a BA at a school such as Yale and a BArch at a school such as Cornell. By the way, I saw on another thread you were asking what GPA you must have. You need to look at the academic profile of admitted students to each college you are looking at and ascertain where your stats fall and your chances academically of getting in apart from the portfolio. It is not like a state school with number cut offs. At the more selective schools, your academic profile must be strong and in the ballpark of accepted students to that school. Obviously a strong portfolio is required but if your academic stats do not fit a PARTICULAR school, and it is so competitive to get in, a person with a good portfolio AND the requisite academic stats is going to have the advantage. It is not as if academics do not matter. Apply to schools where your academic profile is in the ballpark for the school's published stats, no matter how good your portofolio is. You also need to examine the degree requirements and curriculum for the major so that you ucan understand the big differences between doing a BA program vs. a BArch program. If you do a BA, you need to do a MArch to become licensed.

I hope this helps explain things a bit.


PS, I cross posted with larationalist's second post which overlaps what I am saying.

gomestar

"I would bet that though gomestar's girlfriend is in studio "substantially less than most people", she still spends more time on her work than people in other majors do."

nah, perhaps more than some, but all of the engineers and pre-med bio freaks have it much worse - in any case, I'd much rather be up all night doing studio type work than memorizing DNA sequences and stuff.

Lp75

"Lp75- you seem to be confused about the degree types. A BArch is just an abbreviation for a Bachelors in Architecture, which is the degree with the heavier workload. A BA or BS in Architecture may have a lesser workload."

Larationalist, I actually know the difference, but I probably didn't state it clear enough. I went back and re-read my post and can see how it isn't quite what I meant. Thank you for pointing this out.

So, for the record. Cornell has a Barch. Yale does not; it is a B.A. in Architecture which does not lead to licensing.

Soozievt, my daughter prefers the B.A. route for the very same reasons. You stated them very elegantly.