Last first year class, MSU was 67% white and 19% black. They are drawing more OOS due to the cost (I mean, smart OOS kids are $20K-ish). I’ve only heard great things - especially the STEM kids and even a Jewish student from here (Nashville area) excelled there.
Tulane last year enrolled 62% white and 13.5% hispanic.
I’d say both are diverse - but Tulane more so - and definitely wealthier.
I think Tulane is a great choice - if the student can handle the academics and all the distractions. I just didn’t understand the write up with the program they’d be in and the merit that may not last. The sure bet for $$ and architecture are MSU - but Tulane sounds like it could be a sure bet too whereas Auburn seems some level of risk - although some here thought not as much as OP stated.
Auburn’s second year weed-out process can be viewed as a positive since it should result in a serious academic mindset for freshmen architecture majors.
Also, the weed-out process seems reasonable since Auburn does not accept or review portfolios prior to being admitted as a freshman. This suggests that there could be a wide variation of the talent & ability level of those interested in majoring in architecture, thereby making the culling process necessary to assure a base level of competence.
Are portfolios reviewed prior to admission to the architecture programs at Mississippi State U. or at Tulane University ?
Mississippi State requires a portfolio & drawings prior to admission as an architecture major.
Tulane highly recommends submission of a portfolio, but it is not required.
For schools that “highly recommend” a portfolio it’s generally seen as something you should be doing unless it’s evident within your HS Curriculum there would have been no opportunity to develop one.
Yes and No… I agree that it’s good to potentially set expectations early of the difficulty of the program and ideally students will self-select out. This is how most schools handle it. The issue is that the programs are SO structured that you take very few classes that would applicable to any other program. So now the student may be on a “5 year program” that isn’t B.Arch.
We looked at Auburn closely in 2022 (applied, accepted, visited, etc) and they were VERY opaque around how the cut down happens - even when asked very direct questions. So you have a student that’s willing to put in the work, loves the classes, etc etc but might not be as artistically talented as some of their peers. Oops, sorry, we only have 90 spots and you’re number 91. And yes, if they have 90 spots it’s because they have 90 desks in studio, not 91. Transfer into another schools B.Arch program is usually not happening.
Probably true, but all 3 (Tulane, Miss State, & Auburn) have very specific requirements/guidelines online for transfer into their respective B.Arch. programs.
Nevertheless, Mississippi State’s program should receive strong consideration for the B.Arch. program. Auburn is arguably the best overall atmosphere,but maybe not for the B.Arch. program.
With respect to crime concerns in New Orleans, it is not the safest place in the country. New Orleans was developed in a checkerboard pattern with the result that while St. Charles Avenue Uptown might be safe, two blocks back might be very dangerous.
Anyone can download New Orleans Crime Map as well as a separate New Orleans Murder Map to evaluate risky areas. However, I am not sure how up-to-date these maps are.
Transfer admissions can be difficult as it is typically on-a-space-availble-basis.
The summer semester is mandatory. Kids are assigned to either fall + spring studio OR summer studio only. It’s first come-first served, and my kid got summer. So student was waitlisted for the fall+spring program and the result wasn’t to be shared until July after all the scheduling appointments happened. The Cs referenced are minimum requirements, they take 80 kids from the school year studio and summer studio combined for second year per the department meeting at admitted day.
We were told at the admitted department tour that there are a fairly significant number of Auburn students who choose to leave the architecture program on their own. Either they don’t enjoy the work, the dedication expected, or they are frustrated by the do over and over again process. We were told clearly that not all 80 of the cut students are being let go. Since they aren’t checking artistic or creative talent prior to acceptance, but are basing it on SAT/ACT and gpa, some kids find that they have more book smarts than hands-on aptitude. This is where my artistic student has low concerns.
With Auburn, the main concern was cost. For Tulane, the main concerns were crime/partying. For MSU, it was crime and the isolated location. MSU had four town-resident young adults come to the main entertainment area in Starkville the weekend before decision day, during a festival people travel in to attend, and start shooting. It was very bad timing for MSU.
Edit: This kid got into other waitlisted programs in the final week of April, and ultimately chose Tulane. The information presented here was really helpful, thank you.
Many city college areas can have crime. You just keep your eyes open when you are several blocks off campus and travel with friends. The only problem my son ever experienced at Tulane was a package was stolen off his front porch one year. A good friend’s son was an architecture major at Tulane and is doing fabulously. He had an internship in Australia and ended up going back there and lives there happily. We just visited him, his wife and baby daughter outside of Sydney.
Thanks for clarifying Auburn’s system. I think they could do a better job explaining the sequence on their website.
The BArch is a demanding degree because it requires equal parts design talent, technical mastery and strong communication skills both visual and verbal.
For various reasons, quite a few schools don’t include a portfolio review in the admissions criteria. I’m sure they have the best intentions, but to me it feels like an over complicated and unnecessarily stressful experience.
That may be true - and it’s been a couple of years so things could certainly have changed - but most programs we toured outlined that “paths to transfer in are much more challenging that initial admission”. Architecture is not unlike some other programs (Nursing comes to mind) in which there’s a fixed number of spots.
Congrats on Tulane and the program. It’s a great place and a really fun place to visit (for parents).
Auburn engineers are typically pretty quiet, too much work and too hard to party outside of football weekends and boy are they fun! My son was aerospace engineering (bachelors) and mechanical engineering (masters) and his first summer roommate was an Architect major that put the engineering students to shame, he literally took his pillow to wherever they do their work - he was in some kind of specialist rural studio program or something. Just remember son saying how hard he thought aerospace was but decided it didn’t compare to the load architect students put in. Auburn does have a very reputable architecture program and I don’t know any student that didn’t fall in love with the school. But, FIT matters more than anything so he’ll figure it out, all 3 great schools.
My alma mater (UW-Madison) and Auburn met in three bowl games in the span of about ten years. I was at the first of those, the Music city Bowl in about 2004. You guys had Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown – two future pro tailbacks – while our best offensive player was Lee Evans, who would go on to be a productive NFL receiver.
That was a good game that was competitive in the 4th quarter – as were the other two. And while that’s the one we lost, the experience was rewarding partly due to the cool Auburn fans I met. War Eagle and Jump Around (and general fan noise and other cheering traditions and songs…) made the game a fun one to attend.