Looking at your list too and what a previous commentor mentioned, each school often has their very different focus or approach in architecture (and class size.) renseleear is more of an engineering school and when we visited there, it was very evident that their focus was very much in the future of building materials and structural elements. On our visit there, we heard a presentation from the Dean of the arch school which was fascinating but my D was clear she was more into overall design and not the technical engineering/material side of things. (Plus the school overall is something like 70/30 M/F and honestly they seemed desperate for women to apply…)
Cornell is ivy of course so you need to know that’s a fit for you (not for my D) but it’s a great program. However, at least 5 years ago, their frosh arch class was 50 students, 25 male/25 female, so set your expectations appropriately). We visited RSDI too and for my D, (who is very artistic) thought it had too much focus on only design and the aesthetic aspects which makes sense. Having been to have calpoly program she had an eye for what she was looking for (honestly I was along for the ride on the college tours.) Many programs like calpoly or Northeastern or USC are broader arch programs where you can find more concentration on what you like. A school like Northeasterns, while broad, def has an urban design and planning focus. I guess my point is that all the programs are great and will lead to a great education, but they all have their own flair, so finding your fit within the arch program and the entire university community is key.
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