So maybe this is a little early but kid is looking at schools and thinking about options. Currently we have one dream school, one almost safety that student would be happy at, and one true safety (CC). Looking for suggestions of more match schools in particular. Student wants to live “somewhere nice” but does not have a “type” other than not too rural so it’s hard to give guidelines on that.
Demographics
US domestic *US citizen
State/Location of residency: *California
Type of high school *Public (Bay Area, strong school)
Gender/Race/Ethnicity *
Other special factors *n/a
Intended Major(s) Architecture (4 year degree, not BArch) or related field - intend to do MArch in due course
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: so far - 3.3 - but mostly due to poor freshman year; rising trend as previously undiagnosed ADHD now addressed (3.6 2nd semester sophomore year)
Weighted HS GPA : expected around 3.5 by application
Class Rank: school does not rank
ACT/SAT Scores: not yet taken other than practice tests with no prep, but student tests well - would expect 1400+ SAT
Coursework
Not much rigor - will do honors precalc & probably AP Calc.
Awards
Two national LOTE exam honors awards - not sure how meaningful these are
Expected to get arts distinction award in senior year but would be after application season
Extracurriculars
*not much (but aligns with intended major) - summer camp in science/art/makerspace from 1st grade through CIT to counselor
Essays/LORs/Other
*expect both to be good -student writes very well, math & sciences teachers especially love them and likely will give excellent LOR
**Cost Constraints - none
Schools
Safety (certain admission and affordability)
CC - UC pathway. This was discussed as an option before ADHD dealt with, but student still open to this if necessary.
Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
Cal Poly Pomona - landscape architecture (4 year) - non impacted major so my understanding is that it is almost a sure admit for CA resident with their GPA. Student likes the sound of this course a lot, and would be very happy to attend. ( @Gumbymom is our assessment of admission chances accurate? If not, would need to look for more in this category)
Match
CU Boulder (environmental design to major in architecture). Possibly low reach on current stats but they will note improving GPA trend, & will submit SAT if in range we estimate. Student will meet CU requirements for “strong” applicant as well as dept recommendations for physics and design courses. This is dream course/school at present. Would apply EA.
We struggle on other matches. CO is about as far east as they’ll go. Oregon & ASU have environmental design degrees but student has very little interest in living in Eugene or Tempe. Utah is out. Basically we haven’t found anything yet that they think they would prefer to CPP. Any recs welcome!
Reach
Student not really interested in reaches so far … will tick box for Cal Poly SLO as submitting CSU app for CPP anyway. Considering USF and USD architecture majors but student is not keen on theology requirements in core curricula. Suggestions for another reach?
For Cal Poly SLO, they use 9-11th grades for the a-g course requirements instead of the 10-11th grades for the rest of the Cal States with the same 8 semester Honors point cap for 10-11th Honors eligible courses. SLO will be a Reach school due to his Freshman grades but worth adding to the list.
Another Reach would be UC Davis for Landscape Architecture so depending upon how Junior year goes, it could be worth the time to apply.
You list specifically NOT B-Arch but then have Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly SLO. They’re listed on the NAAB list as B-Arch programs (unless they have a BA/BS Arch as well that I’m not seeing on their websites?).
Thank you. We definitely know SLO is a reach, Davis (as a town) has not appealed to date (we’ve been through it a few times) but may have another look. I’m not sure WSU would be seen as an attractive option but can have another look.
Landscape architecture is 4 years at CPP. The course sounds like a great “context degree” for an MArch (not sure how else to explain it). There’s almost no chance of a BArch admit at SLO but if they got in they’d think again about it… but it’s probably too intense for a student with ADHD.
A lot of the alternatives I would have suggested are too far east, unfortunately.
Would they consider Hawaii, by any chance? I understand that it’s just as far as east coast… but the WUE discount makes it as affordable as in-state, and they have a nice ENVD program: http://www.arch.hawaii.edu/bachelor-of-environmental-design/ This was my D’s first admit, and it was a nice stress-reliever going forward from there, to be able to say, “No matter what else happens, I can always go to Hawaii, and that doesn’t sound half bad…!”
I am not that knowledgeable about the Architecture programs, but SLO’s Landscape Architecture program seems very similar to the CPP program and although all majors are impacted, it can be an easier admit than the regular BArch program so is that the program he is considering if applying to SLO?
SLO’s LArch program seems a more focused program, and it’s 5 years. If a landscape architect was the end goal it would be worth pursuing, but an architect is the end goal.
Portland State would certainly get a look - I think you may have mentioned it on another thread of mine. I looked at it, and it’s not competitive to get in, but you need to apply for the major I think t the end of sophomore year. We didn’t look in detail (because the response was: rather CPP) but it is worth another look I think. Have not looked at UNM yet but will do so - they liked alberquerque when we were there - will take a look at program details. Thanks!
I haven’t seen statistics the secondary admissions process at Portland State. My impression was that it’s less “weed-out” than a checkpoint - a portfolio review to make sure you’re on track and serious about moving forward. But the info does say “competitive” and I don’t know for sure - would definitely ask if seriously considering. The advantages over CPP to me would be 1) architecture (vs. LArch) focus from day one 2) very robust community engagement in a city that supports a lot of cool public-benefit projects and 3) clear pathway to MArch and licensure. The environs are quite different between the two schools but either could be preferred depending on one’s desires.
I’ll be interested to hear how you think the UNM and CPP programs compare. The design side is more LArch than Arch at both, but in a way that, as you say, could work for pre-MArch, and at least there’s a strong studio component. The tie-ins with Native American issues at UNM look interesting, although I don’t know whether that would be a draw for your kid in any way. At any rate, another attainable option that seems worth a closer look. Good luck!!
I had a look at the UNM and it’s maybe too social issue focused. My kid is very aware of and in support of these issues - just doesn’t particularly want to spend too much time studying them in great detail - they are more interested in courses that focus on the studio/ design and math-y aspects, which are their strong points. (Understanding they won’t get away from these entirely of course). This is also the reason why the UCLA architecture major (where you do 2 years in a different faculty or college then transfer in in junior year) had little interest for them. Part of the attraction of CPP is the diversity of surrounding environments (desert, shore, city) and (apparently) a lot of field trips, as well as the more “learning by doing” that characterizes the Cal Polys in general.
Tbh I’m not overly concerned about the competitive transfer at PSU - I have full confidence in the kid’s ability to get a great portfolio together. I’m just not sure they want to be “uncertain” for 2 years.
Not sure if you could sell Kansas as a destination, but it’s the next adjacent state past Colorado, and I’ve literally never heard a bad word about K-State - it’s widely known as a happy and supportive campus. And the curriculum is a bit like Boulder’s in that all tracks have a common first-year Environmental Design curriculum https://apdesign.k-state.edu/academics/degrees-and-programs/
U of Wisconsin Milwaukee has a BS in Architecture Studies (and a masters). Direct flights easy to find.
U of Nebraska Omaha has Architectural Engineering.
I suspect Kansas will be no for similar reasons to Utah; but that’s kind of what we’re looking for, a similar program.
re Nebraska, the engineering angle doesn’t excite them as much (and I suspect Nebraska wouldn’t either). There are a number of other options closer to home too if that was the field.
I’m curious why you’d be looking at an undergrad Landscape Architect degree if the goal is MArch and ultimately a registered Architect. I’m not saying you can’t get there, but the traditional route is 5+1 BArch-MArch or 4+2 BSAS-MArch. An undergrad degree in Landscape Architecture really is a different course of study.
Freshman Student Profile lists last year’s threshold for landscape architecture as 2950, based on CPP’ formula of CSU_GPA * 1000 + 450 (i.e. CSU_GPA of 2.5). So, while the threshold could change this year due to application volume, it would be very likely if the CSU_GPA is 3.3 or higher.