Looking at various options for C26 for architecture, and wondering if anyone has a general sense of how difficult it is to get admitted to the major after a pre-arch freshman year for those schools that require this. Question prompted by a Reddit post about UMN where the poster stated that of a starting class of around 300, only about 100 get through into either the BS or BDes in arch. Not clear how much of this is due to loss of interest/bad grades etc vs rejection of decent applicants but from some other posts it seems that it is quite a rejective procedure (example, repeat applicants being denied again). Off the top of my head other schools that do this (not all on C26’s radar) include UDub and Utah. University of Arizona also does this for their 5-year BArch.
I know that some other schools do have requirements of say maintaining a 3.0 GPA to continue, but that’s a different mindset than not knowing if you’re even going to be there the next year. Any insight on this, either generally or school-specific?
Funny, I was looking at Arizona and it says pre-major required and to go to College of Architecture, Planning, & Landscape Architecture requirement page. They don’t give a link - so i went on my own and tried to find the requirements and I can’t…so not a good process.
But I imagine each school has their own methods - so could be some of the reasons you state (dis interest, etc) or just that architecture is hard and many can’t handle it. I remember as a Syracuse student, the Architecture kids were pulling all nighters at a more frequent level than others.
You maybe should set up appointments with admissions counselors at schools of interest to make sure nothing goes unseen.
I don’t know the answer, but I’m curious to hear responses. When I’ve read about different architecture programs, it does seem as though there is a talent level screen as part of the secondary admission. I think it’s a bit of an ideological choice. Some B. Arch programs require a portfolio to gain entry to the program, which is assurance for those who make it, but might leave out people who could have been successful but didn’t have adequate preparation available in high school. Then there are programs who want to be open to anyone coming from high school to provide a year of training to help kids who didn’t have exposure prior to college, but then those programs still need to do a talent screen before allowing students to continue through the program.
I understand that architecture is a combination of both design and technical knowledge. But if we were to use me as an example, I could be very interested in architecture and start in a pre-arch program. No matter how willing I am to pull all-nighters and how much technical knowledge I have…I am no artist. So although I may learn some techniques to improve my drawing, it might be extremely reasonable (and even likely) that I would never make it past a portfolio screening because that is just an area where I have relatively little talent.
I’ve never done an architecture program, however, so all I said is based on researching different programs and my own reading between the lines, so hopefully we’ll hear from others with more expertise.
Agree with others on this. It’s going to depend on school and on program and impossible to paint with a broad brush.
If the student is firmly set on the direction to become an architect but it’s unclear what their proficiency in the subject is (i.e. lack of artistic ability or other criteria), the schools that have some sort of cut-down process might give me pause.
If the student is firmly set and shows strong proficiency, I would be less inclined to worry too much about a program that has a cut-down. Then again, Freshman year of college can be a difficult transition for MANY students irrespective of major.
I mean, there is effectively some sort of cut down in most cases I believe as (I need to check case by case but) I think generally they need to get a 2.5-3.0 in the major courses - which also implies that they need to do reasonably well in studio etc to move on. But that’s a different goal and you know what to aim for. When 2/3 of a class don’t make it past freshman year, that does give me pause. I know the BArch programs are said to whittle down by about half between entry and graduation but I understand some of that is the intensity too (one of the reasons we are mainly looking at BS programs) - and even compared to that the UMN stats look scary.
C26 has innate artistic ability, did some good stuff (good non-generic feedback) in the summer workshop, and is strong at STEM so I think all the pieces are there. I’m inclined to avoid the extra stress of another hurdle if possible regardless of that. As you say - freshman year is an adjustment.
Mostly familiar with Tulane. One of the courses they offer and required of the BArch students is an “Intro to Architecture” course. This course is also available to the broader school as an elective and almost 500 students take it (it’s online). 80-90% of the students that take it are NOT BArch students.
There was a Reddit post about this. One of the students there said that of 300 students in the pre-architecture year, only around 50 each were admitted into the BS and BDesign degrees for architecture. Some of the responses backed that up.
“ Students applying to the College of Design declare a major as part of the application. As an admitted “pre-architecture” student, you will take critical inquiry and design fundamental courses during your first year in the college. After you’ve completed the required courses and at least 30 college credits, you will apply to the BS major degree program. Once admitted to the BS major you can begin taking design studios and other major-only coursework.” Same process for the BDA.
Thanks - was curious so went to their website and what you have in quotes supports the methodology but my ?? was more around how to validate the numbers. I don’t have a tinfoil hat but I’m suspect of anything that gets reported on social media - not always but mostly by disenfranchised parents or students looking to disparage a school or program that they wanted acceptance into and didn’t get.
The UMN course registration program is a little tough to navigate and it doesn’t allow searching prior year course offerings but it appears for Pre-Arch one of the requirements is Design Fundamentals I (ARCH 1281 Fall Semester). For the Fall 2025 the class capacity is 192 with 171 currently enrolled. It does not say this course is restricted to Pre-Arch so some of those students could absolutely be other programs.
Once admitted to Architecture one of the course requirements is ARCH 2301 - Drawing & Critical Thinking of which they have 6 sections with 23 seats each suggesting they have ~135 seats available for this course. No way of knowing if this course is only taken by Arch students or not.
The most recent Graduation program on their website I can find is 2006 - so while it’s a bit dated in my observation unless the school has undergone substantial change, the numbers don’t vary a whole lot over the years. It lists 45 students conferred BA-Arch and 104 students conferred BS-Arch.
Could it be they have more students apply for the BA program and they cut those down and those that don’t get admitted there end up in the BS? I don’t know - but those numbers definitely don’t indicate a cut down from 300 to 50.
Of course this is just guessing based on some looking at the course registration and better to ask specific questions of UMN if that’s a consideration for your C26.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear - they said around 50 to each program so 100 in total. Apparently the BDA is easier to get into. The post was by someone who claimed to have got through. But I agree, getting the info from the college would be preferable. C26 is away atm but I’ll ask them to email for the info when they get back.
Interesting maybe they also said there was no real difference in getting internships or jobs whether BS or BDA.