students of university of Texas

[alejandro serrano]

Hi

Fist of all, sorry because of my english
I want to know if any of you studied architecture in the University of Texas, i heard it is one of the best in architecture and a friend is going there, so i was thinking about applying and i dedicated to investigate about how is the school and the life there. Im 16 year old and i will start the last year of high school now.

I have been most of my vacations traveling to usa (i live in cancun, Mexico) so i know a little of the american life. but nothing like a hint of people who live and studied there.

It would be great if any of you have gone only to study so you can tell me your experiences.
I LOVE architecture i love all that have to do with it and i know thats what i want. also you can tell me about your life as an architect

Thanks a lot, and yes, i should improve my english there:P

[Russell Thomas]

Every major school will claim reasons to be considered a top institution and the students there will regurgitate that information, so take it with a grain of salt.

There are list online which don't match what I would have thought:

http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/researchschool4.html

http://www.di.net/archschools/schools.html


I am long out of the schoolastic circles but perhaps the list I might make would be something like this:

Harvard
Columbia
Cornell
Princeton
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kansas State University
Carnegie Mellon's School of Architecture
Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA


Really depends on who you talk to and what criteria is used. Good Luck!

[Devin Johnston]

I went to the University of Houston and from my experience I would rank the Texas schools in this order.

Rice University
University of Houston
Texas A&M University
University of Texas
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at Arlington

Rice University and University of Houston focus mainly on design where as A&M focuses more on the technical side of architecture and Texas is somewhere inbetween. You should also look into each schools program, for example A&M didn't offer a bachelor's degree while I was in school, you had to go to their program for 6 years to get a Masters instead of 5 like most programs to get your bachelor's.

[Russell Thomas]

I would note that a 5 year degree is a professional degree and you might get two Bachelor's like a Bach of the Science of Architecture and a Bach of Architecture. The 5 year professional degree requires 3 years of Internship in the US (Masters requires 2 years of Internship) while a true 4 year Bachelor's requires 8 (?) years of internship (Use to be able to intern for 12 years under a registered architect and then take the exams, so they subtracted that 4 years for a Bachelor's from that 12 years) I believe to qualify to take your exams and become registered in the US. Important to know as you check out schools, if you are going to practice outside the US make sure you know requirements and that your US degree is transferable to your countries registration program.

[alejandro serrano]

Thanks a lot

I didnt understand that about 8 years of internship, that means i have to stay there also finishing my studies?

You are very lucky to live in USA
There are many of the best universities in the world
Im thinking too in University of California, i have family there so i think it would be easier to decide.
I have read a lot and i dont really understand how much you have to pay
it is expensive?
I have to search about because somewhere i found that foreign people studying there cant work :S and i was thinking to find a job.

Also im going to San Francisco in a month so i will investigate if there is a good university too.

Thanks for your help

[Russell Thomas]

It varies from state to state and is kind of complicated, it goes from 3 to 8 years internship to qualify to take the exams after only obtaining a 4 year degree. You would have to investigate for the state you are planning to get licensed in.

http://www.ncarb.org/stateboards/MBRfaqinitial08.asp

[alejandro serrano]

what about the frees

Financial Information
UCLA does not award scholarships or financial aid to undergraduate students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. International students must prove that they have sufficient funds available to them to pay for their educational and living expenses. For example, students admitted to Fall Quarter 2009 will need a minimum of over $51,000 (with an additional $5,000 recommended for additional personal expenses, contingencies and summer expenses). This minimum amount usually grows each year.

$51,000 is the fee for a year?

oh man, i definitively need to search for something cheaper

[Russell Thomas]

Well if you live in a country that the US is trying to improve their sphere of influence in that particular geological demographic, then there may be free rides available. Kind of annoyed the hell out of me to see our government throwing money at people from different countries while I worked my way through college at a full service gas station, but such is life, check into, never know what is available.

[alejandro serrano]

well i have to check it but is really expensive
i dont think i could pay that

so ill continue searching

anyone knows about a good and less expensive university in usa?

thanks in advance

[Devin Johnston]

California is the worst place you could go, everything is more expensive there from housing to food so if your on a budget I wouldn't look there. Texas on the other hand is one of the cheaper places you could go, we don't have high taxes and we haven't experienced much of the recession that's going on now.