j, i must say that is a very angered reply and i am quite offended to have my mother insulted. i don't see the need of using such rude language.

i do blame myself for not mentioning that rice is my second choice and as i have stated i am extremely happy to be accepted to the programme. however, i have been swayed and suggested by many of the adults around me to consider a transfer to cornell if i really would like to go there more badly than the other schools i've applied to. if i had totally disliked rice i wouldn't have applied to it in the very first place. so far i am just asking for opinions because i know that this is a place abundant of qualified and experienced architects who would be able to provide me with insightful advices. i hope you understand my intentions.

j, i must say that is a very angered reply and i am quite offended to have my mother insulted. i don't see the need of using such rude language.

i do blame myself for not mentioning that rice is my second choice and as i have stated i am extremely happy to be accepted to the programme. however, i have been swayed and suggested by many of the adults around me to consider a transfer to cornell if i really would like to go there more badly than the other schools i've applied to. if i had totally disliked rice i wouldn't have applied to it in the very first place. so far i am just asking for opinions because i know that this is a place abundant of qualified and experienced architects who would be able to provide me with insightful advices. i hope you understand my intentions.

pheebster,

I feel like you should give Rice a shot. I went to Rice, and although, I did not complete the 6 year B.Arch (left with a BA), I think that it is a good program. I have heard a bit of rumbling from current students, and the older threads most likely had comments from me in them. I think the 6 year program has its advantages because it gives you one year of work experience coming out of undergraduate, which makes finding a job a bit easier. It is nice to have a break between your fourth and fifth year because you can get really burned out in architecture school. I don't think I completely understand the class size issue. Do you want to work within a larger studio. I think both have advantages/disadvantages, but for some reason I though Cornell had small studio sizes as well. I think the students in each studio vary differently. I know there was a class that got along very well, and still keep in touch, while the studio after them had many small cliques and did not get along that well.

I don't know what to say about the weather. Houston is hot.

I won't be rude, but I do agree with j. If you are ultimately going to Rice to be in school a year and transfer into Cornell (if you get admitted) I would not accept the admission. Rice accepts about 22 students in each class, and if you don't want to go let someone who wants to go attend. It just takes the space from someone else and loses money for the department. It is not like they can replace another student with you after a year.

I also recommend checking out how Cornell deals with transfers. There were a few transfer students in my class, but the Rice School of Architecture only transferred there credits that were NOT studio. This means they had to still go to school for 6 years. Cornell may have the same policy, which would making attending Rice for one year and then transferring to Cornell, not really beneficial. You would basically be going to school for 6 years anyway, which you could have done at Rice in the first place.

I have to say that if you are considering a transfer before you even accept a place in a school, then you are making the wrong choice. Rice is a diamond in the rough. I've had a few close friends in the arch school there. It ain't a cake walk, you have to want it to make it at Rice (as you do in most schools out there). Just read the threads on this board about schools in general. School is what you make of it. If you are not in it 110%, save your money and go to work at Sonic. If i was ever in your studio, and found out that you had a "plan" to go to come to my school and transfer out after a year, you best be ready for me to open up a can of WHOOP ASS.

As for Houston. It is hot. It also could be one of the most interesting places to study the built fabric of America in the 21st century. Houston is the most underrated city in the United States. You can't come across a nicer population. The food is great. Fantastic ethnic communities.

In short, don't plan yourself into a corner. Don't prejudge Rice, Houston, Texas, Cornell, Class Size, anything. Have you even visited Rice? exert some independence from the "adults around you" and make a decision on your own. If you want to go to Cornell badly enough, don't accept Rice's offer. You will be disappointed at anything Rice has to offer.


j is right. And if you are as selfish as your intentions make it sound, then Rice might not be the right place for you anyway.


My advice . . . Go to Notre Dame and draw some doric columns.

ps. you have to be pretty arrogant to assume that Cornell would accept you a year after they REJECTED you. (especially for undergrad)

thank you sahar and tboy, because both of your comments were very constructive.

i have never assumed cornell would accept me if i applied for a transfer. my sincere apologies for provoking anybody for my naiveness and arrogance. i had not expected to offend anybody for asking such questions on an online forum. the main reason i have posted here is that i felt i needed more advice apart from the "suggestions" my teachers and parents and relatives have given concerning this issue, since i'm aware that their opinions might not be the best or the most appropriate.

i am indeed going to Rice and feel that I would be happy and enlightened there, (i have talked to alumni and i absolutely love its college system) but I also want to know that if I happen to not like the program what my options would be and the possibilites of trying to transfer to another school - and the first school that came to my mind was cornell because afterall it was my first choice all this time. i am indeed very paranoid and was thinking too ahead.

i am writing this very carefully as i want to avoid contradicting what i have said in the beginning. if i am giving the impression that
'i'm "using" rice as a stepping stone to get into a university i think is better and would definitely accept me', please do forgive me. i have re-read what i've written in the first place and realize i have indeed made several misleading statements. i would've "open[ed] up a can of WHOOP ASS" if i found somebody planning to get into another university before he even enters one. i shall learn to be more careful and clear as with what i was trying to say.



and again, thank you for the advice.
it is apparent that Rice is very respected and would make a great school to attend. i shall look foward going there the coming fall.

p.s. i'm going to bed now, but before i do i want to say that i am very grateful for the honest (if somewhat a lil' brutal) reactions i get from this forum. for i know this would hardly be something i would get if i had asked somebody in real life, face to face, these questions. i can tell all of the people here are truly passionate for architecture. i like this community.

hey phoebe, this is justin from cornell summer program! congrats on rice!

i think some people are being pretty harsh here. i think she's just trying to see what are the best options for her. High school students have to deal a lot when coming to decide which college is right for them. we don't have college experience like many of you on here.

and it's pretty harsh to criticize phoebe about the tranfer issue. you guys might be right, but don't do it especially when cornell is her top choice and she has just been rejected from the school. for any student who really wanted to go to some certain school that he or she knows very well about from experience, it would be reasonable to think that that student might want to transfer in the future because it is, after all, her dream school.

i hear really good reviews on Rice and i'm happy you got in there. like the others said, if you don't really know what it's like to study in rice, i'd just say to go there and see for yourself before making any decisions. Cornell summer, I agree, was an amazing experience but i'm sure rice also provides a great experience as well. i'm sure you'll like it there and would want to stay there. if not, just transfer. There's nothing wrong in transfering. People do it all the time. but just keep in mind, like what the others said, you probably can't transfer architecture credits...which would be a bad thing

i guess it's too early to say whether you should transfer or not. we change our minds a lot usually. staying in rice for 6 years isn't a bad idea at all. cornell's not the only good school out there.

i dunno...remembering your models at cornell..i don't think you'll like notre dame.

but listen to these people too, because i'm not that experienced about this whole ordeal either. and listen to your heart as well! see what's best for you!

best of luck!

what's up with all the hostility and negation of transferring? we're not talking about the graduate level when you should be clear of the direction you're heading. i don't sense the arrogance. likewise, some cornell admits are probably thinking of transferring or switching major next year too. it's all within the rules of the game. you might like the rice program after a year, you might not. do what you think is best for you.

Whatever you choose, just go with it because if you wish you were somewhere else that will detract from your experience. I'm a grad student here at Rice and from what I've seen the first year doesn't seem that tough. It may or may not give you the complete impression of Rice and you wouldn't be able to transfer your studio credit which would mean that you would be in school for 6 years anyway. Working for a year in a high profile office in a major city is a strong asset that I wish I had for undergrad and amazing for entering the workforce. They also have a Buding Workshop that I highly recommend to any architecture student. During the students sophmore year they take an almost free trip to Paris during spring break which is another amazing opportunity. Now whether or not Rice is the school for you is tough to say. NO school is perfect, especially an architecture school. It's not easy, you work harder than your friends, you are almost always in studio and the profession is even worse. You have to really want it. Rice or Cornell would set you up to be successful, assuming you do your part, but that is up to interpretation. Think about the financial aspect to transfering as well.

don't worry about the jack-asses. you've earned the choices you got and some unknown unnamed entity didn't. You don't owe that person some obligation to come or not come here.

Rice isn't all that. Its not a bad program, depends on what you want to do. As a grad student here I don't have the highest impression of the undergrads, but that's me. Do what you think is best. I like Houston, I think it will grow on you -- and you'll be living in a/c 24/7 anyways.

on the other hand, mentally it will fuck you up if go to one school planning to transfer to another one -- especially architecture. Choose a school, make it yours...there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Choosing Rice or Cornell won't make that big of a difference. Its five years of your life -- you've got another 40 to make a career.

as much as a jerk j. is, s/he is right though in some things. If you plan to transfer, plan to lose all the studio credits you have earned. You WILL be doing another year.

don't worry about the jack-asses. you've earned the choices you got and some unknown unnamed entity didn't. You don't owe that person some obligation to come or not come here.

Rice isn't all that. Its not a bad program, depends on what you want to do. As a grad student here I don't have the highest impression of the undergrads, but that's me. Do what you think is best. I like Houston, I think it will grow on you -- and you'll be living in a/c 24/7 anyways.

on the other hand, mentally it will fuck you up if go to one school planning to transfer to another one -- especially architecture. Choose a school, make it yours...there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Choosing Rice or Cornell won't make that big of a difference. Its five years of your life -- you've got another 40 to make a career.

as much as a jerk j. is, s/he is right though in some things. If you plan to transfer, plan to lose all the studio credits you have earned. You WILL be doing another year.

Which ever school you decide to attend this coming year - work hard as if cornell will regret their rejection and had wished they have taken you with paid tuition and stipend.

for whatever its worth, rice's 4+2 includes a year of preceptorship, which is a job for 9 month th school sets up with a significant national/international school. Piano, SOM Office DA, etc are on the list.

the class size is 22-24 students per year. studios run 8-12 students per professor.

1. syracuse
2. notre dame
3. rice

Migrod, you seem to be some sort of ex-ricer trashing it on purpose? looking up old posts for fun? Piss off mate.

rice:
#2 undergrad
#7 grad.

we're good.

Rice. Absolutely.

I was accepted there for grad school... very nearly chose it over some ivy league schools. Ended up not going but still sometimes wonder... and I think it would be an ideal choice for undergrad. Like everyone is saying... class size, internships, faculty, resources.

but i agree with aaargink. choose a school and commit to it and get everything out of it you can.

also, once it comes to that time, a cornell undergrad degree does wonders in terms of finding employment for big names, if that is something you desire... particularly in the "elite" NYC firms... its either cornell undergrads or GSD grads who get first dibs on many jobs...

woo. if aaargink is here.i am going to post somthing too! even though i am not there anymore
how's paris? aaaargink
anyways, go to Rice.
reasons
1st, u will have chight and other big name professors.
2nd, u will have nice studio space
3rd, u are in houston, much nicer place than freezing cold upstate NY
4th, more hot chicks in the south.
5th, you will chill more than you actually work.
6th, lots of good food around
7th, many museums around

i miss houston

in cornell, you will definately work and never chill. also the weather is brutal. but it breeds a nice community of architects... there are big name professors, but the studio space is a dungeon (literally).. but it breeds a nice hobbit like sense of being...theres lots of good food, but you will resort to coffee and snickers. theres a cool museum too.

i miss ithaca

I remember reading somewhere that, of all the Ivies, Cornell is "the easiest one to get accepted to, but the hardest one to graduate from." My impressions of the school so far would seem to confirm that.

Somewhat reassuring for admissions, but it makes me anxious about what to expect if I actually do get in.

Having looked through the web pages of almost every architecture firm in NYC during job searches, I'd agree that a significant number of principals seem to be Cornell or GSD grads.

"the easiest one to get accepted to, but the hardest one to graduate from"

i don't know about grad school but that certainly doesn't seem to be the case for undergrad arch...as admission rates last year ranged in the single digits...

Just to clarify: The quote was about Cornell University in general, not any one particular program at the university.

So mehhh...did you choose Rice in the end? if so, how's it going? Cause I'm considering Rice as well