Locale
- Where is the school located? Is it an urban or rural setting or somewhere
in-between.
Those programs
located in urban settings such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc
will promote that their program has the added asset of the city it is
located within. On the other hand, programs in rural settings will promote
the advantages of their location. To what extent is a programÕs locale
important to you?
Institution
Size - How many students attend the institution? What is the
faculty to student ratio for courses taught outside of architecture?
Does it
matter to you the number of students that attend the institution? Granted,
the number of students studying architecture will be less, but the size
of an institution will impact the quality of the education you will
receive.
Public
vs. Private - Is the school a private or public institution?
In many cases, this question may not matter, but it might.
For most
of you, the question of whether an institution is private or public
will not be a concern to you, but it still worth pondering. Typically,
public institutions are less expensive because of the support they receive
from the state, but they are typcially have higher student enrollments.
Public institutions also have different tution rates depending if your
an in-state or out-of-state resident. Although private institutions
may have higher tuition rates, they may also offer intangibles that
are not offered at public institutions.
Cost
- For most, the overall cost of tuition, room & board and other expenses
is important, but be careful of using it as the primery criteria for
initial selection (see financial aid/scholarships)
Given the
ever increasing cost of higher education, cost is and will always be
an important consideration, but I will argue that you should not eliminate
a school because of their advertised tuition rate. Also, be sure to
gain complete cost information which should include tuition, room and
board, books and supplies, travel to and from home, and personal expenses.
Financial
Aid/Scholarships - After being admitted, what amount of financial
aid will you receive in the form of grants, scholarships, and loans?
Typically, you will not learn what you will actually PAY until you apply
for admission.
Next to
cost, your ability to receive financial aid in the form of grants, scholarship,
and loans should be an important consideration especially at the beginning
of the search process. Realize that at a given institution, a large
percentage of students will receive financial aid. Many schools have
full-tuition scholarships saving you as much as $80,000. However, you
will never be eligible for these scholarship if you do not apply or
consider these schools; one institution, Cooper Union located in New
York City, provides all admitted students an equivalent to full-tution.
Other attributes
to investigate are:
You, and
Academic Unit.
