Architecture Schools (Houston, San Antonio, Austin: credit, houses, job market)

[titansfan777]

First Post

Anyway, I am a new transplant from suburban Philadelphia, PA to Cedar Park, TX. I just wanted to really change it up - so I packed up my car one day and moved down here after a few weeks of looking around. I am staying with family here right now but am looking to move in a few months to whatever college takes me.

I was a business major at my old college but I decided to go in to architecture if at all possible. Looking through the accredited schools in Texas, I found this list:

-Prairie View A&M
-Rice
-Texas A&M
-Texas Tech
-Houston
-Texas-Arlington
-Texas-Austin
-Texas-San Antonio

I attended Millersville University of PA and ended up leaving after my financial aid didn't come through for the fall 2012 semester. I had a pretty rough last year there and now my GPA is a 2.42 overall. Currently, I am at Austin Community College taking classes in the spring semester here to boost the GPA into the 2.7 range or so. With that knowledge, I know it would be a waste of time/money to apply at Rice, Texas-Austin, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. That leaves:

-Prairie View A&M
-Houston
-Texas-Arlington
-Texas-San Antonio

I have applied to both Houston and Texas-San Antonio. I should be hearing from them shortly. I was accepted into UTSA's business program for the fall '13 semester but I applied for a change of major into the architecture school.

As for UT-Arlington and PVA&M I have read that PVA&M is an all black school (I am a 22 yo white male) and that I would be in the extreme minority if I even applied, leaving UT-Arlington the only other one to apply at. It appears they are on San Antonio's level in terms of academics. Is this true?

Also between the 3 (Houston, UTSA, UTA), which has the best combination of:
-College Experience (students living on/all around campus)
-Proximity to entertainment/things to do
-Surrounding City
-Academic Prestige
-Potential Job Placement

I was also looking at Oklahoma/OSU but I couldn't find any info on transfers for OSU and Oklahoma has a 5 year program for Architecture majors. I could do it, but wouldn't be too happy about graduating at 27. How would you rate them vs UH/UTSA/UTA?

Any responses would be great!

[Eastcoasting]

Are you absolutely, dead-set, completely, nothing will ever take the place, ordained by a higher power, irreversibly settled on becoming an architect?

Tough field unless you are well connected or well off.

I know two architects with decent degrees and loads of experience, one just got his commercial pilots license and the other flips houses for a living.

[hoffdano]

This may not help much but my son is in architecture at A&M now. He understands that the job market is challenging now. But one reason he chose A&M over others was its strong adoption of digital technology in its design work. A&M's use of 3D modeling and animation is notable and different from other schools using more traditional methods.

He expects that design firms at the leading edge are looking for a new generation of architect, not a younger version of the same architects that are looking for work now.

[achtungpv]

Can you boost a GPA of a degree that has already been awarded? The only schools on that list that may consider a sub 3.0 GPA will be UTSA, UT-Arlington and Prairie View.