This semester has been a whirlwind of emotions for me. This is my last semester at my undergrad at Texas A&M Architecture and although I am ready to get out, I think I will miss certain aspects of it. On top of this, I am applying to grad schools with hopes of moving to a new, vibrant city.
Last semester, I officially applied to grad schools. I only applied to four schools that I thought would fit me and I would enjoy attending. These past few weeks, I found out I got accepted to Pratt Institute, SCI-Arc, and UPenn, and I am on waitlist at Columbia (I will know next month if I am officially in). I was accepted by my top two schools and I am planning on visiting both, Pratt and SCI-Arc . SCI-Arc, based in Los Angeles, offered to fly me out to see their school after granting me admission and a generous scholarship to attend. The trip was about 48 hours long, but my friends and I, who were also admitted into SCI-Arc, made the most of what we could by seeing the school and some important architectural wonders in LA. I wish I could have stayed longer to check out the rest of LA and see what the buzz is about in California, but I am happy with what I experienced in my short time there.
Visiting SCI-Arc was amazing. I could definitely see myself there enjoying it and being pushed to improve myself as a design student. The faculty are some of the top architects in the country so I would be getting experience first hand in the field and study under them. This will be a very hard decision to make. I’ve narrowed my choices down to SCI-Arc or Pratt, LA or NYC, warm or cold, laid back or always going. They are both different environments. Aside from the work being produced at both schools, I am really choosing between cities that I feel fit me best or will give me a better experience after graduate school. I feel like I will excel wherever I go as long as I try my hardest and do my best. I am thinking more of which city would fit me as a person and where I would be my happiest.
I’ll keep you guys updated! It has been a rough semester as well as a stressful one because I am doing this on top of studio work and other activities I am involved in. I will be visiting Pratt Institute in the next two weeks so look out of those NYC pics on Insta! For now, here are some pictures of places I got to check out during my short visit to Los Angeles.
Sophia
Photography by Sophia Kountakis.