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Originally Posted by sarocks14
Tex, you mention getting a better job coming from A&M, do firms care more about where you went to school or what's in your portfolio? I mean, I would think your work is what "should" be most important.
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Its really about what you do in your school career and how assertive you are. You will find from every school and every class those individuals that rise and those that fall. Being active in something like a fraternity will do wonders for you. Socially and developing into a well rounded candidate. Now for recruiting our Dallas office takes annual recruits from Texas Tech, UT, A&M, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and OU. That is for the regional office, and where we actually attend the job fairs. They do recruit from others as resumes flow in.
Now don't forget about Texas Tech. Tech has one of the strongest AIA alumni in the Dallas area, along with A&M and UT. Tech tends to give well rounded hard working candiates, and a nice dose of theory, but not nearly as much as UT or RICE. Now this is from the horses mouth, but Andy Vernooy is now dean at Texas Tech (very nice nice guy) and when he came from UT and brought several faculty from UT the faculty wanted to change things up to be more like UT. He mentioned that 9 out 10 graduates from Tech go on into architecture and stay with it, so he does not want to mess too much with the system. Tech is very demanding, but worth while. If you do the work you'll graduate. My entry class into the college was 378 we finished with 24. Tech also has a study work program here in Dallas that will put you in Dallas for 9 months with a firm while you are in school with studios and other classes. It also has a very strong foreign study program that Vernooy has really bloosmed in the past years he has been there.
When I was leaving in 02 Tech was developing a new program that concentrated on hospital work. The Tech studio works with our healthcare group here in the Dallas office. A&M already has a well established program.
Now when I went off to work in NYC, it was a high design firm. The partner of the firm told me at lunch one day that he loves to hire people from the mid west because of their work ethic that he has a hard time finding elsewhere. So you'll be fine. Do not pay attention to ratings. NCAAB does not recognize or endorse any ratings of the architecture schools, because each school is so different in their approach.
Its really about where you are comfortable.