00:00:00

School of Architecture Student Panel and Q&A

Richard Gennaro

04:50:20 PM

yes

Richard Gennaro

04:50:31 PM

do we hit start broadcast?

Sarah Weber

04:50:41 PM

Yes from me too

Clare Piotrowski

04:52:32 PM

Hi everyone!

OK. Well, good evening, everybody. I'll just give another few moments for people to log in. It looks like we've got about 40 people joining us today. So thank you for joining us this evening.

And welcome to the School of Architecture Student Panel. Congratulations to all of our admitted students. Some of you were admitted a while ago and some of you just found out the good news last Saturday, which is pretty exciting. Either way, we hope that you're feeling good and excited about what lays ahead.

Whether you've already committed to RPI or you're planning on taking some time to decide, today is a great day to meet some of our architecture students and ask them some questions about their experiences.

We'll start off with a quick introduction. For myself, I'm Matt Stabler. I'm one of the assistant directors for undergraduate admissions here at RPI, and specifically, I'm the School of Architecture Liaison. I'm just going to give a quick overview of the School of Architecture.

It is a five year professional program. It's sometimes known as the B Arch program.

Students that graduate, they are qualified to sit for the architecture licensing exam after they have worked in the field for a couple of years.

Some great features of the School of Architecture. We have a Centre for Architecture, Science and Ecology down in New York City, otherwise known as Case for short. It's basically a Design, research and innovation centre.

Where students can work alongside graduate students on next generation building projects, Study Abroad is a massive program within the School of Architecture. Around 75% of our students will participate. We had a group of students in Italy back in the fall and I believe we have a group of students in Argentina right now.

You may have heard in your research about RPI about the ARCH program where students take a summer semester of classes.

To free up one of the junior year semesters for what we call this semester away experience. This has actually changed over the last year or so for the School of Architecture students because right now they don't participate in the traditional Arch summer semester. They actually meet that semester array requirement by completing two of the following options.

Anytime before the end of their fourth year, going into their fifth year. So they choose from study abroad.

Case an internship or a Co-op or community service. Some kind of combination of two of those and the Centre for Career and Professional Development and the School of Architecture helps students find and apply to those co-ops and internships. Our attention rate for B Arch is 94%, which is actually 1% higher than the general campus retention rates, and we're very proud of that in the School of Architecture, and 85% of students are working within their chosen career field six months after graduating.

And the remainder of probably going on to Graduate School.

Onto the next slide, hopefully you can see the design studios. There we've a dedicated computer lab, state-of-the-art technology and several design studios for creating the initial illustrations through assembling conceptual presentation and working models.

And then the different fabrication facilities, here are some that you can see that to help bring those ideas to life, we have a woodwork studio, a ceramic studio, We have laser cutters and 3D printers and acoustic studio, plus we have large scale and small scale printing facilities across the campus for the students to use.

And my last slide here before we dive into the Q and AI, thought it would be interesting just to see a schedule of the first year classes.

For an architecture student, you'll notice how the students go straight into academic architecture classes and also the Design Studio One and two classes there that are the first in the sequence of 10 design studios taken over the five years. I'm also going to include the link to the the academic catalogue in the the chat box so that you can research those different classes yourself.

So now it's time to hear from a couple of our current students. Just to let you know.

We're going to take the questions via the chat box. It's a moderated chat box. I'll be checking it over. I'll be forwarding the questions along to the students for them to answer. You may not see your question come up right away. I do see it and we'll answer either out loud or via the chat box during the session. Please don't submit your question twice or more because it just makes it harder for me to go through all of the questions that we're expecting. I'm also going to be answering some of the questions that we received beforehand via registration.

Via the chat box, because some of them are just a little easier to answer that way as well. If you're having difficulties technically, then you can try refreshing your browser. We find that Chrome or Firefox tend to work the best or completely close out of the window and then reopen to enter again if you continue to have those problems. So that's enough for me. We're here to hear from the students, so we're going to turn over to Sarah and Richard, a couple of our awesome architecture students.

Sarah, if you'd like to introduce yourself and also talk about how your transition was from high school into your freshman year at RPI.

Yeah. So hi, I'm Sarah. I'm a fifth year at the School of Architecture here.

A little bit about myself. I'm from Massachusetts.

And I, from a young age, wanted to study architecture, I think, but transitioning from high school to college.

Was a little different.

Academically, I don't think I had much difficulty, but the shift in, let's say hours of work was a little bit of surprise for me. But after semester.

Matt Stabler

05:07:00 PM

Architecture curriculum: https://catalog.rpi.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=26&poid=7373&returnto=669

At least personally, I was able to adjust pretty well.

Hey everyone, I'm Ricky. I'm a current 5th year student undergoing my thesis, graduating in May. I'm from New York.

Matt Stabler

05:07:26 PM

Q1 - What is the basis for the merit-based scholarship and when will financial aid packages be available? A1 - Merit scholarships are based on the student’s academics, like their grades, test scores if submitted, and the strength of their curriculum like AP/IB/college classes. All Early Action and Early Decision students have been awarded their merit scholarships, and if they submitted the CSS profile then an estimated financial aid package has been created and can be viewed in the application portal. When we receive FAFSA information after mid-March we will update packages where appropriate. Standard Decision admits will receive packages towards the end of March/beginning of April, once we receive FAFSA and CSS information.

As far as the transition goes, I didn't really have too much of an issue. I had done the summer rental year program for architecture in my junior high school, so I was kind of familiar with the process of working in the studios, so I didn't have too much of A trouble transitioning.

OK.

Click the button. I didn't wish to there. OK. Thanks for the introductions. And the question that that transition question was actually sent in earlier. So it's always interesting to know what it's like that that first year, how it's different from high school coming into going into college for the first time.

So some of the questions people are asking about materials required for the first year that was submitted earlier as well. What kind of materials do you need as a first year student?

And can you talk a little bit about what maybe would be the right laptop to use as well?

As far as the materials go, I don't know if you guys have been made aware of it or not, but there's like a kind of like a kit you get freshman year for architecture where it's like a whole bunch of modeling stuff that you get like a cutting mat.

Matt Stabler

05:08:39 PM

What kind of postgraduate careers do students typically pursue?

Some glue knives, like rulers and that type of stuff helping making models. And then there's like a technology bundle you get with Rhino, which is like the primary software we use.

And then outside of that, the only other one we really end up getting is like the Adobe suite.

Matt Stabler

05:08:52 PM

As well as traditional architecture, graduates find jobs and careers in: construction management, graphic design, interior design, computer aided design, project managers, lighting consultants, building restoration, urban and landscape planning, structural/civil engineering/design, building systems design (heating, cooling, energy), construction contracts and documentation, site supervision, renderings, and environment energy analysis. CCPD collects the names of companies’ where graduates are hired.

05:08:59 PM

Will this stream be available to go back and rewatch after?

05:09:05 PM

does the scholarship transfer over all 5 years or only 4 like other majors

05:09:07 PM

What materials/equipment would you suggest for incoming students?

For Hotosho, Illustrator and Indesign and then sometimes for studios will be like specialty softwares you'll get, but usually you can get like a student discount on them so they're not terrible. The good thing about rhinos is a little pricey, but you only pay once for the entire five years and then you get access to it.

One good thing I'll say is we don't really have textbooks for most of our classes. Instead, we kind of have materials that we buy. So task board, 3D printing filament.

MDF you know, anything you can think of kind of to make models.

So you kind of occur that over the semester and then the cost of printing as well, you will have some textbooks, but it's not really as much as you would expect from maybe what you've heard.

But as far as coming in, you know, just like notebooks, pencils, pens, that type of stuff and then as far as laptops, I'm kind of biased towards Lenovo, I would say.

But if you want to use like a MacBook or something, the only thing to know with that is there is like a different way that you need to install Rhino. It's not like too hard and people use Macbooks, but just something to be aware of.

OK. Sarah, anything to add from that or is that all pretty pretty self-explanatory?

Yeah, all self-explanatory. RPI does have a list of laptops that you can get through them, so if you want to look at that to just narrow down your choices further.

Cool. I think we also in the past we've offered a laptop scholarship as well and that is part of the financial aid package. I put in the chat box an answer to a previous question about financial aid, talking about packages and the financial aid package for an architecture student would be for each of the five years. Just so you know, you don't have to reapply for your merit scholarship. You do have to resubmit the FAFSA each year, just so you know.

If you're applying for need based aid the CSS profile, we only ask for that once, and that is before you actually come to RPI.

And another question I saw from the earlier submissions was talking a little bit about the studio culture. If you can describe the RPI studio culture.

Yeah, I can take this one. I'd say it changes between each cohort.

Matt Stabler

05:11:31 PM

I'll email the recording next week

By at least speaking for our own, we may not all be super close friends, but we're all totally willing and totally happy to help each other. Everybody has a tough night or a tough crit, and I've found at least that we're all here to support each other and help us do our best.

Actually, can we just expand on the critics server? That was funny, like that was actually a specific question from the registrations.

Somebody asked, could you explain about the critics? What are they like? What's entailed? Do you have any experience of other colleges and how they might do crits? If you can just expand on that a little bit.

Sure. So I'd say there are two types. There is desk grits which are more one-on-one or in a small group with your 12 to 16 studio mates between you and the professor. And there are reviews which are varying levels of like midterm final versus like.

In between reviews that count more as a desktop.

And in these critics, you're talking through your project with your professor, with your peers, bouncing around ideas and getting direction on your work, which is a little different than like in school where you're high school where you're studying for exams and doing your homeworks.

Architecture is a lot more of your work. You get feedback, you rework. You work. You get feedback, you rework.

So it's different from other majors, at least the RPI in that way. And as far as I remember from when I was looking at colleges, Descrates and reviews seem to be kind of the same between colleges. But Ricky, if you have any, anything else?

Yeah, I think as far as I got, like I've only sat in on desk crates or like like reviews at RPI, but like from what I've talked to other people in architecture, it's basically the same everywhere.

You know, it can be a little like daunting having all these professors and like external architects who come in for like the awards, reviews and things. But after like your first one, you kind of get used to it and then you know, kind of find your own method of presenting and going through it all.

05:13:36 PM

Is it easy to get Architecture-related internships as first-year college students through Rensselaer?

Cool. Thank you.

So I just popped a question in there. Vanessa's asking how easy is it to get internships? Have you had experience of of that kind of process?

Yeah, so actually currently work for an architecture firm called Handel Architects.

But they they were my second internship. The the first one I got was mostly through just emailing people. Like I would say it's gonna sound like a lot about emailing just like 100 firms and then seeing who responds. But this one I got from a professor actually who told me that I should reach out to this person. So I would say if you form a close relationship with your professors, it's not too hard for them to kind of help you out and give you a good internship.

Matt Stabler

05:14:25 PM

How does the architecture program take advantage of its location, and the student's experience linking architectural and civic engagement? A4 – Starting on campus, our buildings are a first point of interest to our program, with a range of ages and styles, from 150 years old to being built just 15 years ago. Being in Troy and a part of the Capital Region, plus just 15 minutes from Albany, the state capital, has meant a host of opportunities and projects: Designing multi-unit housing on an urban site in Troy. Renovating and designing a refugee and Immigrant center in Albany Student designs have been displayed at the New York State Museum in Albany Local alums currently working in architecture provide scholarships for students. Participating in the Troy Glow Festival, an art and light festival Troy Architectural Program - making architectural, planning, and design services affordable to low- and moderate-income individuals and other non-profit agencies who serve them. Our students reimagined the use of space and installations at MISCI, a science museum in Schenectady. Our students lead a STEM education and design program for Schenectady middle school students We received a $1 million grant to light properties in Albany to regenerate neighborhoods. An Urban Studio project, in conjunction with Troy Architecture Practice (TAP, Inc.), Habitat for Humanity Capital District, Troy Community Land Bank, and Architecture+ in Troy. The North-East: CASE in NYC Van Alen Institute in NYC - helps create equitable cities through inclusive design

So I would say that's one benefit I would say of RPI and architecture is that all the class sizes are very small, so it's easy to form these close bonds with your professors.

05:14:41 PM

Do the architecture students engage in their local community in terms of using what they are learning to interact with the surrounding development or local issues?

OK. Thanks for that, Ricky.

I just put in some information about kind of local, the, the advantages of our location, how the program uses local projects and local institutions and community service areas to I guess kind of add to that the depth of the degree and the experience.

In general though, internships like Ricky said, it sounded like you've got your yours from a professor within the School of Architecture.

So there's a lot of input there. And then the Centre for Korean Professional Development or CCPD, they also help students with the leads where to look for internships and also help them do the application, the cover letter, interview skills, what's the, you know, the right way to go around preparing for interviews with research etcetera. So there's a lot of help locally within the school but also across campus with the professional department that overseas those as well.

05:15:39 PM

Is it possible to balance an architecture major and play sports?

Got a good question here from Ella asking about balancing architecture as a major with sports. Have you got the feedback that you can give to Ella there?

Yeah, I am on a club, a club sport. It's a little different with varsity.

05:16:06 PM

Hi, can you do both a semester away abroad and another one at CASE in Brooklyn, or is it one or the other?

But as cliche as it sounds, it does kind of come down to time management and also communication between your team authorities, your professors.

Matt Stabler

05:16:17 PM

You can do both CASE and study abroad

And just as a rule of thumb to succeed, try to get as much sleep as you can get because you work more efficiently when you sleep, so you can work quicker.

Yeah, definitely. Time. Time management is definitely a key, right, I would imagine.

So we've got a question here about experiences within internship and study abroad. Ricky, you said you're actually doing an internship right now. Can you talk a little bit about your day today maybe?

05:16:42 PM

Can you please share some of your experiences in internship/study abroad/the Arch program?

05:17:03 PM

how large is typical Arch Freshman class size ?

Yeah, yeah. So I as you had mentioned, the Arch was when are you was still implemented. So last fall I worked in a Co-op in Manhattan with them, and I worked from January to August and then ended up getting an offer to continue part time remotely full time at RPI. So I've been doing that since August remote, but I basically worked 20 hours a week remotely and my day-to-day kind of varies. I get like it's nice 'cause I get to make my own schedule.

Matt Stabler

05:17:22 PM

65 to 75 first year students start each year

But I basically kind of work around the clock from class and then hopping over the real work, so it's definitely I said. I mentioned it's a good skill to get to get good at time management, 'cause it helps out a lot.

You know, obviously some weeks are easier than others with load management and stuff, but you know, I'll be kind of bouncing from project to project that the firm, so doing kind of anything from concept design up to construction administration and all that, which I know can sound a little daunting, but you actually learn a lot more.

05:17:51 PM

what is the professor-student ratio at RPI Arch program?

Outside of school than you think you would, which almost I would say like 90% of the work in school is just learning the software and then the rest of it is just hands on experience that you learn from doing projects at like firms.

OK. And so have you had an internship or a Co-op experience that you could share?

Matt Stabler

05:18:11 PM

the student faculty ratio is 12:1

Yeah, I've had two internships. I actually found my way to them through the School of Architecture career fair. So that's another way, a great way to make in person connections with employers.

And they were both in person, One was here in Troy. So there was a question about getting more involved in your community and through an internship is a great way. And then one was over in Boston.

Ricky, I was working through different phases of the project and like he said, it's a lot of hands on learning.

But yeah, they were both great experiences.

05:18:50 PM

How much time will you spend in studio?

Awesome. Thank you. So here's a good question. How much time do you spend in the studio?

I'd say it varies from person to person. I personally like to work there because it's kind of like almost like easier not to have distractions sometimes.

But typical day.

The studio is 4 hours, but I could probably be there like up to 12 hours, maybe a day. It kind of depends on the day, but at least for me, like I like working there, but I like I don't. I don't really pull all nighters there. I know some people will, but it's mostly kind of your own preference.

And you Sarah, you you similar with with your your time in the studio a little different.

Yeah, I'm similar. I've found that from first year to 5th year I spend less time in the studio just because the studios that I've been through have been less physical model oriented and more digital representation. So depending on the direction of your individual studio kind of frees up where you're able to work.

And just in general, like how, how early in the morning is the building open and how late at night does it close?

Well.

It's we have 24/7 card access so.

Wow, have you got fellow students that take advantage of the the small hours of the morning there?

Oh yeah.

Yep.

I don't know if that's a good thing to know or bad thing to know, but I guess it's a personal preference, right?

Yeah.

The Giancarlo asked about study abroad. Have either of you done study abroad and or do you know other students that have done it and maybe why? Why do students do that?

Yeah, you want to go first. Tricky.

Yeah, so.

05:20:34 PM

Where did you study abroad and why?

I didn't actually study abroad, but I was accepted to study Rod in Rome, but then that was cancelled because of COVID.

But part of the reason I was going to do it is just because of the culturally significant landmarks you would see there and like kind of some of the beginnings of architecture that you really aren't going to see anywhere else. And at least I know on a lot of these study abroad, they kind of get like special permissions in some instances. So like I know for the room when they got to have like a special tour of the Vatican and stuff, which like you wouldn't normally be able to do. So you'd see a lot of good architecture that you wouldn't see anywhere else.

Did the case program down in the city.

05:21:16 PM

How many years after the 5-year BARCH is the architecture masters degree?

Matt Stabler

05:21:20 PM

3 years

I applied and went there because I am interested in sustainability and more like novel technology, I guess within the field of architecture.

And it was cool. It was cool to work side by side with the graduates, like Matt said, and just get.

Outside of school, it was cool to live in a city that I never been in and just get a whole different experience than what you get up here in Troy.

05:21:40 PM

How many hours do you typically study per week? I heard the curriculum is very rigorous.

Some of my roommates actually did the Latin America program, but I can say that they always said it was a great experience and definitely something that you know, you guys should consider. All the study abroad programs are excellent from what I've heard.

Excellent. I think you know, even if the students aren't necessarily in the School of Architecture, it's still available to them. It's available to every student across campus, and that is a great experience.

So Henry asked. This is a great question. I'm going to split it up a little bit. How many hours do you typically study per week? So how many hours would you say are you in class as in like lectures, like directed by faculty? And then how much time do you spend on your own assignments and your own projects, your own readings, etcetera?

Do you wanna go first, Sarah?

Sure.

Umm, first year. I feel like we had six classes, call them two hours each.

So maybe.

6:00-ish hours a day in class and then outside of that.

When I was a freshman, I was trying to fall out of the habit of being a perfectionist, so I spent a little more time on individual work than I think I probably could have.

Umm. And then of course in later years when it came to physics or structures, depending on how well and how comfortable I was with those.

Subjects I would spend maybe 2 to 8 hours a week outside of class on each subject.

Big range.

And Ricky, was it similar for you or again, is it kind of like a person?

Yeah, I would say it's similar for that. One of the things that's kind of you learn as you go is that like Studio isn't really like a set product. That's kind of whatever you put into it, you get out of it. So you can always keep improving, you know, So it's kind of as much as you can do, I would say. So you know, certain times we put more effort in or less depending on how your other classes are going, but I would say like probably two to three hours for external classes maybe depending on like how challenging they are.

05:23:52 PM

What is the average class size for freshman architecture courses?

OK, that's cool. Nice. Nice kind of idea to get like a bit of an understanding of how they're similar with the in class time and the outside of the class time. So that's good feedback. Thank you.

Evan asked about the average class size in architecture.

Play.

One of the nice things is that the class size is very small. The largest you'll have is like the freshman year lectures where everyone in the architecture class will be there. But at least for us we had I think like 75 was the most. But then your primary classes which is studio is like 1516 Max and by probably second or third year you basically know all the professors and they know you. So it's it's very close knit.

05:24:38 PM

What are some of the projects that you have done in the studio classes?

OK. And Siobhan asks.

What are the some of the projects that you have worked on in Studio class? Can you talk through some of the your actual kind of works that you've done?

You want to take that one first.

Yeah. So the first two years is a little more abstract and then you kind of go into more real world projects, but our freshman year we did.

Kind of a building that was incorporated water in some way and you could interpret how that was. So mine was like an office building kind of.

Using water as like a weathering agent. And then we all did a kindergarten or spring, Let's see, we had a addition to a museum. We proposed for Skidmore College. We had an adaptive reuse project in Troy, renovating a church into a housing project. And then after second year we go into what's called like vertical studios. So they're kind of like option studios where you get to choose which professor you work with and they'll give like a brief what they're interested in for that semester. So the products kind of vary then, but.

I did one that was basically designing A spaceport for SpaceX. And then we have our more real world projects, which is like our comprehensive design studios, which is kind of like an introduction to the DD and CD process in real world architecture, which that's a branch library you work on for a year. And then your thesis, which is again kind of like a choice where you choose the professor's prompt that you work with and kind of find your own projects within that.

How about you, Sarah? What kind of projects have you worked on?

Yeah. So just to build more on the verticals, which are option studios, one vertical I was able to take was actually a design competition. So the professor set up the studio just like any other studio. But at the end of the semester, we were able to submit our work.

To the competition that we were designing around, which was a really unique experience as a student because that can be sometimes daunting as a first time.

And then another studio, the one we actually did down at at case we were all designing.

Projects that could help combat food deserts in New York City. And my partner and I did another research facility.

05:27:04 PM

What's the work-life balance like for architecture students?

Just as two.

3D Next question, What's the work life balance like for architecture students? That was from Justin.

How would you describe that work life balance? You still managed to join some clubs, go to the athletic events. What does that look like?

Yeah, I'd say work life to some degree is what you make. It goes back to time management and then of course things get more academic oriented near finals and midterms.

But when a cohort starts to build their studio culture, it helps to create a sense of.

Social life while doing work, which I found for me at least helps to.

Even things out between work and life.

How about you, Ricky?

Yeah, I would say it's similar as Sarah mentioned, like the kind of studio culture is kind of almost like your big friend group almost doing work all at the same time, almost depending on like, you know, usually around finals or midterms, it's really crowded.

Being outside of that, it's pretty easy to have time to, you know, go to the sporting events or do clubs or intramurals is something we do and we send out. A lot of the architecture students will do like intramurals together, which is nice. So we have a bunch of teams that will do.

05:28:29 PM

Is the studio an open space for all classes or divided in groups?

Cool. So the next question is the studio and open space for all classes or you divide it up into groups?

At least freshman year. It's an all open space. It's kind of in the very top of the green building.

It's really a unique experience and one of the things I really liked about RPI when I like, toured it is you see all the studios there and then it's really cool to see kind of the different take everyone's doing on the project.

And then as you transition to the later years, you kind of get separated into these little rooms throughout the building, but there's still somewhere that have like two or three sections in one room. So you still kind of can roam around. And it's not like they like, don't let you go into anyone's studio. So, you know, you could pop into anyone's studio and just see what they're doing and kind of.

You know, get inspired or see what other people's roducts are looking like.

And so I think this picture here, I don't know if my cursor is visible but the slide is showing that that bottom picture is like the first year studio up on the the top floor of the green building. Is that correct?

Cool. And then you're moving into like the smaller studio spaces. I think maybe some of those other two pictures on the top line are kind of demonstrating there.

05:29:50 PM

why get Masters after Graduating with B-Arch from RPI?

Let me see. So this is a good question from Grace.

Grace asked about why students go on to get their masters.

Ricky or Sarah, do you know of any students in a higher year that than you that stayed on to do their masters? And maybe the reasoning why?

I have known students who didn't get their masters from here but went to other universities and they did this for two reasons. One of them is because they wanted to teach after school, like at higher level.

And the other was because they wanted to pursue another interest that would help them transition into a field related to architecture, but not quite like landscape design or interior design.

Yeah, I'd say the masters is mainly just for teaching. That's one of the good things about going to an accredited school is that you only need the five year bachelor's. Otherwise if you were to go to a non NAV accredited school then you would need to get a master's degree. Otherwise you're not allowed to sit for your test.

Good answer, Sir. Thank you for that.

Let me see a couple of architecture questions. I'm just going to push over.

So Justin asked about what makes us different from other colleges. So we colleges aren't really allowed to talk about other colleges. It's not really fair. We can only really talk about what we know about. And I think it's it's up to you to be honest, Justin and the other students to work out what's this, what's similar and what's different.

What speaks to you, what maybe doesn't resonate with you, it's it's going to be a personal choice in the end. But that's that's kind of why you're here today to find out more about RPI. And then the comparisons you kind of have to do on on your own kind of away from your visits and and the meetings and the the from all the research that you do.

05:31:53 PM

Do u keep the same roommate for all 5 years?

Taylor asked about living on campus and if you need the same roommate for all five years. I'll just explain about the living on campus and then Sarah and Richard, if you can talk about your experiences of living on campus and the different setups. So we're going to ask you to live on campus for the first two years.

You can select to live with a roommate and they must also choose to live with you. That's part of the housing selection after you submit your deposit.

Which you must do before May 1st. You're going to fill out a housing survey, and there's different options. We actually have 10 different first year houses.

Some of the rooms are singles, some of the rooms are triples, but the majority of rooms are going to be double S and we also have some suites which is 6 students or eight students with like 3 or 4 double S within that kind of suite area. So pretty much expect to to be living in a double, but you can choose to live with a roommate and then most students will move off campus in their junior and senior year and like rent a house in the local neighbourhood in Troy or.

Maybe in Albany, a little bit further 15 minutes away. But you can choose to live on campus if you want for for all five years, that is. That is up to you. Some students just like the convenience. You're right there near where your classes and the different resources on campus are. All your food is taken care of. So it's it's kind of like a local choice up to the student. But Ricky and Sarah can you talk a little bit about your.

Experience with living on campus and if you live on campus now or did you move off campus?

OK.

Yeah. So as Matt mentioned, my first two years I lived on campus.

My third year I moved off campus for the the year I lived down on 2nd St. in Troy. So it was about like 20 to 30 minute walk, give or take, which wasn't too bad.

My 4th year 'cause I was only there for the fall semester and then I did the Arch. So I lived on campus for that semester, just 'cause it was more convenient. And then currently out of off campus on 15th St. like right by the union.

I'd say it doesn't really matter too much if you're on or off campus. Everything is pretty close in Troy if you're in the area, but outside, I do enjoy living in the dorms just because it is really convenient and there are a lot of amenities that you have there.

And I also lived on campus my first year. And then COVID happened. But when I came back, I decided to live off campus. It just worked a little better for my personal circumstances.

I've also lived up here, downtown, up here, meeting on the hill, and I currently live like a 10 minute walk away from campus.

And then for case, you also have to find housing. As far as you know, there are no dorms. But I enjoy living off campus more. Just as a different perspective, I really enjoy being able to cook, being able to grocery shop and have a little more control over the food that we eat.

And then roommates wise.

Off campus housing you can do rent by rent places or do like joint leases.

And I'm currently living with three friends from Studio. One of them was a roommate freshman year.

05:35:29 PM

What resources are students able to take advantage of? i.e. office hours

Cool, yes. I think it ends up just being like a personal preference, right? What what what you decide is is best for you. But a good question nonetheless to to get those two perspectives.

Abby is asking about resources for students. She's talking about office hours. So can you talk about the the support that goes on in the School of Architecture and access to faculty?

Yeah, as far as your studio professor goes, they're pretty much accessible 24/7. You'll you'll be surprised, you'll get emails from professors at 2-3 in the morning sometimes.

So you're like, quite honestly, it will surprise you the first time it happens, but you get used to it as far as other classes go. And for every class that is, there's always a set office hours every week. It's usually twice a week for like an hour or two. But the professors are very accommodating if like you have something, and they'll meet with you pretty much anytime, quite honestly.

Sarah, would you say your experience with access to faculty is similar?

Yeah. And then even with courses that aren't necessarily architecture courses, they often have ATA who is available for you if the professor is not.

Cool. Thank you.

05:36:37 PM

Can you describe the math and physics requirements in terms of difficulty?

So question from Jana about math and physics and the requirements. So from from the admission standpoint.

The requirement is students must have precalculus at a minimum. But a lot of our students have already taken calculus and we do require students to have a physics class and physics with a lab as well as important. That kind of hands on experience, I'm sure when you're making your models etcetera, there's like a hands on component there. So we're looking for some experience and and skill set there.

But for the the the physics and the math classes that you take whilst you're at RPI, could you talk a little bit about those classes and what they're like for an architecture student?

Yeah, I mean I found them very manageable. If you guys have taken physics and calc in high school, I don't think very much is covered that you haven't already learned.

Double check me on this, but I think if you take AP Calc or AP Physics and you get like A5 on the exam, you can appeal to like have those credits count towards your physics and math requirements at RPI.

Yeah, so I actually haven't taken any math classes at RPI because I tested out of them with the AP credits, so I can't talk to the math, but at least the sciences are pretty basic. Quite honestly, they offer like a lot of intro courses, which is what I would recommend if you're not, you know, too big on science because they are pretty basic.

Yeah, they do have some more challenging courses. Like I would say architectural acoustics is pretty challenging if you haven't kept up with your calculus in a while.

Yeah, so for for AP classes to transfer in, it's now A4 or A5 on the exam For AP classes to transfer in. For International Baccalaureate classes, it's a six or A7. For college classes, it's a little bit more intricate. The the class can't have been used for a high school credit that's going to be used towards your graduation.

And the curriculum must match one of our the RPI curriculum classes as well.

Umm, and also you have to get a form signed by your school counselor to let us know that the college class wasn't used as a high school graduation requirement. I'm actually going to put a link into the the chat box later on. That kind of goes on a little bit deeper about that, but that's that's the basic overview of testing out of some of the the classes for the future. If you've got AP credit for example.

05:39:13 PM

What are some activities architecture students do during summer?

So if an asks about growing activities over the summer, so I'm wondering if they're asking about internships or co-ops or maybe what? What do you do over the summer as a as a student, what what keeps you busy before you come back in the fall?

Do you want me to go with Sarah? Do you want to go first?

Yeah, you can go.

This, my first year, was a little weird, 'cause that was the summer of COVID, so there wasn't a ton you could do.

But after that, I would say most of my summers are spent interning or working for a firm or, you know, my second year was just like, you know, a typical job like a pool or something like that.

And then we had like the arch summer. So that was where we, like, had to be on campus to take our classes to get out of the juniors semester. Yeah, other than that, the summers are pretty much devoted to internships.

And for you, Sarah.

Yeah, I'm the same internships and just a regular job on the weekends.

05:40:23 PM

What computer programs are used for modeling/designing?

Cool.

Yes.

Ricky, I think you mentioned earlier about Rhino was one of the programmes that you use. Siobhan's asking I guess maybe just to repeat that, the different programs that we use.

Yeah, so the primary program that RPI likes to use is Rhino. I believe it's Rhino 8 now.

That we use that for basically all our 3D modeling. And then occasionally you'll get like some professors who like to use Autodesk Maya or ZBrush for modeling.

05:41:00 PM

are all classes taught by faculty or TAs?

Let's say Revit is one I would definitely recommend learning, 'cause that's basically what all the firms use. That's kind of not taught too much here.

Then we have our like post processing softwares we'll use which for rendering is Vray or Enscape which go like a plugin for Rhino.

Matt Stabler

05:41:15 PM

All classes are taught by faculty

There's also the kind of Adobe suite which you need, which is Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign. So that's basically the primary software as we'll use.

05:41:25 PM

There are 3 laptops that the school offers. Do you recommend the third and most robust.

Rachel is asking about laptops. There are three laptops at the school's offer. Do you recommend the third one and the most robust?

I'm not sure exactly which ones you're referring to, Rachel, but I know there's a page on our website that lists the different laptops. Maybe just talk about your own laptop preference. Again, Sarah and and Ricky.

Sure. I have the whatever Dell one they offered five years ago.

And it hasn't let me down yet. I've put it through a lot. I find it like Ricky said, sometimes with the Mac installation or shortcuts are a little different, but I feel the professors do a really good job at being like the Windows shortcut. Is this the Max Mac shortcut? Is this?

Yeah, I got the Lenovo ThinkPad. I don't remember if it was the top one they had at the time when they offered all three options or not.

05:42:31 PM

How robust is the tutoring that is available for architecture students?

I would say the main thing is just like having processing power just cause a lot of the programs use a lot of that. But other than that I'm not like a super big computer guy. But I would say the options they list are probably all pretty good like they.

Like, I haven't heard anyone really complain about their laptop that they got from RPI.

Evan asks about the tutoring that's available for architecture students. Have you had some experience of of being tutored? Or maybe you're one of the the tutors yourself?

Yeah, I'm not too sure about the like if there's a direct tutoring thing or not. I don't know if you know Sarah, but at least the school of Architecture offers what's known as like the AIS peer mentor program. So I'm a a mentor for two freshmen and every freshman has a mentor they'll get assigned to and you can kind of go to them for anything you need really. And we also have NOMAS and other student organization which they do like help sessions. I'm not sure how often they are, but they'll do like Rhino tips and stuff and.

Let's say it like quite honestly, if you ask any upperclassmen, they're always pretty generous to offer like support or like Rhino help or anything that you need.

Yeah, I think the same in addition to your mentors.

05:43:52 PM

How do you feel the return of investment is for architecture @ RPI for the first 5 years of work experience?

A lot of the seminar courses have Tasmania, so if you need any extra help, the TA is literally there to help you and then. Personally, I relied a lot on my mentors and they practically were a tutor for me. I'd go to them with any Rhino questions any.

Advice on design.

Question How do you feel the return on investment is for architecture, RPI for the for the five year undergraduate degree?

Speaking from my own experience, I would say it was well worth both the money and the time.

You know a lot of the professors here at Ivy League schools, so you're getting just as good of a curriculum, if not better in my opinion there. And as far as you know, my own job goes and like the career fair, they do a really good job of bringing a diverse field of firms. And I can say the return on investment was definitely worth it.

05:44:48 PM

What's the split between physical modelling/drawing and computer/3d programs in their program? Which one is done more and does it change across the years as a student?

Yeah, I agree. Every interview I've had, I feel a lot of the interviewers mentioned that they like to hire RPI students because we're known for our work ethic. And then the same about the great education from professors.

Awesome. Thanks for that feedback. That's good.

Another really good question. I'm loving these questions tonight everybody and really getting into some detail. What's the split between the physical modelling and the drawing and the computer 3D programs in the program, how would you say that kind of balances out?

Yeah, I'd say you're beginning years. It's pretty equal. Everybody or almost everybody is learning the program from scratch and everybody else is learning out how to model. When you get into verticals and later years, it is dependent on the professor and the studio. For example, I spent one semester just modeling Clay I I didn't touch the computer and I took away a certain set of skills.

And then last semester.

Was totally in the computer. I didn't touch task board or clay or anything physical.

And then Ricky had mentioned our more realistic studios.

CD21 and two now, yeah.

What are they called? Design? Yeah, those guys and those two studios kind of go back to the even split of physical and digital modeling, but at a higher, more real world, realistic resolution.

Yeah, I would agree with that. It kind of depends on the professor you get and kind of what they're feeling for that semester.

You know, sometimes they'll ask, like in the case of CD and CD2 last for like 6 iterations in model form instead of computer form. It's like that's a fun weekend.

But other than that, it's like kind of an even split depending and usually you will make a model for like the midterm or final and that will sometimes be the only model for the semester.

Like for thesis for example, we're just doing one model for our final.

05:46:45 PM

will you learn any 3D modeling in the classes, or is that something you had to learn on your own?

And then a kind of similar question Lauren asks about.

Learning about 3D modelling, is that an actual class or do you learn that on your own? Is that a mixture?

I'd say it's a mixture. We have two classes which are kind of dedicated to that, one being Studio, which is like the primary one. And then two is called digital constructs. And both of them kind of the first two years teach how to like use Rhino and all these Adobe programs to kind of learn how to like represent your work. But you know, the professors encourage you to like learn on your own and stuff. I would say, you know, YouTube is great because you can, you know, Google Rhino tutorials or anything, and there's a lot of resources out there for that.

05:47:27 PM

If not too personal, have your internships been paid? If a student would prefer to work over the summer instead of interning somewhere, would that be a big disadvantage in finding future jobs?

OK, Jana asks of your internships have been paid.

And just talk a little bit more about that.

Yeah, my internships have been paid and that goes back to personal circumstances. It's something that I needed.

I, at least personally, a common attitude from people that I'm around is that that whole idea of like you're being paid and experienced is kind of old and you're really worth being paid.

And what would be a big disadvantage in finding future jobs? I don't know if there really is a disadvantage of being paid or not paid, if it works for you either way.

Umm. I find at least at the career fair rookie. Correct me if I'm wrong, most of the internship opportunities are paid, so it's not something you need to worry about there.

Yeah, but both of mine have been paid as well. I would definitely say don't work if you're not getting paid for it because kind of the downfall of architects, you want to do a lot of free work, some might say. So I would say definitely make sure you get paid, but if you're definitely not for whatever reason and you're doing it, make sure you register for the AXP program so you can start earning experience towards your licensure exam.

05:48:56 PM

Is there anything you would recommend learning to get ahead before starting college?

And Jack asks about preparing for for college.

Is there anything you'd recommend learning to get get a foot ahead or get a head start?

I mean you could play around with Rhino and stuff. I don't know if you get like the package before you go or not. I think it was once we got there. If anything you could download like the Adobe suite and kind of learn Photoshop and Illustrator because those help a lot freshman year and learn how to like post process your work.

You know, you could definitely watch tutorials on Rhino and then have like an understanding of some of the commands and how those work. Coming in might be helpful.

Yeah, I'd agree with that.

Photoshop or the Adobe suite. In case you guys don't know, we have a student discount. I forget if that was mentioned.

05:49:48 PM

What is the split between the science and art of architecture?

But doing the same thing of watching the tutorials. I find personally that doing something helps me learn a lot quicker than just like reading about it.

Coming towards the end, now we've got a couple more questions. What's the split between the science and the art of architecture? I think it's quite a deep question, but how would you, how would you answer that?

I would say that like the first two years or maybe teaching you more how to think architecturally and then after you get past that, it's more kind of learning what architecture is in a real sense.

You know, as we keep talking about these CD one and two studios, those are more technical based and there's almost no theory behind them. It's purely like how a real world project would operate and like the technical details that go along with that.

I would say that from other colleges I've seen in their programs, RPI is definitely a more technical basis in their architecture program, which I think is important. And definitely, as Sarah had mentioned, a lot of the recruiters are impressed by that and definitely look for it.

05:51:05 PM

what's your favorite thing about the arch program at rpi?

Our final question, I think we're kind of getting towards an hour now, so I think that's a good point to start. To wrap things up, Our final question, what's your favorite thing about the architecture program or RPI?

I'd say mine is the community.

Both at the student level and between professors.

Matt Stabler

05:51:24 PM

Matt Stabler, School of Architecture Liaison stablm@rpi.edu

Matt Stabler

05:51:33 PM

Visit! https://admissions.rpi.edu/undergraduate/visit

Just making connections and pushing your boundaries of thinking and what you're learning. I think that, at least for me, has been an invaluable part of these past five years.

Matt Stabler

05:51:44 PM

Enrollment guide https://admissions.rpi.edu/enrollment-guide/connect-us

Yeah, I would agree. I would say definitely. The people I've been to, you know, obviously a lot of universities, I'm sure you guys all have touring and stuff, but none of them really felt like home to me except for RPI. And it definitely still feels that way. And I can definitely say that, like the friends and professors I've met along the way have definitely been like very nice and great.

Matt Stabler

05:51:58 PM

Financial aid and Women at Rensselaer webinars Women at Rensselaer Student Panel - Wednesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. EDT Women at Rensselaer Student Panel - Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m. EDT Accepted Student Financial Aid Q&A Webinars The Office of Financial Aid can be reached at finaid@rpi.edu

Matt Stabler

05:52:15 PM

Transfer credit https://admissions.rpi.edu/undergraduate/high-school-preparation#CollegeCreditsandAdvancedStanding

Awesome. So I'm just dropping a few bits of information into the chat box. I've included my e-mail there. If you have any further questions then please reach out. I work in undergraduate admissions. You can come and do a visit with us. We do information sessions and tours. You can register for those via the visit link. I would thoroughly recommend one of our accepted student celebrations that we're holding on campus. We have over 2000 people coming for the one in a couple of weeks time.

Saturday, March 23rd, and then we're doing one on Saturday, April 13th, and we're doing a specific session just for architecture that day as well. So it's going to be an academic overview and then you can have a look around the Green Building, the home of the School of Architecture, chat with students, have a little tour, There'll be another student panel. So I thoroughly recommend one of the accepted students celebrations. If you can't make it to campus, we're doing accepted student receptions around the United States. I'm going to be the one in Boston.

At the end of this month, we're going to be doing some on the West Coast in Seattle and California for example, for those who are on our website and you can register for those and kind of we're coming to where you at to meet you on the road.

There's an enrollment guide link there that I recommend you taking a copy of. It will kind of talk you through the enrollment process, maybe answer some of those questions about housing and financial aid, about transfer credit.

So definitely check that out. Financial aid is obviously a big issue.

Probably more this year than than any year because of the delays in the FAFSA, but we're doing some financial aid webinars that are good to check out for some additional information. I'm also doing some women at Rensselaer webinars as well that I I thoroughly recommend you you join just to get that perspective on the.

The female point of view with being at Rensselaer, just so you know, 60% actually.

Of our school of architecture students are female and across the whole campus it's about it's about a third, just a touch under a third of students are female. I also dropped in that last link there about transfer credit. You can check that out about a PIB and college credits. So all that being said, I think we got through a lot of Q&A there, a lot of good information. Thank you so much to Sarah and Ricky for joining us today on.

The the Sunday afternoon at the end of their spring break. We really appreciate your time, your experience.

Um, passing on the good advice to our potential students, thank you so much Sarah and Ricky for joining us today. And obviously to you the the admitted students, congratulations once again. Thank you for giving up some of your day as part of your research for your your future college. Hopefully you've had a productive visit with us today and follow up with any questions if there's anything left out there that you would like to know. Other than that, thank you once again and enjoy the rest of your evening. Good night everybody.