Pratt Institute

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Finish your degree, then do M.Arch. First, unless you have a B.Arch you will have to get an M.Arch anyway. Quite a bit of grad students in architecture have their undergrad degrees in other fields. Drawing is important, especially for your portfolio to get into grad school. But you have time to improve. More on reddit.com

99 times out of a hundred it won’t matter. The 1 time it does will be if your potential employer went to the same school, so I suppose you should factor that in. More on reddit.com

I am currently a Senior ID major at Pratt Institute focusing on wearable technologies. So, how to begin? I know this is difficult to answer as a freshman, and often changes for people as they progress through school, but really ask yourself what type of design makes you happy? (consider your favorite designers/designs for instance) What area of design would you want to participate in? (do you have any preexisting interests/skills? mine personally was a deep understanding of wood and woodworking. But like I said, this is liable to change. I've transitioned to wearable tech.) often times, answering questions like these, and being true to yourself, is the best way to find the school that will fit you. It's not about going to the #1 school on whatever list you find on google. It's about finding a school that fits your needs, your interests, and your personality. When things click, you will be motivated to work. And motivation is the key to being a successful designer. About Pratt: I won't talk about foundation year, because it seems like you want to hear about the ID department. And I can only give you my viewpoint from my experiences here at Pratt (because, lets face it, everyone's experiences vary wildly). Pratt is a tough school. Period. If you choose Pratt, be prepared to work non-stop. I know most of my friends leave the studio very late at night. Personally I'm a slow worker, I usually get to bed around 4am most nights. I need to pull at least 1 all-nighter per week. But the nice thing is, I'm never alone in studio. The students here (at least in the ID dept) are dedicated, hard working, and talented individuals (Although they are quite silly most of the time). The professors on the other hand are really 50/50. You need to do your homework on who you choose. But this goes for any art/design school. Your work will be influenced GREATLY by the personal aesthetic and work ethic of the professors that you take (until you develop your own, but that takes time). But hard work and sleepless nights aside, Pratt can offer you incredible opportunities. During my time at Pratt I have presented/taught at a symposium at NASA, at a wearable tech conference in Seattle, and most recently at the White House for Michelle Obama's Fashion Education Workshop. These are life changing experiences that are all possible at Pratt, if you know the right people. Which brings me to another point. Something I wish people nailed into my brain when I was a freshman is how EXTREMELY important networking is for designers. Who you know can really change who you will become down the road. The experiences that can be offered to you will be offered to you by people in YOUR network. So Pratt certainly has it's ups and downs, but your experience here is what you make of it. Too many times have I experienced the loss of close friends who decide that Pratt is not for them. But for those of us who come out the other side, you could work in many different areas, in a wide range of fields. I personally know furniture designers, toy designers, product designers, sportswear designers, shoe designers, craftsmen, makers, DIYers, you name it (notice I did not mention car design. That was the reputation that Pratt ID had decades ago. But even then it was really just one professor and one studio class where that work came from. He's still around if you're interested in that sort of thing). Pratt ID focuses heavily on 3D/tangible design. Not so much CAD, or technologically related things (although you will have classes on these, I had to teach myself CAD and electronics). You will have studio classes where you focus on 1-3 projects per semester. You will have prototyping classes where you will be tasked with learning fabrication techniques. You will have drawing classes, and 3D "sculpting" classes (worth looking into, google Pratt Rowen Reed. it will at least give you a sense of what I mean), as well as CAD classes and manufacturing processes classes. You will have access to a variety of 3D printers, woodshops, metalshops, whatever you need to fabricate your designs you will be able to find on campus (Either through the ID department, or by asking around in other departments). And about campus life. Wellllllllll... We have a campus. And grass (YAY!). And It is a beautiful campus during the right time of year, but you won't really notice it that much. After Freshman year you'll probably be comfortable exploring the city to your hearts content. And let me tell you, that is a huge reason to go to a NYC college. Especially for a designer. But I honestly know maybe all of 6 people outside my major. And I also recently came to the conclusion that my only straight male friends are my two roommates. Pratt is similar to Parsons in the fact that it is a large Korean population (who are all friendly, but usually stick to their korean clique) and that the ratio of men to women is something ridiculous (mostly female). If you're a guy (straight or gay) you'll probably be fine socially and romantically. But for the straight women on campus (who are 90% of my close friends), dating can be extremely tough or non existent on campus. But hey, you're in Brooklyn, there are many many people out there to date and befriend. My best advice for you is to find out what it is that you want to do and compare that to what these schools have to offer. I realized that can be difficult to answer, but if you have somewhere to start, then at least that's something. PS If you'd like to know more I'd be happy to share. I never even touched on the brooklyn area, academic classes, or studio electives but I realize this is probably a beast of a post already. More on reddit.com