How competitive is the program to get into and how is its reputation in industry? If my daughter is too 10% and can get auto-admit to A&M, how do they handle Arch major? Like Mays or Engineering? She's currently a junior in HS.

I can't tell you about the current admissions rules, but I can tell you that the A&M architecture program is well regarded and its graduates have good job prospects around Texas. I got my 4-year bachelors degree in Environmental Design from A&M. We were then typically expected to enroll in the Masters of Architecture program to get our professional degree as opposed to some schools that have a 5-year professional bachelors degree (like Rice). I opted for the Land Development program instead and eventually became a developer. This has required me to hire architects for a variety of different property types and I have some perspective from that angle. I think my classmates who stuck with architecture have generally done well over the years. I do understand that admissions are more competitive than they used to be. Niche ranks Rice #1 nationally and A&M #13 nationally in architecture. That puts us ahead of Texas, Tech, Tulane and UH, all of which are pretty good programs themselves.

Great feedback. Thank you.

Family member applied with a 3.8 GPA (6A Houston school) and a 1100 SAT. She was accepted by October 15. That shocked me. Minimal extra curriculars.