choosing between AA foundation and Cardiff. need your help!

I'm pretty sure the AA will take you after Part 1 from Cardiff, don't worry about that. They've got a £5.5m financial black hole to plug!

You really need to think - am I ever going to see the fees I'm paying out to study architecture flow back to me in salary. In all likelihood, its going to take you a long time to pay back the debt you will rack up being an architecture student. My advice would be to reduce that debt wherever you can, and if that means saving £4-5K a year in fees for 4/5 years, I'd say that's a good thing. I personally would struggle to justify the full fees for most uni courses if I had to pay them now, and architecture is particularly savage for your earnings prospects. I also think that you may well be more employable out of Cardiff during a recession / depression than out of the AA. I suspect the market for curvy buildings costing 10x their original budget designed by Grasshopper and with numerous CNC milled bespoke parts - a la AA style - may wane a little in the years to come.

why on earth do you hate the aa so much? Did they reject you, or what? try to deal with the fact, that the aa is one of the best architecture schools in the world - even if you don't get their different approach. i know, the financial aspects are a major put off, but you can't deny that architecturally speaking they are the best! you don't get to hammer the applicants' and students' enthusiasm without any reasons. ie any unbiased and just reasons.

why on earth do you hate the aa so much? did they reject you, or what?

LOL-ing at your opener there - you and I both know that they don't reject people! If you can pay, you're welcomed.

Why are you so sensitive about what people say about the AA? Is it because you think there might be an element of truth in it and that somehow devalues your achievement in getting in? Don't worry about what I might think - you're in - and you may well go on to become a great architect.

I don't hate the AA incidentally - I think its all very arbitrary the work they do but that's not a reason to hate them. I am just replying to the OPs question pointing out that in architecture, you just want to spend as little as possible to get a good architectural education, so if you've got the option of going to Cardiff for £9K per annum for 4 years or the AA at £13-15K for 5/6 years, why pay more? You are, in this industry, going to working for a very long time before you see a payback on those fees.

Having the same problem here. AA foundation and Bath, which one should I go for?
As Im overseas, the fees have not much difference but the placement thing in Bath really attracts me

no, i'm not sensitive about what people say, i just find it strange, that you go on all the aa threads spreading this 'aversion' against the aa. i do understand your statements, but i'm not sure you see the things the aa does wholly. anyways, i know that there are things that might generate disapproval (like the tuition fees), but i don't think they accept you because of your money. i told them various times that i wouldn't be able to study there without a scholarship, and yet i received an unconditional offer.
ps.: according to the riba report on the aa there are around 1300 applications for the 60-65 places. i highly doubt that they accept everyone. i just think that those people don't know tsr (80% of the aa students are overseas)

I'm pretty sure the AA will take you after Part 1 from Cardiff, don't worry about that. They've got a £5.5m financial black hole to plug!

You really need to think - am I ever going to see the fees I'm paying out to study architecture flow back to me in salary. In all likelihood, its going to take you a long time to pay back the debt you will rack up being an architecture student. My advice would be to reduce that debt wherever you can, and if that means saving £4-5K a year in fees for 4/5 years, I'd say that's a good thing. I personally would struggle to justify the full fees for most uni courses if I had to pay them now, and architecture is particularly savage for your earnings prospects. I also think that you may well be more employable out of Cardiff during a recession / depression than out of the AA. I suspect the market for curvy buildings costing 10x their original budget designed by Grasshopper and with numerous CNC milled bespoke parts - a la AA style - may wane a little in the years to come.