Choosing a university to study architecture and digital media in the US?

[Bree]

So I'm looking at doing an exchange in the US next year, I'm currently studying Architecture and Digital Media at university - so it needs to be a university which offers at least one of these subject areas. I've been going through each of the universities to see if they offer these courses, but that's super time consuming and boring - so I'm taking a different approach for a while, then I'll go back to the boring research haha, I want general information on which universities are the best for these subject areas and which universities would you choose and why?

So far the two I'm liking the most are UCLA and UC Berkeley, these seem like well regarded institutions, they actually offer architecture / media, the California location looks cool (and I loathe the cold, so the weather would be nice haha) and I'm sure they would have good social and party cultures too (I mean any universities would). What are your opinions on these two? The stuff I'm looking for is preferably warmish weather (not necessary, just preferable), a reasonable sized city location, strong party culture, reasonable distance to tourist destinations, reasonably highly regarded institution with a solid rep, cool cultural area.

Also another question is, in Australia the drinking age is 18 so it's no problem for me to get alcohol and go to bars and clubbing and all that, but since I'll be under 21 when I go to the states, will it be a problem to get alcohol? When you watch all the movies and tv shows of people at college it seems pretty party crazy and they always have alcohol and what not - is this a true representation of US college life or is it exaggerated? I've heard people say its completely true, but then others say no its exaggerated, so what's the go?

Options
University of California (all campuses)
San Diego State University, San Diego
The University of Kansas, Lawrence
Georgetown University, Washington DC
Georgia Tech, Atlanta
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
Pennsylvania State University, State College
Purdue University, West Lafayette
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy
University of Colorado, at Boulder, Boulder
University of Connecticut, Storrs
University of Miami, Miami
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
University of Texas, at Austin , Austin
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
American University
Binghamton University, Binghamton
Boston College, Newton
George Washington University
New York University, New York
University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign, Urbana


Sorry, the question isn't all that clear but just general advice is all I'm really looking for. Fire away

[drip]

Drinking. You can buy alcohol or get a drink in a bar. Some bars will not allow you in. Everyone "cards". they check your photo ID for the year you were born. Stores and bars and restaurants can loose their liquor license if they sell to underage people. So they tend to follow the law.
You can find a party at any US college.

California public State schools accept very few international students. and tuition is sky high for them. UCLA tuition alone is $50,000 per year. Add on another $10,000+ for room and board. If you are in an exchange program and you don't have to pay tuition- then UCLA is a top choice.

You come from a country with hot/warm weather and beaches. Why not try something different for your time away?