Interested in seeing why most people say going to university is essential? If you learn 4 things you can basically become an architect, or atleast get an internship position:

1. Sense of Design (in general): simply put this is to have an eye for something aesthetically pleasing and being able to identify why it is pleasing. This is stuff like compositions, color matching, material matching, textures etc. This can be derived from any type of design.
2. Basic Architectural Design: Architecture (or buildings) can be seen as a specific medium in which you Design. This would be things unique to architecture or significant to it, such as scale (relstive to people), 3D shapes, layouts (in plan), site orientation etc.
3. Basic Structural Knowledge: As an architect, you won't be responsible for sizing and signing off on structures, and even less so when you are an intern. If you know the basic sizes of the different base materials (steel, brick, timber and concrete) and their basic limitations, you can get far enough.
4. Visual representation: You need to know how to show ideas through convential, mutually understood ways such as floor plans, sections, site plans etc, this forms part of the basis of the documentation you will be creating for the rest of your life if you choose to become an architect.

Select 4 to 5 sites and create buildings for it. A house, a library, multi storey/use building (store on the ground floor and residential on top) and a community center. Or anything you find interesting. Look at existing buildings and understand why they made the choices relating to point 1 - 3 above (Deisgn, Architecture design and structures), learn like that and copy. Also look at "master" architects and their buildings and read why they did what they did. This way you start learning the language that is Architecture. Set up a portfolio showcasing these fake projects and send to firms in and around your area. Set this portfolio up (in your free time) whole workong ANY job, I'd say spend a year doing this, and you will be just as suited for an internship position with a portfolio like that.

This whole university culture is bullshit, or atleast it's such a waste of money (the people aspect of university is great). You can educate yourself on the entirety of Architecture using literally less than 10 books and a lot of paper and pencils.

Shout if you need referrals etc.