But it's a start, which is wayyyy behind what I've got!

I'm using Illustrator for the whole thing, separate files for each page, with a folder for each project containing all the supporting images so that I can go back and work with them when I decide to change anything.

Photoshop works fine. A bit of a hassle, but it works fine.

the only reason I like Indesign, is because you are constantly reminded of the work that surrounds the spread that you are working on. Plus, if you organize your images (and also use PSD's that are also organized, having the background and such on different layers), it becomes very easy to work back and forth between Indesign and Pshop. Also a little more manageable considering that Indesign is just linking the image, unlike in Pshop where file sizes get huge.

one thing to remember. keep your icc profiles in order. Make sure that if you're working between several programs, your profiles are the same. color matching becomes simple this way.

WonderK, rationalist, and DEVicox. Thanks very much for your input. Believe it or not it helps a bit. In the back of my mind I keep thinking there is a magic program that makes everything I want to do so much easier but there is not. argh. I love making stand alone graphics but making a fluent not too graphic folio that links work through the set is a whole other ball of ear wax.

Hi everyone,

I am also applying for fall 2007. I have been a member here for a long time but in a bout of paranoia, I decided I just don't want my usual name attached to the grad school commisseration thread. If anyonoe has guesses feel free to email me and I will tell you if you are right :)

So, even though I have been posting here and reading the 'nect for a while, and I have read years' worth of these threads, I am still intimidated by the process. My background is that I have a BFA in design, but not architecture. I have been involved in architecture-related things here and there, and took a few classes as an undergrad in my school's department, but that is it. I will need to get calc/physics prereqs out of the way at community college because they weren't offered in my BFA program, but I'm not too worried about them.

My portfolio won't have many blatantly architeture related things. I have been on a different professional track the past couple years and I'm not sure if I should include architeture related work from the past, just because I have some architecture stuff, when I have done much better work since then. I'm just not sure that my work demonstrates an interest in architecture, although it does show my visual sensibility - and that I have one - at least. This is my biggest insecurity.

Like others, I have a file that complies all of the information about applications. Gathering it all is enough work in itself!

To answer some questions about using Photoshop for layouts, my personal opinion is that it is a bad idea. You don't have much control over the type, and you can lose sharpness in the edges of type when you print it out. I would go with Illustrator, Quark, or InDesign - but if you are not familiar with those programs and it would just hinder your progress to have to learn them, then I guess Photoshop gets the job done.

i started my portfolio in a similar manner to rationalist...illustrator with a supporting file folder structure to manage drafts, images, supporting files, etc. the folder structure is key to keeping your sanity as you work through iterations.

i'm changing my process a bit because i found myself having to do too much back 'n' forth between illustrator and photoshop:

since the images are the key element, i've decided to work entirely in photoshop for the first phase. each page spread will be an individual file. i'll fine tune the layout using dummy text. once i'm confident in the layout, i'll hide the text layer and save the visible as a tif for the phase two work in illustrator.

the second phase will involve reaccomplishing and fine tuning the text and basically finishing the page layout in illustrator.

advantages...no need to go back into photoshop every time i need to resize or tweak an image. importing 1 image into the illustrator file is more efficient from a file size and CPU usage perspective (less hangups or crashes). and of course, text is way more crisp in illustrator.

i have a feeling indesign or quark are inherently more flexible for page layout, but since i don't own either...

just sharing in hopes that someone else will also find this useful.

btw, the immediate frustration that indesign and quark would solve for me is the ability to have multiple pages within one file to help with sequencing and "big picture" views.

oops...ditto DEVicox.

nambymambics. I would think alot depends on the school/program you are applying for. I know at UF where I did my ugrad their main concern is a strong desire since their program for non-arch bachelors holders seeking masters (refered to as core) takes an extra year but they use that time as catch-up so fundamentals of architecture and space are not as important as other things.

My brother is currently going through a BFA program for theater tech with an emphasis on lighting design. I am enthused with the projects he works on and while they are somewhat different from architecture projects the basic skill sets are the same. As one of my profs told me, any grad admissions person would wet themselves over those kinds of special skills. I think the diversification is a great asset but it is all up to the admissions board and that could vary.

As for the computer suff. I really saw illustrator as a happy medium between in-design and photoshop but havng 8+ yrs experience with pshop and minimal with the other 2 just working the programs was difficult.

Broccolijet, and others...
I feel your pain...I set a tentative portfolio deadline for myself....I downloaded the 30 day trial of Indesign...and so I must be done by then....of course I know of some cheatz

I am new here, but am glad to see other sleepless souls out there are suffering ...
I am applying to schools I used to be bitterly out of reach from, being from backwards southern roots,.....and a late comer to Grad school ambition I have found this whole ivy - league research experience to be a complete composting of my sense of self-worth. (I am applying to GSD, MIT, Columbia....blahblahblah...heard it all before)

After a couple of freakouts, I have decided that it's a simple equation: "If I don;t get in, I'll just spend the next year teaching myself the things I wanted to learnfrom the school: like advanced scripting, computational feedbacks, and all kinds of theory ( maybe try sleeping more, what the hell). I'll use the $33,000 + living expenses ...to visit Europe , maybe buy a used GTI , and possibly even find a good health insurance plan." Then I can just rest on the laurels of my portfolio work until next freakout comes around again....ambition is dangerous, rejection never looked so good...just kidding.

Does anyone know any stories of others that may persistently have had to reapply more than one year to finally get in...?

hey - how many of you are going to pre-application open days? a friend suggested that it's best to apply first and then go to any open days if you're accepted. that way there's fewer places to go to, and when you get there you're treated better as the admissions people know they are competing with other schools.

put another way, i could ask how much do people tailor their applications to particular schools? or their personal statements, for that matter.

also, any applicants in the bay area want to get together for a drink to discuss applying? i know quite a lot of people in architecture, but no one who is also looking to apply this year.

thanks.

At first I was planning on tailoring my applications to each school completely. Now I'm in more of a phase where I feel like that's less than honest, and plan on using the same basic essay for each, only altering the last paragraph or two in which I talk about why THEIR school is the one for me. The way I figure it, what I want to do isn't going to change from one school to another, and if a school doesn't feel like it matches up well with them, then they're probably right and I wouldn't be happy there anyways. I do plan to research key things like who the department heads and tenure faculty are, what the overall philosophy of the school is, etc. and include my responses to that towards the end of my essays, and my portfolios will alter from one school to another because of their differing requirements.

oh, and I visited one school pre-application because I was going to be in the city anyway, but I'm not going out of my way to visit others. I figure I'll save my visits until after I've let admissions decisions narrow the field for me a bit.

i was planning to hit the sciarc open house today, but was forced to skip because i ended up having to work (bastards). i didn't really fight it though since i'm local and i've already visited a couple of times for reviews, etc. also, i don't think i'll be able to afford it even if i get in. how's that for rationalizing, rationalist?

i'll be at ucla on monday though since that's my first choice.

for you others who aren't local to your programsof interest, i wouldn't waste the time or money to make a trip out of it.

btw, Formfunction33, i've heard from people here on archinect who had to reapply three times to get into the schools they wanted. persistence pays though...they got in everywhere that third time.

just so you all using illustrator know, you can do pages in illustrator too. Just make you page size as large as the total pages. 7 81/2x11 spreads would be a 17 x 77 page in illustrator...from that you can even output as a multipage pdf.

discussion about GRE could happen here:

http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=46836_0_42_0_C

-r

Tom says, go to michigan.

dude, that's huge news...thanks jason!!!

revising my process accordingly...

anyone know how to get autocad drawings to show up well in InDesign? the only thing i've figured out so far is plotting from autocad as a jpeg, but then because the jpeg has a white background i can't make my drawing lines go over the stuff that's already in my document. also, for some reason, despite the jpeg having ridiculously high resolution, it prints out pixely from InDesign. Any ideas? Thanks.

all those aspiring architorture students please read this thread before submitting your applications...

b-jet, what do you think of UCLA? i know, super open question, but since you were considering sciarc, i'm just currious about your comparison of the two. i'm still trying to figure out if I want to skip work on Monday and drive up for the open house (I'm in SD).

i went to the open house at sciarc yesterday - it was interesting. i've been to the school before, have studied and worked with a few people who went there, so I pretty much knew what to expect.

robust- what works for Illustrator, and so I would give it a try in InDesign but don't guarantee success, is plotting as a .pdf, not a .jpg, and not rasterizing it at all. This way your drawing comes in as a group of lines instead of an image.

robust,
try checking the "scale line weights " box in the plot layout dialogues...also, avoid a lot of cad- based imagery in a portfolio.

In fact avoid cad altogether..lol

arhitekt -- yeah, i'm not really sure how to answer your question in a way that'll help you since my reasons are pretty particular to my situation, but i'll try.

ucla's my "only" choice for a number of non-architectural/educational reasons...mostly money and location. i want to stay in LA and these are the only accredited graduate programs:

cal-poly pomona - inexpensive, but long commute and dodgy grad program

sciarc - great program and easy commute, but expensive

usc - N/A for me (grad program doesn't accept non-arch backgrounders)

ucla - great program, decent commute, inexpensive

i also got a really good feeling about ucla when i visited. good faculty, decent facilities, interesting people doing interesting work.

i can't really compare ucla and sciarc because their approaches and environment are quite different, but i'll give you my observations (i make no claim to their proximity to fact).

my feeling is that sciarc is a less "safe" environment than ucla...and i don't mean that as a knock on either school. i think both schools will be exteremely challenging, but sciarc, for better or worse, strikes me more as a sink or swim endeavor where you're expected to build your own boat..and write your own construction manual.

if that sounds exciting to you, sciarc it is. it sounds exciting to me too, but i also like that ucla's program seems to be a little less subjective. if sciarc and ucla tuitions were comparable, i'd have a much harder choice if i got in both places.

in the end, it doesn't make one better than the other, just better for the right person.

i hope this has helped (a little)

regarding the AutoCad to InDesign question....

I have always printed AutoCad drawings to .eps files. I've found that if you print them to PDF files that you can keep the correct scale but you lose the lineweight information. EPS files keep both the scale and lineweights. To print to EPS files, you use the "Adobe Post Script (level 1 or 2)" in the AutoCad plot function.

brocollijet - that truly helped, i really appreciate it. i am just interested in confirming my perception of sciarc vs. ucla. i really enjoyed that sci-arc is so open and maliable, but i want a school that encourages more explorations beyond design and supports those explorations with a plethera of elective options and professors who are doing these types of research. i am actually considering the combined urban planning and architecture program and ucla as well, which is something that is not available at sciarc.

so thank you b-jet! your insight was invaluable as always.

wonderk - ditto on the eps - i have done the exact same thing and it works well for poth photoshop and illustrator.

I think I will let this year pass, want to gain more work experience before going back to college. The only thing that keeps bugging me to apply for master degree is "freeze" on my loans...

Wonder K- moved back to Texas-was here before Cincy and my husband had to stay here for work-so I came back...miss UC but happy to be back home! Good luck with the applications!

I am going to some open houses next week. I am on the east coast, am self employed, and have friends in all 3 of the cities I am visiting, so it's really just a matter of buying a few train tickets. The visits aren't costing me much money, and of course there's no no trouble with work :) I saw in the "what to wear to open houses" that another poster is going to some of the same open houses so maybe those who are interested will get a few different writeups and perspectives from people here. I would be interested to see what people have to say after visiting all a variety of places. I have friends in architecture at 3/4 of the schools I am visiting, so I have heard what they have to say, and want to see for myself. Basically, everyone has a mix of pros and cons about their school, but they are all glad that they went where they did and seem generally happy, despite standard gripes that would happen anywhere (overworked, student loans, etc.) It is so hard to tell what you think of a place in one day, when they are trying to put on their best face, but at least it's possible to get a sense of the facilities and all that.

I've been reading this thread with interest, and a few random questions come to mind:

1) Regarding recommenders, I've noticed that some of you are including a copy of your personal statement along with the information you send to your recommenders. Is this typical protocol? What else should I include?

2) Also, about how far back do you go into your past to find recommenders? I have a couple people in mind that I think would give me good references, but it's been a long time since I've worked with any of them (one design principal at a big firm from 7 years ago, one architecture professor from 8 years ago, and another professor from 3 years ago). Is there a particular protocol in approaching such people? What I'm trying to avoid is saying something like, "Hey, you probably don't even remember me, but I was wondering if you could give me a reference for grad school?" Would grad schools prefer somebody who is more familiar with my recent work?

And regarding prerequisites:

3) Most of the programs I'm applying to expect applicants to have completed one semester each of physics and calculus. I'm hoping to have my BA finished this spring or summer, and I haven't even begun those classes yet. And the problem is, both of those classes each have their own prerequisite that need to be filled before I can even register for them. Is this something that could potentially scuttle my chances of being admitted? Or do most grad programs allow you to filfill those requirements as electives once you're in the program?

4) On a somewhat-related note, I've noticed that two of the schools on my list (U of Oregon and U of Cincinnati) begin their M.Arch. I programs in the summer, which means I'd need to have my BA done by the spring... I was hoping to be able to use the summer to finish up my BA before starting grad school in the fall. Is it realistic to hope that some grad programs would allow me to begin the summer term while concurrently finishing up my BA degree? (My current BA program is very flexible, and would grant me credit for any work I do in grad school.)

I suppose I could delay grad school for another year, but it's already been delayed enough, and that would potentially mean one more year of working at my hellhole of a job. Arrgh....

Thanks in advance...

Living, I didn't give my personal statement or portfolio or anything to my recommenders. Maybe it would have been a good idea... but then again, shouldn't they already know me well enough that they won't need to see the statement or portfolio?

...

On another note, even though my portfolio is far from finished, I'm trying to figure out where to print it. My own inkjet sucks, and I imagine kinko's sucks. Suggestions?

-r

Kinko's could work, but you'd have to pretty much camp out at the store while they work on it to make sure they don't fuck it up.

Epson has a nice inkjet (Photo R220 I think) that gives you good quality full-bleed printing, for less than $100.

I gave recommenders a short portfolio because two of them had me for classes years ago, so I wanted them to see what I'd been doing since, and the third had me for only one class very recently, so I wanted her to see more of my body of work.

I was recently talking with a prof about the issue of who it's ok to ask, and he said he got really annoyed by people who were like, "remember me? No, well I took your class five years ago and now I want to go to grad school!" and that all he needed to feel more comfy was for the person to have dropped him a line occasionally, let him know when they had a show opening or a film in a festival (it was a film prof), if they were getting married or moving, etc. So anyone you've kept in touch with is fine even if it's been a few years since you've actually seen them in person, but people who won't really remember you are a no-no.

Speaking of full-bleed printing at home, it seems like every HP I try to print full-bleed on enlargens everything on my pages in the PDF by about 5%, thus causing things near the edge of the page to get cut off.

are there any printers that don't do this?

I am worried about the letter of recommendation also. I am not the most outgoing person so I feel like the professors will favor the people are more outgoing over me. That's human nature I guess.

bumpalicious...

it sucks when you go to an open house and during the portfolio workshop they essentially tell you that everything you're considering doing to set your portfolio apart (designwise) will either be ignored or negatively received.

(sigh)...starting over.

broccolijet - UCLA open house didn't treat you well?

no, it was actually quite good. confirmed ucla as my number one choice. also gave me some pretty important info that, had i not gotten it, might've diminished my chances of getting in pretty significantly.

guess i'm just frustrated that i have to basically rethink my portfolio approach. better to find out now when i can actually make the changes.

you still have two+ months...

Living in Gin: some schools are very strict about their prerequisites, while others aren't. At my M.Arch program they would offer a "provisional" acceptance if you hadn't yet fulfilled the prereqs but indicated that you were currently taking them or would take them the summer before the start of the program. If you had a provisional acceptance then you had to submit transcripts with proof of a grade of at least C, from an accredited college, before you could register in the fall.
Students who could not produce evidence of completing multiple prereqs were usually told they had to defer admission until the next year. If it was just one course they were sometimes allowed to take it concurrently with their regular first-year curriculum - but I really wouldn't advise that since it adds to an already quite full semester.

One thing that doesn't really matter is where you take those courses. So, if your school for some reason has prereqs for calculus and physics (what on earth are they? algebra?) then see if there's a community college or other continuing ed program around that you could take them at, maybe at night. Just make sure it's accredited.

You should check with the particular schools you're considering about the possibility of finishing up your BA while already enrolled in the M.Arch. I think it would be difficult to do. I remember the short (3-week) summer segment of my program as the most hectic time of grad school. It seemed everyone was all revved up to put their full energy into that, and it resulted in lots of competition and all-nighters. We all mellowed out a little after that.

If you're missing multiple prereqs (say more than 2) it's quite possible for that to affect your admission in the first place, since the committees will see this and question your general preparedness and also the practicality of you being able to complete these before the semester starts.

For recommendations: obviously you want people who remember you well, so that they can write meaningfully and in details. But this doesn't mean any particular time limit. If your profs from 8 years ago remember you well then that's fine. If you weren't a standout 8 years ago and they haven't heard from you since then you may want to think about people who might be able to say more about you - like a more recent employer or professor.
A couple years back there was someone who asked if it was ok to use an old highschool teacher, since she hadn't done any art or design-related work since then. I think this is where the line should be drawn - I don't think people who haven't seen you since highschool are probably appropriate...

It's recommended that you provide your letter-writers with some portfolio samples of your recent work, so that they have something to write about -and jog their memory about you. There's no reason not to give them your statement of purpose too, though that's not done as often.

uuh.. now i'm bummed i didn't go. oh well - i'm not applying until next year, so i have time to catch up! i have to go meet with them well ahead of time anyway - i'm hoping to do the double w/ urban planning and i want to make sure i know what i'm dealing with.

it's all good arhitekt, they'll have another open house in the spring to convince those who get in to actually enroll.

you're right treekiller, i still have about 6 weeks (dec 15). i'm not panicked, just annooyed. i was enjoying thinking i was ahead of schedule.

dear broccolijet,

what info did you get from ucla that had you not gotten it your chances would have been dimished?

i guess if it's private or a secret feel free not to share...but you've got me very curious. anything dealing with maximizing admittance chances is of interest.

thanks.

-r

oh, sorry robust...didn't mean to imply that it was some holy grail nugget of info for everyone, just that it coincidentally contradicted my approach.

but fyi, the message the ucla staff communicated during the portfolio discussion was essentially this:

1) don't overwork your portfolio, keep it graphically simple

2) i was told verbatim "you're just trying to get in"...so don't go crazy with tricks/gimmicks

3) you're applying to an architecture program, not a graphic design program, so no extra credit for breaking conventions in the layout

4) they don't want anything to visually distract from the work itself

5) they acknowledged that all schools have their own things they look for and that this only applies to how ucla wants to see portfolios

since i don't have an architecture background, i was approaching my portfolio as a design project in and of itself, taking some liberties with layout, size, etc. looks like they're not interested in any of that. had i not gone to the open house, i would've submitted a portfolio that was pretty much the antithesis of what they're looking for.

hope this helps.

thank you broccolijet

broccolijet, thanks for the insight. that's what i was afraid of with my portfolio, it looked way too graphic and not enough meat/substance. i guess that's why i haven't done anything for a few weeks now, knowing that i need to start over; just need some inspiration to start again. did anyone happen to go to berkeley's open house a few weeks ago, have any comments from that?

Okay, I've decided on a slightly revised plan. Until now, I had been planning on applying to:

Cornell
UPenn
Harvard
U of Cincinnati
U of Oregon

...But I think I'm going to drop the last three from the list. Cincy and Oregon start their M.Arch. programs in the summer term, which means I most likely wouldn't have time to finish up my BA before then. (I'm counting on having that summer available to tie up any loose ends with my BA degree, and I'm looking at lots of loose ends.) I like both schools, but that schedule just wouldn't work for me.

Nothing against GSD, but I think I'd rather apply to Columbia instead, mainly because of its location in NYC, and the fact that I already know a few people in the wider Columbia community due to my involvement at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I feel much more at home in Morningside Heights than I ever did in Cambridge, and I already have a good network of friends in the neighborhood to lean on. I don't know a soul in Boston.

Cornell remains a strong choice, along with Penn to a lesser extent. I've heard mixed reviews of Penn's recent direction here on Archinect, overall it sounds like a good program, and I generally like Philly.

If none of those choices work out for whatever reasons (financial, or because I won't have my BA in time), I can see myself moving to NYC next summer anyway, working there for a year while finishing my BA on a distance-learning basis (my program at DePaul is set up to do that), and then going to one of the local schools, with Columbia being my top pick and CCNY being my "safe" choice.

I almost had a nervous breakdown the last time I lived in NYC, but I think some of my earlier pitfalls could be avoided by being a lot more deliberate in finding housing and a job, instead of jumping on the first crappy option that comes along.

I could probably live with putting grad school off for another year, but the thought of another year living in Chicago and working my current job gives me the hives. (Nothing against Chicago per se, but I hate the Midwest, and I've been itching to move on for a long time.)

I think you need to broaden your horizons and at least apply to GSD. If you are accepted, at least think about the opportunity to build a new network once you are there (live a little!:). I moved there not knowing a soul and it was a life changing experience.

True... Once I posted that message, I figured, "what the hell, it's only an application fee and another printing of my portfolio." The worst they can do is not accept me. So that leaves me with a list of four Ivies that I plan to apply to:

Cornell
UPenn
Columbia
Harvard

Oh well... I've always had expensive taste. :/