Exceptionally high GRE score would certainly strengthen your application. Start sketching sketching sketching; go to lectures (In NY, Columbia GSAPP lectures are free and open to the public, most are); talk to practioners and get their opinions; read read read read architecture; touch and see and write about all inspirational architecture that interests you. Evoke passion in your writing and sketching to start to develop a voice for a portfolio, share among architecture friends for advice, and start to imagine opportunities where spaces can be created and flesh out ideas with models and drawings. It's going to be a long and strenuous road but might as well start now; if you're passionate about it, you have to breath it and live it.  Deadlines have passed for this coming fall so shoot for 2016. Good luck! 

I'd be more concerned whether he can maintain a 3.0 average in graduate school. It's really a poor show of character to exit with such an abysmal academic record and then try to persuade others that one is cut out for more schooling.

chicag: Definitely agree about needing to keep building my knowledge base and to just start going for it, i'm sure there are a number of threads about good places to start, but could you recommend any essential books for introductions? To this point I've been mainly reading online about different architects and looking into their evolutions rather than the theory, which is probably where I should head next I'm guessing. I'm aiming for 2016, does that seem realistic? I was under the impression that the M.Arch 2/3 programs were for people like me, but probably people in better academic standing, any thoughts on how open they are with a background like mine?

Vertical: Absolutely, I've been very worried about that, any thoughts on how I might overcome that? I've heard that good portfolios are what matters most, but I also know that most grad schools in other fields have fairly strict cut offs at 3.0, and I've heard that architecture is a little more lenient, but I don't really want to wait a number of years just so my GPA becomes less relevant

Depends on where you are located or if you are willing to relocate for a Summer program. But I know a few schools on the west-coast that offer introduction courses that can easily provide you with a solid portfolio. Sci-arc is one of the programs I would recommend. And since its a smaller institution it will almost guarantee you admission. UCLA also offers a summer jump start program which again is a great introduction course. For any department/ program its all what you make of it. Since your GPA is low I would recommend doing one of these summer programs at a school in which you are really interested in attending and really show the professors your abilities. Hope that helps. 

You might be able to make up courses. Could be viable depending on the cost and might realign your bearings going forward. Or gain professional experience somewhere to make up for academic deficiencies. Just show them you're responsible and not just artistic or whatever. There will be a lot of boring put-head-down-and-do-it stuff in this field too so what if you lose interest again?

Some school accepting you would be taking a bigger risk than normal and unless they were purely interested in just money, their reputation and your future success are both important. If you're rushing into this decision, you will probably end up in one of those money-grab places.

sk: Yeah I was interested in the summer programs, people on here have really hyped Columbia's program though it is quite expensive, and City College of New York and a few other schools have them, and the prospect of getting a decent portfolio out of that is good, but I was hesitant because I thought it might not be enough, just doing a 5/6 week program. The successes I've read about seem to be from people with a design background, any idea if this would be enough for me?

vertical: Making up courses seems realistic because there are a lot of schools here, and it seems like many programs want you to have some knowledge of architectural history? I would love to get professional experience so that I could prove it's not just a minor interest, but I'm having trouble finding positions that don't require a degree, any idea of what I could reasonably contribute to a firm with no background? I definitely don't want somewhere that won't give me a quality education, but I realize I'm not in a position to be battling for a top program

I have a BA in linguistics, my GPA was below 3.0, and I did Columbia's yearlong NY/P program. I am now fortunate enough to have choices in where I pursue my M.Arch starting this fall. Seems like I was recently in your shoes! Send me a message if you want to chat.

Hi omyjosh, 

I'm going to comment on your situation because it is quite similar to my own, and because I stalked these forums for years looking for advice on what I should do before getting into M.Arch 1 programs this past month. 

Bit of backstory first: In college, I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I ended up going into the "feeder" major at my school that everyone else was doing. I hated it and ended up with a 3.2 final GPA, depression issues, and a slew of mostly D's senior year (though great grades years 1-3, it must be said). I had done no art basically ever, apart from liking to draw as a kid (I went to a public high school where you could either take art classes or take AP science classes that had an extra lab block that met when the art classes did, which was a stupid horrible policy). Then my junior year, I had a breakdown going through corporate recruiting for ibanking, and thought "why not take this architecture class for fun and cut myself a break (ha!)". 2 weeks in, I loved it but I was dying from the work. And I wanted to give up my fleeting dream and return to the real world because come on, architecture school is stupidly expensive, and architects don't make any money. But the professor really believed in me, said she recognized talent in me, and that I owed it to myself to see things through, and wouldn't let me drop the course. So that summer instead of a banking internship, I decided to do Career Discovery at the GSD, loved the experience, did really well, and came out with some really strong projects. At that point I knew I wanted to do architecture, but had to slog through my major and couldn't fit any more architecture or art classes in. Tried to find a job with an arch firm after graduation (none of them will hire you without a professional degree, unless daddy knows one of the partners), even for doing marketing, which I had a fair bit of experience with. Eventually I found a job with an interior design firm, which was valuable work experience and taught me a lot about running my own small business someday. This past fall, I finished applying to M.Arch 1 programs, and while I might not have gotten into the Harvard GSD (eyeroll), I'm pretty pleased with all the competitive programs I did get into and will have a tough time choosing between them. 

NOW, for the takeaways: 

- YOUR BAD GRADES DON'T MATTER. Or at least mine were nothing that couldn't be overcome with other parts of my application. For the record, I had killer GRE scores (95-99 percentile), and I also don't think they helped my applications a bit. People say it's 95% about the portfolio, and they are probably right. But I also had terrific recommendations and a great personal statement. 

- DO A SUMMER PROGRAM. Is it a cash grab? Absolutely, for them. They're out to make money and they are expensive. But it is also an invaluable experience for you. It's the only way to make sure you understand what you're getting into for the next 3 years of grad school. It's an invaluable portfolio builder and networking opportunity. You get to talk to lots of currently architecture students or recent grads and will get tons of advice about everything from grad school to finding a job. And I couldn't imagine anyone pulling off the kind of portfolio you need to apply without it coming from a zero-arch background (unless they were like an amazingly talented professional sculptor beforehand or something). And quite frankly, it's the only way to assess whether you're really cut out for this. I did great in Career Discovery, was one of the best people in my studio, and it really helped build up my confidence to apply to grad schools. Plus, I had a really good relationship with my instructor, who ended up writing me a glowing recommendation for grad school. Which leads me to my next point: 

- NETWORK LIKE CRAZY. One of the really valuable things I did was that I started contacting people I knew might be connected to architecture, alums from my undergrad, even parents of friends I had in high school, and asked it they knew anyone who'd be willing to hold an informational interview with me. I ended up having these with 3-4 people. I'll be honest, not all of them were that useful, but they all gave me a look at architects, draftsmen, and developers across a broad career spectrum, and I figured out a lot about what I did and didn't want to end up doing later. And one of them turned out to be really useful - he gave me a lead to a design build workshop he was running - that I ended up doing last summer - that I ended up including in my portfolio - and then asked one of the other leaders for a recommendation for grad school. You get the idea. Network. Most people are really willing to mentor you and help you out. You just have to ask, and then profusely thank them later. Build good relationships. They will support you with good advice and great recommendations. 

- SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE. This one probably isn't what you want to hear, but I feel needs to be said. Developing an interest in architecture this late in life, you (and I) are at a HUGE disadvantage compared to kids who have been living and breathing this stuff for years. It's nothing that can't be overcome, but it really does take extra effort to play catch up. As soon as I realized I wanted to do architecture, I started finding every little tangentially related opportunity I could to advance this goal. Couldn't find a job with an arch firm, so I got one in interior design. I also found a part time opportunity as a surveyor's rodman (and got to learn autoCAD for free this way). Audited architecture-related art history courses my senior year. Started teaching myself as much architectural history as I could. Taught myself photography. Took a photoshop and indesign course. Small advancements. All of this translated to what will be 2 years off between UG and M.Arch, while working a full time job and developing "life experience". I definitely didn't feel "ready" to apply, or feel like I was in a position in my life to handle the rigor of grad school until this application cycle. Finally realizing the fruits of my labor now as I'm deciding between the programs I've been accepted to. It's been incredibly validating, a sign that I've been on the right track for the past 3 years. 

One thing I didn't do more of that I really wish I had/always meant to was take art classes at night from local museum schools. Everyone kept saying to me "you should take figure drawing, you should take figure drawing". I didn't end up having time, and my portfolio really lacked that fine art element, I feel. 

Now, when you do decide architecture is really for you, only when you're really certain, here are some tips I learned from the application process: 

- ONLY APPLY TO SCHOOLS YOU REALLY LIKE. That are a good fit. This is another commonly given piece of advice that I paid no attention to at all. I think I was really scared and didn't know if I could get in anywhere, so I applied to 9 schools (too many to really tailor my applications well to each), with all different methodologies. And the funny part is... the ones where I was the best fit, that I was most excited about, I got into. The wake up call was my surprise at getting my first flat out rejection, from Cornell, a school I could never have imagined being happy at, never had any intention of going to unless they offered me a big scholarship, but is supposed to be less competitive than other schools I did get accepted to. It's like the admissions committee could see right through my lack of genuine enthusiasm for their program. I really wish I had my $150 back, I remember it being the most expensive one to apply to too, all those stupid little slideroom fees. 

- DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Take photos and keep sketches of every step in your process. And keep all your original drawings, even if you've scanned them. I didn't realize until later that all my scans were crap, and I had to go through and darken/redraw every. single. line. in photoshop because I'd thrown out the originals. And I totally thought no one would want to see process photos of me mid-construction for the chair I built. Those would have been invaluable in my portfolio, but I couldn't exactly go back in time and tell myself to take those. Oh, and...

- BACK UP ALL YOUR STUFF. About a year after I did Career Discovery, my computer died completely and I lost all my images. -.- Thankfully, I was able to reach out to my instructor who had kept them and resent them to me. Very near catastrophe averted. 

- USE ONLY THE BEST PROJECTS FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO. It's okay if it's short. My portfolio consisted only of 4 projects (2 from career discovery, the aforementioned design build workshop, and a chair I'd built). But they were all quality projects, thoroughly developed, well photographed. People I talked to worried it was too short - well the grad schools didn't seem to think so. Actually, I included some mediocre travel sketches at the end that I'm wishing I had cut out in retrospect. So it would have been better even shorter. 

- START YOUR PORTFOLIO EARLY. People kept saying this to me over and over, and I didn't listen to them. I'm a perfectionist. I was so worried about it not being perfect that I kept putting it off. And then had to scramble like a madman 2 weeks before applications were due. Pulled a solid week of all nighters, barely got it printed in time. Typical architecture student, I guess. Don't do that. Start it the summer before you apply, so you really have time to ruminate and change things until they're exactly the way you want. 

- REACH OUT TO YOUR NETWORK FOR HELP WITH YOUR PORTFOLIO. And statement. Okay, I know that's 3 points about portfolio, but it really is the most important part of your app. Reach out to that all-important network you've been busy developing and ask them for feedback!

- BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Stick with it. And have faith that it'll all work out eventually. It did for me. :)

Wow, this ended up being really long. I hope this was helpful, not just for you, but any other M.Arch 1 hopefuls like myself who stumble across this thread. Mostly it was cathartic for me to just write all this stuff down and process what I've been through for the past few years. 

I'm still envious of people with amazing portfolios from their architecture major or studio art major undergrad days. And I still can't help but think "what if". What if I'd taken the time to develop my talent earlier, as far back as high school even. Where would I be now? But really, I'm in a position where I've now gotten into a lot of the same M. Arch 1 programs as those aforementioned people. And that makes me incredibly excited for the future, and incredibly thankful to everyone who has helped me get here. 

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Anyone still reading this?

I think you have to be spot on with the rest of your application. The key is to show them that the GPA is the anomaly, not everything else. Then it’s possible.

You need to make a compelling case, and I think the personal statement will be a big part of it.  

First, identify that Architecture and not some other fine or applied art is what you want to do.

Architecture, Industrial design, Landscape Design, Fashion Design, all these career paths in the applied arts can provide you with the creative and intellectual stimulation to be engaged and interested in what you do, make sure you look into all of these before going down an long and expensive path.

Over and OUT

Peter N

I once heard a successful conductor give the following advice to a room full of impressionable high school kids asking if they should go into music: "First, explore all your other possibilities. If you can imagine a chance at happiness in the future doing anything else, do that instead."

Architecture is kind of the same, no?