NO...WE CAN'T! it's a complete and utter mystery.

i was one of 3 students on a 'selection comittee' who reccommended a particular student after seeing their portfolio and meeting them in person.

you know the type: witty, fun, outgoing, good artistic skills, decent portfolio. would have been great at the school in all regards. all 3 of us (on the student comittee) thought this person would be perfect. we ranked her near the top of our list....and she didn't even get an offer.

they let in who they want,,,nomatter your skill or interview. just throw shit together and hope for the best. oh, and dress 'gay' for your interview. it worked for me! lol

What's all this talk about interviews? I didn't interview for any school! Hmmm.

It's true they want who they want, but it's not hard to guess who will get in. If you've got good work, you'll get in. Take the time to make a nice presentation that is good for your work.

Thanks, Trace.

Anyone else?

squareboy, your stereotypes are getting very old and tasteless.

Lyss, you're in the similar situation as I am. ARt Studio/Arthistory double major.. except not in an Ivy and I'm still in undergrad.when I asked the same question, every advice seemed to revolve around Portfolio. despite the GPA's, work experience, recommendations, it seems to all just boil down to the actual work you produce.

it's true - i can't make sense of the admissions process myself - i've done it once before, am currently in an m.arch program i'm not satisfied with and am hoping to "transfer", and am therefore going thru the process all over again.

listen to ieugenei - regardless of what your background is, the portfolio plays the most important role. at least, it's what you can control the most - work hard on it, cross your fingers, apply to a range of schools if you're serious about going to architecture school (meaning not just the top ranked schools -esp if you don't have much previous arch experience) and just see what happens...

I think the first step is to relax. Most schools don't even have applications for the following year available until May.

right on droog,... smoke a bowl, watch a movie, listen to some music, once may rolls around get on top of things and you will have plenty of time, it took me 4 months to get stuff done, but sometimes didnt work on stuff for a couple days at a time.... people throw shit together in a week, keep researching programs on your free time

The research thing is important, not just “what do I have to do to get in” but “what do you guys do? And how does it relate to what I do?”

You should have something you do.

A smart, older friend gave me the advice that I should “tell a story about myself” and when I asked him what story I should tell he said it didn’t matter, just have one.

I think it really helped me get in where I wanted but, by the time I worked out my story where I wanted was different.

I suppose a lot of people just want to do well or say the right thing but are sort of confused as to why. If you have your own project and can lay out a convincing argument for how your project would fit with the school’s project I think it helps a lot.

If you live in the same area as the schools you like applying for a job with one of the professors is good. Mention you are applying to school and also that you are interested in getting involved in their work. Often they will have you in just to check you out even if they aren’t hiring and then you a contact at the school.

There is an enormous amount of schmoozing that goes on and I think that most people who are trying to teach and do their work get a bit annoyed by it but if you really like someone’s work chances are you’ll like them and if you are friendly and honestly interested and/or helping out they’ll probably like you.

Don’t dress gay to impress the gay guys unless you are gay and are impressed by the gay guys. Go to the school where they dress like you and then they will just be impressed.

Otherwise you end up waking up one day and realizing that you don’t really like what you are doing and trying to sell your degree on e-bay so you can go to B-school.

The one advice I would give is to start early. I have been working fulltime for the past two years, and coming home to work on a portfolio was the least thing that I wanted to do. Overall it took me around 6 months to put it together. My old roommate began putting his together as well and time ran out on him. Now he's gonna wait another year.

i work and did a portfolio in 1-2 months. its not impossible. six months and he couldn't get his p-folio done?

I don't know, six months sounds reasonable to me. My situation is a little bit different, I'm applying to Ph.D. Arch. programs, not M.Arch. programs, but I've been working on the applications since September, and I still have one to finish. If you're trying to build a portfolio specific to each program to which you're applying, you're going to need a lot of time to get it all done.

Also, the earlier you start researching the whole process, the better your list of schools will be by the end. I'm astounded by how many people apply to schools because of their "name value" rather than on factors that really matter: faculty, environment, atmosphere, funding, etc. Again, the Ph.D. application is different, my list of schools is largely determined by who is doing work in my area and who will support my disseration, but it's equally important to choose an M.Arch. program that fits your style and interests.

Another good reason to keep thinking about it now: you're starting early enough that you might be able to visit the programs that interest you. If you put it off until the end of the summer, you're going to run out of time. 2-3 years doesn't sound like a lot of time, but if you hate Manhattan, you're not going to do well at Columbia, for instance, even if you're admitted with funding.

At any rate, it's good to pull portfolio stuff together early for no other reason than you'll have more time to run it by other people (professors, people here, etc.) for feedback well before the deadlines.

I took about six months as well with many nights coming home from work beat and deciding to have a beer and do it later. It’s good to show it to people and not only get their response but watch them read it. After seeing where people lingered and where they flipped and the rate that they read it I re sized a bunch of images and cut my text down.

I think that when I was applying to grad school I took about 2 months to work on my portfolio - but since I was still in school at the time most of the work came down to the last week or two, when school was on winter break but most M.Arch deadlines hadn't happened yet.

Since then though I've had to do so many more portfolios and they've gotten less and less complicated. We had to submit new ones twice during grad school - once after first year to see if we should be allowed to go on, once more toward the middle of our final semester for purposes of deciding if we should graduate and if we should get the traveling fellowships and other awards.
Then there was the one I did for my first job search, then an updated one a couple years later when looking for the next job, and another update each time after that...
Then once I got to a position where I am meeting with prospective clients I had to do a new one that is more of a portfolio for the whole firm, but showing all our professional histories/highlights. This has to get updated constantly with newer, better projects....

So: take advantage of this time. This most likely will be the longest, least interrupted, least harried stretch of time in which you'll develop any of the portfolios you'll ever do. Also: it's never too early to think about the versatility/expandability of your format. This can make things much easier once you get into grad school and find that you have to hand in a 1st-year portfolio only 2 days after studio reviews end!

That's great you are starating early. School's don't require or suggest interviews. Ignore this advice and get to know some professors, somehow. Start visiting schools this spring, when faculty are not being bombarded with prospective students.

Apply early. Applications don't change much year to year.
Finish your portfolio early and show it to people for advice.
Take another art course if you are weak in area. Perhaps sculpture. Show some strong variety in your portfolio.

Learn how to tailor your application, essay, and portfolio to the school's interest. Best of luck!

A few programs do require interviews, and in a few others it is an option. The majority of programs don't even allow interviews.

I wouldn't get too worried about filling a particular niche, especially in a first-professional M.Arch program. Schools are looking for a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and strengths - but it isn't as if they're sitting around a table saying "we have one more space for someone with a chemistry background, we still need a green architecture guru, and there's a spot for an Ivy Leaguer with a jewelry design company."

First: they don't know exactly what they're looking for until they see it. Second: at this point in the process most prospective students don't know exactly what their niche is. That's fine.

Your portfolio should be a collection of work that you feel is your best, that represents your working process, strengths and interests, and that hopefully represents work that you enjoy doing. For some people this means a portfolio mostly or completely composed of one type of work or medium, whereas others have a very wide variety.
It sounds as if you have a pretty good mix so far, though if you have the time and inclination I'd recommend a freehand drawing course (doesn't have to be architectural. Landscape drawing, life drawing, "interpretive" drawing are all great.)