In for M.Arch I at GSD, Columbia, and UCLA with full funding from each. Waiting on Yale and Princeton, but couldn't be more excited!

@bradsilling

When did you get financial info from UCLA? Was it in mail or email? Or did Denari call you? 

Wow...this week and the last has been one filled with anxiety, excitement, happiness...

IN : GSAPP, UMICH, WUSTL,Carnegie Mellon

Awaiting for UCB,UTSOA,Pratt, Parsons

I am almost decided on GSAPP!! :)

@bradsilling and @jj_arch : how did you hear back from gsapp? Was it for early acceptances only? 

@ enotnough - I am not sure about the early acceptances but I heard back via email which had a link to my application page informing me about their decision.

FYI - I applied for their MSAUD program.

Denied in GSD M.Arch II and UTSOA.. 4 universities more to go , I guess I should always think positive and hope for the best.. Congratz to all who got accepted!

@C. Watts financial was in the email, no call from Denari :)

@enotnough GSAPP called, said to expect a letter within a week 

Do you guys think that YALE will send the decisions in this week?

This is such a long wait.....!!!

Actually I think they might take until the end of this month :/ their email seems to suggest that.

@Harini Padmanabhan    omg...what..??? really.......????????

I'm waiting only for YALE because it's my first priority!!!!!!!! oh no nononononono

I just sent an email to YSOA asking when they'll send the result.............

@asdmin I was about to the same. :) Thanks and please let us know the answer. Anxiously waiting for MIT and YALE...

@Applicant 1    yes, I'll post here if I get any response from Yale..... this is insane lol

@bradsilling

How much funding did you receive from the GSD? Did they give you a number? Not sure what is meant by "full funding" generally. Would be super helpful to know for reference. Thanks!!

Yale says: 

next couple of weeks.

ugh.

Thank you Ebinehita! I guess we should wait

Wait what????

Gah!! another couple weeks?!!! Come on!!

Anyone in for the Mark Mack suprastudio at UCLA and is taking it up this year ?? Would love to connect. 

@manojna I got into Thom Mayne's Suprastudio

@international_applicant are u joining? If so, may be il see you at the open house ?

Yale sent me the response saying:

"Please keep checking your on-line application.  An email will be sent to you to check the status when decisions have been released, it should be in the next couple of weeks."

..........kidding me....? T.T I'm dying....

@manojna not sure yet. I am waiting for their financial offer. Have you got your official letter of acceptance accompanied by their financial offer? I am not able to come to the open house as i am international. I will do the virtual one though on thursday

IMPORTANT TIP for CHOOSING M.ARCH SCHOOL.
Hi I am an international senior student attending one of IVY League architecture school now.
I am writing this to give you guys a really helpful and important tip when choosing architecture school.
I am writing this because I learned a lot of things while attending TWO IVY League architecture schools so far and really hope you guys-especially international students who have less chance of getting financial aid or scholarships than american students do- make right decision.
First I want to introduce my self briefly. As I mentioned I am an international student with no architecture or design background. Several years ago, I prepared the portfolio and applied to all IVY League schools and was only admitted to Columbia. But didn't go that school and decided to prepare one more year and apply again to IVY League schools. The reason was money. As you know Columbia never gives money to international students and also dwelling expense in New York is crazy. And next year I was admitted to several IVY schools and some offered me a lot of money. But I chose to go GSD that didn't offer any money. Most international students have a kind of fantasy about HARVARD and so did I. That's why I chose GSD at that time. But after one semester I quit the school. THREE major reasons are as follows.
1. The tuition is so expensive. nearly $45,000 a year. And $30,000 for housing and other things. So nearly $80,000 required to attend the school. NO FINANCIAL AID FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, NO LOAN FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS(Especially those who has no guarantor in the U.S.) So I was not able to pay tuition anymore.
2. Disappointing school facilities, curriculum, studio, etc for such high tutition. --> Don't get me wrong. This is not only for GSD but most IVY architecture schools.        
3. Good School DOES NOT guarantee good jobs for architectural fields. YOU MUST KNOW THAT MOST INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DO NOT GET WORKING VISA AFTER GRADUATION!! PRINCETON, GSD, YALE STUDENTS AND OTHER IVY SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE ALL THE SAME!! Because the U.S. are making working VISA difficult to get!  So NEVER THINK THAT YOU CAN GET WORKING VISA AFTER GRADUATION. I SAW MOST OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN GSD WENT BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY AFTER GRADUATION!! (THIS IS THE SAME WITH OTHER IVY SCHOOLS!!)
I was really regretful not choosing the school that offered money. But I had no choice and I prepared the portfolio again and applied again for M.ARCH schools that year. And finally I was admitted to one of IVY schools with Half tutition+α/year. And now I am a senior student of that school.

SO WHAT AM I TRYING TO SAY? (especially for International Students)

1. Never choose the school that doesn't offer any money. I know that most international students consider the school name very importantly but never do mistake like me! I can tell you IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS ARE ALL THE SAME!!(Faculty are similar, curriculums are similar) JUST CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT OFFER YOU MORE MONEY!!! In architectural field, different IVY Schools doesn't make any difference when you get the job. Only the PORTFOLIO AND LANGUAGE SKILLS make difference. And the most important thing I can tell you is that GOOD SCHOOL DOESN'T MAKE YOUR PORTFOLIO BETTER. The quality of design and your portfolio only depends on your ability and skills. The studio instructors don't make your design better it's only you who make the design.  
And most important thing is getting the job. When I was attending GSD I saw and heard a lot of students who didn't get the internship and job. This is not only the case of GSD but most IVY schools are the same. The point is the school name never guarantee getting good jobs or internships. All architecture students will agree with this comment. The portfolio you submit for applying M.ARCH schools are different from the portfolio you submit for your job. I know most students(especially international students) prepare their portfolio with help of private institution. But the portfolio for jobs should include professional studio works. That only depends on your ability. No one can help you!
Anyway the bottom line is that CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT GIVES YOU MORE MONEY. $80,000/year is crazy. Even $5,000/year is a lot of money so choose the school that gives you money even if the money is less than you expected. If GSD do not give you money and MIT, YALE, UPENN give you money just choose the latters. I mean it. If YALE, CORNELL and UPENN do not give you money and Princeton and MIT give you money choose the latters. MONEY SHOULD BE THE FIRST THING TO CONSIDER!!!!!At least within IVY SCHOOLS. (This is the most important thing what I learned after attending TWO Schools.)

2. I REALLY REALLY recommend to choose school that has SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS!!!!
IVY Schools can be divided into TWO categories- School of  SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS and school of LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS.
PRINCETON, CORNELL, MIT are the school of SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS(20~30 students/year)
GSD, YALE, UPENN, COUMBIA are the school of LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS.(60~80 students/year)
I realized this is SUPER IMPORTANT!!! IF you are admitted both to School of  SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS and school of LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS, YOU MUST GO TO SMALL NUMBER SCHOOL!!! If I were admitted to GSD, YALE and PRINCETON I will definitely choose PRINCETON without slightest hesitation.(Actually PRINCETON is the most difficult school to be admitted). If I admitted to GSD, YALE, MIT I will definitely choose MIT without slightest hesitation. Cornell is also the same. The reason School of  SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS are better is simple. They don't only offer much more money than other schools but there are much more opportunity of getting scholarship and school financial aid while attending the school because there are few students in one year. And also studio atmosphere and class atmosphere is much better than schools of large number of students. I am now attending one of the school of SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS and this is really really important thing. And lastly the area of your space in the studio is much larger than that of large number schools. The environment of the studio is REALLY REALLY important because you are going to sit in the studio all day for 3years. If there are a large number of students in the studio your space will be really small like a henhouse. Trust me. And also it's really noisy and boisterous. You need to spend a lot of time and wait for a long time to use school facilities if there are a lot of students. Anyway there are so many reasons why small number of students are much better than large number of students. TRUST ME!!!

In conclusion the KEY POINT IS:

1) CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT OFFER YOU MORE MONEY!!!! DO NOT BE BLINDED BY SCHOOL NAME!!!! IVY SCHOOLS ARE ALL THE SAME!!!
NEVER CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT DO NOT OFFER ANY MONEY!!!!<-- THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

2) CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT HAS SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS!!!!

3) GOOD SCHOOL OR GOOD INSTRUCTOR NEVER MAKES YOUR PORTFOLIO BETTER!!! IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!! Most famous architectural firms are composed of employees with several different schools. NOT ONLY IVY schools, NOT only certain schools!! 
I really hope you guys make the right decision. NEVER BE BLINDED TO SCHOOL NAME such as HARVARD or PRINCETON or YALE. School name doesn't make any difference at least in the architectural field when getting the job. Just consider the money(At least withing IVY schools!!! $300,000 for 3year architecture school is crazy!!!)
DO NOT Get me wrong. I am not saying certian schools are good or bad. IVY League schools are all good schools. I am just giving you a really important and helpful tips for choosing archtiecture graduate schools.

4) If you are international student NEVER THINK THAT YOU CAN GET WORKING VISA AFTER GRADUATION. I SAW MOST OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN GSD WENT BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY AFTER GRADUATION because they didn't get the working VISA. This is most important reason that you should choose the school that gives you more money!!!

THE MOST MOST MOST IMPORTANT THING IS:

ALL IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS ARE ADMITTING INTERNATIONAL STUDENT FOR MONEY!!!! THIS IS THE TRUTH!!! 

If you didn't get the scholarship or any financial aid when you are admitted that means YOU ARE JUST THE CASH COW FOR THAT SCHOOL!!!

IN THIS CASE YOU WILL BE 100% DEPORTED AFTER GRADUATION AND NEVER GET THE JOB. TRUST ME!!

SO CHOOSE THE SCHOOL THAT GIVES YOU MORE MORE MONEY!!

I don't know if graduate admissions differ, but for undergrad, MIT only offers need-based financial aid. Merit scholarships don't exist there (there are some funds / endowments you can apply for, but they're not directly from the MIT Financial Aid office) They're pretty generous, but keep that in mind when you're considering offers.

@tduds  That's confusing... because I have two friends who got admitted in MIT last year, and they both received merit-based scholarship. I don't remember exactly but it was almost over half tuiotion in merit-based. They were pretty rich....so....it's obvious that was not need-based.

Ah, okay. I guess the graduate aid is different.

@tduds   I see... :) but I haven't heard anything from MIT yet... maybe I'm on the waiting list...? So sad.

I'm not sure exactly how it works for international students. Most of the Ivy's give need based aid for undergrad, however for grad school its mostly merit-based aid.

For grad architecture programs I went to a couple of the open houses this year and walked away with this information:

The other thing that might be confusing a lot of people is that Harvard (I think it's the only one) has a max aid cap of about $24K, which is about half the tuition. When you add in cost of living you're hitting 70-80k. Cambridge / Boston has a ridiculously high cost of living. This was communicated clearly to prospective students at the open house this year.  This was actually one of the primary reasons I did not apply to Harvard. I know that I'm not capable of paying that tuition and the cost of living even with full aid, and I'm not willing to take out large loans. Princeton was also quick to say at their open house that the rumor that every student admitted there gets a full scholarship is false. I think they said the most they'll give is about 75%. 

So I just found out I got waitlisted at gsapp for m. Arch 1, my number 1 choice. Anybody have any advice about how to get off it or how many people get off the waitlist at gsapp?

How did you find out? @jhcy Did you get an email?

@rengrsl yes I got an email this morning to check the website 

I just got an email from GSD MLA1 programs regarding the requirement.

And it says that I need to take Summer Eglish for Design course.

The strange thing is that I got undergraduate degree in the art school in U.S

and my Toefl score is over 104.

I don't know why I have to take this course... it's $7500, which is crazy!!!

it's wasting time and money.... Is there anyone having the same problem with me?

@asdmin   Same problem here. Got 103 in the TOEFL and have to attend the same course. Not sure about the real price of it since it says it includes also food and accommodation. However it should be because of one of your TOEFL sections' score was below 25 (or 26). For instance, I got Reading 27/ Listening 29 / Speaking 26 / Writing 21.... The writing section was below 25, that's why I have to attend this course

@meomeo91 sucks... I have Toefl score of 104 but 28/23/26/27.... but u know what, $7500 is just crazy. I graduated one of famous art schools in U.S with high GPA. English for Design..? lol ...well.... .Just waiting for Yale. I think GSD wants international students to spend $$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!

I don't want to offend anyone, but I know quite a few people in graduate school at some of the Ivy's and they say that there are quite a few international students who have trouble communicating and understanding the professors.  Not saying that either of you would be in that sort of situation, but I can see where schools would take precautions. My friends say it's really frustrating when your professor has to give extra time to another student due to poor English or understanding (in a larger size class).  Or when you have to work in a group with someone struggling in this area.  However, $7500 is crazy.  Just another reason why GSD is overrated.

Has anyone received any information on GSAPP's M.Arch I program? I haven't received anything!

@watts I know many people stating exactly what you say. It seems strange to me though that there are people at GSD or GSAPP with toefl scores of 69-70 when the limit is 100. I wont even talk avout the 7500$. This is absurd

@londonfog thanks for the tips. I agree 100% n more with your thoughts. My husband went to MIT n he knows exactly what goes on with admissions . Especially the international applicants. Money matters 90% of the time. That's all. Got money, you will be accepted. If you are too good at your work, maybe you will be accepted but with such little or no scholarship that you will not end up taking the offer. So... Yes ! No place for talent. Money matters a lot. Sad truth. That way I think Europe is way better n a level playing field. 

@manojna acharya @londonfog Believable but untrue. I was offered a full ride to MIT's SMArchS program earlier this month, and I know others that have received the same. The programs with especially small student bodies (and most PhD programs) have recently turned towards offering scholarships for full tuition in an effort to maintain a reputation for valuable scholarly work. 

The transition from monetary to intellectual revenue is curious to me as well, but it certainly exists.

@shanner do you know whether MIT has alreafy decided on all the applicants to be admitted for the SMArchS program? I have applied for the Architectural Design section of the program and have not heard from them so far.

@international_applicant  They haven't told me anything about the application process, but I get the impression they got in contact with a round of applicants very early (in order to gauge their attitude towards the program), and will contact others at a later point in time. They said it's a very, very small applicant pool, but that's all I know.

So they asked you if you are accepting or not the spot in order to get somebody else from a shortlist or smth? Makes sense

Cornell MArch II rejected. Will be going to MSAAD with 21k scholarship.

The collegiate industry here in America love international students. The ones with money get the first pick, then it boils down to talent and whom will except the lowest need in financial aid. A lot of times they will hand out what seems like a decent package. Once you're a year into a 5yr program at this prestigious college in the US of A, they pull the plug on your financial aid the second or third year in. They dont want you to drop out b/c you're going to make an amazing starchitect, let's send you down to the colleges loan officer, if mommy or daddy cant pay for it...

I will tell you all that it is plain retarded to go and collect a cent in debt, especially at these super expensive Ivy league schools in an industry that just needs CAD/REVIT monkeys. At least get a MBA or a finance degree.

If you're into climbing fake ladders, sitting in front of a computer day in & day out for decades, and the booms and busts of the industry, by all means, PAY THE PIPER!

ferdinand05 did they send you an email? i still haven't heard from Cornell M.Arch II

@DeTwan, 

As much as I relate to your pessimism re money-hungry educational institutions--bank statements/proof of funds comes later in the admissions process. I've only gotten such a request from USC so far, after an admittance and merit-based scholarship (albeit small). 

I mean unless someone's donating a library, I doubt money guarantees a first pick.

@matdez6 yes, got a rejection letter via email this afternoon while having lunch :(

Apparently GSAPP is sending out rejections as well today

They want the best talent to maintain the prestige, but from what I hear, many times they will admit ppl with amazing portfolios, and higher test scores and lure them in with large amount of financial aid the initial year. Maintaining that kind of financial aid thur 5yrs is hard to do. They are going to extract money out of their students some how, they are masters at doing it.

This is big business in america we speak of, you didn't know? Where have you been living?

If you're dirt poor and start shouting at the start about all the aid you want/need, they're like, C'YA!