@Black_Orchid Thank you so much for your reply! It is very inspirational=) I will follow your advice and have fun in the school!

Did my undergrad and will be going for my Masters in 2017 or 2018.  Having taken some time away from school to work and travel (in addition to reading massive amounts about the industry which I failed to do during my undergrad), this is what I plan to do to make the most out of my Masters.

• Acquire as much structures and detailing knowledge as I can.  During desk crits I plan to focus more on asking my professors how my ideas would actually be built.  I want to use structure and building science knowledge to inform my designs.  Many schools seem to offer the bare minimum of these courses so it is important to acquire as much of this knowledge as you can on your own time.
  • Show at least one or two detail drawings in each final presentation regardless of what the brief calls for.  This will help massively in applying for jobs after school as my portfolio will show I have detailing knowledge.
• Talk with my colleagues often. I did this in undergrad it and it was such a great way to learn.  Befriending your colleagues and walking over to their computer to see what they're working on when you start feeling burned out on your own project is a nice break and can be quite inspiring.  Spend time working in the studio.  Going home to work alone pigeon-holes you in numerous was.  School camaraderie is important to seek and maintain.
• Talk with my professors about THE RIGHT THINGS. Honestly, you can teach yourself pretty much any computer program and visual representation through YouTube videos.  When attending office hours or having a desk crit, steer the conversation in way that pulls out my professors` personal ideas and professional experiences.  Try to gain their experiential wisdom.
• Do most of my initial design away from the computer. I found sketching and physical model building is the best way to rough out ideas.  Also don't be afraid to jump back into sketching and physical model building at any point in the design process.
  • The design process is cyclical.  It is a disservice to myself and my designs if I think of it as a linear progression.
• Talk with guest critics before, after, or during breaks during crit days. I hardly ever did this in undergrad.  This is extremely important and I may be able to get a more candid discussion about my project.  This is also another opportunity to gain professional wisdom from someone other than your professors.  Guest critics agreed to attend and are therefore offering themselves as temporary teachers.
• Get at least 5 hours of sleep a night. Architecture requires lots of thinking and balancing many things at once.  The ability do that diminishes significantly with poor sleep.

@zenza Thank you for sharing your ideas! I agree with you that interaction with other people is very important for academic success. I do not agree on the last part thought. I think that sleep is extremely important, and if one needs to sleep for 8 hours to restore his or her strength, one should absolutely do so! And here I would add about exercising regularly and getting proper nutrition... but those are very basic rules of how to function as a healthy human being, not necessarily a grad student:)

Hey, guys!

I wanted to ask one specific question related to my original inquiry.

What are the awarding possibilities in grad school? I my previous school you could only do competitions in your spare time which was limited and school rarely did give any sexy awards that could refine anyone's CV.

How does one get recognition in American schools? I want at least to try to participate in some competitions. What do you need to do for it? Ask an adviser? Or a studio professor? Or just do competitions independently in your non-existent free time? Or should one try to get a high GPA for any sort of recognition?

Grad school means lots of nights where you get 2-3 hours of sleep. Exercising and eating properly are almost impossible. You'll be chained to your studio desk, and it will be miserable. There's no way around it; any plans you might have for a balanced life will go out the window as soon as you get your first studio assignment.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it, just understand that architecture grad school is very unhealthy, both physically and mentally. 

@anonitect sounds inspirational!:) seriously, I don't know... I lived like that for 6 years in school and then for 3 years of practice. As far as I can judge, it was largely because of mine of my team leader's disorganization and bad time management. So, well, thanks for the premonition. I could always survive a couple of more years of slavery, but eeeeh... that just sounds so wrong:/ Why force young people to starve themselves in the beginning of their careers? This is such a large demotivator.

Different grad schools have different cultures and systems, so nobody's going to be able to give you an answer that applies everywhere, but here are my experiences:

In general there was absolutely no time for participating in competitions.  One exception: I knew a couple students who did an independent studio one semester, with the project based on an international competition.  They developed a good project, but it did not win or place.  Not all schools allow independent study, and in those that do you'd need to find a faculty member willing to supervise and grade your work, so it's not a sure thing that you'd be able to do this.

With the exception of a few traveling fellowships, for which applications were required and judging criteria were known, nearly all awards given by the school were to graduating 3rd-year students, and the winners weren't announced until graduation.  The judging criteria weren't codified and there was no formal application process - just an awards committee that met privately - so there was nothing in particular that could be done by students to win awards, other than do well in all subjects across the board, and get on the faculties' and administrations' radars.  Do the best work possible, be present, participate, listen, respond.

SpontaneousCombustion, Thank you!:) That's a good overview of the situation. I've seen many portfolios on Issuu with award-winning works. Wonder how people do that. They might be productivity geniuses!:)

Sometimes submit work that they've already completed - for instance submitting a project that they did for studio, for a competition in "innovation in precast" or whatever.

I wouldn't obsess too much over awards.  It doesn't matter much in hiring - particularly if the awards are for unbuilt work.

kjdt, thank you!