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GPA FOR YALE* M.ARCH I ADMISSION (W/OUT B.ARCH)

4160

*or virtually any Ivy league M.arch I. Not M.arch II though.

What GPA is good/necessary to get into Yale's M.arch I program? 

Your responses will be especially helpful if your undergrad degree is not architecture related (i.e. I am a Literature major so hearing that someone got in with a 3.4 Urban Design B.A. is a bit less pertinent than hearing that a Political Science major got in with a 3.9). 

Reason for this inquiry: I spend what extra time I have drawing, and feel pulled away from this necessary portfolio-builder when I kill myself over my GPA for a Literature degree (albeit this degree is important to my career plan). Thus, I am wondering how much I should worry about reaching my 3.84-Cum Laude goal. 

 
Nov 7, 17 1:06 am
Non Sequitur
Why bother with ivy? No m.arch is worth that kind of tuition cost.
Nov 7, 17 7:53 am  · 
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l3wis

i'd imagine 3.4+ is good, but all is probably forgiven if your portfolio is amazing

Nov 7, 17 9:30 am  · 
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4160

Thank you for your reply, I hope I can execute a good portfolio.

Nov 8, 17 1:11 am  · 
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thatsthat

To my knowledge, typically the cut off for entrance to grad school (for most programs including an MArch) is around 3.5.  (But I'm sure they factor in where you went to undergrad.  3.5 from an ivy is not the same as a 3.5 from a second-tier state school.)  But for MArch, they just use this as a weed-out, and really look at GRE, portfolio, CV, and your essay.  It's important but not crucial.

Also, look at some other schools because very very few people get into Yale.  Not to mention how ridiculously expensive it is.  Check out some open houses and choose from there.  You may be surprised in the quality of programs from schools that aren't considered the "best".  Out of curiosity, what is your career plan that it entails an MArch from Yale and a degree in Literature?

Nov 7, 17 9:40 am  · 
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4160

Thank you very much for your thorough response. Very encouraging and realistic: may I ask your path?

Nov 8, 17 1:12 am  · 
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4160

Also, thanks for recommending open houses, I never knew they did that. When I said career plan, a better wording is "academic plan"-- drawing is what I love, but something in my heart says skills like drawing, math, engineering are greatly augmented with philosophy. I'm not per se a Li t major, but actually a Greek Classics major with a Studio arts minor. Currently I am researching the pre-socratics' influences on architecture and it has (relievingly) made me feel good about my choice. I had a chance to discuss Yale's M.arch with Cary Bernstein who wrote this inspiring article about why a liberal arts degree benefits architects. https://greatcollegeadvice.com/want-to-be-an-architect-study-the-liberal-arts/

Nov 8, 17 1:21 am  · 
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thatsthat

I have a BSArch and a Masters in Architectural History and Historic Preservation. I decided after my BSArch that I would rather work in a more specialized part of architecture instead of doing new design. Preservation allowed me to study what I am passionate about - architectural history, restoring old buildings, but also outreach to communities in need.

Nov 8, 17 10:03 am  · 
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thatsthat

That being said, I applied for MArch programs, but in the end, didn't feel it was the right move for my career. Even though I was in an arch history/preservation program, most of my classes were a mix of MArch, MLA, and urban planning students that came from various academic backgrounds.

Nov 8, 17 10:08 am  · 
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Flatfish

The cut-off for most of the Ivies is 3.0.  If you don't meet that you will likely be screened out before your portfolio even makes it to the committee, unless you have stellar name-brand recommendations or you know somebody influential on the faculty or are the child of a major donor. But if you do meet the 3.0 minimum it's pretty much a non-factor - it becomes just a number that's entered into a spreadsheet with 800 other candidates' boring numerical stats, and whether individual admissions committee members even look at the spreadsheet varies. 

The only way it will get much attention is if you're on the edge because of some other factor (for instance if your GRE is so low that somebody notices) or if you're on the edge overall and they fixate on that when they need to look for a tie-breaking rationale in their round of cuts.

I'm writing from experience on this, as an Ivy M.Arch holder whose GPA was only a little over 3.0, and as a former admissions committee member.

Nov 7, 17 2:13 pm  · 
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4160

Thanks so much for your helpful and careful feedback. May I ask what undergraduate degree you pursued and why?

Nov 8, 17 1:25 am  · 
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Flatfish

My undergrad degree was in an area of liberal arts. It reflected my interests at the time, as well as my indecision about future plans (it was flexible enough that it left open most grad school paths, and covered the pre-reqs for virtually anything.)

Nov 8, 17 1:18 pm  · 
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ritumalhotra

Hi 5839 ,

Would like to use your experience to know that is a GRE score of 153V 164Q and 3.5 AWA with a 3.8 GPA good for an Ivy. I don't wish to be weeded out as my portfolio is relevant to the course i am applying for ie (Masters in Urban Design) 

Thanks 

Nov 7, 17 11:54 pm  · 
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Flatfish

I would say your verbal score is in the low end of the "good enough" range. It's not going to get you automatically cut from consideration on that alone.  Your quantitative score is in the competitive-but-unremarkable range.  Any GPA over 3.0 is fine for most M.Arch programs - see above.

Some admissions people pay no attention whatsoever to numerical stats.  Others do, but mostly for purposes of tie breaking between otherwise equally qualified candidates.  In my experience this info was compiled into one giant spreadsheet of all candidates' info - so it becomes a big blur of hundreds of numbers and the only ones that stood out were the very high or low - i.e. if a candidate had a sub-3.0 GPA I might have noticed and tried to figure out how your application made it that far.  Or if the candidate had a GPA of 4.0, or GRE scores in the 99th percentile, I might have noticed those.  Anything in between was fairly irrelevant. 

Grades and test scores are not the critical factors in most M.Arch admissions decisions - unless they're low enough to get you automatically screened out of the running by some administrative staff person, based on a cut-off policy, before your portfolio ever makes it to the admissions committee.

Nov 8, 17 10:10 am  · 
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ritumalhotra

Thanks 5839 for your prompt and detailed reply. I am working on my portfolio and SOP now ! Thanks again.

Nov 8, 17 11:10 pm  · 
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