I was just wondering, does anybody know when the offer holder/open house days for US unis tend to be? Are they usually all within the same time period or how do they work? 

If a prospective "Masters" student already has a degree he should be made aware that in fifteen states he does not need to take any collegiate courses in architecture at all to sit for the exam, just the experience requirements. In some states no college at all is required but only the experience requirements.

The colleges are really doing their students a disservice. The "Masters" programs they offer is just a "catch-up" BS in Architecture for students who chose their undergraduate program unwisely and have graduated with an unemployable major. By calling their catch-up program a "graduate" program, the schools can and do increase tuition by quite a bit knowing full well that federal education loans are not capped for graduate loans. The student typically leaves owing massive amounts of graduate school debt piled onto unpaid undergraduate school debt.

In addition to the debt the student has forgone several years in the workplace where he could be productively earning money, saving for starting a family, a house, and putting away money into savings.

The trick is to get hired on the lower rungs of the ladder without an architectural degree. A course or two in drafting and previous construction experience might be very attractive to a design/build firm. In any case that route should be investigated before being nailed to the wall with unpayable debt.

-26/F/Indian

- B.Arch/ RV College of Architecture/ 2014

-Applying for M.Arch II 

- 3.7 - 320 - 107

- Architectural Mentor/teacher + Thesis Guide + Past Employer

- Schools Applied -   Berkeley CED + Rice SOA + UTSOA + Sam Fox St Louis + Taubman College Ann Arbor + Yale SOA +Harvard GSD

 - Waiting to hear back. 

When do you generally hear back from schools? 

24/M/American

BS in Biology/ University of Alabama at Birmingham/2016 

GPA: 3.75

GRE: 161Q / 162V / 5.0AW

Letter of recommendations: undergrad research adviser/professor, associate director of honors program/professor, founder of community art space where I volunteered for a long time

Schools: In at Georgia Tech, received email notification on 2/23. Official acceptance letters and info regarding funding will be available in a few weeks. Still waiting to hear from UW and MIT.

Open house impressions: GT open house is on March 30th, and it's just a short drive so I'm planning to attend.

Results: Still waiting to hear back from other schools

Good luck everyone!

Still no word from any college!

Just got in WashU, MArch 2 year program

@placebeyondthesplines_  listen buddy, I have no control over your usage of this website and many people new to archinect will not be familiar with your username but I’m going to kindly ask you to take a step back and reevaluate your life. After a quick google search of your username and scrolling through your history of comments on this website its very clear that you get some kind of high/kick out of spreading negativity and discouragement. I understand that people post their portfolios, resumes, etc. for constructive criticism but there is a difference between constructive criticism and being a downright dick (excuse my french, there are no other words to describe you). Archinect is a site where we encourage people to share their work but if a troll like you is constantly putting people down without providing any real helpful feedback, it prevents people from doing so. Perhaps your parents didn’t hug you enough when you were a kid? Maybe you got rejected from almost all the architecture schools on here? Or maybe you're just some fat slob working a terrible job somewhere? Maybe even all the above? I hope this post finds you well and I just want to let you know that I actually feel sorry for you, a life fueled off negativity is most certainly not enjoyable. And to the archinect community, if you see any comments from placebeyondthesplines_, please just ignore. Oh and best of luck to everyone! Thank you.

Looks like he got banned or somthing, good riddance. 

thank god, I know he can just make a new account but hes been doing this under that username for almost 5 years now, enough is enough

Is that your go to argument for justifying your dick behavior? Last time I checked any critic in arch school wouldn't say

“Did someone ask you for your definition of architecture? Is there a reason why anyone anywhere should give a fuck?” 

-placebeyondthesplines

Keep trolling bud and rot in your negativity, you know exactly what you're doing. Good day.

Just received an offer from Yale for the M.Arch I.

Just got into Yale for M.arch I!

Got into Michigan and Wash U St Louis (Sam Fox). Rejected by Yale! So I'm guessing GSD is going to reject me too. Waiting to hear back from Rice Columbia Austin and Berkeley.

SCI-Arc offered! Still waiting for the rest!

Just got into UPenn MArch I 2018 Fall!

@PreResultJitters We're applying to a lot of the same programs, I just realized. I also applied to Yale, Harvard, Berkeley for MArch II's, in addition to programs at UCL, AA, and MIT. Wait-listed for Yale, interviewed at Berkeley, now anxiously awaiting Harvard's result!

22/F/Chinese

 Bachelor of Architecture/2018

- GPA 3.47/4.00

- GRE 160V 165Q 4.0AW 

- TOEFL106

- Letter of recommendations - from professors and tutors from China, Australia and Japan

- Schools 

in: Rice, RISD, WUSTL($17000/yr), UMich, USC($44255/yr) all MArch2 or similar degrees

waitlist: GSD MArch2

out: GSD MAUD&MDes, (nothing from Cornell guess it means rejection)

Still waiting for UPenn and Columbia...

BTW, does anyone know what to do when being waitlisted by GSD...? Update them about my internship this winter?

got into Pratt with 27k scholarship which is nice! Anyone else in at Pratt and actually interested in going? 

MS Arch

- 24/M/USA

 - B.A. in Architecture/Clemson Univ/2015 

- GPA: 3.15/4.00

- GRE: V157/Q159/A4.5

- Letter of recommendations - One from current principal, three from former professors.

 - Personal Essay/Statement: 500 word essay talking about what I have done in the years after graduating from Clemson, and going on to speak directly about certain things I wish to achieve in each M.Arch program. Send me a personal message if you want to see one of them. 

 - Portfolio: Made up of some school projects, personal projects, and competitions. Again, send me a personal message if you want to view it.

- Schools & Results: 

In: UCLA (3.5yrs, no funding); USC (2yrs, $44k/yr); Pratt (3yrs, $22k/yr); UIC (3yrs, semester free for first year, no info on subsequent yrs)

Out: None

Waitlist: Non

Still (anxiously) waiting to hear from MIT and Columbia.

- Open house impressions: No idea, haven't gone. Will most likely be visiting Pratt. Depends on the decision from MIT and Columbia.

 - Tips: I have a few tips that hopefully can help some of y'all. I want to say that I applied to M.Arch programs a few years ago: Cornell, Penn, Michigan, Berkely, SCI-Arc, Colorado at Denver, UT, and I was only accepted to SCI-Arc and UC Denver. I decided to wait a couple of years and work because I realized that I clearly wasn't ready, and so far it has been a great decision. 

1. Research. Do a lot of research into all of the schools you wish to apply to. The location, pedagogy, the faculty, the facilities, the student work, everything. You must have a very clear idea about what you want to get out of graduate school and then apply to schools that will be the best fit. For example, if you want to focus on environmental sustainability, don't apply to SCI-Arc. This will help you narrow down your list and also help in preparing your application materials such as the essay and portfolio. 

2. Letters of Rec. For the love of god, choose professors/co-workers who are on top of their shit and actually know you personally. A letter from your studio professor who has a degree from UIUC is going to be better for you than a visiting professor who has a degree from MIT and submits their letter two weeks late. You want people who can vouch for you and talk you up, not someone to write some generic letter about how "you'd be a good fit for ___". Also, tell your recommenders about #1 above, it will help them to understand why you're applying to each school and they can tailor their letter to emphasize those reasons.

3. Personal Essay/Statement. Start it early and revise, revise, revise. This is arguably more important to your application than the portfolio, as it personalizes your application and can set you apart from the other applicants. You want the admissions committees to see you as a person, with your own dreams, interests, background, desires, etc, and you want to convince them that their school is perfect for you because of those things. Also, everything in #1 that made you choose that school to apply to, put it in the personal statement. Talk about the faculty you want to study under, the location of the school, the facilities, etc. DO NOT WRITE A GENERIC ESSAY AND SWITCH OUT SCHOOL NAMES. If you're applying to five schools, write five different essays. They can have the same themes of course, but except for the first 100-200 words, the essays should all be different. Yes, it's more work. But just trust me, this is necessary. If you can't take the time to personalize an essay for a school, you probably shouldn't be applying to that school.

4. Portfolio. This is actually difficult to give tips on, because it is strongly subjective. But here are a few. Start it early. I started in June and it still felt like I didn't have enough time. You will go through many iterations, so give yourself enough time to get critiques and work through them properly. Rework certain drawings if they aren't as good as they should be. Same thing for renderings, hand drawings, etc. Five projects should be enough, and you shouldn't go over 25-30 spreads. Four quality projects is better than eight decent ones. Use InDesign. USE A GRID LAYOUT. Seriously, use a grid. Don't use more than two different typefaces (a good place to look at type pairings is fontsinuse.com). Whitespace. Lastly, don't just do one portfolio and hope that it fits for each submission. Some schools require it be 8.5x11, some say to have the portfolio formatted for digital viewing, some require you to print and mail and physical copy to the school. Make sure you know all of the requirements for each submission and follow the instructions exactly.

Hope this helps anyone looking to apply next year!

Hey guys,

Got some results and figured I'd share em. 

-22/M/USA

-B.A. in Arts - Architecture / Lehigh University

-GPA:3.3

-Q157 V159 W5.0

-Portfolio: Message me if you'd like a link to it on issuu.com. Just a collection of student work from the last couple years of undergrad.

-Recommendations: 2 from undergrad professors, one from an old employer

In:

UPenn, Univ. of Michigan ($$), Washington Univ. in St. Louis ($$), Pratt, Univ. of Virginia ($)

Waiting to hear back:

Columbia, Cornell

- 22 / F / US

- B.S. Architectural Studies / Norwich University / 2016

- 3.7 GPA / GRE 164 V 155 Q 4 W

- Letter of recommendations - current employer, professor & university president

- Results (M.Arch I)

IN: Syracuse U (3-year, $8k annual, 12 credit reduction)

PENDING: UPenn & Princeton

OUT: GSD & UT Austin

- 24/F/Taiwan

 - B.S Architecture/ 2017 

- GPA 3.75/4.0 - GRE Q166 V153 AW3.5  - TOEFL105 

- Letter of recommendations - from my current employer, university studio teacher, a German professor form my exchange program

- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, UC Berkeley, Cornell, UofT, University of Washington (All M.Arch I)

- In: UPenn(Waiting for fin-aid)

-Out: GSD

Still waiting to hear from other schools.

- 25/M/USA

- BS Architecture

- Letters of Rec: Professors/Studio Crit

-Program: MArch I

- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, MIT, UMichigan, Pratt,  Syracuse, UMD

- IN: Syracuse (2-year, 16k for 1st year), Pratt (2-year, 15k/year), University of MD (2 -year)

- Out: GSD (rats...)

23/F/India

- B.Arch ( 5 years) 2017

- Letters of Rec: Professors / Employer 

-Program: MAUD / MCP ( 2 year programs)

- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, MIT, Pratt, Cornell AAP, Berkeley

- IN:  Upenn, GSD,Cornell AAP ,Pratt (2-year, 10k/year),

- Out: None yet

- 24/M/Asian-American

- B.S. in Architecture/2017 

- GPA: 3.3/4.00

- GRE: V157/Q155/A4.5

- Currently: Working under one of my professors, funded design research on the side. Took a year off after graduation to improve my portfolio, study for the GRE, and anything else to mitigate my average GPA. It was also to make money for school as well as gain experience before I go back.

- Letter of recommendations: One from current principal/professor, three from former professors.

- Personal Essay/Statement: Requirements depended on the school. Some wanted close up to 1000 words while others wanted less than 500.

- Portfolio: School projects, one work project that I actually had a design role in, and graphics from a personal research project. It’s under construction (again) because I’m just never satisfied with it. Updates coming soon…

- Schools & Results: 

In: University of Michigan (2 years, $15k/year); Cornell (3.5 years, $14k/year); UVA (2 years, $14k/year) All came with TA opportunities, but I'm not sure how common that is. 

Out: UT Austin

Waitlist: None

Decision: Currently debating between Taubman and Cornell…

- Open house impressions: I haven’t gone to any yet. I’ll probably visit Cornell again since I’ve already visited Michigan and seen their student work.

- Financial aid: TBD...

- Tips: 

First, Research all of the schools you want to go to or even THINK you’d like to go to. Start from the location and delve into curriculum, faculty, facilities, student work, etc.. As you start to narrow down your choices a bit, get a clear understanding of what the schools are all about and how it aligns with your interests. For example, if you’re interested in environmental sustainability, look for schools that place an emphasis on it in their curriculum. I have seen schools that don’t care for it and belittle it in some instances. This will help in preparing your application materials, such as the personal statement and portfolio. If it's possible, take a visit. Being there in person definitely beats looking through a computer screen. You may even be able to schedule an appointment with a director or someone in graduate programming and have them talk about the school and answer any questions you might have.

Second, a lot of people underestimate the process of choosing people for your letters of recommendation. First, think about how many schools you’ve narrowed down to. I don’t recommend asking a person for more than 3 letters because quality recommendations do take time and you’d prefer not to take too much of theirs. With that in mind, start listing people and how many letters to write to fulfill the required number per school. The more schools you have, the more people you need to seek out, which can often be difficult.

When seeking recommendors, make sure they know you personally. They’re the ones that can talk highly of you and refer many good qualities about you. If you feel the need to ask someone specific (maybe an alumni from your interested school, visiting professor, or your program director), but haven’t gotten to know them all that well, set up an appointment to talk about your interests and which schools you’re applying for. It’ll give them a better idea of where to go with the recommendation.

Another thing to keep in mind is WHEN to ask. Give them at least 3 months to write it. More thought can be put into it when they aren’t under a deadline pressure. AND MAKE SURE THEY DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Sending one in 2 -3 weeks late not only looks bad, but it slows down the application process because they have to go back and review yours again. Stay on their ass until you know they sent one. You might seem like you’re being annoying, but it’s your future we’re talking about.

Third, start your statement/essay EARLY. Get it done and have it revised multiple times. This is debatably just as important to your application as the portfolio. It personalizes your application and can potentially set you apart from other applicants. Each school had different aspects that interested me so I simply wrote separate ones for them explaining what I’m looking forward to, what I could gain from the experience, and what I can give back to the school as a student and as a professional in the future.  DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE SCHOOLS. Committees can easily pick out generic bullshit and it shows that you aren’t that interested in them enough to write a custom statement.

Lastly, the portfolio…The portfolio is subjective so it’s going to be difficult to give generic tips for it in terms of design.

My #1 tip: START IT EARLY (duh). I had a previous version of my portfolio from the year before, but it wasn’t anywhere near presentable to graduate programs. I started mid-summer and told myself to stop a little before deadlines, but I still felt that it wasn’t enough. Getting different eyes to see it is beneficial too. I was still able to redo some drawings, renderings, and models. But again, not enough time for me personally...

In terms of content, five projects seem to be the average I’ve seen among my peers. One thing a graduate program director told me is that a personal project that isn’t architectural can put applicants at an advantage. It could include drawing (painting/sketching), photography,  woodworking, graphic design, fashion, or any other personal design project. All in all, this should get you under 40 pages. Keep in mind the school’s requirements because they vary greatly. I’ve seen some places where they REQUIRE a minimum number of projects and others completely ignore page limits. My suggestion would be to have multiple digital versions of your portfolio to cater to each program. It’s not all that much more work. It’s simply a matter of putting in/taking out content.

InDesign is your best friend. It is specifically made for these kinds of things. A grid layout makes organizing ridiculously easy to do and is also easy on the eyes in terms of reading a page. Start with a 4-square and try a 9-square if you feel up for the task.

Hope this helps! I’m open to answer any questions so feel free to ask!

Does anyone know if Columbia GSAPP sends out letters in waves? 

I see on gradcafe everyone is listed as accepted meanwhile my application status remains submitted. Does that mean chances are thin for acceptance or simply they haven't gotten to everyone yet? 

Thanks

Sorry to clarify, I applied for the Advanced Architecture Design program... 

really not sure what the chances are...

- 25/F/Mexican- American

- B.S. in Architecture/2016

- MS Construction Management

- GPA: 3.06

- GRE: V148/Q147/A3.0 

- Letter of recommendations: 3 Professors

-Experience - international firm in China and construction management.

- Personal Essay/Statement: Requirements depended on the school. Some wanted close up to 1000 words while others wanted less than 500.

- Portfolio: School projects, one work project that I actually had a design role in, and graphics from a personal research project. It’s under construction (again) because I’m just never satisfied with it. Updates coming soon…

- Schools & Results: 

In:

UC Berkeley ( 10K fellowship year)

2 year University of Washington at St.Louis (25k/ Year)

Pratt (10K per semester)

Waiting on:

U Michigan

Sci-Arc

Out:

Yale

Amazing grades were not necessary, Portfolio! is all about that... 

got in to Columbia, no aid.... estimated cost of attendance 133k tho?????!!!

- 22/F/USA

 - Bachelor's of Environmental Design 2017

- GPA - 3.8

 - GRE  - 162Q/156V/4.0W

- Letter of recommendations - 2 past studio professors, 1 past employer, (+ for GSAPP - 1 past prof who attended gsapp)

- Portfolio - 5 projects from undergrad studios

- Results

In:

- Columbia GSAPP (no aid)

- Pratt (2 year, $20k/year)

- UT Austin (2.5 year, funding TBA)

Still waiting on: Princeton

Ok, I figured I would post to give some hope to people without arch backgrounds haha.

- 24/F/NZ
- BA in Computer Science (US college), 2016
- GPA: 3.67, GRE: 166V / 170Q / 4.5A
- Letter of recommendations: 1 from college CS professor, 1 from college English professor, 1 from Berkeley [IN]Arch instructor
- Personal Essay/Statement - Portfolio: My portfolio was 1/2 stuff I did during the Berkeley [IN]Arch program, and half visual arts stuff that I do in my spare time (photography, painting, prints, and sculpture)
- Schools: University of Tokyo (in), UCLA AUD (in, in-state tuition grant), UC Berkeley (in, 30k fellowship), Columbia GSAPP (in, 18k fellowship), MIT (waiting)
- Tips: I think attending a summer program like [IN]Arch helped me a lot as someone without an architecture background, but also don't lose hope if you are someone with nontraditional background even though you can't find many examples online of what applications look like from these sorts of applicants, just share your story and maybe the schools will find you interesting enough to accept you :) 

LHi friends!

Everybody here that are in GSAPP (by the way, congrats!), anyone is MS AAD?? I applied for MS AAD and still my application status remain submitted... so anxious. And now wait until Monday 

Europe? Me too! Spain. So for this I asked, I was wondering if they send until here (in fact I live in Japan), then I will be waiting the email. And where are you from? 

So you will study there?

Thanks for the info friend

 Age/Sex/Citizenship

24/M/USA

 - B.S. Arch 2016 

- GPA: 3.8

- GRE: 159v / 152m / 4.5 writing  

- Letter of recommendations - 1 principal, 2 professors

 - Personal Essay/Statement 

Generally wrote about gentrification, tailored the situation to each school

- Portfolio 

3-4 school projects, photography, sketches. 30 pages in total

- Schools

IN: 

UT Austin - 40k/year

USC - 28k/year

UVA - 25k/year

Oregon - no funding info yet, anyone know when to expect?

These were the only schools I applied to so pretty happy with that.

- Results (the school you plan to attend, waitlist, rejection.)

I am hoping for a good amount of funding from Oregon, and would actually like to try USC if they offered a little more funding (LA is expensive lol). UT is definitely looking attractive though

 - Tips

I think honesty and being genuine in applications can actually be beneficial. In my statement of purpose I wrote why I felt this way about my topic, and why it matters in the long run. I steered clear of typical architectural buzzwords which can come across as pretentiuos and made sure not to write about how I love architecture because I played with legos as a kid. 

.

Acceptance from Princeton and Columbia (M.Arch I)

Did anyone get into GSD and what's the deal with financial aid or grants? 

- Age/Sex/Citizenship

22/M/Vietnam

Urban Studies/University of California, Irvine/ 2018

- GPA: 3.44 

- GRE : V: 146, Q: 150, A: 3.5 

- Letter of recommendations - 3 professors from the current undergrad school.

 - Personal Essay/Statement : ~700 words. Though some schools have different requirements about the length, I kept the essay consistently in one page.

- Portfolio: 2 academic works, some sketches, paintings, photography, and one big model of an Asian town made out of matches. Total 22 pages.

- Schools:

IN: Wash U (14K/Year), USC (5.5K/Year), UC Denver. All M. Arch +3

Out: None

- Open house impressions: Planning to attend Wash U's on Mar. 22.

- Tips: For M. Arch +3 future applicants: Try your best. Keep your portfolio and essay consistent with your interests. Try to create a theme. Mine was about an image of a corncob and how that drew me to the topics of sustainability, ambience design, urbanism, and affordable housing issues. Try to make your essay and portfolio unique with a certain theme, but don't get too far away from the main discussion, which should be about you and your interests. And "don't stress over creating an 'architecture' portfolio" (Thanks SpatialSojourner for that!)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honestly though, I wasn't expecting I would be admitted, so those 3 schools are the only schools I applied. Still don't know which school to accept between Wash U and USC, though. Any advice would be nice!

has anyone received any news from MIT SMarchS ?

is there anyone still waiting GSAPP MArch results?

or they've already sent all out?

Anyone knows if being waitlist, will the schools send a letter to inform? Or just nothing? Still haven't heard from Cornell and GSAPP. Not sure if im being rejected or waitlist.

- Age/Sex/Citizenship

22/F/Canadian

BA in Architectural Studies at University of Toronto

- GPA: 2.94  

- GRE : V: 150, Q: 165, A: 3.5 

- Letter of recommendations - 2 studio professors, 1 professor from business school and 1 employer.

 - Personal Essay/Statement : 500 words

- Portfolio: 1 revised academic work, 3 competition, and 1 AAVS work

- Schools:

IN: Penndesign (10k/yr), Wash U (18k/yr)

Rejected:

GSD, GSAPP

Nothing from Cornell but I guess will be a rejection

Decision: Penndesign

__

Hey has anyone been waitlisted for UC Berkeley? How likely is it to get admitted if you are on waitlist? 

still waiting on Michigan and Berkeley.. has anyone heard back yet? I know Michigan set out their decisions already... ?

24 / M / UK

BArch / University of Dundee / 2015

3.84 / 163V 163Q 4.5W

2 academic references (from my tutor and year 3 head) and two professional references.

Statement was on the shorter side; kept it neat and precise as to my targets. 30 page landscape format portfolio; mix of academic work, own work, and professional work.

Applied to GSD and MIT - this is the second time I've applied to MIT

Rejected from GSD, accepted to MIT (half-tuition fellowship).

I'm very wary of accruing any sort of debt from this - especially coming from Scotland where our tuition is free for your first degree. So although I'm overjoyed at getting into MIT, I'm not allowing myself to get too excited until my finances have been sorted out. To that end I've contacted MIT to ask about what sort of extra routes are available (TA-ship / research assistant-ship etc) to offset the rest of the costs, so we shall see in due course!

I'm currently working in Mumbai, so I can't really afford the trip to the open house, but c'est la vie! Perhaps I'll see some of you in the 'fall' if all goes well? :)