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Pratt Institute
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Help getting into McGill - MArch in Urban Design & Housing (post-professional)
Hello everyone!
I am looking for some advice and an honest assessment from those of you who have had experience with McGill Master's programs.
I am an international student from Guatemala living in the U.S. I got my B.S. in Architecture (unaccredited) from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and I am currently getting my masters, also from UL Lafayette.
I would like to apply to the MArch in Urban Design & Housing at McGill, since I have developed a strong interest in urbanism and metropolitan well-being. I would like to share my profile with you and see what you think my chances are of getting accepted! Thank you!
Undergrad GPA: 3.66/4.0
Current Graduate GPA: 3.75/4.0
Website: www.fjfdesign.com
portfolio: https://fjfdesign.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/summer-2018-portfolio.pdf
Resume: attached as jpeg
Worked for the following firms as a summer intern: Kirksey Architecture, Tipton Associates, ARCH&also, Tru Design LLC.
I have over 1500 hours of full time architectural experience.
I would really appreciate your advice and honest opinion on my profile. Considering I have a good essay, do you think I could make it in?
So how many degrees do you think these fits of passion will require? What if you grow bored of urbanism--a doctorate then in what, sociology?
I suggest you actually figure out where to go in your life before jumping onto the next degree train. There's no reason why you cannot leverage existing education and experience to make something work.
Thank you for you reply, but I am particularly interested in the program at McGill, and have decided to apply. I posted this to get advice on strengthening my application to the program, not on the validity of my decision to pursue it. Thank you.
I am completing a 4+2 program at the moment, and McGill's program is post-professional, so I am missing how it is unreasonable that I would apply there.
Francisco, did I understand correctly that your current degree is unaccredited? If so, please note that the McGill program is post-prof, hence also unaccredited. None will serve you in achieve an architect's license. Also note that McGill is a bonafide top-of-the-top institution and those chasing these types of post-prof degrees are doing so because they aim to teach or follow-up with PHDs. This is not the place for weekend warrior type designers.
Also important is some clarification on the work in the web link and portfolio. Is that your office? Why is your professional experience limited to 4 very short stints? Why is the graphic quality so different between the two links?
Also, get rid of the software self-evaluation graph. It's a terrible cliche and no-one that fresh in the game can rate their skills without a 6 point (out of 10) curve.
Hello. Thank you for replying. My B.S. in Architecture (which I graduated from in 2017) is unaccredited. It is part of the 4+2 fully NAAB accredited program I am enrolled in. I will graduate from my masters in May, and would like to jump right into the post-professional program and McGill. My career objectives are to research and teach in the subjects of urbanism, sustainability and housing. Eventually, though, I would like to practice, at least part time. Thank you
^ I pasted my reply as a stand-alone comment to avoid spamming Donuts's account
I took a quick look at the attached resume and it was filled with elementary mistakes. No point to see anything else.
You should be smart enough to understand that degrees aren't worth much. There' a trade-off between getting more credentials without any practical value worth a damn to anyone and making use of your existing experience to end up in the same place.
I really don't care what you do but it seems someone as old as you ought to be far more keen in the situation at hand. But go ahead, just cover your ears and wait for answers that filter through your bubble.
Again. I am happy to hear your opinions and critique on my portfolio and resume. However, I am not asking for opinions on my decision to pursue this degree. I have my reasons to further my education. If you have suggestions for me to improve my portfolio and resume by all means comment.
best thing about McGill are the women! Is it just me or women in Montreal are so beautiful?! Wish I went to McGill!!!
This is good to know
Francisco, did I understand correctly that your current degree is unaccredited? If so, please note that the McGill program is post-prof, hence also unaccredited. None will serve you in achieve an architect's license. Also note that McGill is a bonafide top-of-the-top institution and those chasing these types of post-prof degrees are doing so because they aim to teach or follow-up with PHDs. This is not the place for weekend warrior type designers.
Also important is some clarification on the work in the web link and portfolio. Is that your office? Why is your professional experience limited to 4 very short stints? Why is the graphic quality so different between the two links?
Also, get rid of the software self-evaluation graph. It's a terrible cliche and no-one that fresh in the game can rate their skills without a 6 point (out of 10) curve.
This is already extremely helpful. I'm writing all these down right away. The "professional" work is not my office, it is work that I have done independently for different clients, hence the different rendering styles. I have dozens of more projects I can add from these clients. Most of them are in the scope of rendering though.
I will get rid of the skill graph. Please continue, this helps a lot.
Do you have any thoughts on the portfolio. Which elements seem relevant to a school like McGill and which should I remove? What is lacking? Thank you again
I think that having a picture in the content part makes it difficult to read; I would just leave in a white background.
add numeration to each page,
Start every project with the title, not renders, make every spread comprehensive to read it fast. Different size of renders or pictures in the same pages seems a little weird to me.
your margins are why too stretch.
Why your titles are on the right? One starts to read from left to right...
That house at the end isn't a right end for a portfolio.
In general terms I think you need more space for your portfolio, some pages are too crow, and the type of graphics are also different from one to other.
Hope this would help you :)
Thank you very much! This does help a lot!
Looks really good to me. One thing that stuck out is that the people have no shadows on the 2017 SOAD Alumni Award rendering. Good luck.
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