I was just admitted to a few great programs for M.Arch, both in Canada and US. I graduated last year with a Major in Computer Science and Economics but took a lot of visual art in high school. After graduating I spent about 3 months working on my portfolio. What I did that I believe really set me apart was one very large project (took up about half my portfolio) where I outlined something I knew very well in a visual and “architectural” way; I took a coding assignment I had done in university and broke it down. I visually displayed the rhythm of the code and then created a string sculpture that abstractly depicted how each component of my code worked with each other. Rather than trying to create a building, I think it is far more interesting and impressive when you show the admissions committee (visually) how you think. Take something you know, and try and explain it / tell a story in a visually compelling and interesting way.