@karimi

Hi, i'm an alumni from gtech as well, and last year I found this posts to be really helpful when applying to schools.  I was able to get into columbia, penn, mit, and parsons last year.  Don't sweat it, your portfolio looks fine, you will get into gsapp, and all of the other schools you mentioned.  GSD will the trickest, since no matter what you do they will put you into the m.arch advanced program pool, which you must be a genius to get into.  Try looking into mit, as they offer really good scholarships and they are a really great school (the director for grad school taught at gt for a while, and he is really cool).  Wish you luck!

Mayainclck,

can you post your portfolio?

and your stats?

@  frangipani

yeah I mostly have sketches (scans of..) and photos of soft pastel work ... so I guess I'll edit those in photoshop ... plus I have few AutoCad and SketchUp files .... and layout in InDesign. What kind of stuff do you do .. if not hand-drawings .... graphic design ..?

Can anyone tell me why exactly are Pratt and Sci-Arc not considered great for M.Arch .. having such brilliant B.Arch programs .. ?

24/ F / BS in architecture/reputed school/Canada. International architecture internships

Planning on applying to: GSAPP, YSOA, GSD, MIT, Cornell
GPA 3.2
GREs V 520, Q 770, A 4.0
Portfolio [all modesty aside] the best part of my application [very GSAPP-oriented, used examples of portfolios from people that  got in there]

Got published and have been on the council for 2+ yrs.

Do you think I have a shot with my poor stats?

Also, does going to the Open Houses make a difference, if I make a good impression and whatnot? [I don't believe in the "going to the GSD Fall open house" curse]

Any feedback would be appreciated.

quick portfolio length question: 

how long is too long? 

can't seem to make mine any shorter than 50 spreads, and i'm wondering if i can just let it be. 

is there a minimum undergrad GPA for GSAPP admittance ?

i've searched everywhere in the website, it didn't say.

would appreciate if someone can advise.

50 spreads is too long... definitely pare it down

New to site.  ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Applying to M. Arch 1 programs (Non-Architecture Background)

Tentatively applying: Yale, UPenn, UT (Austin), University of Washington (Seattle), University of Oregon, University of Michigan?, CCA?

23 / M / B.A. International Development.  UCLA.  GPA 3.6

UC Berkeley In[Arch] Summer Program in 2010.

GRE: V 620.  Q 760.  A 5.5

Letters of Rec from Employer (Principle Architect at firm I work at), Studio Professor from a night class I'm taking, GSI from Berkeley program.

Portfolio http://issuu.com/jsnosh88/docs/portfolio2 (Work in progress, but ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!)

Have been working at a small residential architecture firm for the past year, getting great experience, and due to the small size of the firm, getting to do my fair share of design work/project management.

Also, looking for a more pragmatic minded school with a solid focus on sustainability.  Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

THANKS!

jsnosh88 - I graduated from UW (undergrad) and truly enjoyed the program. And it has changed for the better since I left: new faculty, Arch. Hall remodeled, etc. The year I left, Glenn Murcutt was teaching a graduate studio, so was Kieran Timberlake, so was Juhani Pallasmaa. Tom Kundig (UW grad) is lecturing on Monday. The wood/metal shop is huge. Plus, Seattle is a beautiful city and UW's campus is equally stunning. The studio culture is great. Some of my classmates became my best friends. Definitely consider it. good luck.

Any M.Arch II applicants here?

@ sg18

I posted a while back...I am a M.Arch II applicant...I am trying to apply while working on my thesis project (architecture student's life, hectic as usual), My top choices are GSAPP, Yale, GSD and UPENN...how about you?

Hays Office - I've heard nothing but praise for UW.  My GSI from the Berkeley program I took had nothing but good things to say about professors and students he knew up there as well.  I'm headed up Nov 18 for the tour and have scheduled meetings with Kimo Griggs and Steven Badanes, so I'm very excited for that.  UW seems very unique in its focus on how things are actually built, whether it be through design build studios, material fabrication, etc, and I would be thrilled to end up there.

Could you speak at all of the opportunities for studios in the community and abroad, or any design/build studios offered?  Also, did you feel the school was very focused on sustainable design? 

Thanks for the insight!

@rwatson - I'm applying while in school too. Although thesis for me starts in Jan and hopefully I'll be done with the applications by then. My top choices are Yale/ MIT/ UT Austin. 

jsnosh88 - There are tons of opportunities for studios abroad and in/around town. The program in Rome is huge (it's every fall quarter and open to grads and undergrads), they have a program in the summer that travels to Scandinavia... A classmate of mine who returned to UW for grad school is in Denmark for the year so they apparently have something going on there. Ken Oshima takes a group to Japan every year (I would recommend you meet him when you come up, but I think he is on sabbatical in Japan for the semester... might be worth trying to contact him anyway). Steve Badanes does a design/build studio every spring I believe (he built the Fremont troll, under the Fremont bridge).

Hmmm. It's been a couple of years since I left but I'm sure there are new things going on. As for sustainability, they were definitely rounding a corner when I graduated. They brought in Rob Pena, who worked with Ed Mazria and is a great proponent of passive / alternative energy strategies/technologies, etc. I took a studio with Peter Steinbrueck who is a big-time "green building" player in Seattle. UW has the Integrated Design Lab too where you can run all kinds of tests and studies related to lighting, energy efficiency, etc. for a project.

Track down Kathryn Merlino when you're there too. I think she's still the graduate counselor. She's been involved with UW alot longer than Kimo Griggs and really knows the program inside & out. UWs professors, in general, seem to be a healthy mix of practicioners and academics, which I think contributes to its reputation. I don't understand why I never hear about UW's program in comparison to other great architecture programs - still the forgotten corner of the country I guess. Oh and one other thing: every other friday Happy Hour in the court of Gould Hall (one of two arch. buildings) - 4 kegs & good times.

ucla has happy hour every fridays

get your drank on

- 24 / m / korean american
- bachelor of science in design [honors] / arizona state university / 2012
- gpa: 4.00
- gre: 515v / 515q / 3.5w [horrible]
- 3 letters: 1 prof + director / 1 studio instructor + principal / 1 studio instructor
- personal essay: objective + tailored to each program
- studied abroad in dubai / professional [primarily graphic] design practice
- portfolio: 1 architectural / 2 development proposals / 1 site plan / 1 study
http://issuu.com/nickkunz/docs/final_nicholas_kunz_selected_works_2011-01

applying [m.arch I]: gsd, ysoa, gsapp, mit, princeton

what do you guys are my chances? advice? words of wisdom? thanks!

@sg18 and @rwatson

I'm MArch II also.  Applying while working which, at least at my job, is not easy.  I have no time off, but am trying to at least take the week of Thanksgiving off (unpaid) to work on my portfolio.  Schools: Berkeley, GSD, MIT, GSAPP, Princeton and UT Austin.  A couple others also.    

MIT CHANGED THEIR WEBSITE

THANK THE LORD!!!!!!

where can i find latest rankings for graduate architecture schools in europe ?

Does anyone know if UCLA wants portfolio's postmarked by Dec. 15th or received by the 15th?

hey nick, looks good... just some advice, though, i'd drop the vector graphics on your cover, and replace them with something else. i used to have something similar on my portfolio and everyone pointed out how generic and cliche it was, much to my chagrin!

Hi All! 

1st time poster, long time lurker. I didn't decide to apply for graduate school until I was quite serious and sure about architecture as a profession... so here I am!

march 1: MIT, GSD, UC Berkeley, YSOA, UOregon, RISD, WUSTL, UMich
*I know this is a lot, but after my couple years off, I'm very ready to get back into school, and I believe I would love all these schools

23/f
studio art major / dartmouth college / 2010 / 3.09GPA
GRE: q 770 / v 580 / w 5
letters: 2 profs, 1 principle architect from a small firm I'm interning
background: Studio art major with a concentration in architecture and a minor in engineering (product design)
interests: human aspect of architecture in terms of creating a better experience through form and space with an emphasis on sustainability
portfolio: art projects, 1 product design, 2 design/build, 2 architecture projects - thoughts?
http://issuu.com/emyen/docs/grad_portfolio_v5_issuu_v2

Qs:
my GPA is not quite high... what are the chances of my app being thrown away without a look at the rest of things? 
is it kosher to put an engineering project in my portfolio? will it (does it) read? 

Thanks so much! Very appreciated...  

emyen, I notice that a lot of your images cross the gutter (spine) or are very close to it. Be very careful when printing these out or they could get lost in the binding. Also, I'd move the title on your cover off to one side or reorient it to the vertical edge on the right. As it is, your cover is graphically static compared to the contents of your portfolio.

As for your GPA, yes, it could be better, but you can't change that now. Focus on polishing your portfolio and personal statement. I can't comment on the engineering project without seeing it or knowing what your objectives were for that project, but I'd put it up and get some opinions. If it doesn't work, that will be fairly obvious from comparing it to the rest of your portfolio.

emyen, I know your resume page is getting ridiculously tight, but it'd probably be helpful to list what classes you took at Yestermorrow (or at least do this on your stand alone resume).

Hey guys,

Deadlines are getting close and I would reeally appreciate any feedback people could offer for my portfolio:

http://issuu.com/ctalmage/docs/christian.talmage_portfolio  

24 / m / American
B.A. Physics w/minor in s.art (Colby College) 2009
B.E. Mech. Engineering (Dartmouth College)
gpa: 3.14     gre: 520v 750q 4.0w  ...yep

-Currently working in an architecture firm
-Should have pretty solid recommendations: 1 prof. of structural engineering, 1 prof. of art history and a principal where I work now.

Applying M.Arch I: GSD, MIT, GSAPP, Berkeley, UCLA

Thoughts?  Anything I can do to improve my app?

Thanks everybody!

Mad: Why are your sectional page numbers so incredibly large/have they been narrowed? The proportions look off. Also, for the W. Rawn first spread: design development: those 3 images look so similar that it almost looks like you forgot to remove 2 placeholder images. I'd probably also remove at least one of those photos from the DD spread.

Same W Rawn first spread: CDs, choose more revealing thumbnails. Thumbnails of zoomed in building sections don't offer any real information, much less eye candy. Perhaps a zoomed in image of some detail drawings would work better (like from those wall sections you use later on?)?

Pg. 14, I'd probably scale that done a bit? Having that almost edge-to-edge portrait next to that landscape makes the spread feel unbalanced.

I'm diggin' the photo section, the cover text just looks kind of bland.

Hi everyone. Is there anybody applying MArch Urban Design in UCL or berlage institute? I was thinking to apply there. The most closest deadline is UCL which is no later than next Jan.

MadScience: Why did you put interdisciplinary work such as photography and graphic design at the front? I got interested looking at your portfolio starting on page 31. Before that, I felt a bit confused. I think the stuff you did at columbia should be put at front since it looks the strongest. The design lounge is also interesting because you have a couple renderings that show how people relate to space. The work you did at the architecture firm is interesting but it doesn't show any of your design skill, just your model making skill. Compare to that, work 4&5 are more interesting though both doesn't show any design skill. By the way, you have 67 pages. Gsd has a new portfolio requirement this year and they limit it to 30 page PDF.

@abdulhakim, where in the website it says no later than jan for 2012 academic year, can you post the link? i thought latest is by march, especially for international applicants?

@morgan2sims - I can't confirmed to you based on website. That is what was mentioned and advised by Bartlett representative during education fair in my country. I spoke to her and actually she advised me to submit end of Dec but still she said no later than Jan. I also don't have any idea when you said by march. Are you applying for MArch Urban Design?

i see. well, if you dig around in the website, it says that the deadline is preferably by march (as in the month of march). they kind of have rolling admissions, in which they just admit students until the places are full. 

portfolio critique before i start sending it out to schools would be very very welcome.

thanks so much!

http://issuu.com/frangipani13/docs/portfolio_draft

frangipani,

You have a really curious portfolio. There are some parts of it that are really solid, like the diagram which you have on the lower right of page 18 but then you have other areas which still need more refinement.

In general, there are a few areas which need need cleaner graphics, such as p. 6 where the leftmost process models too small to tell what's going on. Sketches could be scanned and given white backgrounds.
Similarly, removing the background from the photos on the right side of the left page would help.

8 (and in general) - add more context around your renderings, if you can - these projects never exist in a vacuum!

14-15 the section is unclear - are those curved elements openings in the facade, or a cutaway view? If it's a cutaway you should make one section and one elevation. These sections also don't feel very tectonically rigorous yet.

16 - could *try* removing the colored backgrounds from your diagrams to make it cleaner, maybe replacing the color with color-coded people.

Get rid of the report of your grades - that's tacky and takes up space.

For your last few pages of professional/community work, you should have some headers clearly identifying those projects as such... For example, I didn't realize the houseboat was a professional project until I read the description, which some
reviewers may gloss over.

Your last project - the community center - needs a description.

Hope that helps!

Putting together application forms right now ... how are you all doing?

I'm definitely having fun uploading scanned documents and tax info. I just spent $20 to Fed-ex transcripts! Should of just gone to the post office...

anxiously waiting for my 2 other LORs... man, I hope I'll get it soon... there's only 5 days left...

@lance, tax info?? For what? I thought FAFSA apps don't even become available until Jan 1.

hey byen01 it caught me by surprise too, but if you're applying to GSAPP M. Arch and want to be considered for scholarships, you'll need copies of your 1040, and your parent's 1040

i'm not in panic mode yet, but whyyy is most portfolio i see here decidedly NOT 8.5 X 11 inches? the books -at least from what i can see on issuu- look like they're measuring 8.5 x 22 inches??? anyone??? 

morgan2sims - 

don't worry, mine is definitely 8.5x11, i've just laid it out so that graphically it reads as 8.5 x 22... I think no school that i've researched would allow the 8.5 x 22 full size. I think that on issuu, they display the 2 pages together, which reads as 8.5x22 as well. no worries! 

emyen, thanks for clearing things up! have you printed and sent out portfolio to schools yet? i'm doing last minute touch-ups still after i printed and saw a few things that bothered me, hence the (almost) freak out.

how many pages do you have in your portfolio? i don't know whether my decision to compact it into 25 content pages a good idea or not.. i've seen portfolios with over 50 pages. 

morgan2sims: 

no worries! i have not printed/sent out portfolios yet. my first portfolio due will be Berkeley, on Dec. 19th, so i have a *little* time to adjust things, etc. and double-double check them. 

Yeah, i'm not quite sure about the # of pages in the portfolio, I think I'm keeping mine to 30-35 to allow for bigger images and better layouts rather than cramming them into something page specified (though this is mostly for the schools that don't have page requirements, just dimensions). 

I think as long as your portfolio is quickly understandable and doesn't shout too much information and displays a good flow (and is probably not 50 pages), it's probably fine? 

good tips, thanks.. on that note, i'm gonna rework a few pages so as not too cluttered.

emyen, would you like to exchange email address to crit each other's portfolio, or something? i've come to realize how public this forum is, hence becoming more shy to broadcast my portfolio here.

haha, of course. I would love to exchange critiques/ideas. 

my email is: emilysyen@gmail.com

Ran out of time and (at least for my upcoming GSAPP deadline) I had to choose between submitting an incomplete portfolio to a printer than will take three days or developing my content further an sending to a printer tomorrow who can only put it together with tape binding. I chose content, so I hope my reviewers don't mind tape binding! Does anyone have any experience with such matters to help me feel better about it?

I'm getting my portfolio proof printed as we speak and need to overnight the final versions to schools on Wednesday.  Have a look and let me know what you think, how much you hate it, what my odds are of getting into grad school are, etc.

http://issuu.com/derekleewoods/docs/gradappportfolio

Oh, and I'm applying for UCLA, USC, SCI-Arc, and UT Austin.

So glad that the hassle of applying is almost over.

im freaking out

so we can submit portfolios to MIT before January 3 right?

@batman, as opposed to when? after the deadline? Duh you can submit it earlier. And I'm pretty sure it has to be received by Jan 3, not postmarked.

GSAPP specifies that no supplementary material be forwarded until completion of the online app, so maybe that is what batman is referring to... maybe MIT has similar rules.

I kinda hope that's a rule that's overlooked because... yup, portfolio went out way before I am going to finish this application....