I was admitted to the MArch I at some of those schools. I actually got rejected the first time with the same GRE scores and same college grades, which leads me to believe that they don't count as much as your tenacity, your work experience, your portfolio and recommendations.

They want someone who is ready for their program. Focus on your post-college achievements and don't worry as much about the GRE and/or college GPA (which you can't really do anything about anyway).

LenaV, after you were rejected in the first round, what did you do to improve your application so greatly?

LenaV, thanks! That's actually pretty interesting. I actually have the same question as lking.

LenaV--how is that good advice for people who have non-arch b degrees (i.e. those who would not necessarily have work experience impressive to an arch admissions committee)?

I don't think she claimed that it was good advice for preprofessional degree holders, plus the OP said he was applying to an MArch II path. However, being a non-arch BA holder I would like to hear some other comments to the same question.

sorry--just realized that sounded rude. just wondered what advice people had for non arch B holders. One thing I don't understand is how a lot of people on this site seem to have stories like, "after I got my BFA in painting, I worked as a general contractor for a while and..." wha?

for non-arch BA holders, take a summer design course. i had a degree in art history with zero design experience, and got in to yale, gsd, etc. if you can get your summer critic to write you a recommendation, you should be pretty well off.

W_O is right. In addition to summer studies, see if you can intern at a firm. The one I'm working at right now basically took me in with next to nothing experience. Granted, I took some studios during college, so although I had some familiarity with drafting, I still had no idea what I was doing. I think the reason they hired me was because I was an art & architectural history major, I had previously worked as an assistant to Park Planners, I knew how to draw and they could tell that I was an artistic person. But I know they've hired interns in the past just because they showed enthusiasm and were willing to learn.

It's all about luck and timing. Try and see if you can talk to a small firm and get your foot in the door by working as an administrative assistant. If you are creative and are willing to work extra hours just to expand your breadth of knowledge, they'll definately give you a chance.

But when talking to MIT students, I also learned that they came from a variety of backgrounds...this one guy was actually geology major but designed his own furniture and had no architectural work experience.

lking, I improved my portfolio after getting a job in a firm and taking a summer course. In addition, I did some more drawings and made new models to elaborate on my previous ideas. I also made the porfolio look less gimmicky and as unpretentious and honest as I could. I still kept the design element but kept it extremely simple. Tons of work, but definately worth it.

heres what to do if you dont have a barch.
1. get a nite job at barnes and noble or as a security guard.
2. find an architecture firm in your hometown and tell the owner that you are trying to get into an arch program and will work for free to get some experience. this is good too cuz you will realize whether you like the work or not.
3. take some art classes to beef up your portfolio.

or

move to the town that is home to the over priced school that you want to attend.
repeat steps above.

i'm guessing you're still on that path vado?

"I also made the porfolio look less gimmicky and as unpretentious and honest as I could. I still kept the design element but kept it extremely simple. Tons of work, but definately worth it."

LenaV, that was actually pretty clear. But could people elaborate on what might be considered pretentious, and what might be considered honest in a portfolio?

i need to get my ged first

vado, werent you in my design studio? and your still working on your ged? gee wiz.......

do you think they say 'to beef up' outside of chicago, say harvard? how stockyardish of you!

actually here is my advice for all the kids out there.
since everyone seems to be into rapid prototyping why not just go on down to the community college learn some cnc programming do it for awhile and then apply. or hell apply to teach it and skip the 75 to 100k in student loans.

how much the school you went to for undergrad (I have a b.envd) matter to the big guys? i was the outstanding graduate of my class, but i wonder how much they care if it's not from a big name school

doesn't matter where you went to school really, but they're going to want something other than grades to show for it.

LenaV, hate to take you back to this, but I'm still currious if when you reapplied you changed anything about your submittal?

LENAV - i'm in the same situtation as you were the first time you applied...sort of. i was accepted by one program and i am waitlisted at an ivy. my main reservation at this point is money bc i was not offered any by the program i am considering. were you offered any cash your second time around? i'm from a non-b.arch background and i didnt work before i applied after graduating in May. my grades and gre's are great but i think a summer program and more work experience in the fall would help my portfolio. or should i just be satisfied with my acceptance and hope to earn a scholarship on the merit of the work i do in school. i feel too inexperienced at this point to be making a decision about roughly 90,000 in loans over 3-3.5 years!

This is what I actually emailed someone, arhitekt. But take everything I say with a grain of salt...everyone is different, and this worked for me:

I actually didn't apply to MIT on my first round, but I did apply to Rice and Columbia, got rejected then accepted me the second time.

When I first applied, I was working for the National Park Service as a Planning Intern. This basically entailed graphic design and research. The problem with my portfolio at that point was that I included work from my college studios which mostly depicted the final product and didn't really exhibit my thoughts, sketches, and preliminary models and/or drawings. That one year in between gave me the opportunity to absorb knowledge from working professionals in order to further develop my own visual vocabulary and better communicate my ideas on paper. Oh yeah, and I got a job at an architecture firm. Aside from growing as a designer, I was also exposed to many facets of the field, and worked extensively on CD's and graphic presentations (I had a few pages dedicated to space plans, CDs, work related graphic design, and detailing). I also took a summer course which gave me two more projects to add to my portfolio in addition to the ones I had previously submitted. I also elaborated on what I currently had by creating few more drawings and improving and constructing two models.

The most important thing I can say to you is to keep every single sketch you make. The admissions commitees aren't interested in the final product. They are interested in your thoughts and the evolution of your design. Balance your office experience with figure drawings and travel sketches, for example. When you include projects you've worked on in studio (assuming you've taken some pre-professional courses), don't just show a slick picture of the finished product--that is the worst thing you can do, because it nails you as someone who has settled for a solution. Your designs can always be improved upon and changed, so try and keep that sort of idea fluid throughout your portfolio. Make it beautiful, but keep it simple, and don't over-photoshop things to make them look contemporary and cool. They see right through that (again, a mistake I made the first time).

LenaV, THANK YOU!!! That is really great advice. Since I have a pre-professional degree, I have plenty of work to show, but I've been really battling on how to show it to prove my worth. This really really really helps! :O)

LenaV, I am now stalking you because of your informative posts. I asked this a bit above but i was wondering if you could elaborate on your idea of pretentiousness and honesty in a portfolio. Also, I know someone asked this earlier but I was hoping that you could expound on the issue of *cough*coconut bra*cough*.

Guiggster,

I think we can all agree that with any creative field, there is a substantial amount of BS in people's work, especially students' porftolios. My idea of honesty is mainly related to the appearance of your drawings and the overall presentation of your work. A lot of people tend to over-design their portfolio to achieve a high-tech look when it isn't necessarily warrented. If it's a simple line drawing, keep it as such. I had one page entirely dedicated to an abstract "sound map", which was basically a black and white pointalist sort of drawing. Extremely simple, yet (I thought, at least) evocative if not beautiful. I would have completely ruined it if I tried to couple it with some graphics pertaining to the site I was analyzing. Since most people don't know Maya or 3-d Max at this stage (those applying to the MArch programs), their work (I'm assuming) will be mainly done by hand. So...don't mask your drawings, and let them speak for themselves, i.e. keep them virginal and honest ;)

As far as the coconut bra goes, I promised vado a rendering of a design or something, but haven't gotten around to doing so. Just don't beat me to it!