see you at the other side...

I've just begun.

Any advice about how to ask for letters of recommendation and when you should do it??
Thanks

i just moved and am finally (3 months later) settling into my new state/city/apt, certainly not forgetting these approaching deadlines, but perhaps not acknowledging how near they are becoming.

so uh... thanks for the kick in the ass.

is visiting the professions important in term of getting their recommandation. I know they are familiar with me. but it has been five since i graduated.

i`m re-applying this year.

I with you all on this one too... good luck!

quite a few of us, good luck to all, may we all get into where we want. Hope to meet some of you where ever I end up.
Portfolio is a bitch, Im in the middle, racking my brains to get the best projects to read the best ways. Its tough.
The other one is the letter of intent, I have started in a stream of conscience way. I need to go back and make it "meaty".
Anyway, it will all be over sooner than we all think.

eureka-

i went ahead and contacted my professors that i'm asking rec's from just recently letting them know i was applying this fall and would like if they could write recommendations for me. leave them with an out if you think they might possibly say no so everyone stays polite. just let them know ahead of time so you don't spring a deadline on them out of the blue.

q- portfolio IS a bitch. not happy with the colors i've been using... blah

I guess I'll try and notify a few people and hopefully they'll give me recommendation. Luckily I've kept up with my portfolio over the last few years so I'm almost there. However I haven't started my letter of intent yet, Im not sure where to start so I keep ignoring it ( this and GRE scores aren't going to help me any I'm afraid).

Almost finished with my portfolio, now I gotta think about paper and binding. One out of three letters of rec. are in. Stuck on the statement of purpose. Dont know what the hell to do with it. Don't know just how much I should show that I have researched the school. I figure the apps themselves will be no biggy.

I have 2 probable recommendations for high standing arc professors so would ti be good to mix in an outsider? Another possible rec could come for a person who heads the cities development authority and works with projects that enhance the downtown areas. Would it be good for the selection boards to see a rec from someone in this position or would they just dismiss it? Should it be tailored for each school?
I'm also stuck on my intent not sure where to start.
Also is anyone applying at the same school they currently attend? If so why or why not.

Sorry for all the questions, starting to feel the pressure after thinking about the approaching deadlines!

Sorry I meant should your letter of intent be tailored for each school?

Already applying to Texas and Ohio St, is there any other midwesternish schools I should apply to that have a one year
M.Arch II program

i'm planning to apply to m.arch I next year and you're all scaring the shit out of me.

just thought i should let you know.

pinstripeprincess: you and me both. where you thinkin' of applying?

I am just not even interested in doing my portfolio again. Surely no one would notice if I submitted an old one.

What if I just get my Masters in Environmental Science on top of my BArch? Will they let me teach then?

Crap. Sorry just talking to myself now...

since each school has it's own recommendation form am I going to have to ask each of my professors to write 5 recommendations? (1 for each school I am applying to) Or will schools take just a general letter of recommendation that I can use for all of them?

of the schools i have apps for most have a form. but it looks like my profs could probably reuse a letter written for me on most of them. they just might have to write/print it out on each form.

WonderK- yes, probably. With sustainability getting such a big push now, I'd be surprised if they didn't consider a B.Arch + an M.E.S. to be an excellent education.

i'm glad i won't be needing to assemble a portfolio. but sample essays equally suck, especially if they're old and no longer reflect your area of interest. bah.

geezopeez <- no portfolio???

On recommendation letters, how important do you consider it to have a somewhat personal relationship with the prof.?
any different if you've been out of school for a few years?

i'm not applying to architecture school. i'm applying to programs in theory and criticism.

i think it's important to have a personal albeit still professional relationship with your professor. i haven't seen my professor (she changed universities) in three years but manage to still keep abreast with email. we're in the same field so we brush by each other's projects on occasion.

SuperHeavy- it's very important, because they need to be able to say something about you beyond the generic, "gee, the was one of the best students I've had in a while" bull. If there's no personal relationship there, then there may not be enough that makes you stand out from the crowd and gets you that really great letter.

alright I am just starting all my apps and portfolios now.
What's the averge school deadline for M. Arch 1
January 15.
So from today about 3 and 1/2 months?

Exciting.

i have some that say jan 15 received by date. others say december 15th postmark. so either way...

going with the earlier dec. 15 date...

91 days left...

add 31 for jan 15

Any benefit to sending apps in early? How early is too early?

FREEDOM, PEACE OF MIND, A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP.
SEND IT NOW, I WOULD IF I WAS READY.

oops.. i've been neglecting my archinect reading...

frisbee pirata:
i'm actually not quite sure yet.... i'm having the hugest debate in my head whether it's worth going overseas and risking not being license-able in north america... or applying to the only 2 school's in canada that will allow me to even apply (i have an eng undergrad) and a couple american ones.

for american schools i'd like to find a couple that take in a very wide range of backgrounds, has a few profs working in sustainable design, and is a little more design theory/art focused. i've had enough technical work to last me a lifetime.

anyone have suggestions?

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA\
MICHIGAN

if you are having trouble with the letter of intent...

first you need to figure out why you want to go to that school and in to that particular program....once you have specifically found something

be reflective on a small number of experiences that have led you to that reason

quality is better than quantity.....an entire list of achievements will blend with the hundreds of other applications.....but if you elaborate on 1 or 2 key experiences and match them up with your reason and your goal...you will stand out

so the formula is

this and this elaborated experience has led me to want goals x, y, and z and your school/program will help me achieve these goals x, y, z.

for example: my position selling apples at the store and my extensive research in apples under professor Kay, has led me want to design apples, of which your university's program focuses on

see?

also- have as many people as you can read it and offer feedback

further, many college websites have guidance on how to write the letters, especially under their main "graduate school" website as opposed to college specefic websites

good luck!

btw, i sended a lot of my stuff very early and they ended up loosing a lot of the stuff and I had to resend things.....so don't send tooooo early!

Ok, how about 2 months early? Too early?

guiggster dude, its only september. besides fall sem has just started and i suggest u wait for some more time. waiting now is better than breaking your head later wanting to know your acceptance especially when u sent your materials atleast 6-7 months back. if u know what i mean..

i think 20 days before the deadline would be ideal.

and btw i understand you`ve been working on your portfolio for ages i`m very curious to know how your portfolio has come out.

Well just because I started it a while back doesn't mean I've been working on it for ages. But I am putting the finishing touches on what i think to be the first draft...I say first draft because I have not had it critiqued by anyone other than myself, but in reality I don't imagine that I'd do much more than tweak it. In fact, I was hoping to show it to some archinect users that would promise me some constructive feedback...I'm not trying to whore it out to just anybody, PLUS YOU BASTARDS MIGHT STEAL IT AND GET INTO ALL MY SCHOOLS WITH IT. Sorry...pressure is starting to build.

Anyway, the applying early thing... I was reading a friend's graduate school application guide book type thingy and the guy said you should never send an app. in later than 30 days before the due date, and 2 months is ideal. What do people think of this? Will they just hold it until the big crunch or will someone flip through it AND then look at it again during the real admissions commitee time? How does that work?

i don't have experience but as someone mentioned before you do have to keep in mind that they just admitted a bunch of new students in september and the administration is generally reeling from that due to any problems (and there will always be problems) with regards to registrations, courses, withdrawals, etc.....

also keeping in mind that for all those school's helping out katrina victims, they might be entirely out of whack for more reasons.

i wouldn't be surprised that if you sent it in 2 months in advance, if not everyone sends it in then, that someone would probably do a quick look. it's not in the admin's best interest to leave it to the end because then all hell would break loose. this coming from the engineering undergrad admin perspective.

guiggster,
what i asked you regarding your portfolio was a very friendly innocent question. i never asked you to post it on archinect so that every "BASTARD" according to you could steal it. i`ve been reading most of your queries and infact answered with a few suggestions regarding PORTFOLIOs which you posted ages back.

http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=P22150_0_42_0_C
http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=P20697_0_42_0_C
http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=P19645_0_42_0_C

besides i`m already done with my portfolio.

I was joking. I don't actually think archinect users will "steal my portfolio" and get into "all my schools" with it. Sometimes I make jokes to make my life a little less intolerable...god knows the thought of being an architect can drag a good man down.



...I should probably explain that I was joking in that last sentence as well.

oh the wonderful tonelessness of the internet.

but now i'm portfolio stressing.... i've been out of school for 1 year, all engineering work, zero time for art except for a gala i designed... i don't have architectural models :(

1 year more to churn it all out.

It would be nice to see what everyone's portfolio looks like.
I propose that we all agree to post our portfolio's somewhere public and make a post around April 30, 2006.
By then, we would have heard from all schools, and there is nothing to lose.
If I remember I will post it around that time and see how many people follow...

i agree.. but not all are posters here on archinect mind you. there are casual lurkers with lazy intensions.

i'll have two years off between undergrad and grad by the time I go back (assuming I get in where I want on the first go-roun).
Jobs since haven't been places I could produce or influence anything I would want in my portfolio.
I've built (and am building) some furniture and had the chance to dive into photography with more zeal than school had previously allowed me.
These are things I would like to use in my portfolio but am not sure as of yet how to approach. My architecture projects allow me to focus on development as thoroughly as finished product. However with these other creative outlets, the product is nearly all I have.
Anyone running into similar problems?

Well, last night my computer decided it had done enough for me these last 4 years and thought now would be a good time to COMPLETELY stop working. I disagreed with this decision but honestly had no say in the matter.

Fortunately I'd made it a point to backup everything on an external HD as well as CD's a little while ago so I won't lose too terribly much.

I gave it to my uncle so his company's computer guy can take a crack at it but it'll most likely be a chunk of change and a blank slate computer a few weeks from now.



damn

sorry superheavy, It truly sucks!
I have been backing up like crazy too. Too many stories of comp. failure out there to ignore.
Good Luck

so how many out here are appying to the professional and post-professional?

i`m applying to the professional.

Pro

Man, my computer almost crashed on me after 4 months of portfolio work and no backups. Kept giving me the "Windows could not start properly" screen over and over and over again, until I cried. When it finally booted up I ran home and grabbed a bunch of CDs to back up on. Let this be a lesson to those in the midst of preparing application materials. back up now...NOT TOMORROW!

yeah, i understand the crashing thing. I have been so anal about backing everything up.. each time I work on the portfolio I back it up three times - on my Ipod, at work and of course at home.

I think this could be the onset of OCD.

hey geniuses, what are you guys upto? i just wanted to keep this thread moving till the deadlines. as for me i`ve just started reworking on my portfolio.


i`m applying to the Professional as well.