as far as undergraduate goes, joining a summer program may show that you're committed and that you know what you'll be doing. i'm not so sure about graduate.

schools usually say they don't increase your chances because not everyone can afford these programs but i think if you do very well in them and demonstrate it in your portfolio, i think it'd help.

now if you do bad in the program...it might actually hurt your chances. but you never know.

a few friends and i did the summer program at columbia this year. found it very worth while. they have many different levels of entry, no experience, some, much, etc. you will end up spending a few k but it was worth it to all of us. cant say if it helps or hurts chances, but as j_h saud, if you do well, it cant hurt.
i think that it will also give you a heads up as to what you do or dont want to do with arch as a whole.
good luck.

Thanks bucku and justin.
Can anyone who's been to the Harvard GSD summer program give some insight on how it was? was it worth the money?? the people in the program and faculty?? etc etc.

so bucku...you definitely recommend the columbia summer program?? how were the rest of the people in the program, faculty? and did you get to interact with the regular columbia architect students?? how has your experience with the program influenced your pursuing architecture ??
thanks

i am currently enrolled in a five year b. arch program in atl. ga. i have about a year and a half left. i went this past summer to get an idea about how other schools taught, acted, etc. to try to get a different point of view on architecture. to just develope my process further.
though you and i are coming from different points, i would still recommend this program. the only thing is that the way columbia teaches is far different from the school i am currently at, and probably far different from many other schools. (i was actually wanting to do the sci-arc program this summer to contrast three schools, but cash flow is low).
the faculty was great. each prof had at least one TA and they were all very insightful. at first, they talked over your head, thats what they do, but after a while you started to understand what they were intending to say.
as for my personal experience, i have totally taken the process and procedures from columbia and translated them into my own architecture. (i had a process before, but i wanted to learn a legitimate way to design. what i was doing just didnt seem.. well right i suppose. i took away a lot from columbia. i recommend it if you are interested in furthering your process. i am not sure if you have prior arch design education, but i think that at least an understanding before going would be beneficial.
hope that helps.

oh yeah. nyc was pretty damn fun too. i hung around a week before and a week after the program to just party/sight see/whatever.
another thought: with the columbia program, you also get lectures every week by top architects. at the very end of the course we saw an exciting debate/lecture between eisenman and wigley. you also get office tours of local firms such as kpf, libeskind, ltl, umm... many others.
i dont know much about it, but i think cornell offers an intro/summer program as well but it is pricey. i havent heard wonderful things about harvards summer prog.
between me and you, i would chose sci-arc or columbia just pending on where you are looking to go for grad.

My boss actually runs Career Discovery, the GSD summer program. It seems highly intriguing to me because it's not just arch, but has landscape and urban components as well. He gets great speakers, I've been to a number of the lectures, and they're interesting. Seems like an excellent program to me. Plus, it's cheap.

If you have no background in Architecture any one of these programs would be interesting and beneficial. From what it sounds like, they are all structured differently...look into the specifics of each and decide which is best for you. From what I'm hearing on this thread, I would choose GSD, mostly due to the various disciplines that are considered.

at the same time, the fundamental design and making M+M and sci-arc may be great for a newbie...

Is the GSD program for new students only, or like the Colombia program with a variety of experience levels...???

the summer program at cornell is great. it is pricey but i thought it was worth it. i don't know much about their graduate program but going through that program will definitely give you a greater insight into architecture. The majority of students are high school seniors but there are some college students if you will feel left out.

Career Disco is really good. They work you hard (if you're willing). It's good because it gives you a lot of tricks. Tips on making protfolios etc. I don't know how well it prepares you for school itself...I equate it to Kaplan for GRE or SAT. It's a good prep to what you need to do to get in to school. BUt in the end it's up to you. Going there will not get you into GSD etc, but you might make some contacts (I met some people who looked over my portfolio). I actually thought Career Discovery was more beneficial than my first year, second semester studio, and all 3 semesters of visual studies. I was able to do some of the things they required us to do in grad school because I had done CD. Other people had to figure stuff out during crunch time(drawing sections and so on).

If you are in LA, UCLA also has a summer program. Just started last summer.

I agree, they work you pretty hard at Career Discovery and its totally worth it. I have nothing but good things to say about it. As for whether or not it helps you to get into grad school I'll let you know in april :)

At the very least, though, it shows you what you might expect in school and shows admissions staff that you are serious and are taking the necesary steps to getting where you want to go.

re: Career Disco

You can't go if you're still (or even just graduated, I think? not sure) High School. It's geared for college students/older people looking to figure out if they want to switch majors or even careers.

so from the latest entries, you guys recommend the harvard program over anything else?? thanks.

myriam-
i will graduate from college...so it's fit for me, correct?

yep, as far as I know. Just no high-schoolers allowed. (Makes for a nice, mature summer program...)

can anyonepost the websites for the summer school programs?
thanks!

thanks, what about the columbia program? anyone know the webpage?
thanks

just go to http://www.arch.columbia.edu/
go to programs. its in there somewhere. the actual website is weak so dont be expecting. it doesnt seem to have been updated recently. if you need more info though, i can answer whatever i can.

Hey bucku, I have a few questions about the Columbia program.

How much of a workload was there? How much extra money did you have to spend on materials?

Could you describe what kinds of things you did in the optional morning classes?

Was the portfolio workshop helpful at all?

Did you stay in the residences at Columbia? If so were they nice, clean?

What was the exhibition of student work at the end of the program like?

Any answers to these questions would be much appreciated

Thanks.

_the work load is dependent upon how much work you put into it. there is a studio four times a week from 2-6, sometimes longer. (the setup is great though because you get plenty of feedback about your ideas due to two pinups each week. the other two days are deck crits) i dont consider it as time consuming as usual studio here, due to not having any other classes there.
_i had to buy a few things other than model materials because of transportation purposes. (cutting board, t square, etc. that i coudnt necessarily bring from home) other than that i wouldnt say that materials were a defining cost in my budget. maybe 150 by the end of it. depends on the project also.
_the optional morning classes were usually lectures. you can see the list we had this ummer at the gsapp website. other than that, we had a portfolio class, which i will mention in a moment, drawing classes that were not very helpful to me. i think they were more aimed at the younger classes that had less experience.
_i enjoyed the portfolio workshop. it was nice to just see the grad students work in that format and to see how they addressed something we will all have to address. they also gave tips about finistration of the actual portfolio: binding, printing, text, etc.
_i did not stay in the res. halls though i HIGHLY recommend staying there or at least staying in the city. i only had a few all nighters in the studio, but there were many outside of the studio. i was staying in jersey and it was a pain in the ass to commute. if you could stay in manhatten, then i would, the res. halls if you have to.
_the exhibition was nice. it was cool to see everyone's process and projects pinned up next to one another. to see the people with little, or no, experience next to those who are considering grad programs. and they had free food and drinks.
_it is interesting to see the process that another school teaches and compare it to something that i have been taught quite differently. i think it is well owrth the trip if you can get around to it.
hope this helped.

Thanks alot Bucku.

UT-austin has the "summer academy in architecture" and i really enjoyed it ten years ago -- i did it between my junior and senior years of HS

but oh, was my senior year of HS anticlimactic afterwards -- i was just counting the days till i could return to a-town

about half of us were highschoolers, though, and that might not be your scene after four years of college -- i made a small fortune hooking up my younger-looking 17-year-old compadres with cigs (since i was 17 and looked 27 and NEVER got carded)

now i'm 27 and i look 57 -- thanks a lot, architecture

and i would imagine it couldn't hurt -- especially if you do a summer program at your no. 1 school -- if anything, it helps you decide whether that IS your no. 1 school after all

we actually had two chix from ut-austin at columbia this summer, so they may not have that program any more.
no prob. rotwang. if you need nything else just let me know.