I'm quite a late late laate bloomer; I didn't decide to want become an architect until a month ago so I can sympathize what many of you are going through as far the application processes.
I intentionally had plans to become an optometrist with a bio degree bc it was my parents wish for me to be a health professional. Coming from a traditional family background, it was extremely difficult for me to convince my parents I didn't want to be a health professional of any sort. I had to sacrafice myself from any further parental support after I decided to leave my parents and persuade my passion in creative design. I have always been interested in the area of engineering and design since second grade; I was the only girl in my second grade class who drew layouts of rockets and airplane in hope I would someday be able to build them.
When I started high school, I asked my parents if I could major in engineering, but they wouldn't let me bc they believe it was something the males should be interested in. So I did fine art all four years of my high school and loved it; of course my parents were never too happy about it and told me to not take any art classes during my undergrad.
I was quite miserable during my years as an undergraduate; I was a bio major and didn't like regurgitating facts without understanding the logic, etc. I also minored philosophy and loved it. I recently interned at an optometry office and hated it.
Since the of middle december, I was going through a terrible point in my life - my parents gave me to two options: either I recieve parental support from them if I go into optometry or not recieve any support if I decide to do something else. I had to leave. At around the same time, my bf dumped me after being together for 2 and half years mainly bc I couldn't get my act together as far as finding what I wanted to do in life.
Not too long after, I read some scriptures and understood why God had me go through all that trouble. If it wasn't for him, I wouldnt have thought about architecture as a potential career. I've never felt so eagered and anxious in my future plan to become in an architect.
That is my story in a nutshell. Most of what I've said, I didn't include in my statements. But so far, I've completed 3 applications and in the process of finishing another 3; it was a painful process as far writing my statement and putting together a portfolio. Most of my portfolio pieces are works I did in high school and a few from my sketchbook I've kept during my undergrad. After discovering this site, I can get a sense of where I stand among all the other applicants. My chances aren't high after going through some of portfolios that were posted, but I did the best I could in the last three and half weeks.
The schools I've applied/applying: Yale (the only reason I applied bc my hs art instructor who I've known for 8 years; her sister use to be a previous faculty member at the school of design - hopefully, she can put in some good words for me.), Cornell, PennDesign, WU at St. Louis, UIC, & CU.
As far my application:
my gpa isn't that great, the science courses didnt represent the best of my academic ability.
GRE - I have 9 days to study for. I don't know where I stand if I took it late.
Recommendation letters - all turned in for yale and cornell, Im not sure about penndesign (I hope my professor recieved his email after his trip to s. america)
Statement - Everyone who's read it, liked it, but assume it wouldn't stand out among all the applicants
I was wondering if I can get me some feedbacks or comments in regards to my chance of getting accepted into any school. If all else fails by April first, I've looked into other school that have app deadline due in may (NewSchool in San Diego, CA) - they're probably one of the worst school, but I can always consider transferring.
You say late late late bloomer. How old are you? A lot of us are "late late late".
Also, CU? Which school exactly?
To answer your questions, I don't think it would be too difficult to get into a good school. Some of your story is vague. What is your GPA? Where did you go for undergrad? Also, do you have more work to show besides art? You mentioned drawing rockets - do you have anything you could show that displays your technical sensibilities? This is not always a problem with portfolios, but it could help.
I'm sorry, I didn't want to make my story too long as it.
My portfolio hopefully does show some drawing skills as required in most, if not all, the schools I've looked into for non-archs. As far as the technicality in any of my work, very little whatsoever - after all, these work were done 5-8 years ago during which I was in high school. My computer piece which I've posted was done a few weeks ago. I try to protray realism in most of my work by focusing on details, colors etc - that's as technical as I'm able to present considering I didnt take any art courses when I was an undergrad. I recieved credits for my GE art requirements from the AP classes I took in hs.
I'm 23 years of age and recently recieved my degree in biological sciences at UOP. My gpa is about a b- avg. In my statement, I did emphasize what I want to get out of architecture with my degree that I have - physical sciences (physics, etc) taught me to think critically and logically, things like that and how I'm able to relate my minor in philosophy to architecture. I also have mentioned during the years I've volunteered at a hospital, I was exposed to the special needs of patients who were old and disabled - seeing that, I wanted to not only make retirement homes or medical clinics functional for the older generation, but to make it aesthetically pleasing as well.
that whole techical drawing of rockets and such were things I did when I was younger, but grew out of as my parents strayed me away from that interest.
As far as CU - university of colorado at denver; college of architecture and planning.
I'm assuming UOP is the University of the Pacific.
If so, there are many things you can do... a lot of community colleges in the area have architecture courses or Architecture majors. CCSF has an architecture program, Diablo Valley College has one too. There are so many amazing resources in that area, it isn't funny. If you are interested send me an e-mail, I would be happy to help.
I wouldn't go to New School simply because you can do more in the area and save money by staying local...that is of course if we are talking about the same UOP.
Anyway, if you don't get in to the schools you have applied to, this is a really strong option.
same for me garpike. i didn't start architecture undergrad til i was 22. didn't hurt at all, in fact probably helped to be older.
i don't quite know what the criterion is for students going into grad school from non-arch background. some of the best students in my school went that route though, so not an issue.
as for dwgs, it is too bad they are from 4 years ago. they are alright, show some technical skills, but not much expression. that is they are about being dwgs, not about an idea you want to show, so it is really hard to get an idea about your approach to creativity as a personal pursuit. no idea if that would be an issue or not...
shitty about the parents. no idea what to say except that i have been on my own since 17 and paid for uni by myself, grad and undergrad, without much undue strain. so it is certainly possible.
lmai, when i was in grad school, i met this guy who started his undergrad when he was 45....he had a degree in art buyt he wanted to do an undergrad again...
lmai, are you asian? cause a lot of us asians tend to suffer from parents who want us to be in better-paying fields. they have a good point but again, it's definitely what YOU want to do. keep in mind that architecture doesn't pay that well and the journey is long but if you enjoy it, i think it's definitely worthwhile.
your work looks great. i don't know much about the transfer process but for freshman students, Cornell doesn't really look for technical drawings. they look mainly for creativity/ideas in portfolios. your statement sounds awesome..i think you should've included most of that in your application.
i don't think your grade would matter that much for architecture, since architecture and the sciences are very different fields. your portfolio however will be very important. i think your ideas, and how you process your ideas onto paper/form/etc will be most important.
if you're going to cornell school of architecture, i'll see you there. i'll be a freshman. if you have to sustain yourself financially, keep in mind, cornell is expensive..especially if you'll be there for 5 years...and starting salary for architects aren't that great. but from what everyone i've talked to who has been to cornell, they absolutely loved their experience at cornell.
no bf should dump you simply because you don't know what to do in life. besides, you KNOW what you're doing in life..by choosing to do what you enjoy doing.
wow justin, freshman grad? Cornell is already mailing out acceptance letter? Congrat! and yes I am asian. I'm not concern with the salary of an architect - as long as I can get by doing what I enjoy doing, I wouldn't be any more satisfied. Thanks for the support and everyone else who contributed; it was very helpful.
and thanks jDesP, I'll take your advice in consideration when I get all the rejection letters in the mail. I went to Univ. of the Pacific; totally forgotten about Univ. of Phoenix. We had to change our email address from -----@uop.edu to ------@pacific.edu
i applied early decision, and the notices come out mid-december. but of course, early decision is for undergrads only. will you be pursuing a M.arch degree? that would make sense in your case. in cornell, you're required to write a book for your masters.
regular decision notifications dont' come out til march or april.
i usually worry whether what i'm doing (choosing architecture) is the right thing or not and it usually sucks because i don't really enjoy anything else but architecture and following architecture is a risky path i guess..ppl complain a lot in architecture b/c of low pay/long hours but you know well that pursuing something else that you won't enjoy sucks as well. i think doing what you enjoy is worth it in the end..after all, we only have one lifetime to spend
don't be so pessimistic! but if the colleges you mentioned didn't work out for you, i'd highly recommend university of arizona
i might be biased since i come from arizona, but u of a has a reputable architecture program and it's far cheaper than the schools you've mentioned. and the weather is not like the east coast...it's warm and sunny.
u of a has had some great architects, like rick joy.
you'll like arizona landscape too. i'm going to def miss the environment here.. =(
You draw well (nice plastic bags, nice orange). You should get in somewhere good but it is going to be tough to catch up to the people who have been doing the architecture stuff for longer and are just better versed in the techniques. Expect a rough first year but hang in there if it’s what you want to do.
Good riddance to the boy friend. Nobody cool knows what they want to be at 23. In any case, as long as you don’t mind them a bit on the nerdy side, any architecture school worth its salt is going to be chock full or cutie boys. You’ll be glad you’re single.
I recently had a conversation with the admissions people are NewSchool, and I was told that the program is night-oriented so that most students can work at firms during the day. Apparently because most students are working while they're studying they are eligible for licensure sooner because they have most of their IDP hours completed by or shortly after graduation. I know that Boston Architectural Center also makes a similar claim. Does anyone know anything about this?
i wanna know where lmai ended up getting accepted.
and i too dont think 23 is old....shit, i'll be starting my MArch at 30. but i do already have an MLA. I worry that i wont be able to keep the energy levels up to par with the early 20's crowd. oh well.
Late Bloomer
I'm quite a late late laate bloomer; I didn't decide to want become an architect until a month ago so I can sympathize what many of you are going through as far the application processes.
I intentionally had plans to become an optometrist with a bio degree bc it was my parents wish for me to be a health professional. Coming from a traditional family background, it was extremely difficult for me to convince my parents I didn't want to be a health professional of any sort. I had to sacrafice myself from any further parental support after I decided to leave my parents and persuade my passion in creative design. I have always been interested in the area of engineering and design since second grade; I was the only girl in my second grade class who drew layouts of rockets and airplane in hope I would someday be able to build them.
When I started high school, I asked my parents if I could major in engineering, but they wouldn't let me bc they believe it was something the males should be interested in. So I did fine art all four years of my high school and loved it; of course my parents were never too happy about it and told me to not take any art classes during my undergrad.
I was quite miserable during my years as an undergraduate; I was a bio major and didn't like regurgitating facts without understanding the logic, etc. I also minored philosophy and loved it. I recently interned at an optometry office and hated it.
Since the of middle december, I was going through a terrible point in my life - my parents gave me to two options: either I recieve parental support from them if I go into optometry or not recieve any support if I decide to do something else. I had to leave. At around the same time, my bf dumped me after being together for 2 and half years mainly bc I couldn't get my act together as far as finding what I wanted to do in life.
Not too long after, I read some scriptures and understood why God had me go through all that trouble. If it wasn't for him, I wouldnt have thought about architecture as a potential career. I've never felt so eagered and anxious in my future plan to become in an architect.
That is my story in a nutshell. Most of what I've said, I didn't include in my statements. But so far, I've completed 3 applications and in the process of finishing another 3; it was a painful process as far writing my statement and putting together a portfolio. Most of my portfolio pieces are works I did in high school and a few from my sketchbook I've kept during my undergrad. After discovering this site, I can get a sense of where I stand among all the other applicants. My chances aren't high after going through some of portfolios that were posted, but I did the best I could in the last three and half weeks.
The schools I've applied/applying: Yale (the only reason I applied bc my hs art instructor who I've known for 8 years; her sister use to be a previous faculty member at the school of design - hopefully, she can put in some good words for me.), Cornell, PennDesign, WU at St. Louis, UIC, & CU.
As far my application:
my gpa isn't that great, the science courses didnt represent the best of my academic ability.
GRE - I have 9 days to study for. I don't know where I stand if I took it late.
Recommendation letters - all turned in for yale and cornell, Im not sure about penndesign (I hope my professor recieved his email after his trip to s. america)
Statement - Everyone who's read it, liked it, but assume it wouldn't stand out among all the applicants
and the Portfolio - The exterior looks great imo, but the interior - I'm not too sure about. I can post some of what I've included:
http://lmai.pbwiki.com/f/12.jpg (watercolor, prisma)
http://lmai.pbwiki.com/f/2ffe.jpg (watercolor)
http://lmai.pbwiki.com/f/arch.JPG (Adobe Photoshop)
http://lmai.pbwiki.com/f/cow.jpg (Ink)
http://lmai.pbwiki.com/f/ducks.jpg (prisma, airbrust)
http://lmai.pbwiki.com/f/life.jpg (prisma)
I was wondering if I can get me some feedbacks or comments in regards to my chance of getting accepted into any school. If all else fails by April first, I've looked into other school that have app deadline due in may (NewSchool in San Diego, CA) - they're probably one of the worst school, but I can always consider transferring.
You say late late late bloomer. How old are you? A lot of us are "late late late".
Also, CU? Which school exactly?
To answer your questions, I don't think it would be too difficult to get into a good school. Some of your story is vague. What is your GPA? Where did you go for undergrad? Also, do you have more work to show besides art? You mentioned drawing rockets - do you have anything you could show that displays your technical sensibilities? This is not always a problem with portfolios, but it could help.
sounds very dickensian...
I'm sorry, I didn't want to make my story too long as it.
My portfolio hopefully does show some drawing skills as required in most, if not all, the schools I've looked into for non-archs. As far as the technicality in any of my work, very little whatsoever - after all, these work were done 5-8 years ago during which I was in high school. My computer piece which I've posted was done a few weeks ago. I try to protray realism in most of my work by focusing on details, colors etc - that's as technical as I'm able to present considering I didnt take any art courses when I was an undergrad. I recieved credits for my GE art requirements from the AP classes I took in hs.
I'm 23 years of age and recently recieved my degree in biological sciences at UOP. My gpa is about a b- avg. In my statement, I did emphasize what I want to get out of architecture with my degree that I have - physical sciences (physics, etc) taught me to think critically and logically, things like that and how I'm able to relate my minor in philosophy to architecture. I also have mentioned during the years I've volunteered at a hospital, I was exposed to the special needs of patients who were old and disabled - seeing that, I wanted to not only make retirement homes or medical clinics functional for the older generation, but to make it aesthetically pleasing as well.
that whole techical drawing of rockets and such were things I did when I was younger, but grew out of as my parents strayed me away from that interest.
As far as CU - university of colorado at denver; college of architecture and planning.
I'm assuming UOP is the University of the Pacific.
If so, there are many things you can do... a lot of community colleges in the area have architecture courses or Architecture majors. CCSF has an architecture program, Diablo Valley College has one too. There are so many amazing resources in that area, it isn't funny. If you are interested send me an e-mail, I would be happy to help.
I wouldn't go to New School simply because you can do more in the area and save money by staying local...that is of course if we are talking about the same UOP.
Anyway, if you don't get in to the schools you have applied to, this is a really strong option.
i dont think 23 is late...
23 isn't late at all.
I'll be starting my grad studies just as I'm turning 28. Maybe not ideal, but better late than never!
23 is quite young. I was 22 when I started my architecture undergrad! Grad was at 25.
same for me garpike. i didn't start architecture undergrad til i was 22. didn't hurt at all, in fact probably helped to be older.
i don't quite know what the criterion is for students going into grad school from non-arch background. some of the best students in my school went that route though, so not an issue.
as for dwgs, it is too bad they are from 4 years ago. they are alright, show some technical skills, but not much expression. that is they are about being dwgs, not about an idea you want to show, so it is really hard to get an idea about your approach to creativity as a personal pursuit. no idea if that would be an issue or not...
shitty about the parents. no idea what to say except that i have been on my own since 17 and paid for uni by myself, grad and undergrad, without much undue strain. so it is certainly possible.
good luck.
lmai, when i was in grad school, i met this guy who started his undergrad when he was 45....he had a degree in art buyt he wanted to do an undergrad again...
lmai, are you asian? cause a lot of us asians tend to suffer from parents who want us to be in better-paying fields. they have a good point but again, it's definitely what YOU want to do. keep in mind that architecture doesn't pay that well and the journey is long but if you enjoy it, i think it's definitely worthwhile.
your work looks great. i don't know much about the transfer process but for freshman students, Cornell doesn't really look for technical drawings. they look mainly for creativity/ideas in portfolios. your statement sounds awesome..i think you should've included most of that in your application.
i don't think your grade would matter that much for architecture, since architecture and the sciences are very different fields. your portfolio however will be very important. i think your ideas, and how you process your ideas onto paper/form/etc will be most important.
if you're going to cornell school of architecture, i'll see you there. i'll be a freshman. if you have to sustain yourself financially, keep in mind, cornell is expensive..especially if you'll be there for 5 years...and starting salary for architects aren't that great. but from what everyone i've talked to who has been to cornell, they absolutely loved their experience at cornell.
no bf should dump you simply because you don't know what to do in life. besides, you KNOW what you're doing in life..by choosing to do what you enjoy doing.
Good luck! and God bless
wow justin, freshman grad? Cornell is already mailing out acceptance letter? Congrat! and yes I am asian. I'm not concern with the salary of an architect - as long as I can get by doing what I enjoy doing, I wouldn't be any more satisfied. Thanks for the support and everyone else who contributed; it was very helpful.
and thanks jDesP, I'll take your advice in consideration when I get all the rejection letters in the mail. I went to Univ. of the Pacific; totally forgotten about Univ. of Phoenix. We had to change our email address from -----@uop.edu to ------@pacific.edu
i applied early decision, and the notices come out mid-december. but of course, early decision is for undergrads only. will you be pursuing a M.arch degree? that would make sense in your case. in cornell, you're required to write a book for your masters.
regular decision notifications dont' come out til march or april.
i usually worry whether what i'm doing (choosing architecture) is the right thing or not and it usually sucks because i don't really enjoy anything else but architecture and following architecture is a risky path i guess..ppl complain a lot in architecture b/c of low pay/long hours but you know well that pursuing something else that you won't enjoy sucks as well. i think doing what you enjoy is worth it in the end..after all, we only have one lifetime to spend
best of luck!
don't be so pessimistic! but if the colleges you mentioned didn't work out for you, i'd highly recommend university of arizona
i might be biased since i come from arizona, but u of a has a reputable architecture program and it's far cheaper than the schools you've mentioned. and the weather is not like the east coast...it's warm and sunny.
u of a has had some great architects, like rick joy.
you'll like arizona landscape too. i'm going to def miss the environment here.. =(
You draw well (nice plastic bags, nice orange). You should get in somewhere good but it is going to be tough to catch up to the people who have been doing the architecture stuff for longer and are just better versed in the techniques. Expect a rough first year but hang in there if it’s what you want to do.
Good riddance to the boy friend. Nobody cool knows what they want to be at 23. In any case, as long as you don’t mind them a bit on the nerdy side, any architecture school worth its salt is going to be chock full or cutie boys. You’ll be glad you’re single.
Im 26 and im going to do my M Arch after im 50..IF
I recently had a conversation with the admissions people are NewSchool, and I was told that the program is night-oriented so that most students can work at firms during the day. Apparently because most students are working while they're studying they are eligible for licensure sooner because they have most of their IDP hours completed by or shortly after graduation. I know that Boston Architectural Center also makes a similar claim. Does anyone know anything about this?
thought that i should revive this thread.............
Pretty inspiring story for all those wannabe architects who are not quite making it.........
what do you mean "aren't quite making it?"
it's not a pop idol contest...
i wanna know where lmai ended up getting accepted.
and i too dont think 23 is old....shit, i'll be starting my MArch at 30. but i do already have an MLA. I worry that i wont be able to keep the energy levels up to par with the early 20's crowd. oh well.
Irie Irene feeds the youth inside us all...
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