Anyone waiting to hear from Pratt, I called yesterday and they gave me answer over the phone.

my final list:
yale, columbia, harvard, princeton, berkeley: rejected
penn, pratt:accepted
sci-arc: waitlisted

i think i will stay on the sci-arc waitlist, and if i get in, visit for a comparison with penn, but i think i will send in the deposit to penn after the open house, unless i feel drastically worse about it having visited.

Just got the Rice letter last night. Full scholarship!!!

So now I am deciding between Rice and MIT. MIT offered half scholarship + stipend. Any thoughts?

I will be turning down Yale, if there are any out there waiting on a list.

superheavy,

i think it's used-car-salesman lingo. i was also placed on the waiting list for rice, also for option two.

they said there were only twelve spots. it wasn't clear if that was all M.Arch tracks or just option two.

i've been accepted elsewhere (toronto, cal, michigan) but remain interested in rice. i almost went there for undergrad. i was going to call later and ask for more info about their "special list" and particularly if acceptances off the waitlist receive any financial aid. has anyone else inquired yet...? any experiences to share from previous years?

re: SCI-Arc -- i got the postcard (three times actually) saying that we would hear by April 7 - so until then, be patient. so far, they have not lied about that and at least they gave us a time-frame and a vague expectation on when to hear. i think hearing from all the other schools has everyone up in arms on when SCI-Arc is going to get their *&%$ together but really, they laid the timeline out for us quite awhile ago...

and it sounds like the letters are creeping across the country...

cotd, why did MIT offer a partial scholarship and a stipend, instead of a larger scholarship? the only thing i can think of is that i read MIT stipends are only good the first year, whereas the scholarship can be renewed. if that's the case your aid could drop a lot the second year, so if it was a purely financial decision, rice might be better...?

jualn

the stipend and scholarship is guaranteed from MIT. The scholarship from Rice is based on a yearly review.
I think MIT might be a better all around education......Rice seems to have a very specific pedagogy.

guaranteed every year I am there (2.5 years - AP)

jualn i think i an answer that. After your first year you are eligible to TA, as a TA you get $8,000. You cannot TA the first year so... they offer the stipend instead.

cotd, i think you may want to double-check the MIT fine print. i was also accepted there and offered a scholarship. the cover letter says that the scholarship is good for the 7 terms that i would be there. however, the financial aid sheet says that the scholarship is good for 7 terms IF i continue to demonstrate financial need every year (via fafsa) AND i maintain a GPA of at least 4.0/5.0.

also, the same financial aid sheet (i think it was a yellow sheet of paper...? although maybe i read some of this online) said that if a stipend was offered, it was for the initial year only and would not be renewed. it did mention that after the first year you are eligible for TA/RA positions, although these required 12-20 hours of work per week.

when i read this it seemed to be a school-wide policy, not something specific to my offer. i was a bit put off by the somewhat misleading statement that was made in my letter of acceptance regarding the scholarship and the almost contradictory information available elsewhere.

by manner of comparison, the scholarship i was offered by the GSD says it will be renewed if i continue to demonstrate need and remain in good standing, so i think that that money is just as secure... but they were much more up front about their policy. it was explained in the financial aid materials along with the grant offer, not hidden on a separate page.

i would be very interested to hear if the specifics of your offer the MIT are really different from mine... which would be even more shifty than disguising the scholarship as guaranteed money when it isn't.

well, I received a sci-arc invitation, addressed as "dear student," to attend student reviews or something. does that mean I'm accepted or is that just a cruel joke? hm...

mab82, i got that also, but am waitlisted

jualn

thanks for the heads up.....I will re-read through all the info that was sent to me.

MIT's offer is based on maintaining a 4.0 out of 5.0 scale. I was also informed many students end up taking research assistant positions to cover half or all their tuition. However, you are not eligible for these positions until second semester.

How much are people receiving from Yale?

jualn i have found the gsd and other schools to be more upfront than MIT. Like you said the Financial informaiton was confusing, and the package they sent small (no housing info, etc...). It took me a while to read mopst of the stuff, the other schools go out of their way to send packages with students work, and all types of important info.

The GSD package is the most comprehensive telling you everything you need to know along with Financial handbook, info on cambridge, student handbook, housing options, even plans of the building!

Anyway, I am not chosing a school on this info, but I beleive that MIT has been less than helpful and even hard to contact, while the GSD is much more accessible.

Anyone think that ASU's lack of communication is a reflection on the program? I thought it was getting better...

pmic

Do you know how hard or easy it is to keep the 4.0 out of 5.0. I know the GSD is essentially a pass/fail system. Does the 4.0 of 5.0 mean that you must keep an A average to keep your scholarship?

Does anyone know the grading system used by MIT?

As for more or less info, I agree MIT offered very little. I have the luxery of living down the street and have visited the program and the GSD many times. It is a shame that MIT does not represent itself better to prospective students.....the program seems incredible.

some discussion of the MIT issue took place here: http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=36442_0_42_0_C

also: http://web.mit.edu/registrar/gpacalc.html

also, for the GSD: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/academic/faculty_resources/instructors/grading_system.html

so there is no letter grading, class rank, or GPA calculated but there is distinction/high pass, pass, and low pass, which sounds a lot like A, B, C to me...

Final list for a non-Arch background M.Arch I applicant:

GSD, Yale, Columbia, UCLA, RISD - accepted
Princeton and Berkeley - denied

I'm really between Yale and GSD but feel myself leaning towards Yale (despite New Haven).

Any advice?

from my experience at MIT, the scholarship policy is actually straightforward - it seems daunting in fine print, but it hasn't been a problem in reality. from what I know, everyone in my year has been able to keep their scholarship.

also, TAships are readily available after the first year - nearly everyone has a chance to get one at some point

cotd i beleive the 4.0 is a B average. RNNR would you agree with this statement? You make it sound attainable to keep your scholarship, is everyone in the architecture building constantly.

As for the GSD, having been there and having friends finishing their thesis this semester, the grading system is a joke. everyone gets passes, most everyone receives at least one high pass. I understand there is only folklore about the high pass with distiction mark...like, "yeah I heard a girl got one from Rem three years ago.."

I am down to Yale and MIT as my choices, but the rational behind choosing one over another at this point is miniscule.

I have tried to avoid typing too much into this blog, but these decisions are choices kids work their lives for, enjoy them! Anyway you pick you really cannot lose!

should we spin-off an open house thread with opinions, pictures, etc.....? Specially helpful for those with the Yale/MIT-Openhouseonthesameday dilemma. I am not on that crowd, but thought I would float that idea around. I am willing to post some stuff on MIT in about a week (I will be MIA 'till then).

pmic,

i'd say this is true, a 4.0 is roughly a B average -- which is very attainable, much like a 'pass' at other schools

RL-i visited both yale and harvard for their fall open houses. i thought yale was far more put together with how they were doing things. the students were interested in answering your questions, what your background was, etc. at harvard someone asked a student, "why do you want to be an architect?", which is a perfectly reasonable question. the student just said, "ummm, because it's cool??!" this was the student panel in front of 100s of prospective applicants. the air about the gsd seemed to me to be this haughty attitude that "we don't have to try to win you over because we know you want to come here."

if i had gotten in to both schools, i would overwhelmingly choose yale. the only concern i would have is how the renovation of their building would affect things.

if i had not gotten in at yale and had gotten in at gsd, i still probably would pick gatech (which is where i'm starting in may). i was pretty put-off by the gsd.

YES! I just got a call from ASU! Final count, 4/5...Now I am more confused than ever.

And yes, the ASU program starts at the end of May for non-arch peeps

switcheroo-thanks for the advice. We actually share many of the same concerns about both schools. Why is it still hard to turn down what a friend calls "the big H". Congratulations on gatech, that should be a great experience.

Does anyone know more about Yale's renovation plan?

Dusty, are you going to the penn open house? I cannot make it but have the same decision to make as you (penn, sciarc, or pratt). Sounds like you are interested in sciarc, what are your thoughts on penn v. pratt. Pratt hasnt given me any $$ info yet but offered advanced standing which makes it interesting. Have you recieved a financial aid package from them?

two-headed boy-- yes i am. i guess i haven't completely ruled pratt out, but from everything i hear, the grad program is so new, it wouldn't provide an experience comparable to that of penn. but i am also still waiting on financial info. i got about 10k from penn, and if pratt were significantly more, i guess i may consider it. also, i'm deciding if it's worth visiting sci-arc before being taken off the waitlist, but from some past threads it seems as though it may help my chances of getting in. i am very intrigued by it, though, and if i were to get in i think my choice would be difficult. where are you leaning towards?

RL-at the open house they said students starting at yale this year would have one year in the current building, one year in the new sculpture building (before sculpture moves in), and one year in the expanded/renovated arch building.

all you ASUawaiters--i got a call today saying i've been accepted. the official letters come in TWO WEEKS. lame.

switcheroo-
did you apply to asu's 2 year or 3+ program?

asu 3+

dusty, currently leaning towards penn over sci-arc. I am from California and part of the experience for me will be being in a new place. Plus I have a landscape arch. background and Penn has a good program for that which I would at least be close to if not use some electives for. Pratt is the one thats confusing things for me. the advanced standing would be great for costs and everytime I hear from a pratt student they all say the words, "I go to pratt and I love it". Doesnt have the rankings and reputation that penn has though. I hate to say it but it is a factor. I'll be interested in hearing what you have to say about the penn open house. Do you think you'll take some photos? I've never been to Philly.

two-headed... yeah, i will let you know what i think after the open house, and i'll take some pictures. congrats on the advanced standing from pratt. i've heard from a friend who went to pratt for undergrad that the grad students like that the program is new and have a lot of fun with the experimentation that goes along with a young program. seems like there are very few pratt archinectors, haven't heard much from them!

dusty, if you do not mind... could I also get the run down when you go to the Penn openhouse? Thank you!

regarding going to a program that is fairly new. i am apart of an undergrad that is only 2 years old and I found it very fustrating at times. as teachers and the admin do not really know what is going on half the time. we were in between an architecture and landscape architetcure program and we felt like kids of divorced parents.

sure, they had alot of experimentation going on but some of our classes just had the wierdest structure.

sure no problem puffy

sure no problem puffed

haha tried to stop that first one from sending, - sorry puffed

Well, I finally got the thin little MIT rejection letter today. Just like last year, but with much worse printing quality and the thing was folded way too soon after ejecting from the laser printer...but I digress.

Final tally: 3 of 4

Ohio State - Accepted
UCLA - Accepted
SCI-Arc - Accepted
MIT - Rejected

Congrats to everyone accepted everywhere, and if you weren't, don't despair...just work your ass off next year and it will pay off (speaking from experience). I'll see y'all on the flip side (decision thread)

randar82 - I was in a similar position last year...deciding between RISD and SCI-Arc. I picked SCI-Arc after seeing the lack of the digital influence in the work @ RISD. The price was considerably more at RISD as well, almost twice that over 3.2yrs compared to 2.5 with the March2 @ SCI-Arc. I would do it again a thousand times. Good luck.

RL - as another applicant of non-Arch background, any tips? What kind of portfolio did you have, what was your undergrad? Work experience later?

thanks

I got all my results early in time(2 weeks ago) and finally got all the award letters.

Yale MArch2(2year)-$30000/year
Harvard MArch2(1 1/2 year)-$16000/year
Columbia MSAAD(1year+summer)-$12000/year

I am leaning towards Yale right now. Not only because of the money issue, but also attention they have given me, intimate size of studio(12-17per year) and big name studio faculties.

Any thoughts?! feel free to give me a word of advice.

gyuwuli, go to yale. excellent students, excellent profs, excellent resources, excellent program overall. i would totally go there if i had gotten in. i was even starting to like new haven...

gyuwuli,
God, I wish I was in your position. . . go to Yale!
For those of you hearing from ASU congrats on the acceptance, for what it's worth. It seems us 2 year grad students have to wait a little longer.

switcheroo,

I am also going to Ga Tech for the 3+ program, I was there last weekend visiting and such. Have you figured out where you are living for the summer, I still am not sure what I am going to do. Are you from Georgia? I am from Texas (UT Austin) never been to Georgia before last weekend, I am not sure what I will do. See you there!

asauer-i'm going to stay with a friend in decatur and commute until we find a place. we're gonna look for a place in midtown possibly to buy. i'm from pittsburgh, and i've been to georgia once, just to visit the school a month or so ago. i'm just gonna pack a suitcase and fly down on the 13th or 14th...

switcheroo--Sounds about like me, I may be sleeping under a bridge for the first couple of days. My first time to Georgia was last week when i visited. See you there...

Andrea316, GT+

Thank you for comments.
I will probablly make my decision on the weekend after attending open houses.