unfortunately, the columbia cheerleading open house conflicted with the gsaap open house. the cheerleaders are well funded and full of school spirit!!!

i'm sure all the columbiers on this thread will appreciate your comments!!!

i agree and disagree...i was unimpressed by the student work as well, the lack of space is a given and so is the pretentiousness...but, i think the place is what you make of it. and what i mean is the oppurtunity is right to take total advantage of the resources availiable there.

there is no doubt in my mind you can navigate your way through the curriculum in a manner that you want.....which can make all the difference.

just a thought...

wasn't able to make it to the open house. why were you unimpressed with the student work? what did it consist of? on the other hand,one of the major draws are the amazing history/theory faculty since i am pretty sure i plan on going more that route once i get my needed march I.

they do have a nice history theory faculty, but the school seems to be focused the fanatical practice of architecture in a superprofessional setting.

oh, the student work reminded me too much of stuff i've seen undergrads doing about 6 years ago.

I thought that Mark Wigley was extremely well-spoken and that the logic of the course sequences makes good sense. The integration of the AAD program with the final year of the MArch program is an especially positive part of the sequence, too. I had to leave after the morning presentation, so I missed the rest.

Having attended the GSAPP's summer school, I can agree with the lack of space (we weren't using computers, so I can't comment on that), but it's a trade-off for being in New York.

I think that the student work, in the spirit of experimentation, can be somewhat hard to understand or appreciate at times. Ultimately, though, I think that Columbia's openness is conducive to a great education.

Columbia has gotten my deposit. I'll be there in the fall. Anyone else excited?

I thought the open house was pretty informative. I felt like the students were doing interesting, creative work, and the faculty seems young and focused on instructing.

For those unable to attend, i can reiterate that the studio space is cramped, and most of the work is done on the computer screen - not a lot of trace and physical models. Students seemed energetic, friendly and open to discussion.

I'm about 50/50 as far as sending in my deposit. If money were not an issue, it would probably be a lot closer to 100. We'll see, squaredsquared, maybe we'll be classmates next year. Congrats and best wishes to you.

Troutin: Congrats to you, too. Hope to see you there.

I would be VERY interested in anyone's comments as to how well it compares to City College. I've been reading that CUNY has a decent program, but it's hard to check things out from this side of the world....

i was actually kind of unimpressed-i mean, i had a more positive image of gsapp before i visited (absolutely suckered by the fancy-pants booklet they sent out). but at least in the studios i've seen (one this spring, one in the fall) i don't know-everything seemed kind of eh to me. and this whole "we are the future of architecture" pretentious attitude really rubbed me the wrong way. and the entire excuse for the cramped studio space being an advantage. and, from my first visit to nyc since i moved away, i really don't want to live there again, especially if i'm not going to venture from avery/morningside heights. this disappointment was probably exaggerated by the fact that i really liked penn (way more than i was expecting), which i visited the day before. all told, i think at this point, it's penn for me, and this decision seems right.

i did like the mini-muffins and the artichoke hearts, though.

flickbee- what exactly were you unimpressed with? was it the faculty, student work, or facilities?

also, did anyone talk about the kind of connections you would make going to school there? are there a lot of opportunities to work for professors?

basically, i'm between ucla and columbia and i'm still wondering if the difference in price is really worth the money.

shaybug--keep in mind i know very little about ucla and what you want in a school.

i mostly thought the student the student work was kind of unimpressive, but maybe i chose the wrong studio pin-up to visit (i can't remember whose studio it was, but everything looked exactly the same- and other prospectives had a similar opinion of it, too). also, when i was walking around in the studios, well, there was nothing on students' desks that i found particularly impressive or memorable, even. though given spatial constraints, i thought the facilities were good, but opportunities to take advantage of them, maybe not so good (i'm mostly thinking of the stuff in the fabrications lab like the mill and the water jet thing). avery library is non-circulating, which seems like it could be a rather big pain in the ass.

as for non-studio classes-i've actually taken two history/theory classes, both which i liked/liked a lot (including wigley's history of theory) so my impression of the faculty is rather high. the students did speak of the plenty of opporunities for summer work and work after you graduate-but i don't really think where you graduate from (in this case, considering ucla vs. columbia) is going to seriously affect job opportunities- i mean i should hope that if you work hard during school/take stuff seriously, given these two choices, you should be able to find a job that's good for you (however, location wise-like where you want to practice, may be a bigger factor?)

working for profs didn't seem particularly more readily available-it always seems as if you really need to seek it out/it's who you know.

i don't want to persuade anyone away from columbia, but i really feel like it's not the place where i should be

open house was cool. met some ppl, but most were still deciding on which to choose. im in for sure. sure, talked to a few aad students. they love the word 'fuck' for some reason ;s but anyways, what they were working on was 'soso' ...but hey, im going in and giving it what i got, making it impressive for the next years students that are interested. wigley and reinhold were great. both knowledgeable. space? what can i say, its nyc baby. besides im there for 1 yr. i feel im going to learn a lot, gain a lot w/in the 3 semesters. im starting up in june, who else?

i am sad to hear anyone thought of the students or the school's attitude as being pretensious. i'm in the architecture program there, and i've never felt more surrounded by genuinely interested/interesting, supportive people. the students who go to the school are people who really want to be there. i have never had so much fun or been so engaged in my life. if what you saw didn't interest you, then it's just not your thing. and the "fanatical practice of architecture in a superprofessional setting" statement is just a huge misinterpretation. if you mean fanatical in terms of not sleeping often, that may be true. but the faculty seems more intent on nourishing the individual than making the individual superprofessional.

I found the AAD program is exactly what I'm looking for. I agree that the facilities were unimpressive but the resources are available. I also like the idea that Columbia is experimental and focuses on the future. Isn't that what Grad school is supposed to be? You have the rest of your professional career to learn about how a building goes together. After visiting the open house and talking to the faculty is seems as if they prepare the students to be not only architects but individuals well suited to be in the design world.

for those of you planning on attending columbia...

do you guys know already where you are going to live? anyone know any figures? i'm still weighing options with another school and cost is a big factor.

also, i plan on visiting the school on my own (couldn't make it to open house). is there anyone i should try to contact while i'm there? did anyone get a lot of information from a particular student? anything else i should pay particular attention to? i would appreciate any advice you have to give.

visit the housing...or go to the website. they should have sent u that info in ur acceptance letter (housing, pw: ....) students i talked w/ already live in manhattan. im going to live w/ my uncle so no problem for me. good luck

it felt cold and pretentious to me. i HATED that everything was done on computers... i dont think you can learn 3d spatial relationships on a computer screen. i understand the need to practice the method of architectural production in the "real world" but still.

also, the instructors didn't seem too intimately connected with the progress and growth of their students. a lot of the work was not only unimpressive, but also looked very much the same when it came out of the same studio, as if the instructor had told them how s/he wanted it done, what s/he thought was "correct" architecture. preachy instead of nurturing.

it was my first choice before i went... now it is near the bottom.

wow. pretty strong comments, liz... thanks. i like it when people are honest on here. i was intially concerned about their well-known reputation for being pretentious and overwhelmingly concerned with the computer. i'm all about learning new technology and attempting to integrate it as a design tool, but i'm still concerned with the buildability of ideas and practicality as well.

i'm curious... now that you've visited columbia, what programs are at the top of your list?

i am going to RISD... tough choice between RISD and SCI-Arc. i liked these because when i visited, tehy were exaclty the opposite of columbia, particularly RISD: very hands on, your "sketches" are 3d studies and models. the faculty knew the students, and teh students knew the faculty.

i also think at RISD they teach you really how to design, specifically how to think and approach problems as a designer. your foundation is so strong, that architecture becomes like a language instead of a conscious thought process, and that really impressed me.

i got all of this from a number of students i just went up to and asked (to ensure it wasn't just propaganda put out by the administration). different studios, different years. they all reiterated the centrality of this approach at RISD.

Having been an undergrad student in the Architecture department at RISD (and graduating with a degree from the Textile Design department), I can agree and (mostly) disagree with liznieve's comments. It's a question of apples and oranges. Any worthwhile Architecture program, whether at Columbia, RISD or elsewhere will "teach you how to approach problems as a designer..."

RISD's architecture studios (as well as other departments) are founded in craft, not theory. RISD is a great place to go to graduate school if you don't already have a solid design education. It is also a school mired in academic tradition, and (don't be deceived liznieve) one that is not oriented to the students at all. As I have said elsewhere on Archinect, I found the quality of teaching/criticism & student work very uneven.

Columbia, on the other hand, is much more a place where you can develop your own way of approaching architecture. The GSAPP is trying to redefine Architecture as well as the generation and representation of it. The faculty and students are not there to answer questions, they are there to ask new ones. Not all work at Columbia is computer-based (I know someone who did not use CAD at all one semester), and the iterative design process is the same at Columbia as it is at RISD as it is the world over: sketching, modelmaking, drafting, sketching, CAD, more models and on and on.

It all depends on where you are comfortable, what your educational and career goals are, and how you want to spend your time and money. RISD's liznieve's choice. Columbia's mine.

well said ss. i'll be at columbia as well.

deposit due in 5 days, right? ahh!

so would you say there's a lot of FREEDOM to do what you want to do at Columbia (i say freedom meaning that there is less guidance toward a particular direction)? my problem with too much freedom is that you don't get much harsh criticism that is sometimes necessary in order to prevent the further development of a design that is obviously going in the wrong direction.

actually, i had a professor who attend the m.arch program at Columbia and is very relaxed in his teaching style... he saw complexity and interest in EVERYTHING, so sometimes he'd go off on some long monologue about a project... talking about how interesting and fascinating it is, when in actuality, it sucked. so come final review, the visiting jurors rip the project apart. i saw this as a pattern, and was wondering if this is some kind of influence which originated at Columbia.

I wish I could be at Columbia, but the debt factor is too scary, even with some scholarship money. I missed the open house but went to visit studios and found the students really open and engaging, had great things to say about the program, etc. If it wasn't for the cost I would already be decided.

i was thinking about paying for columbia, and started going into shock. i realized that i would most likely have to get private loans to cover part of the tuition, which would mean insanely high interest rates in the end. seems like i would have to make six figures upon graduating if i wanted to pay the loans off within 15 years. frightening.

adrineaa, did you decide where are you going?

still undecided, although UCLA seems like the easy, least financial pain inducing choice, being that I am a CA resident. I am leaning UCLA now, but i keep asking myself if its for the right reasons.

Of the student work up in the gallery at UCLA, I wasn't totally impressed, The studio about the car showroom, totally uninterested. I started wondering if it may be too practical, cause I am really into conceptual stuff and history/theory. But all the same the logical side is telling me it may be the choice.

Did you go to the open house cause I missed it.

same here...ucla is looking like the better option when i think about the money, even though i'm not a resident. but then again, i have all these friends and professors who tell me i'm crazy if i choose a state school over columbia (even with the debt in mind).

you'll see a lot of discussion over the ucla open house through the link below. basically, we were comparing the ucla to the berkeley open house, but it's still pretty informative if you're into either. i liked what i heard/saw at the ucla open house, and felt as though it has a lot to offer, no matter what you're interested in. right now i'm looking at ucla as the less expensive version of columbia, rather than the columbia of the west. i think the core studios are still interested in creating architecture that is more practical/buildable, while the third year research studios offer more of what you're interested in.

also something to keep in mind is that ucla is on quarters, so if you were completely uninterested in the car showroom, you'll be more likely to find something else that intrigues you because there are so many design studios in the sequence.

i feel like i really know nothing about columbia's program right now, so it's hard to judge.

berkeley compares to ucla

shay - thanks for the link

what kind of numbers were they talking around ( all things considered) per year at columbia?

about 31,500k per year for just tuition, which doesn't even include fees...jacked up to 38k for fees, estimated personal expenses (without room and board), estimated books and supplies.

so did the estimated tuition actually go down from the estimate in the acceptance letter? does that 38 you mention for fees include the books and supplies?

basically: 38k + XXk for cost of living?

My undergraduate experience was drawing/modeling intensive. I feel that I have great a great set of skills that involve hand drawing/design ect. Columbia is the piece of the pie that I am lacking... the computer based rendering and design.

I was very saddened when I realized there were NOT ANY DRAFTING TABLES... makes me want to cry - however Columbia will give the chance to explore the other side of the coin in an experimental environment.

They have recieved my 500 deposit... AAD here I come.

ALSO... HOUSING -

I lucked out and got an apartment 9 blocks from Columbia when I was there for the open house... However,

I need to find THREE roomates beginning AUGUST 1ST -- so if anyone going for their MARCH wants a cool, close hassel free place to live just let me know.

If your interested here's a brief description:
4 Bedroom - 2 very big and street facing... lots of light
2 smaller with cheaper rent... cozy and not depressing
1 Bathroom

Updated kitchen - luckily its not a shithole... there are actually new cabinets, appliances and counters

Living room ... well it is about the size of a peanut, but it is nice and furnished well (maximum efficincy)

Overall the place has a great vibe and location (105th and Broadway) good price 600-875.

Email me if you want more info or if you want to see the place after May 20th.

oops. i got the figure from last year's tuition... so the tuition on the letter should be the most current. the 38k figure did include books and supplies, but you know, that could probably range considerable anyway. so yes, 38k plus cost of living.

amanning - i might be interested in the apartment. i'm a female... is that a problem?

hey, just wondering if anybody got info on the arch school being open 24/7? cuz if they dont have that option, i'm going to have to get a laptop to work at home.

Any architecture school that has "business hours" is not interested in its students' development. You can get in the bldg at any time with your student ID. Even without an ID there will be students smoking out in front of the door 24/7/365. Avery Hall and the security offices are the only places on campus where the lights stay on all night, all year.

ya, i kinda figured, just a question. thanks dude

did anyone catch mark wigley's comment during the last Q&A session, "if you got accepted somewhere else you should probably go there because we accepted too many people?" until i heard that i was rather impressed, though the snow during the tour and rabbit-food lunch left much to be desired...

though columbia and ny are hard to deny, i really want to pursue a dual m.la & m.arch, so it's between penn & berkeley, though probably penn due to a full scholarship offer. anyone attend either open house, or have any thoughts?

yeah, reveillette, i thought that was rather, i don't know, inappropriate? it certainly made me feel so wanted.

and for what it's worth, in the fall when i was deciding what programs to apply to, i spoke with a columbia prof and told her i was interested in larger scale type design stuff and she said i shouldn't even apply to columbia if those were my interests (though i did anyway) and really emphasized penn and berkeley as better places for me. so yeah, ultimately, i've decided un penn. good luck!~

He actually said that? I like his honesty and the cut of his gib, etc., but did he elaborate on why they accepted so many people? I hope that the numbers work out by the fall, because I don't want to hear "because your class is abnormally large..." followed by bad news all year long.

flickbee - not sure who you spoke to here, but you can take your studio explorations anywhere you'd like - big or small. it's an experimental place - my advanced studio is designing at the regional scale of asia this semester.

also, you have to understand that wigley is a fan of density, and this being new york, there's a crazy energy that happens inside the cramped studios when everyone’s working. wigley's an intelligent guy, read between the lines when he's talking......

crispy,

Thanks for your interest. If we appeared pretentious, it was because we are better than you. Sorry for the short reply, I need to steal some ideas from books that are 6 years old to make my stripmall model.

It will be fun hiring you. Thanks in advance,

Some Student

man, dont talk like that ...and dont just get an account to just comment like that!! so sad...

Wins in a landslide...

does anyone know if columbia has a room for a prospective student to stay during a visit to the school??

they do not.