HI, my name is Jae, 22 years old senior students in Urban and Regional study
I want to be an architect, I really do, so I am aiming for architect graduate school but my GPA is horrible and I do not have strong portfolio.
By the way, I moved to US 6 years ago, so my english is okay for everyday life and communicating with other people, however it is not good enough to study like native speakers at college. when native speakers take 2 hours to read an article, for me , it take like 4 hours to read, so it is really challenge for me.
Also I could not focus on school because i had to help my parents, I had to help my parents opening a restaurant in the morning, go to class, go back to work, and go to class again. my first semester at college, i got 1.6 GPA....... One night i was driving home from library and i fall sleep, and caused car accident but it was not very big accident (Thank God) ......lived like this for 2 years, and they sold the restaurant so i could focus on my school for a year and i got 3.4 GPA...... but now they opened another restaurant and it is not doing so well, im going through some life crisis and even thought about dropping out of school at the very last semester....
but my thoughts of being an architect never changed......
but last semester at college.... I am pushing my self to 18 credits all upper level class and one of them graduate level course, to make this my last semester at college, but I think im not gonna do well and drop my GPA even lower ( i know its embarrassing but it was really hard for me to raise my GPA to 2.4 from 1.6)
I really dont think i can get into graduate school like this, and going back to undergrad is too risky.
Im thinking about taking Architectural and civil engineering technology program and it focus on auto CAD and architectural drafting.
hopefully, this will get me a job in architect related job, and use that work experience as benefit and hopefully get in to graduate program.
i am really lost with myself.....any suggestion or what i should do ??
I wanted to commend you for working this hard to help your parents and follow your dreams of becoming an architect. Don't ever give up on your dreams, they make life worth it.
A masters degree may be extremely pricey in this day in age. Our profession is not doing well, and it will take time to recover. However, do what makes you happy. Look into which schools in your state have an accredited program and apply. Take time to work on your portfolio and visit the school and speak to professors about your aspirations.
Have you thought of studying architecture in your country. If it is too expensive here, why not look elsewhere to follow your dreams. The practice of architecture is becoming more "global" each and every day. Follow your dreams and keep you options open.
I was considering between structural engineer and architect, and when i did carrer assessment test, i got landscape architect as top, so i set my mind to be an architect.
I love beautiful buildings (mostly modern architects), and sometimes even small detail of buildings makes me go "wow". but i am not very good at drawing, but i love photography and music, and actually took many music classes when i was little, and some photography classes in college. so im little worried about portfolio parts
also do i must go graduate school to be an architect? or undergraduate is enough for someone to get a license?
Im in a architecural technology programin Daytona, FL and i plan on getting job as a drafer, so its a good idea. From what i read on this website learning cadd can only help.
May 11, 12 1:51 pm ·
·
"What to do to be an architect..."
Step 1: Be rich.
Step 2: Graduate from architecture school.
Step 3: Be rich.
If you are rich, you probably could have a 2.4 GPA and cause car crashes by sleep driving and still become an architect. If not, then you are probably better off learning more about the restaurant business and expanding upon the work already done by your parents.
being rich makes anything easier, but for those of us who are not in that position...
you need an accredited degree. nowadays that often means a m.arch, although there are many schools where a 5 year b.arch is also possible.
you can enter grad school to get the m.arch from any education background, but the degree takes longer than a normal masters degree (at my uni it was 4 year program i think, which is shorter than starting from zero, but not short enough to be cheap).
the other option is to go and work for someone for some number of years and take the exams through an experience based route. that is an option only in some states and i hear that your licence may not be recognised if you move to other state, so there are some real restrictions built into the option. but there are a few people on this site who went that route and were happy with it.
low gpa is not good. but if you have crazy good portfolio it might not matter so much. good design skills and critical thinking chops can make up for a lot.
Critical thinking skills - the best students from where I went to school were very sharp and always asked the best questions - we were graded in every class on quality of questions and demonstrated critical thinking skills - are a good writer? - in offices that I have worked, the most successful were very good at writing and critical thinking -
May 11, 12 5:47 pm ·
·
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What to do to be an architect......
HI, my name is Jae, 22 years old senior students in Urban and Regional study
I want to be an architect, I really do, so I am aiming for architect graduate school but my GPA is horrible and I do not have strong portfolio.
By the way, I moved to US 6 years ago, so my english is okay for everyday life and communicating with other people, however it is not good enough to study like native speakers at college. when native speakers take 2 hours to read an article, for me , it take like 4 hours to read, so it is really challenge for me.
Also I could not focus on school because i had to help my parents, I had to help my parents opening a restaurant in the morning, go to class, go back to work, and go to class again. my first semester at college, i got 1.6 GPA....... One night i was driving home from library and i fall sleep, and caused car accident but it was not very big accident (Thank God) ......lived like this for 2 years, and they sold the restaurant so i could focus on my school for a year and i got 3.4 GPA...... but now they opened another restaurant and it is not doing so well, im going through some life crisis and even thought about dropping out of school at the very last semester....
but my thoughts of being an architect never changed......
but last semester at college.... I am pushing my self to 18 credits all upper level class and one of them graduate level course, to make this my last semester at college, but I think im not gonna do well and drop my GPA even lower ( i know its embarrassing but it was really hard for me to raise my GPA to 2.4 from 1.6)
I really dont think i can get into graduate school like this, and going back to undergrad is too risky.
Im thinking about taking Architectural and civil engineering technology program and it focus on auto CAD and architectural drafting.
hopefully, this will get me a job in architect related job, and use that work experience as benefit and hopefully get in to graduate program.
i am really lost with myself.....any suggestion or what i should do ??
Hi choijw2,
I wanted to commend you for working this hard to help your parents and follow your dreams of becoming an architect. Don't ever give up on your dreams, they make life worth it.
A masters degree may be extremely pricey in this day in age. Our profession is not doing well, and it will take time to recover. However, do what makes you happy. Look into which schools in your state have an accredited program and apply. Take time to work on your portfolio and visit the school and speak to professors about your aspirations.
Have you thought of studying architecture in your country. If it is too expensive here, why not look elsewhere to follow your dreams. The practice of architecture is becoming more "global" each and every day. Follow your dreams and keep you options open.
I hope this helps.
first, thank you for your comment,
I was considering between structural engineer and architect, and when i did carrer assessment test, i got landscape architect as top, so i set my mind to be an architect.
I love beautiful buildings (mostly modern architects), and sometimes even small detail of buildings makes me go "wow". but i am not very good at drawing, but i love photography and music, and actually took many music classes when i was little, and some photography classes in college. so im little worried about portfolio parts
also do i must go graduate school to be an architect? or undergraduate is enough for someone to get a license?
Im in a architecural technology programin Daytona, FL and i plan on getting job as a drafer, so its a good idea. From what i read on this website learning cadd can only help.
"What to do to be an architect..."
Step 1: Be rich.
Step 2: Graduate from architecture school.
Step 3: Be rich.
If you are rich, you probably could have a 2.4 GPA and cause car crashes by sleep driving and still become an architect. If not, then you are probably better off learning more about the restaurant business and expanding upon the work already done by your parents.
Yo!
being rich makes anything easier, but for those of us who are not in that position...
you need an accredited degree. nowadays that often means a m.arch, although there are many schools where a 5 year b.arch is also possible.
you can enter grad school to get the m.arch from any education background, but the degree takes longer than a normal masters degree (at my uni it was 4 year program i think, which is shorter than starting from zero, but not short enough to be cheap).
the other option is to go and work for someone for some number of years and take the exams through an experience based route. that is an option only in some states and i hear that your licence may not be recognised if you move to other state, so there are some real restrictions built into the option. but there are a few people on this site who went that route and were happy with it.
low gpa is not good. but if you have crazy good portfolio it might not matter so much. good design skills and critical thinking chops can make up for a lot.
Critical thinking skills - the best students from where I went to school were very sharp and always asked the best questions - we were graded in every class on quality of questions and demonstrated critical thinking skills - are a good writer? - in offices that I have worked, the most successful were very good at writing and critical thinking -
Block this user
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