I have always been curious about what other schools' acceptance letters said. I see it as their final pitch to get you to attend, and I am interested in what schools have to say (or more accurately, sell).

Here's mine from YSOA:

Congratulations on your admission to Yale School of Architecture, Class of 2015. You have every reason to feel proud of your accomplishments and we look forward to having you here in New Haven next year as a first year student in our M.Arch. I program. It is our mission to educate architects who are thinkers and makers – architects who will lead the profession in the years to come. Our School’s special assets are many, none more valuable than the students who elect to study here—who choose Yale as a community of highly qualified creative individuals. We hope you will become part of our community.

I am sure that you have many questions about the School and your place in it. Soon, you will hear from Mark Foster Gage, Chair of Admissions, who will supply the details of your admission, but I would like to highlight a few things that may be of particular interest. The open, interactive nature of our classrooms, studios and lecture programs, enables the widest possible exchange of ideas. Our world-class design faculty, including Fred Koetter, Alan Plattus, Keller Easterling, Peggy Deamer, Peter Eisenman, Joel Sanders and Mark Foster Gage, is complemented by an unmatched roster of renowned professionals and scholars from allied fields, including Michelle Addington, who leads our initiatives in sustainable architecture, Elihu Rubin, Alex Garvin, Kevin Gray, Todd Reisz, and Dolores Hayden who constitute the core of our faculty in urbanism, development and finance. Additionally, you will encounter an exceptional roster of visitors offering advanced studios including: Tod Williams and Billie Tsien; Thomas Beeby; John Patkau; Carie Penabad and Adib Cure; Diana Balmori; Massimo Scolari; Greg Lynn; Alejandro Zaera-Polo; Stefan Behnisch; Tom Wiscombe; Gregg Pasquarelli; Leon Krier; and Demetri Porphyrios. Historians Stanislaus von Moos and Mario Carpo will also be joining our faculty in history and theory that includes Kurt Forster, Ariane Lourie Harrison, Emmanuel Petit and Karla Britton.

Our core curriculum combines academic and studio work with a unique experience in the field: the Vlock First Year Building Project, which enables the entire class, working in consultation with faculty and community clients, to participate in the design and construction of an affordable house. The core studio sequence is complemented by courses in history, theory, urban development, materials and building technology as well as courses in graphic representation that range from hand drawing to work in digital media.

Our fabrication facilities are second to none. We take great pride in our digital labs incorporating the most advanced equipment available including a 7-axis robotic arm, four CNC mills, a multi-axis foam cutter, two 3-D plastic printers, a 3-D powder based printer, two 3-D laser scanners, nine laser cutters, a 2-D plasma cutter, and a waterjet cutter all of which will enable you to explore the widest range of fabrication techniques in seminar/workshop courses led by John Eberhart, Mark Foster Gage, Brennan Buck, Kevin Rotheroe and others.

The enclosed copy of the most recent Retrospecta conveys Yale’s diversity and vitality. But even better, I urge you to directly experience our School by coming to New Haven for Open House on 12 April when students and faculty will be here to answer your questions and you will have an opportunity to visit classes, studios, laboratories and fabrication facilities. A highlight of your day in New Haven will be our current exhibition, “Massimo Scolari: The Representation of Architecture”, and an opportunity to attend one of our evening public lectures, a conversation between Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor, Frank O. Gehry and the critic Paul Goldberger. ‘

I look forward to meeting you in New Haven on 12 April and am delighted by the prospect of your joining us in New Haven next fall. Welcome to Yale. Sincerely,

Robert A.M. Stern