ok, I'm not understanding something here. Pratt says that acceptance letters will be out 4-6 weeks after your completed application is recieved, but I got an email this morning that they are not going to respond to requests regarding whether your application is complete until March 1! So if they haven't gotten started until March 1, then they're only giving themselves two weeks to review applications. Conversely, if something (god forbid) hasn't made it in, you won't know until March 1, then you'll have to re-order it, because it will invariably be a transcript or test score, which will take a couple of weeks, then your application won't be complete until the middle of March, and they won't owe you an acceptance or rejection until the other schools will want you to decide already (middle april- May 1). WTF sort of shitty timing is that?

A majority of the admission boards meet around March 1st. Some schools do not review the application packages until that time, which means they have no clue if you have/have not sent all documents.

My assumption is that if you are considered "good" and possibly acceptable, the school will ask you to send the missing documents. If you are not considered a worthy candidate based on the information at hand, you will receive your decline.

Either way, it's all about CYA and making sure you've read, re-read the requirements for application.

CYA?

cover your ass

ahhh..... around here that means "County Youth Authority". lol.

well it is all about the County Youth Authority ;)

well that doesn't make any damned sense!

btw, getting very nervous about phone interview tomorrow.... I have no clue what she's going to ask about. I had a dream last night where it was interview time and Ms. Lupton was like, "rationalist, let's just be honest here. You don't really have any shot at getting in here. Why don't you try going to one of the Art Institutes, or continue on with the certificate program at Otis instead? Then maybe you could get a job in production if you're lucky." She said it really sweetly, and it was devastating.

At least that means I don't have my hopes up overly high...

If they're bothering to interview you that means you're at least in the "maybe" pile, right?

no. The interviews were scheduled before applications were even sent in. Though it would be kinder to call those who have no shot and cancel, but I doubt they have the guts to do that.

Oh, rationalist, that's weird!

I got my postcard back from Yale (self addressed stamped one I included w. my application materials) saying they've received my things.

yeah I know. Even wierder is that it's not with some random professor, but with the program director, who I'm sure from her success has PLENTY of demands on her time. But on the other hand, her last class published a book with her, so I guess this is a little like a job interview too, in that she's going to have a lot of personal contact with every student and be working directly with them on an almost daily basis. It's wierd, but in a good way. The alumnus I interviewed with at the Grad Portfolio Day said that she was amazingly accessible.

In the department of good news: my transcript from hell finally arrived at SCAD, and they will begin reviewing my file tomorrow. They have pre-scheduled review sessions every two weeks (rolling admissions), so if it hadn't gotten there by tomorrow, the reply date would have moved back by two weeks, which I just don't think I could handle at this point.

I didn't send Yale a self-addressed post card but I knew they recieved my packet when my application fee check cleared.

it seems that even when you make extra sure you read the fine print, they are the ones who mess up.... UVA sent me a confirmation that they had received my application package and all relevant materials... I called today to verify my financial aid form was received (this would be the form that was included in the Fed'Ex verified package) and they said they didnt receive it and could i fax another.
get organized... shit

Aye...so glad I'm done with revising my statement of purpose for the different schools...I think if I have to read the thing one more time I'll puke. So now I'm done...kinda...sort of...now I get to start preparing my taxes early for financial aid...great fun. Sorry about the self-indulgent whining; I had to do it somewhere ;p What else can one do...until I have acceptance letters in my hand, I cannot escape the feeling that this has all been an excersise in futility.

Woo, I'm finally finished with apps!

Or so I thought. Turns out NJIT emailed me saying that they were very interested in my application/portfolio, but they wanted me to send about a half dozen more sketches asap. I'm not sure how to interpret this; has anyone else gotten a request to send supplemental portfolio stuff? Maybe it's because I have no architecture background and they want to make sure I can actually draw?

I KNEW I shoulda saved that stuff from high school art class! Now I have to pretend to be creative by drawing a bowl of limes, a random nude girl, and a rubberband ball with some thumbtacks.

But on the positive side, FAFSA says I'm so poor I have an expected family contribution of $0. I knew there was an upside to working part-time at a pizza place and mooching off other people after college.

if you're going to do some new sketches, why not do some things out of your imagination, or strange geometries in perspective. it could be an excercise of concept and creativity, as well as technique!

Awake already, awaiting my phone call.... been tossing and turning, bothering the bf, for the last hour, terrified I would sleep through it. Eek...

I want more snow...I need copious amounts of fresh powder until acceptance and rejection letters arrive.

-goodluck rationalist!

Atleast you somewhat of a response from NJIT OutsideDream, Rather hear something than nothing. Did you receive something previously, letting you know they got all you information or is this the first time they contacted you?

yay! It's done. It went well, I think. We talked, we laughed, she seems like somebody that I could definitely work with for two years. Well, I guess if I could stick out my current firm for two years there's a low threshold for that, but I really think I could like working with her for two years.

She said she'd enjoyed reading my application materials, that my skills were well-developed in general, but that she thought I could bring my typographic work up a bit (but that that was something I could work on in grad school). Apparently there are several architects-turned-graphic-designers applying this year, so she said that could be an interesting slant to the group. We talked about why I decided that graphic design was the thing for me, my work with younger students at USC and desire to teach someday, my theories of materiality and design, pretty much everything.

Apparently they really read your personality from your materials- she hadn't realized that this was a phone interview, so she'd been waiting for me to turn up at her office. When she finally re-read the schedule and realized the mistake, she called and told me "I didn't think you were the type to be late." I'm not, but I'm amazed that someone would form that impression from my application. Who knew?

that's very interesting that she coaxed that impression out of your materials. i wonder what my application would say about me. ... that i always leave things to the last minute?

That was my reaction, too. I'm just so happy that's done with- it was good to hear that the one place she felt my portfolio was lacking a bit was something they'd be glad to let me work on during grad school, and overall she spoke highly of my work. Somewhat like those applying for M.Arch from other backgrounds, I've had no idea whether my portfolio was good, in range, or wayyyy off. Only I didn't have a website like this where I could see other MFA portfolios, so I reverted to searching coroflot for graduates of the schools I'm applying to.

rationalist: I had not heard of coroflot before...definately looks like a good site to be familiar with, even for M.Arch applicants.

Hmmmm, I'm not sure people would get my personality from my app materials. I'm kind of a goof/dufus, but my portfolio/application looked pretty somber :) I wonder if everyone is going to think I'd be serious all the time!!! Hahahahahaha.

namby i would have never guessed your were a goof/dufus from this forum either. your comments are always inciteful and well-written that i imagined that you would be more on the focused side. not that focused can't be goofy but i would have never guessed :)

Does anyone know how stringent is GSD in TOEFL requirement? I submitted IELTS score in lieu of TOEFL score, and have attended English as first language college and university, plus using English in my professional dealing everyday. It would be very disappointing if they consider my application incomplete because I don't have TOEFL score.

I got an e-mail today from UT saying that my application was complete.

fuzzy_atelier:

No idea, but I took the damn test and ordered score reports to both GSD and MIT, and somehow they both can't find it. I checked and re-checked to see that they were sent to the correct institution code...so ETS officially sucks.

If they REALLY like your portfolio they might require you to take the test and submit results later, or ask that you take entry-level english lessons during the summer before school starts.

oh no FROCCLI... I am the person who goatse'd everyone at work (I mean that I showed them the website, not that I imitaed what's on it!!!)... yes I am that person.

Balagan,

Thanks. I really hope that they would consider the rest of my application materials withOUT TOEFL score... or accept TOEFL score at a later date, IF I am required to take the test. I've yet received a reply from them on my appeal. Let's just keep fingers crossed for now. Have you heard anything from them on your application and what course did you apply to?

Baboomba:

I received that email about two weeks ago. It's great to have some communication from the school, but too bad it's not the acceptance letter...

Patiently Waiting!!

march will be terrifying but february is painful ........ blech.

yeah it is... but we're almost halfway through it already! Makes me nervous to think that I should start finding things out within three weeks. EEK.

holy hell its only three weeks!!

SO NERVOUS :( :( :( :( :(

I have a mini anxiety attack at least once a day.

I also dreamed my mother showed up at one of my schools and lectured everyone on why they HAD to let me in because I'm so smart I was potty trained at 6 months younger than all the other kids in my daycare.

ARRGHHHHHHHH.

wow, that one is pretty bad.

I just ordered my last set of slides, downloaded ta/ra applications, and expect to send out my last application tuesday evening. I feel that a drink will be in order when that occurs (away, far away from the computer...).

What? There's TA/RA applications? I wonder if I have those.....

Yeah, I'm freaking out too. At a party last night, all my friends were asking me, where are you moving to? And I'm like, uh, I don't know, but hopefully somewhere.....

UW and RIT both had TA/RA applications, Pratt had a supplemental financial aid application, and I think everywhere else I just had to check a box on the main app. Look in all the little nooks and crannies of the websites- none of those forms were in a particularly noticeable place.

three weeks? what happens in three weeks? march 4th? i dont think we'll be hearing from any schools until march 15th or so. i thought they might not tell us until early april.

then again, if gsd open house is on april 6th, then they must tell those of us lucky enough to get accepted early enough to make plane reservations out to boston. so that would mean to be reasonable people they'd have to tell us by mid-march.

One of my schools said I would hear from them by March 9th. So I'm going to start checking the mailbox obsessively as soon as March hits.

Hmm... If I take this trip to the UK, I'll be away from my mailbox for a good portion of the latter half of March. Still trying to figure out how I should handle that, to avoid going crazy while I'm on my trip.

I just got letters from Harvard and Yale. I'm in!

Just kidding.

i am definitely very stressed. last night i had a dream where i took my dog to a dog park and all the dogs looked exactly like my dog and had the same name and i couldn't find her! then, i found out arnold schwarzzenager was the surgeon performing heart surgery on me and i tried to tell the admin he's just a movie start but they anesthesiaed my ass right away.

stress.

I has a strange dream too..
I was at a beautiful tropical beach picking up giant turtles.
not sea turtles but those huge turtles that walk around and all of them looked like they were hundreds of years old...
I collected thousands of them I think
I cant recall what happened after that

strange...

I *had
what a fob I am...

This just shows that we're all going crazy.

I got an email today that UW recieved my FAFSA and is evaluating my aid application. Also, going to send off my very last application today! YAY! It's almost ovvvvveeerrrr!

No, rationalist. It's just beginning.

ok, well the first phase is almost over!