I think you should have said something like, "Look, last year you didn't let me in and now THIS?!!"

rationalist, you're totally right. clearly, this is why you are the "rationalist". demmit!

I'm leaving work now. Hopefully, there will be some acceptances in my box when I get home.

thank you, thank you.

Froccli- I wasn't nervous for undergrad either. I knew I had the stats to get in and that that's what mattered at that time. Now it's a little more complicated, but back in the 90's, if you had the SAT and the GPA, you had nothing to worry about.

Goddammit! I'm home now. Still nothing!

namby and rationalist and LIG, you've all met me, I'm graduate school material aren't I? I'm getting a serious complex.

I'm going to go make low-fat cupcakes.

It's ok, I haven't gotten accepted anywhere, either. These people are slow. They're probably even enjoying the havoc they're wreaking in our lives.

On the plus side, I lost a pound yesterday purely from anxiety re: informing my office of this stuff!

For those applying to UTSA, the advisory board is meeting tomorrow, March 1st.

It wouldn't shock me if admissions people read this thread after work and get a good chuckle.

I just spent the better part of the past two hours reading some pages of last year's thread while sipping a glass of Glenlivet scotch... I can't say I feel any less stressed. If last year is any indication, there's a good chance I won't know anything -- positive or negative -- until at least the middle of the month. Where's a crystal ball when I need one?

You guys should start feeling guilty for all the extra grief you will be causing MArch applicants next year. They now have to read through this thread PLUS the 'accepted yet?' thread in a total cold sweat. Shame.

Any bets on how many entries this one will get up to?

hey man, we went through it last year reading this thread...in the true spirit of an arch education haze, it only seems fair that everyone go through this right of passage, right?

yeah, but remember that next year's applicants will read through that thread PLUS two from this year.

Or maybe they are already reading now....

woohoo the big 5-0

Hey - thanks for posting last year's thread broccolijet. It's a little nerveracking but it feeds the addiction.

UCLA, where are you?

i'm right there with you twotwotwo...ucla's my top choice as well. they started notifying in mid-march last year, so we likely have another few weeks of discomfort.

Ok fine. I'll admit it's a little early for this kind of stress. I just really don't want to face the zoning drawing set from hell at work tomorrow...

They just drag everything out! Damn them!

I am going to a lecture with Mark Lee (and others) tomorrow. Maybe if I look at him and think "let me into UCLA, let me into UCLA" he will hear me and notify the admissions committee.

WonderK, yes you are graduate degree material. Forget the lowfat cupcakes. This is full on Fatty McFatfat cupcakes time. I ate a pudding today that was made of chia seeds. Like a chia pet!!!

I also had a WAY "inappropriate" probably anxiety-related dream about someone who is in M.Arch at one of the schools where I applied. !!!!! I hope that person doesn't read this thread. Haha.

twotwotwo - can you also send them a "let namby in to UCLA too" vibe, please? kthanksbye.

I have now done every virtual tour of the UW campus, and am just waiting to book my flight because I saw a teaser for the 11oclock news about how to get the best deals on flights. I doubt they can beat the one I found ($50 cheaper than anywhere else, and leaves me off at LAX instead of freaking Santa Ana), but I'm watching just in case.

Just a thought: this feels wayyyyy more real now that work knows about it and I'm booking flights and actually looking at photos of campuses and such. I'm trying to calm my nerves by getting absolutely as much information as possible on each school.

Okay, my M.Arch. acceptance dreams have officially begun. I had a weird dream last night that I had gotten into the University of Cincinnati, and that I was in the university bookstore picking out a UC sweatshirt and being very excited about going there.

Weird part is, I didn't even apply to Cincy this year.

The morning drill:

Come into work.
Get a cup of coffee.
Log onto Archinect.
Check the commisery thread.
Check my UT application status online.
Check the new Gradcafe site.
Go back to Archinect.
Refresh.
Refresh.
Refresh...

Yes Baboomba! I just got to work and did the same thing. I'm really quite pathetic. I am starting to get sick (throat hurts...sneezing, etc), I can't take a day off because my team has a deadline on Monday, and I am not getting any work done anyway because of this stress.

I will try to send some Namby vibes too. Not to worry.

Do you think it will help me that I did the UCLA summer architecture program last summer?

Sigh. Zoning, zoning, zoning.

rationalist, would you mind sharing some of those "how to get best deals on airfare" tips?

They were crap. They were really talking about vacation airfare, so the big tips were to be flexible about dates and places. We can't exactly do that. The only one that was news to me was that sometimes if you buy tickets straight from the airline, and you see them get cheaper afterwards, you can call and try to get a refund.

Oh, that's no help. Poo. I have a couple travel agent friends so I'm going to go bug them.

Anyone want to let me stay with them for a few nights *if* I get into UCLA? Maaaaybe? I heard UCLA has a hotel on campus so I might just do that, but I guess my priss threshhold will depend on how much the flight costs. Haha.

Gin- All Cornell numbers will come up as RESTRICTED on your cell- so keep your eyes open. Good luck!

twotwotwo -- when i was at the ucla fall open house, they did a workshop to discuss portfolio expectations (i wrote here in greater detail about this back in early november). during the session, someone asked whether attending jump start would give them a leg up and the response was "only in the sense that it gives you projects for your portfolio."

so it doesn't give an explicit advantage, but who knows what happens subjectively during the review process. it would make sense that any jump start work would resonate with ucla faculty from a conceptual point of view. at that point, i imagine it purely hinges on the quality of the work and the presentation just like everyone else, imho.

Thanks for the heads-up, va bene. I took a look at my application because I couldn't remember which phone number I gave them, and it looks like I gave them my home phone number. Assuming anybody calls during business hours, they'll most likely get my voice mail.

But then, I don't really care how they notify me as long as I get in. I'd be perfectly happy with a phone call, email, letter, carrier pigeon, or semaphore signals.

I think I saw that post about the portfolio workshop. I figure it can't hurt... I worked my ass off, got a good final review, top grades, and a rec from my instructor there. I really hope that helps because, dammit, I didn't even go to the beach once all summer!

It's weird to have a first choice school like this because I totally did not have a clear top choice when I was applying to college. It was just like "I'll apply to a bunch of schools and go to the one I like best out of the ones I get into." And college (columbia) worked out fabulously! The whole "top choice" thing is much more stressful.

tell me about it. it's your first choice...it's my only choice.

leaving LA is not an option for me, so i only applied to ucla and sciarc. i won't be able to afford sciarc even if i get in, so any possibility of my future having anything to do with architecture hinges on getting into ucla. nothing like putting all the eggs in one cliche, huh?

did you do Arc as a Columbia undergrad 222? What was it like?

I agree 100% about the whole top-choice thing... When I applied to my first undergrad school, I picked it because it was cheap, it was local, and getting accepted was almost certain. (Totally wrong reasons for me to pick a school, in retrospect, but that's another story.) I simply showed up the admissions office, filled out some paperwork, gave them some money, and began taking classes a few months later. The thought of applying to any other schools didn't even cross my mind at the time.

That's probably why I'm so excited/anxious/neurotic about grad school... This is the first time I've really put a lot of thought into where I end up, and the first time I've really invested a lot of energy and resources in getting into a place that's a good fit and not just what seems like the path of least resistance.

And since the vast majority of my undergrad studies were undertaken as a part-time commuter student, I also look at grad school as a chance to get that real "college experience" that I never had in undergrad, but with the advantage of having a few more years of maturity and real-world experience under my belt.

So, yeah, I'm stressed as hell. There's a lot at stake here.

It's the same for me actually. When I say first choice, I pretty much mean only choice. I am definitely moving to LA (my husband already accepted a great job there) so I only applied to UCLA and Sci-ARC as well. And I really don't want to pay for Sci-ARC, even though I do like the school.

The Kalends of March is upon us.

Roman Calendar

I agree with everyone above except I have 4 top choices. Strange but true and I am still second-guessing myself. Getting into undergrad was no problem at all so I've never experienced this sort of self-consciousness before. Coupled with the fact that I can only talk about it to certain people, I've got a perfect "stress stew" brewing in my kitchen...

I started the Arch. major at Columbia (the undergrad Arch. dept is actually at Barnard), but didn't like it and transferred to Urban Studies. Undergrad arch at Columbia is totally separate from the grad school and, while I enjoyed the intro studios and theory courses I wasn’t sure I wanted to be an architect. I also wanted a more interdisciplinary education. Also, its no fun to major in arch at a liberal arts school where your core requirements and non-major courses are very highly valued as well.

I did go to a grad school final critique once and it weirded me out a little. The whole thing was on powerpoint. I know technology is the future, yadda yadda, but I was surprised to see no physical models or hand sketches at all.

Columbia itself was great though. Great campus and neighborhood. I've actually been living in pretty much the same neighborhood since graduation.

WonderK- you and I are still totally on the same page. 4 top choices for me as well, then my '2nd tier' schools aren't exactly crap either.

Cry me a river, people. C'mon! Somebody post a decision!

Um, I "decided" to reject GSD if I get in. Y'know, the whole LA thing.

Princeton just called and informed me that, even though I didn't apply there, they want me so bad that they're willing to admit me with advanced standing and give me a full scholarship, a generous stipend, and a BMW.

Happy now?

Since we are all already looking at flights, hotels etc. for open houses I wanted to extend the offer of my place to crash if anyone needs it (I have a spare bedroom). I'm in Chicago up on the Northside but only a train ride away from both IIT and UIC. I'm a born and raised Chicagoan so I'd be more than willing to help anyone with any questions about Chicago as well. Good luck everyone

I'm not expecting to hear anything until next week at the earliest, and more likely 2 weeks from now!

But a little bird told me that one of my schools is having their last decision meeting today and acceptances will start going out next week... Just to make you all nervous :P

oh, and back to some portfolio worries.... I'm thinking of putting together a supplemental to my portfolio to bring with me to Seattle. I've been redesigning 'Sierra' magazine in my publication design class, and quite frankly it looks a million times better than the mag layouts I put in my portfolio. So this weekend it's back to the portfolio grind!

namby:

what school is that?

wow, at the rate we're posting, we're totally going to ecplise last year's thread of 22 pages. and next year's applicant's will have a beautiful 20 pages of "i'm so nervous" rants. yeah!

the only time i'll have to visit schools will be at the end of march. i wonder if i can visit informally before decisions are finalized and still get a good sense of the school/cirriculum/people without the organized events/talks.

what are some of the elements of the programs you guys will be evaluating during your open houses?

FROCCLI, great question?

what are some of the elements of the programs you guys will be evaluating during your open houses?

I've gotten the impression that disecting the different programs really is like splitting hairs. As long as you attend one of the ehh top ten schools the programs should be faily similiar (hard and demanding). That being said I guess the 3 major factors I'm looking at are
1. location. At my age I have no interest in spending the next 3+ years in some college cow town doing keg stands. This is why I've only applied to schools in major cities.
2.the money or more like "show me the money". Unfortunately our field suck in regards to earning power. Ideally I'll end up spending the same amount on my graduate degree as my wife, but she's coming out of school breaking 6 figures while I know I'll come out hoping I can break 50k.
3.Attitude of the student body and administration. Although I did apply to Columbia I agree with LIG regarding their "whatever" attitude regarding potential students. I also found most students more annoyed than anything else when you asked them about how the program was going for them (could of been a NY thing?). On the flip side when I visited GSD the administration did everything they could to supply me with information. The students although exhausted from had no problem talking to you and telling you with a huge smile on their face how hard the program is but how much they were enjoying it.
So I guess thats my 2cents

FROCCLI what are you looking for?

right on 2's...kindred spirits no doubt. now all we need are some damn decisions so we can get on with our lives!

alfrejas24 - I think you are right about Columbia. I don't know much about the arch school, since I am not applying there (so tired of Morningside Heights/Upper West Side/Columbia campus!), but the university in general is just not that responsive to student's needs. That can get really old fast. I do get the impression that the administration at Harvard in general is better, based on what I've heard from people in the GSD and people in other parts of the university.

Yeah, my experience with Columbia (as well as what has been mentioned here) has certainly been a big factor in knocking my esteem of the school down a few pegs. The Morningside Heights location is perfect for me, but if I got accepted there, I'd have to think long and hard about whether I'd go.

As I've mentioned before, my experience with Cornell has been very positive so far, and it's nice to hear good things about GSD's attitude as well. First impressions have a way of setting the tone for your entire experience at a given place, whether it's a university or an employer.

Give Columbia a chance if you get in though. They might sometimes have a bad attitude, but I think they have a lot of good qualities too. All the folks in my office with degrees from Columbia seemed to really enjoy their education there.

point well taken 2^3

Money for school:

Tax Rap Contest

Look for the tube sock puppet.