Either - they're both good programs.

I've heard of CU being basically a graphic design program (opinion of grads and faculty there) without much critical theory and my own experience there was that. I went there for 1...count it...1 semester. I thought it was really silly. That was as an undergrad and their grad program is a lot better than the undergrad. This thing happened while I was there...I was hanging out in studio (not my studio) and my friend had a crumpled up piece of trace on his desk. He was freaking out and working like crazy on this drawing. The ta came in and started gushing over it. The crumpled piece of trace - not the drawing. Saying how amazing it was and how smart it was to do it that way. It was pathetic. He scraped his drawings and focused on the ball of paper that was completely without program or intention. It was exactly what I think is wrong with architecture. It was just sculptural...which is sculpture and not architecture in my opinion. Everything I saw was like that.

It will make you really really employable.

GSD - I have never taken a class there.

LOL!

Actually, that's frightening. It's just like that Simpson's episode featuring Frank Gehry.

I have a theory.

There are two kinds of people in this world: irresponsible and boring.

O.k. Maybe not, but it's something I came up with when I was 22 that doesn't seem too far off. What do you guys think?

BTW, I am leaning towards boring.

def columbia no?
I wasn't too impressed with the quality of work at GSD for m.arch.
honestly dissappointed. I was at GSD for their reviews- The on going crits were pointless. well thats my thought. Columbia can accomodate better critics from the city fast- hence constant good feed backs + better connections

In about three hours, I'm going to hop out of bed, open the front door, and find an acceptance letter in the mailbox.

Right?

Right.

Now, back to bed for me. For everybody else, good luck today!

I'm getting the feeling that anyone who hasn't heard from GSD is now waiting for a rejections letter.

Back from Chicago and the green river. Congrats to everyone for everything good that happened in the past few days.

Still no mail for me. *annoyed*

baboomba, I'm going to play devil's advocate and remind you that a good work experience can be as rewarding as a trip to grad school :oP I know you have your heart set on it though. Still, I think that turning down the job should be your decision and not because they kicked you out of the building because you smelled like beer and had nothing to present.

Wow, it just took me a realllllllly long time to update myself on this thread. Been in Atlantic City since Friday...Luckily I didn't lose any money.

Congrats to all the acceptances this weekend!

I returned home from my weekend away to find nothing in the mailbox!! I've been waiting for a package from UCLA for 2 weeks now (since I got the acceptance phone call). I told myself I wouldn't officially quit my job until I had the acceptance letter in my hand. Guess I'll have to keep waiting.

Last night I had a dream that the (male) president of my firm is really a woman in disguise. Not sure what that means exactly. Fascinating dream.

Sorry guys.
i heard so many different stories in here. For those who got any offer from any university. Would you tell us what program and which school you are applying and what package you have received (e.g. letters/emails/ calls...) and also when (please also state whether you are international applicant or US applicant?

Thanks alot

Accepted:

GSAPP --- small letter postmarked on March 12th

GSD --- phone call from Toshiko Mori on March 16th

Wash U --- email, package on the mail, and phone call from the Dean March 2 to March 9


Those are the only schools I have hear from. I live in NYC. I hope that helps. Good luck.

222... I have also been waiting forever for the package from UCLA... I don't know how they expect us to make the open house on april 1 and 2 when they can't even get us information for the open house 12 days before it starts... I live half way across the country and I its somewhat frustrating. It will definitely be re-assuring when it arrives. Is that the program you thing that you are going to go to next year?

BTW folks, I hear from an inside source MIT is making final decisions now. So expect things in the mail from them next week.

How can I not have heard from a SINGLE architecture program yet? I mean, I'd be happy to go to UCLA for urban planning--it's one of the best programs--but does that mean I don't deserve to hear replies? No, no it does not.

Jamediri - Good to hear I am not the only one waiting for the UCLA package. Maybe today is the day? My friend got hers on Saturday, but she lives in LA so maybe it needs an extra day to get to where you or I live (I'm in NY). I am 99% sure I will be going to UCLA, but unfortunately I can't go to the Open House because it is Passover and I celebrate that with my family.

I have some old bike messenger friends who are both at UCLA now, one of whom is actually in the urban planning deparment. I'm SUCH a Boston girl, and I can't see myself living in L.A. for realz, but it's only two years, you know? Anything is okay for two years.

Anybody who has heard something from UCLA--have you received financial info?

nobody has any thoughts on my dillemma? It got eclipsed by a GSD vs. Columbia discussion?

isn't ucla a three year program wellywellwell? at least for architecture

I just re-read your earlier post, and I empathize with your dilemma. Speaking only for myself, I'm looking at grad school as a way to move beyond my normal comfort zone and gain some exposure to ideas that I haven't dealt with very much so far. I generally have a very technical/pragmatic approach to design right now (must be all my years as a CAD monkey), and I'd probably very comfortable in a more technical-oriented program such as IIT, but I doubt I'd really broaden my horizons all that much. So I'm making a deliberate effort to apply to more theory-driven, design-oriented schools such as Cornell, et al so that my overall education is more rounded and that I'm exposed to a much broader range of ideas.

So all that's just a long way of saying that I'd be more inclined to go with something new and different in grad school, rather than more of the same. But your mileage may vary.

Monday's come and gone. Still no letter in the mail box here in Singapore. Sob sob.

jamediri: I applied to concurrent/dual degree programs at all my schools, but in some cases you are accepted to each program separately. The urban planning masters is only two years. I think the combo arch/up degree takes approximately 4 years to complete at most places. *shudder*

Well, somebody on the gradcafe site reports being rejected by GSD via email on March 9th. I haven't been accepted or rejected yet, so hopefully I'm still in a couple of "maybe" piles.

is it safe to say that if i haven't received a letter from columbia yet, it's a 'no'?

colddarker, non-ap m.arch 1 programs, live in the us:

YAY
gsd - phone call, 03.16
risd - phone call, 03.17
michigan - packet, 03.09
parsons - phone call, 03.03

NAY
princeton - email, 03.15

???
columbia (doesn't look good...)
upenn
mit
pratt
yale (doesn't look good...)

rationalist, i feel that since you are already very talented at the business and practical side of things, grad school should be your chance to push your limits and discover your potential. if you're a smart individual, you will always learn the ins and outs of running a successful business. it's just my personal opinion, but i think it would be a waste of money to just go to some trade school instead of studying the intangible art of something. you have the rest of your life to be enslaved by capitalism, if anything at all, use your money to buy some freedom.

oh, my. I must have accidentally grossly misrepresented UW if that's the reaction I'm getting.... it's not no creativity vs. all creativity, it's just that UW isn't going to be having me design any ads, band posters, etc. like an art school. They'd have me designing posters on global warming, and websites about the university's sustainable efforts, and political posters. So it's not that UW doesn't encourage creativity at all, it's that it's just a little more hampered by the concerns of the real world, whereas art schools typically pick the assignments with the fewest restrictions.

I want to know how do you think M.Arch program at Cornell.
It is very hard to gain information about Cornell and I think
it is because its M.Arch I professional program doesn't have long history. I will very appreciate if anyone would tell me whatever about them.

thank you for the opinions, everyone. My above post isn't arguing with them, it's clarifying the position. I'm actually a bit gratified to see that other people embrace that viewpoint, because my boyfriend's immediate reaction was, "well you should go to UW then" He didn't even see where the other point of view came from, so at very least I'm glad to know I'm not creating a dillema where none actually exists.

"it's that it's just a little more hampered by the concerns of the real world, whereas art schools typically pick the assignments with the fewest restrictions."

That is a bit loaded...It could easily be considered more difficult to design for an array of clients that may have focuses that stray from your own personal ideas...like the real world of graphic design, as opposed to a singularly focused goal of adhering to a schools focus...UW seems limiting in that respect, because in the real world graphic work comes from everywhere...and you have to be able to roll with the project and the client.

I am almost 100% set on UT-Austin...my wife is from there and a baby is on the way...we have tons of friends there and I like the diverse opportunities within the program...now if they would just mail me my financial aid packet.

Jason- Yay. Congrats on school and the baby.

Dis- schools have to choose to cultivate their grad or undergrad programs. Columbia for example, is all about the grad program. They give the students lots of teaching positions which means that the undergrads are screwed and have to be taught by inexperienced grad students. but, good for the grad people. Cornell, I hear, is the opposite. Their undergrad is more highly regarded than their grad. It is, like GSD, considered a long and tedious but very thorough education. I think it is a respectable program.

congrats on the baby news jasoncross!

OMG jasoncross. you have a bun in the oven. congratulations!!!!

lol nicey, you and I are like opposite on our respective status. I still have a big ??? on the GSD shifting towards a (not looking good).. but a YAY from GSAPP and Yale... of course a nay from Princeton to mediate.

Anyone else starting to get bug-eyed at how much $$ grad school really costs? =T

hey, jasoncross, now you and the wife won't have to argue over who takes care of the kid in the middle of the night- it's you, since you'll already be awake!

Actually Buckity, at Columbia the undergrad architecture program is completely separate from the grad school. Architecture is a joint department of Barnard College and Columbia College and students receive a regular 4-year B.A. As far as I know, none of the teachers come from GSAAP. Masters students work as studio TAs but they arent the primary teachers. Check out the website

But yes, you are right that the undergrad program isn't too great. That's why I ended up majoring in Urban Studies...

7 months...ultra sound images this morning...I swear the little bugger flipped me off already.

haha! congratulations Jason

oh, and it is a boy...and it is amazing how much it (having a baby on the way) influences my thinking on where I want to end up...4 months ago I would not have thought that it would...as with humans and many of their assumptions, I was wrong.

twotwotwo - I went there and had a class with 4 (broken up into sections) grad students or just graduated grads as teachers. It was lame. There studios were pretty bad. But, in there defense, they aren't even trying to be accredited (or weren't at the time) - just giving a history/theory degree.

Buckity - you majored in architecture at columbia? yeah, they do seem hire a lot of m.arch graduates as teachers. Not people currently in the program. And yes, studios there were LAME. I was super worried about my portfolio until I did the summer program at UCLA this summer.

i had current students - but maybe that was rare? I was only there for 1 semester. Hated it, thought it was a waste, got out.

rationalist: i know this is a bit late, but here's my advice. ask yourself, 'what are my weaknesses and which school would help me in strengthening them?' also, which school seems to share your values (i.e., what would you like to focus your career on?)

Kalyani- not late at all. This is a discussion which can continue for weeks if need be. I think my problem is that the two questions you posed (what school will help me with my weaknesses? and what school shares my values?) do not yield the same answer, and I'm trying to figure out which is the more important issue/question.

i haven't heard a damn thing from any of the schools i've applied to...I have a feeling that this is the week that a lot of us will being hearing news...good luck compadres...(fingers crossed)...

There is this evil rumor going around that last year, after Toshiko's day of calls from GSD, the only thing left was rejection letters. Can anyone uh... suport or refute the claim or at least lie to me and make me feel happy?

Dedalus:

I'm not much of a liar, but we really have two entire weeks before the scheduled day of dread - April 1st - and I'm sure that the admissions process at any university is not as surgical as your rumor makes it sound. Paperwork is never precise, so just try to distract yourself for the next 10 days or so.

Thanks www - thats the sort of reassurance I needed. Fingers crossed.

hey everyone, i too have been freaking out big time since i haven't received an acceptance letter yet (got an e-ject from princeton and am still waiting on yale, columbia, and pratt). i think this week should all bring us answers (hopefully good ones!!!!) but just a little reminder to (hopefully) ease your minds (and i mentioned this before but whatever).....last year i was put on UT-Austin's waiting list.....they didn't send me a letter, i had to call to find out (in late march i believe). after that i ended up receiving an acceptance letter in mid-april! so there is some hope past the april 1 date!

Kalyani - thanks for that valuable bit of info. I had heard something to that effect before but thats the first I've heard first hand.

Just got the UT Austin boot via Application Status Check on UTDirect.