Is anyone on the Pratt wait-list?

theres no reason why choosing a grad school cant be one of those arbitrary decisions that will change the rest of your life. Nevertheless, i too feel a little anxious.

Seriously Sconie - whatcha thinkin'?

That's the nice thing about being accepted by only one school; no choice to make. UT here I come.

tumbleweed- that's funny about the baby, as I had studio with his wife while she was pregnant with the first one. We had a wall of baby-name suggestions for her. I contributed 'Sterling Moss', which nobody else got.

I just realized something EXCELLENT. My office pays for unused time off (both vacation and sick) when you leave. And I have a LOT of unused vacation time built up. Just over two weeks as it stands. So add five months worth of accrual, subtract two or three days for a housing-hunting trip in august, then factor in sick days I haven't used.... My last paycheck is going to be 2.5x or 3x a normal paycheck for me.

That makes me much easier in my mind about some things. For instance, I may have to move to Seattle a month early in order to get residency in time for the Rome program next august. That would suck, but an extra $1800-2400 in my pocket would make it a lot easier!

Just left a hate-vm for Pratt since I still haven't heard a peep from them and kept getting told it would be "two weeks" or "I have no info on your status" anytime I finally got a hold of someone. Screw them! I asked for a refund of my application fee since the understanding was that I'd actually get a decision on my application and they have yet to fulfill their end of the agreement.

Hey baboomba, I'll see you at UT in August!

rationalist--- hey you should also check with your employer about your 401k... we just had a luncheon on it, and so i was curious about what i do with it afterwards (roll it into an ira, cash it out, keep it with this company in case i come back, etc)...
i think i will end up cashing out. so that will hopefully add to my lump fund for grad school next year.

tzenyujuei - everything is a no go. moving on to plans b or c, which is either to take classes at tech as a special non-degree seeking student, boost up my gpa and reapply next year, or suck it up and go to southern poly, get my 5 year and apply to grad schools for a post-prof. degree. emailed stuart romm for his opinion, haven't heard back yet. sure does suck when your life falls apart....

hmm, that's a good point, about what to do with it. I definitely won't be cashing out, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with it when I leave.


I am having a minor panic attach right now.... this scholarship application is due in New York by friday. Clearly states that it is not a postmark date, but a reciept date. I have completed the web portion including uploading portfolio and statement, I have gathered transcripts and my.... one letter of recommendation. My other recommender is MIA! After I phoned him to make sure that it could be done by today, he asked me to email him the details (what it was for, things to mention, etc.), and he hasn't responded to that email or my reminder, or my request to schedule a pick-up time. Nooooooooo, I don't want all this work to be wasted because this guy leaves me hanging. = (

just curious- is this the WorldStudio scholarship?

write the letter yourself, pdf it and send it via email, ask him to sign it and send it back to you in a sealed envelope

or hand deliver it and dont leave until you get a signature. (--psycho--)

yes it is, are you applying too? I was suprised that a scholarship sponsored by the AIGA would include architecture, but whatever. Hopefully we won't be competing against each other, but only against people in our own category.

This guy would never sign something he hadn't written himself. He's normally a stellar recommender- writes my two full pages judging by envelope bulk, customizes every one. When he did recommendations for schools for me, he asked why I was applying to each school, what I hoped to do afterwards and how each one fit into that, wanted a lot of information to base the recommendation off of. He's normally incredibly helpful and concientious, and I have no idea what this lapse is about.

i was going to apply for it--- but i found out about it just a week or so ago and unfortunately that is nowhere near enough time to get my recommenders together. although i do have some on file-- it would still take my undergrad school like 5 years to pull together a transcript (super small private university= horrible registrar's office). so no, i am not your competition...

but good luck! i hope a fellow archinecter gets it!

I found out about it at about the same time, and have been rushing around all week to get things together. I called this guy up specifically instead of emailing to start with so that if he couldn't do it (which I'd understand), I could move on to someone else. It seems like despite my giving him the right of refusal, he's committed to something he didn't really have time to do.

oh, and I just e-jected RIT and SCAD. Apparently RIT had wanted a response by the 20th and emailed me to ask, so I took the opportunity (since I'd lost their acceptance package!) to say "no, I've decided to go elsewhere."

i noticed that some schools want to know why your rejecting them. does anyone else have that option. what are you putting?

sconie - are you rejecting someone? perhaps ucla?

Clairito--ill have something on your desk by the end of the week. i have a good idea though.

damnit sconie! that's not an answer!

(i was going to write something official and boss-like but i'm not that kinda girl)

how about a hint?

Yes, sconie, are you AFRAID to tell us your decision? Chicken?

Sciarc's mascot is the Phantoms..its painted huge is the large open studio space.

I just got back from Houston and had a really good visit at Rice. All of the current students, faculty, and visiting prospective students were nice, cordial, and very helpful. Although I am happy that I will have a few months left in New Mexico to enjoy the weatehr before enduring 2 1/2 years of 80% + humidity.

I told SCAD some of the reasons I was e-jecting them. I left out the part about their crappy reputation though. I said:

(admissions counselor),
I wanted to thank you for your help throughout the application process, and inform you personally that I have decided to attend the University of Washington next fall, so will have to decline my place in the MFA Graphic Design program at SCAD. The reasons for my choice include UW's strengths in my particular interests of publication design and environmental design, as well as teaching opportunities, cost of attendance, and the pre-requisite courses required by SCAD which I did not feel were all appropriate. Nevertheless, I retain a respect for the opportunities available at SCAD, and wish the staff and faculty there sincerely well.

rationalist


I did not have to tell them why, but volunteered to, particularly because of those pre-requisite courses, which little birdies have told me I am not the only one to be pissed about. I've been corresponding with someone else who was admitted there that was told she was required to take SIX pre-reqs, despite (as in my case) some of them seeming to be courses she'd already taken. So I felt that someone should tell them that it's part of the reason they're losing out on talented people whom many other schools want.

sigh... so i'm kind of in a dilemmaish spot.

i've been accepted to pratt - with no money (and substantial debt already).

and from as far as i can tell from the information i have received in the past couple days, i am waitlisted at cincinnati and uf.

while i probably still need to let this settle in, i need to start figuring out what i'm going to do.

the immediate decision is yes or no about pratt. i really liked the school, brooklyn, but the money issue is, well, almost bigger than all of it.

if i don't go to pratt, there's decent chance i won't be going to grad school next year (repeating the whole application process - hopefully - and probably with different schools).

i'm kind of lost right now. if pratt seems like the place, then i want to start pushing to see if i can get any money from anywhere. any words of advice?

I'm curious...is anyone that got accpeted to RISD NOT going?

laurilan- when you met with them was that before or after you were accepted? have you sat down with them in person since acceptance in order to explain and appeal the financial aid offer? (when i say appeal i mean to seriously bring in information about your previous financial student loan debt + current standing and why you want to be at pratt and your loyalty to the program so that should they give you money, it wont be squandered)

ufortunately, i'm pretty far away. i assumed i'd go instate (uf) for cheap, but with that being less and less of a possibility...

hm. flights are cheap... i think i might book...

thanks +i. even if it doesn't get me more money, at least it'll get me a better feel of the campus.

i am doing this very thing at CMU on friday. at the very worst, if they decide not to give you money- you can ask to defer.
in my situation- i know i wont get enough aid to go to CMU for my post-pro m.arch (which leads to a phd)--- so i have accepted at UVA because not only are they cheaper, but they are only a year (vs. 2 yrs at CMU before entering the phd) plus they offered aid.
SO i am going to ask for money from CMU for when i defer for the phd program in a year.

dont beg- but make them want to accept you- tell them they are your first choice. and if they cant offer you money this year, could you defer for them to offer you a scholarship next year

are you taking additional material to show them?

as in a portfolio supplement?
no. i dont have any more to show them--- when i applied i had to send them a copy of my thesis (yes, the whole thing) as well as a copy of my publication- in addition to my portfolio.

i am all "material" out.

after all, i have already been accepted... now i just need to talk to them personally to show them that i am a great fit for the program and that i am in it to win it... but if they cant give the funds (i mean come on- it's not that these universities don't have it)... then i will take my loyal self who does want me.

*i will take my loyal self to a university who does want me.

Well, apparently all it took to get my offer from the Bartlett in the mail was accepting at another university. What's ironic is that they ask me to respond in 4 weeks but it took them at least 6 just to send me my acceptance.

Their syntax in this letter is so cute. They use the word "overleaf" about 5 times. Ah, how I love the Brits....just not enough to take out a loan the size of a mortgage and go there.

And for the last time, yes, I agree, a year in London would be really cool........however, as I have visited all of these schools, I just decided that the 2 year program at USC was more in the direction of what I am trying to accomplish.


peace out

well, I found out why my recommender is MIA- he got called for jury duty. I don't have his personal phone number, I always call him at his office, which he is not at, because he is at one of the many courthouses in the area. If there were only one, I would be down there, having him paged, but I wouldn't even know which one to go to.

FUCK.

tumbleweed -

i stopped by the aud dept today and asked what to do if i hadn't yet received my pin number. they said not receiving the email is reason enough to get a weeklong extension to file those statements. the girl at the desk said to email admissions explaining the situation and requesting an extension.

so... i get home and start composing the email only to check the decision status website one last time. of course, now the letter is there! yay! problem is (and maybe i'm just an idiot) now that i've logged on to ursa etc i can't find the button that leads me to those 2 statements. argh!

also, although i haven't received a financial aid letter, i checked the fin aid website and found not my fin aid offer, but the fafsa information i supplied to them. now i;m wondering about that "change in circumstance" form that other people have mentioned. has anyone done that with ucla? need to make sure they realize i will have NO income while in school and cannot even begin to pay the expected family contribution and they should give me the max in government loans.

any info on ucla "change in circumstance" is greatly appreciated.

O.k. Now I'm going to try to sell a domain name for $250K. Wish me luck.

WHAT!?!?

I love how he just shows up here every day or so and drops a bomb on us.....

You think I'm kidding.

I own the domain capandtrade.com. I know you're thinking "what the Hell is that?". Everyone knows what greenhouse gases are, right? Well, emissions/carbon trading systems that have been established globally, regionally, etc. (kyoto protocol sort of stuff) are called cap-and-trade systems. I reserved the name like five years ago.

I was actually a registered emissions broker in the State of Texas at one time. I was going to make capandtrade.com like eBay for emissions credits, but I couldn't get up the capital. So now, I am going to sell the domain, logo, etc. for some quick architecture school cash. I really believe I have the golden domain name for global emissions trading. We'll see if anyone buys it.

Now you guys have proof that I am completely wacked. Sorry for the diversion.

I believe you. Although I am a little distressed that I don't know as much about this as I feel I should.

Yay! good luck. ;)

Thanks. I'll let everyone know what happens.

Damnit! Why didn't I think of that!?!

Good morning all. Just got back from my east coast trip last night, and I have concluded that it's a great place to visit. Yale is a great school, but it's not for me.

I'm going to Berkeley next year! And I just got an email about a 12k scholarship cherry-on-top. I'm a happy man :)

neat- that's so neat. congrats ;-)

congratulations neat! That seems like it would pretty much cover in-state tuition, huh?

I got the Worldstudio/AIGA people to say they'd accept my second recommendation by fax. Recommender has now set his email to autoreply saying that he'd be reading his email each night after the close of the court day, so I emailed him instructions and the fax number, and just have to sit here and hope he does it...

Congrats Neat, and baboomba.....it's good to hear you are willing to give up so much to get a greater abundance of knowledge and things that your old job could never give you!
a conscience. Well done!

hey, I got a reply from SCAD to my e-ject! They actually said they appreciated the feedback and would pass it on to appropriate parties. So I feel like I may have done a little good in the world today.

ugh! I'm trying to stay positve about Pratt but they are making it so freak'n hard. Just called them asking for information regarding my scholorship and financial aid package as well as an assortment of questions and had nothing answered but was transferred to 3 different people.
Maybe some of you can answer some of my questions?
Can you place out of classes? When and how do you pick your schedule? I'm concerned because I've already seen some classes completely filled up for the fall. Do they have housing for married couples?
thanks in advance if anyone has answeres to these questions and if I do get a phone call back I will post the answers to my above stated questions.

i just talked to someone that i know who's in his first year at pratt. he got advanced placement (had his b.s. in arch) and placed out of one year at pratt. but he got that information with his acceptance. i'm hoping to get this as well.

classes are already filling up? they've got to be reserving some for incoming grad students.

are you close to campus? i'm thinking about coming up and visiting before the acceptance date. i've emailed the director of grad students for arch. to see if he'd meet with me, but he hasn't gotten back to me. i'm hoping i can get a lot of my questions answered in person...

"I'm concerned because I've already seen some classes completely filled up for the fall."

What!?! How is this possible?