for a moment, i thought archinect has a system which once thread reaches 61 pages, all replies get erased

good luck to you - living in gin

Commiserating has obviously become a way of life for us second round RE-applicants. I feel like part of legacy now.

Oh no he didn't!!!

first time applicant... oh man...i am getting nervous already!
what schools are you guys applying to...or are you not sure yet?
I've been following the 2007 m.arch applicants thread....So much work ahead of me for this next 8 months.
good luck to us all!

Schools I'll be applying to again for certain: Cornell, GSD, Yale, Columbia

Schools I'll most likely be applying to: CCNY, Pratt, Parsons, Syracuse

Schools I may apply to: UCLA, Michigan, Cincinnati, Oregon

This list subject to extensive revisions between now and January.

rinse and repeat.

i'm looking into slovenia...

It's too early to commiserate.

I'm applying this round.

Beware admission directors. Beware.

Wow. I'm in...
I've been a follower of the 2007 version... and am about to take the GRE's. which seems like a waste of my time.
LIG are you still moving to NYC... thats where i'm at!

wicked DAMMSON!!

don't worry about the GRE. you can fucked it up. no stress.

fantastic... because my practice score was 40%-

Do they have Architecture schools in Mongolia?

University of Mongolia : School of Architecture : Yurtski Hall

nice yurt... brilliant idea.
skip the whole school thing.
screw nyc rent- get a yurt and plant it in central park.

hAAAAAA
by the way my math gre score was so low i couldn't bring myself to even tell my own parents, and everything turned out okay for me, so i wouldn't worry about it.

slajov zizek teaches at that skool in sloveniastan!

Rushed applications this round and got rejected almost universally.

Coming back for 2008 with a vengeance.

LiG is my inspiration.

I'm gonna be a 2008er, MArch II.

I took a week off work last month and visited 6 schools which was fun.

Isn't it too early for this shit?

All you have to do is commiserate with the 2007 people and hear what they have to say.

UCLA, Cuse, and Cincy > Parson, Pratt, CCNY

But they are still good.

does columbia have a policy for how many times you can apply to a certain program? what about yale?

i am applying next year. havent been rejected...yet. just going to prep myself

The only school I've heard about having such a policy is GSD, which has a three-strikes-and-you're-out rule. Once you've applied to and been rejected from GSD three times, no further applications from you will be considered.

I suspect they have a large number of mediocre applicants who would otherwise apply every year, year after year, and do nothing but create additional useless paperwork for the school.

Bucku. No. From what I understood from some of the people I went there with and applied like three or four times before getting accepted, there was never a limit. But down the stretch, if your portfolio and credentials haven't improved with each time you apply, one of the admin people will step in and make other recomendations.

One of my past classmates also alluded to a design program he was put into per recomendation of the Columbia admissions committee because of his lack of portfolio. He was accepted right off the bat after he completed a semester there. I wish I remember the name of it.

i dont suppose that i will have to back door it but just in case i may try something like that. like i said i havent applied there yet but will for fall 09 well summer 09 AAD program. i have plenty of time to work on my portfolio some more. i just finished one for job interviews etc. so i have a good start i think. maybe i will post it on the next portfolio post thread.
thanks fellas.

Jank,
Can we get a review on your schools you visited??
I'll be in Boston this weekend- I have family that lives 2 miles from harvard and an uncle that works for MIT... so i'm familiar with both schools... great programs BUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTT. I don't want to live in Boston again. Not ever. I'll suck it up if harvard a. likes me and b. gives me some $$$.
Mit and GSD have open houses today.

for those who have questions that need answering (ie. what is a post-professional degree, where are the scholarships, how do i get licensed, why NCARB is a piece of sh*t, etc)...

www.archvoices.org

Sure clenore.

I'm definitely applying to UVa since I'm a Virginia resident. Phoebe Crisman gave me a tour and I also got to talk with an admissions officer. Since the program is big there are lots of studio options. Most grad studios are vertical and combined landscape/architecture, some are doing design/build while others have an overseas trip.

The studio is a little on the old & dirty side especially with all the construction. The good news is that the additions should be done for Fall 2008. All of the grad students (MArch & MLArch) are in a big two-story space, and the undergraduates are in the floors below.

They don't seem very generous with financial aid. Not even many assistantships, they use mainly work-study and offer just $4000 or so a year.

I visited Yale during their spring break (funny how the admissions person I contacted didn't mention this).

I loved the campus of course. The architecture building is really impressive - a gigantic amount of rough concrete and a good bit more space than at UVa. I pointed out Zaha Hadid's studio and Peter Eisenman's office to my mom, she wasn't impressed.

They're moving out of the building this year for renovations but they claimed they would be back in by Fall 2008.

good to here some poeple didn't ace the GRE's and still got into the schools they wanted. I am sucha bad test taker....i am still studying for the GRE, and my practice tests are not great! But, from what i hear....if you at least get in the 500's for each....you might be okay. Math being a little higher would probabaly be better.

how many of you are applying for the M.Arch II? i saw one person mentioend it. (that's what i would be trying for). I was just wondering, b/c it seems like not alot of folks apply for that program. And from some of the schools acceptance rates...that maybe its harder to get into....???(its seems like there are more for the 3 yr. program, March I)....any thoughts??
Anywhooo...just asking.

AlexandraNY:
I'll be applying for an M.Arch II as well.
I am on the same page as you with the GRE's but the more people I talk to about it, the less I fret. I have a great QPA... so we'll see. I'm not financially ready for this endeavor, but hey. As far as number of acceptances into M.Arch I vs. M.Arch II- i think it really depends on the school... maybe someone else can shed some light...???

I was sort of hoping it would be easier for us with professional degrees.

fyi... take the GRE before end of july, as it is changing... i'm sure you knew that.

I'm in for 2008 M.Arch... although it feels sooo early to be starting my addiction to this thread.

What's everyone up to in the mean time? Most of you working? Still in undergrad and planning on pushing right through?

I'm graduating undergrad in May, currently juggling job interviews/offers to determine where I'll be for the next year.

hi posters,

in the spirit of the grad application process i've decided to commence on the impending heartache and pain i will suffer next fall at the hands of admissions committees. :)

im applying with a non-arch background and have been out of school for 2 years. i figured all of you would be helpful since we're in the same boat...i don't want think about what schools i should be aiming for, but what are things i can do to bolster my application, considering where i am currently, and how prepared i might be(or am not):

School Stuff:
-decent overall academic record
-Art history major, lots of classes...15 or so
-solidly good major GPA
-solidly good final 2-years GPA (which will help with my two fav. schools so far, Berkeley and UCLA)
-5 architecture history/planning classes
-1 studio architecture class (i tried, without much luck, to weasel my way into more)
-grad level coursework

Test Stuff:
-was happy with my first scores, 90th percentile verbal and 84th percentile quant.....my math score were much higher than my verbal ones
-the kicker: i didn't do so hot on the writing part, but don't know if it's worth retaking the whole test (since i did well on the other parts) and especially when the admission committee doesn't seem to value the gre so much to begin with.

Post-School Life:
-slaving away at a law firm in new york, and starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel :(
-took an interior space planning class
-taking a sculpture class this summer
-taking physics in the fall
-already took one calc class in college, but might take another
-working on my portfolio
-i am into sustainability in general and used my vacation time to work on a bio reserve in ecuador.

I have a pretty strong hold in the art history/arch. history area, but thought it would be a good idea to get the pre-reqs out of the way. in your experience, do you think that it helps to try to knock them out before applying? also, i obviously haven't included everything about myself here, but, do you see any glaring holes, or things they might look at and wonder "hmmpf....what happened here?" or any ideas.

sorry this is so long.

cdee

what are the chances schools will let me opt out of arch. history and theory classes, and take more classes math/engin other tech stuff? my guess is that i'll be far behind some other students in that area, so it would do me some good to catch up.

hey cdee...i see that you mention you want to get into ucla and berkeley....

I just got in to ucla and am going next year....grades mean nothing especially your last two years like you said. I got in with a 2.8 overall 2.5 the last two years. I got the feeling that portfolio was way important at ucla, the most important aspect of everything.

for berkeley who knows what they want as i got rejected...students i spoke to when i visited made it seem like your essay was really important, they are really into making sure you fit their idea of who they want to let it.

hey cdee - i can't answer the prereq questions as far as opting out of certain courses (though it looks like you got almost everything covered there :P -- meanwhile, i only applied to berkeley based on the fact that they required the least pre-reqs (them, mit, ut-austin) of only physics and calc). your best bet would be to email or call the admissions officers directly, which is what i did back around this time last year; they're not as busy i don't think now that this year's application cycle is over.

but to give you some assurance, don't bother with the GRE again haha. your scores are great. i had a 760 M, 690 V, 4.0 W, and i was also worried that my writing score was crap, but wasn't about to fly to tokyo to take it again (I'm far away). focus on the essay and portfolio, research those schools you mentioned, look at the faculty and figure out what interests you about each place/who matches up with your interests, why you want to do arch school, etc.

while i do think this thread is a bit early haha, it's never too early to start getting ready for the fall. and you seem like a GREAT candidate, i was 2nd-guessing myself the whole way through since i have zero related experience and barely can pick up a pen or draw anything, i have a film background but no studio or art class experience and even was gonna back out and take a year off to do extra courses before applying. but turns out i didn't need that in the end :P. just make your entire application package the best you can and everything else will take care of itself.

good luck!

ditto to mctwist's comment about berkeley (where i am headed next year) - since it was the only place i applied to, i had the luxury of really tailoring both essays to their faculty and program, i think i spent about a month on the personal statement, and the last week before the app was due for the bio narrative, though that was a real pain in the neck and what i ended up with was written in pretty much a day. the portfolio took like a solid 2 months for me.

anyway, i assumed it was a form letter email, but they mentioned that my strong personal statement was a factor in deciding to admit me; being a non-arch person, i think they really want to see the path leading up from your previous field to doing arch, and then what you want to do with arch and why at berkeley, etc.

haha okay sorry if i've just repeated my previous post.

oh (last post i promise) -- the more people who read your personal statement and can give you feedback, the better. maybe not during the initial stages, but after YOU think it's polished/communicates who you are and why you're going to school, get lots of friends or people who've done advanced degrees and understand the grad school application process to read it, cause then they'll make you go back and start over again, but that's a good thing :P. and then the essay will begin to kick ass.

seopee,

i got a 4 on the writing too! my math was about the same as yours, and verbal slightly lower. i actually laughed when i got it in the mail.

berkeley's been my obsession from day one, it just sounds like a great department on the whole. im not ballsy enough to only apply there though :)

i would guess the essay would be a huge part of the application....i've kind of started writing it, but have given up on really planning that out. it'll just come out whenever it comes out.

been having some pretty "woe is me" moments about applying. but i figure that would be with anything. i haven't gotten into it too heavily, but am in the preliminary stages, so i can fail miserably a few times before the apps are due.

my gooood isn't it early ...

surprise i'm applying as well! but thing is i'm not sure if i'm applying to any american school but i'm still thinking about it now that i'm part of the working society. (actually no haven't started working yet)

it might be too early for a lot of you guys since you already live in the country you're applying to(maybe. i dont know if it's easier) but i'm spreading my evil all over the world(europe, asia, north america..i'm only sparing the south americans and the africans. lucky guys) also i have to start working early since GRE's and TOEFLs are only available for some dates where i'm at.

I'm MArch II eligible. My geographical interests: CA, NY, and London. My list of schools (subject to change): UCLA, Berkeley, Columbia, GSD, Yale, AA, and the Bartlett.

For those interested in Berkeley: I have a friend who teaches undergraduate architecture at Berkeley and served on the review committee for MArch 2007 applicants. His description of Berkeley's application review is as follows: 80% portfolio portfolio portfolio 10% GPA & recommendations 5% personal statement (they glance at it... and if it HAPPENS to catch their interest they read it) 5% GRE.

Just thought I'd share the info for what its worth.

that sounds a little lopsided for people without architecture experience, don't it?

sounds right for people with a b.arch...

thanks

I agree it seems drastic. Of course, this is all just speculation BUT I imagine that there must be various tiers of application review, and I'm assuming that my friend probably reviewed one of the first tiers. With that in mind, he was sorting through hundreds of applications and primarily used the applicant's portfolio as an instrument for judgment. After winnowing through the initial mass of applications, they may look at other components in more detail.

I think MARCHs of any sort focus primarily on portfolio... from keeping tabs on last year's Commiserations, I saw some great portfolios from non-arch background people. You have time Cdee, to enter some competitions or put a portfolio together of whatever supports your fervor.

I LOATHE studying for the GRE's i feel like a child. wah.

get the barrons guide to the gre....the questions will kick your ass, unless you're god....they are way too hard to be realistic, but if you can do those, particularly the math, then the real thing should be simple

i used barrons to review and did the tests without a time limit, and kaplan for timed practice CATs.

competitions? i've gotten the idea that they don't want arch. work from non-arch applicants.

Does anybody know how the application review for SCI-ARC works? I saw online that they require the GRE, I already took it but I didnt do too good and the idea of retaking it to get a higher score it's not fun at all.

xica, don't worry! i've heard the test really doesnt matter much in the process for most schools. why don't you try e-mailing them and asking?

good luck, and if you decide to retake it, try the barron's book i listed above your first post.

If you don't have time to get the book (or don't feel like going through it), I recommend a 1000 most commonly appearing word vocab list I came across online when I was trying to study for the GRE. Can't remember the link now but try searching on google -- that was basically the only prep I did for the test: a couple math sections, and then all those vocabulary words on flashcards since that's really what the verbal section is about -- got to the S's before it was test day and kind of gave up, but learning all those words definitely helped (I was cramming my study into the month before).

Haha if anyone else is also attempting the AP Physics B exam to fulfill Berkeley's Physics pre-req, talk to me :P.