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2008 M.Arch applicants, commiserate here!

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la_la

Hi All -

I've been lurking in anticipation, haven't heard anything yet. I've applied to [in no particular order]

MIT
SCI-Arc
UT-Austin
Oregon

Graduated [in only 5-1/2 years!] from Boulder in 2005 with an B.ENVD, spent a year at Boston Architectural Center [before it was the "college"].

I've been working at a little develop-design-build firm in Boulder since graduation and seriously can't wait to get back to school, though I've learned an awful lot about reality. I hope I can turn off the "ANSI Type B bathrooms" knowledge when I get to school and just have fun for a bit.

Good Luck to everybody!


Feb 21, 08 12:16 pm  · 
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A V

So where is everyone from / where do you live/work etc... I need some backgrounds on you guys!

It's a slow day at work for me today....

Feb 21, 08 12:21 pm  · 
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A V

Hi la_la! I'm new here too. I was very close to applying to Oregon too but I didn't. Anything on the west coast is my top choice right now. Im dying to get out of Baltimore!

Feb 21, 08 12:24 pm  · 
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franciscoalarcon

A V !

If you go back you will get all information of us! ... AND we are not a Little support group. We are the future stararchitects of the XXI Century.

hahaha.

Good luck in any of your applications, we are sharing SCI-Arc, Syracuse and Columbia.

Feb 21, 08 12:28 pm  · 
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A V

Yesssss yes Im catching up! I've been going back and reading the past several months of discussions.

Wow it seems a lot of people are applying to SCI-Arc. Its probably my number one choice right now so I hope all of you decline to go there if you get in!! hehehe. good luck anyway =]



Feb 21, 08 12:33 pm  · 
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franciscoalarcon

In my personal ranking, the first one is Columbia and second one is SCI-Arc.

By the moment.....




Feb 21, 08 12:39 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

I just read an email today from Virginia Tech saying that they have recieved all parts of my application and will know the results in about 2-4 weeks.............................................................................................................

Feb 21, 08 12:45 pm  · 
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la_la

AV - I understand, I've been in Boulder a little too long I think. I moved here from New Jersey a couple years ago and miss things like the culture and the beaches.

Any coast will do - or, I guess Texas, as its on my list [it's inexpensive enough that I can save money and visit the coasts] Oregon sounds like paradise - it's my "high quality of life" school application choice.

Feb 21, 08 12:48 pm  · 
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A V

I got the same email from Virgina Tech!!

And I got an email from Illinois tech they have issued me a student ID number. Although I don't know if this means anything. I'm sure they just do that for all their applicants.

Feb 21, 08 12:50 pm  · 
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snarkitekt

graduated with a bs arch '06 from uva, since then i've been living in cambridge and working at a young design office in boston with a brief competition stint last year at a larger, more established office. i've worked primarily on projects for educational and cultural institutions, and have definitely gotten to take on a lot of responsibility due to my office's small size. i feel like the experience i've gotten in the last year and a half has really helped me to define my interests as a designer and my academic goals. now i'm hoping to jump back into academia with a clearer trajectory and renewed energy.

february is crushing me right now - i've got at LEAST another 2.5-3 weeks before i can expect to hear anything from any schools..... ugh.

Feb 21, 08 12:55 pm  · 
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snarkitekt

la_la, texas is coastal too! gulf beaches are gorgeous, and austin's only three hours away.....

i know what you mean about "quality of life" choices - austin and berkeley top that list for me. i'd definitely be hard pressed to turn down offers from gsd/yale/princeton, but i could do without another winter of unending slush and snirt.....

Feb 21, 08 12:58 pm  · 
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A V

Yeah February is pretty painful. its just dragging on and on and on and its bitter and cold here. I will probably move within 2 or 3 weeks of finding out which school I'm going to. I want out that bad!

What do you guys wanna do when you graduate? Work at a particular firm or in a particular city? Start your own business?

Feb 21, 08 1:03 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

to top it off, we have an extra day this February because of Lear Year.

Feb 21, 08 1:06 pm  · 
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cmoh

thought i would share my recent experience with everyone. I've applied to the AA in Janurary. I sent them all the application in one package, portfolio, references, forms etc. So i've waited more for than a month now, no replies, so i decided to called them. Turns out that they did have my portfolio and letters, but my application form was no where to be found. So they told me they have no way to contact me at all. right now i'll have to resend my application and not knowing whether i can still make it in time to apply for the scholarship. This equals to more expenses and more waiting.. sigh.

Feb 21, 08 1:06 pm  · 
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la_la

I'm really into the quality of life thing - I know I'll probably never leave the studio, but if I ever do I want it to be great.

Will definitely check out the gulf beaches if I am accepted.

Feb 21, 08 1:11 pm  · 
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A V

Yes! Quality of life is everything for me right now! thats why at this point i would probably decline Virginia Tech and U. of Illinois if I got accepted there. I couldnt stand 3.5 years in the middle of nowhere, enduring 3 more gross dreadful winters.

Feb 21, 08 1:15 pm  · 
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ripomatic

you fools. enjoy the lull.

in a few weeks we're all going to be somewhere between the true depths of human misery, to unadulterated ecstasy, though I bet most of us will straddle the middle.

and then we'll REALLY be agonizing

about where to go.

and where to live

and the costs

of moving.

goodbyes

hellos

and being

broke students again.

so stop pooking out. this is the easy part.

Feb 21, 08 1:23 pm  · 
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A V

Hahah true! I can't wait for that though. Those are all things I'd love to commiserate about. And if some of us end up going to the same schools... we can commiserate about our living situations, apartments, roommates, classes, projects. All the fun stuff.

Feb 21, 08 1:26 pm  · 
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ripomatic

point well taken.

i think i'm just being cranky because my back hurts and i'm out of prescription pain pills.

Feb 21, 08 1:31 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

yeah right... we're all going to be pulling our hairs out

Feb 21, 08 1:33 pm  · 
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A V

I'm also just overly eager because I'm sitting in a quiet office at work, with almost no work to do. I'm full of energy and I need an outlet!

Feb 21, 08 1:34 pm  · 
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snarkitekt

yeah rip, personally i'll stick with the pooking out. i'm actually really looking forward to all the planning and obsessive-craigslist-checking and (hopefully) decision-making of next month. as insane and stressful as that will all be (especially the "how do i pay for this" part), at least it will be something about which i can take action. the waiting and waiting and waiting kills me because this is potentially a major change for the next three or so years of my life (not to mention after that), so right now i'm thinking about it a ton but i can't actually DO anything about it yet.

plus, it's weird, but i totally love moving. i love looking at apartments, figuring out how i'll set up the space, having an excuse to box up everything i own and throw away half, scouring yard sales and thrift stores for furniture, exploring new neighborhoods.... pretty much everything but getting a new driver's license.

Feb 21, 08 1:39 pm  · 
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la_la

I'm just excited - and throughly enjoying my lull.

Feb 21, 08 1:41 pm  · 
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A V

I absolutely LOVE moving. Learning a whole new city, starting from scratch, putting together the apartment from a clean slate, shedding away tons of stuff I no longer need.

And I love the idea of starting at a new school, all new people, all new classes and buildings, everything.

But for now I wait : \

Feb 21, 08 1:44 pm  · 
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smithwillb

try moving to/in New York City.

Feb 21, 08 1:46 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

or San Francisco

Feb 21, 08 1:48 pm  · 
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smithwillb

New York is the worst. I'll bet my graduate tuition on it.

Feb 21, 08 1:50 pm  · 
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A V

Really? What makes it so bad? I've applied to a school in NYC... Its not my top choice for a city to live in but... how could i possibly be so bad?

Feb 21, 08 1:54 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

have you ever been to NY before?

Feb 21, 08 1:58 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

smithwillb: I'm not going to make that bet because I know NY is probably the worst city to move to, especially if you don't know the city and have no contacts.

Feb 21, 08 1:59 pm  · 
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laurilan

i'm definitely agreeing with snark.

i'd rather be at the crazy "now i've got the school, what's going to happen with the rest of it?" phase. i've felt in transistion for over a year now waiting to find out about school (twice now) - don't want to get too settled since i'm hopefully moving away.

i love the idea of getting rid of stuff as well. i've been slowly shedding things that have followed me for too many moves. i'd love to get to the point where everything i have is extremely easy to transport (ie fit into a honda civic).

so liberating!

Feb 21, 08 2:01 pm  · 
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A V

I've been to NY many times and I know several people who moved there after college. Some love it, some don't.

Feb 21, 08 2:02 pm  · 
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smithwillb

It’s a grueling, humiliating, and exhausting process. One that involves miles of walking, looking, hopelessly searching. You try and try and try to do it on your own, yet you’ll end up paying a broker 4,000 in cash to fax a piece a paper. Brokers try to take advantage of you. If you’re young, they’ll smell your ignorance then they’ll dispatch the JR Brokers armed with an arsenal of shitty apartments they can’t rent.

I’ve experienced it all; however, serendipity always finds me. This year, I fired my broker and found a 2-story, 2 bed, 2 living rooms, 1.5 bath on the Upper East Side with a PRIVATE GARDEN. There was a sign on a lamppost in front of a tanning salon. And it’s cheap. Who knew?

Feb 21, 08 2:03 pm  · 
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ks1000

I'm living and working in New York right now. It's a great city to live (though you're not escaping the cold by any means). I think the tough part is how expensive everything is, namely, rent. It can be tricky finding an apartment.

Feb 21, 08 2:08 pm  · 
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A V

Yeah... New York is definitely not my first choice. A good friend of mine has been trying to find a new apartment there for quite some time, but he loves it. And some people who moved there from Baltimore swear that Baltimore is much better and want to move back. So strange. West coast is still my top choice. Then Chicago.

Thanks for the warning!

Feb 21, 08 2:08 pm  · 
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ks1000

amazing. why don't I stumble upon such gems. I got hit with the broker's fee in the end.

Feb 21, 08 2:10 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

Most people, those who are virgins to relocation, are blinded by the excitement of moving to a new city and don't understand the intricasies involved. For example, the things that need to be taken into consideration: the neighborhoods, proximity to your points of interest (ie school), mode(s) and duration of transportation, your credit history/report, interview with the landlord(s) or roommates. Mind you, I'm speaking from experience of moving from San Diego to the city of San Francisco. NY is a beast in of itself.

Feb 21, 08 2:16 pm  · 
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A V

I've moved 4 times in the past 4 years. Love it more every time.

Feb 21, 08 2:19 pm  · 
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asbuckeye07

depends on where you come from to. I was raised in cities..so not too tough to move to one. People from farms or whatever, usually have a tougher time...especailly with east coast cities

Feb 21, 08 2:20 pm  · 
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snarkitekt

afrdzak, i moved from charlottesville va to cambridge ma in one fell swoop, dealt with all aforementioned intricasies and more, and totally loved it. for grad school, my dream move is berkeley - take a month and a half off and make it a killer trans-continental road trip. nyc/sf horror stories can't keep me down!

Feb 21, 08 2:22 pm  · 
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BabbleBeautiful

nah, not trying to scare anyone. The move was stressful mostly because everything happened last minute, but worth it in the end. I'm back in San Diego now, hoping to move back for school.

Feb 21, 08 2:25 pm  · 
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A V

snarkitekt- I also want to do the trans-continental road trip move! I'm gonna take off work and take my time and do it right!

Feb 21, 08 2:27 pm  · 
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asbuckeye07

soooo, this place is going to go bezerker in about 3 weeks huh?

Feb 21, 08 2:32 pm  · 
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A V

Heheh You guys should all buy archinect t-shirts so you can all wear them on the first day of classes and recognize your fell archinect posters and slap eachother some nerdy high fives.

I'm new here, so im gonna sit that out.

Feb 21, 08 2:42 pm  · 
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conormac

A V are you a sales mole.

Feb 21, 08 3:04 pm  · 
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A V

jeez was i that obvious???

hehehh..

actually i'm not but i do like the LE$$ t-shirt.

Feb 21, 08 3:08 pm  · 
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ff33º

everybody just CALM DOWN!

Feb 21, 08 3:13 pm  · 
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asbuckeye07

boooring, any word yet on acceptances?

Feb 21, 08 3:26 pm  · 
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la_la

my FAFSA application has been accepted

weeeho!

Feb 21, 08 3:32 pm  · 
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A V

ooooh crap i still need to do that!

Feb 21, 08 3:53 pm  · 
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