In regards to recommendations (a few posts back)...think it's OK for me to apply with 1 former professor and 2 bosses from my last company...or even 3 bosses from my last company and no professors?

I graduated on '04, so I'm pretty sure my profs have forgotten about me, and I've really only worked at one company since graduating.

If you can get yourself at least one academic recommendation I think it's good. But if you and the prof haven't interacted much and you feel that he/she might not know you well enough you might be better of getting job recommendation. We need to get people that know us and can support us, whether it be academic or job recommendation.

I graduated in 04 and I have one prof writing me a rec, but I worked a lot with him in my senior year.

alexandraNY: I know of schools that have Feb deadlines, and it's not unheard of that some private schools have even later deadlines. But definately call and/or their graduate advisor and ask.

*and/or email their

is it just me or did the ivies push their deadlines back? not complaining or anything, just happy that i have that extra time.

also, i'm pretty much set on schools, but can you guys name some of the best public schools for m.arch1? i might add one because of the tuition.

mr. bojangles-

UVA has a great program (in my opinion better than most ivies). Im applying there harvard, princeton and yale. You might also want to check out Berkeley, Oregon, Michigan, Texas, UCLA and Cincinnati...all good programs.

Hey all, thought i'd join the discussion.

B.Arch 06', applying to M.Arch 2 + equivalent degrees

Taking the GRE on Oct 25th!!! (AHHHH!!!) and possible early december (I called ETS, they say it takes 2-3 weeks for them to send the scores to the schools)

Applying to: The Bartlett, AA, Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Columbia
Trying to pick 2 more schools from this list: Berlage, MIT, SciArc, Cranbrook, UTA, Cornell, Cincinnati

Little bout me:
3.3-3.4 gpa undergrad (USC)
3.6-3.7 gpa undergrad + masters courses (Columbia)
contacted my 3 recs (1 prof [usc], 1 prof [columbia], 1 employer)
60% done with version 2 of my portfolio
GRE: oct 25th, dec 1st (???)
haven't started statement of purpose
haven't started writing samples for UPenn
haven't visited any schools besides columbia

UGH!!!

i have a question, most schools dont ask for a copy of your resume, but if you feel that your's is strong, how would u go about slipping it into the application process? I understand that in a way, the portfolio acts as a "resume" but I may want to be blatant as far as saying "this is my career + academic path, and it's strong." I noticed through research, that some people include a copy of their resume at the beginning or end of the portfolio...what are your thoughts on this?

my other questions is, i wonder who the first brave soul will be to post their portfolio online?!!!

tman, you sound like you're in great shape! Perhaps it's different for march II, but from what ive seen for the march I applications ALL schools ask for a cv. My opinion, send it even if they dont ask, could it hurt? Would they really strike you for sending a common piece of information that highlights your abilities, my guess is no.

I dont mind posting my portfolio, once its done. I have a brief version I used for job apps. Im just starting to get it ready for grad apps.

On that note, anyone who's had the chance to add professional work to their portfolio want to offer any pointers? I'm having trouble imagining how my professional stuff is going integrate into my highly academic portfolio.

i feel the same way about the professional stuff...basically here's my scenario:

i want to show two projects out of 5 that i've worked on in the office. I dont want the projects to overshadow my personal design work, so i'm thinking 2 pages max for each project. I'm thinking of dividing the two pages into 1 page for self exploration in the design project (that loosely relates to the final concept), and one page of "wow" images (models, renderings, etc.)

I wonder, if a rendering that was produced in house, that you yourself didnt produce but explains the project well, can you still use it in the portfolio?

i'll post my portfolio after the application process is over...i'd be much too nervous and probably the onslaught of comments on the layout, presentation, graphics, etc. would only stiffle my ability to make concise judgements.

i remember reading a post earlier on this topic saying that there isnt as much anxiety this year in comparison to last...however i think i may start tipping this thread towards the 50 page mark!

i remember reading a post earlier on this topic saying that there isnt as much anxiety this year in comparison to last...however i think i may start tipping this thread towards the 50 page mark!

btw, the dbl post was not intentional...

Your situation sounds fairly similar to mine, I've worked on rougly 5 projects in my office so far. As far as renderings some one else produced, I'd say you'd be fine as long as you indicate that you didnt create the image. In that case you might want to try your hand at re-rendering the project. I have an issue where I've been doing most the work on those 5 projects, however, the sketches of the project were done by the principle. My plan is just to render the projects, or sketch them myself.

Yeah I'm not too sure about everyone else but I feel like I'm well beyond the point I should be at this point. Oh well, I like my job enough to not be too worried if I dont get in this time around.

Has anyone actually had their portfolio looked at by a graduate staff member before deadlines? What staff member would one go to? Graduate advisor?

ok, so i've been trying to put it off, but i can't any longer.....i have now returned to archinect! let the next round of commiseration begin! i applied last year and didn't get into a single school!

last year i applied to ga tech, uic, iit, upenn, nc state and arizona.
this year i'm applying to ga tech, uic and va tech, maybe maryland

about me:
-25
-graduated from ga tech in '05 with bs in arch (with a pretty bad overall gpa, but a 3.0 for my last 2 years)
-been working at a single firm since then
-started revamping the portfolio
-need to rework the statement
-have all 3 recomenders on board, but still have to meet with one of them
-have an interview at va tech on nov. 16th.

-not freaking out quite yet, but it's bound to happen.......

the GRE is the most horid thing of all time...i really can't figure it out...i'm doing worse than i did on my SAT :(

dude, i'm scared. mine's on friday.

kick some ass bojangles

you're scared? mines thursday!

but this will just be my first time taking it...i got one more shot in early dec.

yeah me too, just really don't want to do it again. this whole application process has been extremely stressful so far. i'm sure it's just going to get worse.

i really agree. i thought it was going to be easier the second time around. but i really think in a sense, it's almost worse. because now you know what you're up against.... and you second guess everything you do with your portfolio....

sigh... can i just fast forward to the middle/end of march?

I'm just trying to keep a positive attitude. it's the only way i'll survive. i almost smashed my monitor yesterday trying to get info from ucla's website. what's the point of making a flash site with zero usability?

btw, Living in Gin where are you? are you applying this time around? don't abandon us!

<= GRE on Friday

re: GRE

granted, i did worse on the GRE than the SAT; however, i think we can all agree that the SAT was of paramount importance in the undergraduate admissions process, while the GRE is more of a formality, if that.

I like to use Princeton's (they have the lowest acceptance rate, i think) GRE analysis for their graduate admissions as a way to gauge how well you think you need to do on the GRE. I think the average Verbal for admissions is 540 and Math is 667 or something? so, above a 1200 and you'll pass under the radar.

But please keep in mind that for applicants who have these characteristics, admission is still competitive. Students admitted with relatively low GRE or GPA have other extraordinary strengths - like their portfolio and letters of rec.

you guys should come to the yale open house next week. just don't be scared by the temporary building - it's only temporary.

I'll be at the UCLA open-house on the 29th... anyone else?

i have kind of an important question for you guys and girls. i may post this as a new thread because i want more feedback, but maybe you can help.

i am taking the GREs this coming friday, but i'm super unprepared. i just took a practice test and basically failed. should i still take the test and in late november take it again if i don't do well? or should i reschedule friday's test to a later date when i'm more prepared but only have one shot at it? i'm not sure what to do. thanks for the help!

i would say put it off and prepare, then take it once. if you take it twice, you have the added pressure of needing to improve, and run the risk of possibly doing worse.

i think that makes a lot of sense. i'm really having trouble with the vocab and a month of flashcards could help.

mr. bojangles, i would definitely suggest waiting. they're going to see both scores if you retake it, so might as well get only one good one!

hey

i'm applying to M.Arch I (first time)

probably UIC, OSU, maybe Pratt, Parsons and/or CCNY. if i don't get in then i will go to the BAC. or i might bail at the last minute and go to the BAC anyway, because the main reason i don't want to go there is because the cost of living in boston is so high. although i have 3 nyc schools on my maybe list, so i'm obviously a little behind in deciding where to apply. the reason i have a good chance of not getting in is that my gpa was 2.2 in ugrad. my GRE should be at least 1300, hopefully somewhere around 1400-1450, but i have only taken practice tests so far. i have some studio art experience, but am still pretty worried about my portfolio because it is the biggest part of the app. i still haven't asked my recs yet, but i have them in mind. i'm not entirely positive they even remember me enough to give me a rec.... (i went to a big school) so yeah that's where i am. UIC is my #1 choice because i want to go to school and live in chicago

A long long time ago I aced GRE and went to Ivy League architecture school. Curiously our professors often talked about admissions review process for our class, and they'd say: "some of you were admitted because of your portfolio, some because of your work-experience (if you worked for Chairman's firm you were a show-in), some because your're from a foreign country (some of our weakest students), and some because of your GRE score". And then they'd radar-beam me a look.

Note that I attended Ivy grad school at a time when they could (without fear of reprecussions) repeatedly tell us women students (5 out of 25) that they accepted women students "only because University forced us" and that we were displacing male candidates. They truly treated us terribly.

I suspect things are different today. These were the stone-age years. Curious to know how female students are finding school attitudes today.

Wow, thats interesting. So they were implying that you got in on the most irrelevant of pieces of information in the whole process? I work for a woman who is a '70 yale alum, and she seems to share the same sentiment about sexisim in architecture (at least back in the day).

I wonder if they like to accept people with one strong aspect only, or if at all they prefer people with strengths in all areas. I hope the latter, because I feel im not astounding in any one area, I'm better than average in all of them. Plus, I'm a white male (boo hiss).

If any of you come to the Yale open house next week, send an email & come say hi!

just came across this...thought it might interest people

http://blog.design.upenn.edu/blogs/

Is anyone else coming to the UVa open house on Monday? Should we say, "Hey, I know you on ARCHINECT!!1!1" or maybe just a secret handshake?

Also did anyone go to the Washington U open house (I think this week.) I would like to read open house reviews of any school really.

Anyone going to the Princeton open house?...yeah, how weird would that be: "hey, dont I know you from archinect?"

shit, it's november.

LoL.... yeah... :-|


shit


btw, was anyone at the UCLA open house?

I was there at UCLA, I really like their program and the faculty

I found Heather to be quite attractive as well :-D

really? Well then she's all yours :-) There were a good # of cuties within the open house attendee group however.

Where you in her group during the portfolio session?

I actually was in her group, what was up with portfolio that was about 300 pages long, wtf

Yeah I didn't see that one. I saw some pretty wacky portfolios too, but I don't know if they got in based on their portfolio. Roger, our group leader said try not to exceed 30 pages worth of work unless is truly relevant.

Someone got in with a 300 page portfolio? note to self:avoid ucla

hitman, you should have asked her why he got in with that...