you know I'm not sure the ones she showed us were for people who actually got in

afrdzak, do you remember if they said those were students that got in?

Yeah, all those portfolios were from students who got accepted into their M.Arch program. They have all of them at their office and is open for anyone one of us to go look at. Berkeley does the same.

sweet, i put my novel in my portfolio so 400 pages isn't actually too much.

300 pages? that's crazy. i've gotten to look at portfolios of people accepted to usf and nc state. they all looked pretty typical to what i expected. i would say they were in between 15-20 pagesish.

sigh.... in the office working on my portfolio on this beautiful saturday.

How many schools are you guys applying to? I'm thinking either 6 or 7. 4 American 3 European

I wont be attending any open houses :( b/c of work. I'll have to visit the schools in december, but I wonder how good that will really do me.

I am working on my application .. but i have no idea what is a writing sample .. i mean i get the personal statement .. but i have no idea what to write as my writing sample .. btw english is my second language ,, any help ..

what are you talking about flasastiniarch?

some programs like upenn .. ask for a sample of your writing .. and I dont know what kind of writing i am supposed to present .. here's what upenn website says about writing sample .. my previous work is in a different language .. so what should i write about

http://www.design.upenn.edu/new/admissions/how.htm#writesample

Writing Sample
M.S. in Architecture and Ph.D. applicants must submit a sample (e.g. essay, research report) of their written work in English on the subject of their field of specialization in addition to their statement describing their plan of study. Applicants to the Master of Architecture II must submit two samples of writing and a description of their computing skills and software proficiency.

Anyone have advice on a good quality, reasonably-priced printer? I am thinking about investing in one to print my portfolio out for graduate school - and Kinko's might bankrupt me...

ugh...i feel like my portfolio is shit today....i spent an entire day working on the layout of a couple pages and came up with jack-s$*%...ugh...

dont apply to the gsd ...its crappy here...so upset with my decision

Can you elaborate on what's crappy about it?

What are you comparing it to?

Just curious as to what crappiness you're seeing that I'm not...

hey tman, which EU schools are you applying to? I'm curious only if you're applying for first prof M.Arch degree.

afrdzak

I'm applying to the Bartlett, AA, and Berlage

The Bartlett - M.Arch (Architectural Design)
AA - Design Research Lab
Berlage - M.Arch (?)

just because a school is categorized as ivy league DEFINITLY does not mean that it is great for architecture...
they school has money and that is about it. therefore we get the best lecturers and the building is well maintained, plus our digital technology is great. we always have the newest programs, and some of the highest academics.
however within a school of architecture, it is your peers who you learn from. the professors are there as just guidence. but it is your peers who you are around 24/7 . so if you are learning from people who think they are number 1 and were at the top of their class regardless of what major they came from, it makes it very difficult to learn from them. everyone maybe very willing..but that does not neccessarily make them a great designer.

honestly i would apply to the school with the most freedom, that is allowing you to explore architecture in a numerous amount of ways.
school should not be restricting, and you should be allowed to do whatever you want in terms of design.

especially for those of you who are coming from a non architecture background. you dont just want to building a house. please do not get "bedazzled" by the ivy league. research your schools in depth and thoroughly

i know it's been mentioned before on a different thread, but go look at www.lulu.com it looks like a great site for printing.

but even more importantly, there are tons of portfolios to browse through! i just did a search for architecture portfolio and came up with a whole bunch. it only lets you view a couple of the pages, but it's still nice to see what other people are doing with them.

well, that's all for right now.

dear princeton's architecture program,

I am in love, can we make this work? One month to make my protfolio show-quality....YIKES

ok, so i have an interview at virginia tech next weekend. and i don't exactly know what to expect. any thoughts? stories? advice?

eighttwo, how did you get through yale undergrad with those english skillz?

Does anyone know of alternatives to www.lulu.com?

eightwo

thanks for those comments , very refreshing perspectives

sooo... I just took the GRE's and did absolutely terrible. Do you think it would be too late to take them again in december?

if they're terrible then do them again. your first scores will already be reported to the schools so there's no harm in trying to squeeze another one in before the deadline.

that is true. I can't wait for all of this to be over... so stressful. i heard that if you answer the first 10 questions correctly on the math and verbal sections of the gre, you're guaranteed to score above a 600 on each section. sounds like garbage to me - but has anyone else heard about this little rumor?

it's true, but obviously the questions get harder and harder. next time, spend some extra time on them. you don't even have to finish to get a really good score.

not finishing is worse for your score than guessing and getting them all wrong.

SO ..has anyone considered having LULU.com send out the portfolios directly to the schools. Mt deadlines are coming uo..and I may just have them sent,..after a test copy review at my house of course,

i'd avoid it at all cost. never trust someone else to turn your work in.

i agree - i'm def. getting one printed first to see how it turns out, then get the rest sent to me. if i go with lulu.

i'm too afraid they'd screw something up. that would suck.

Let me say that applying to M.Arch programs absolutely sucks. If there was one thing that I would wish upon my worst enemy that raped my mom while pouring sugar down her gas tank is for him to apply to grad school.
I might kill myself before this is over...
This is my first post and that must tell everybody how much my life sucks right now. But I still want to be an architect. Enough about me...can you believe the weather in Los Angeles! Cold one day, hot the next...it's all Al Gore's fault.

dude, calm down.

Why are you so pissed off?...you must not "Love Bureaucratic Hoops".

Things I do to help with my app season...( round two for me)

1. Make a spreadsheet of all the crap all the schools want and when
2. try and not get too attached to every detail on eth portfolioo...they look at it for 30 seconds.
3. Just study a bit eveyrday for the GRE
4. Don;t beleive the hype about the Ivies.


Simple really...

Formfuctnion33, if you're talking to me, I think I should be allowed to freak out at only once every 2 weeks. So there it was...
I have everything under control at this point.
1. Portfolios just needs to get bounded
2. Statement of purpose needs to get proofed (school specific paragraph needs to be added)
3. GRE's done (average score)
4. Letters of Recommendation are in the works

Thanks for the advice. I started the spreadsheet checklist a few months ago but I have neglected to look at it or update it. I need to go back and utilize that. It's really helpful.

So, a month enough time to get my portfolio into "princeton/yale"-shape (I beleive the hype)?...as a base it has four projects highlighted with about 80% completeness. I feel that could be enough time, as the hardest part, a basic graphic layout to follow (oh, and semi-designed projects) is complete. Its just going to be about the crappy process of rerendering and redrawing abunch of crap. And Im quite lazy.

you mean "harvard/mit" shape, now, right?

I'm applying to harvard also, but I meant princeton/yale, with realistically a month left to actually design the portfolio...the extra time allowed for printing and mailing issues that will happen because they do. Fyi, while harvard's application deadline is coming up, I think their portfolio deadline is the same as princeton/yale, late DEC/early JAN.

Speaking of those two schools...i've been hearing rumblings about how MIT is amazing (someone care to explain why?), and how Harvard is not as great as schools like princeton and yale (again, anyone know why?).

anyone going to parson's "graduate expo" this saturday?

anyone going to parson's "graduate expo" this saturday?

You guys aren't complaining enough yet.

i'm probably going to have to re-take physics....and my teacher is a czar...the entire CUNY system is like an inner-city high school...

there, i'll start.

Hey everyone!
Why did it take me soooooo long to find this place??? I feel like at least 90% of us M.Arch applicants are left in the dark and have no idea of where we stand relative to one another. There must be a way to spread the word…

Anyways,

ME-
23 yrs
Male
M. Arch I or III applicant (??? I have no real previous experience but have a bachelor of fine arts)
BFA (Art History major) from small liberal arts college 2007
GPA- 3.4
GRE- In two weeks (expecting low 1200s) (use this software to prep and compare scores within architecture - Powerprep® Software for the GRE® Test)
Portfolio- Completed and in revision process before printing, binding, and sending
Recs- 3 confirmations, but no completions
Personal Statement- Done though still tinkering with
Resume- hummmm…… *fluffy*
Experience- Columbia summer course (thought this would give me a leg us, but seems like everyone’s done it…), construction work, studio courses, & academic prerequisites

Schools which I’m applying to,
Columbia, Parsons, California College of the Arts, University of Colorado at Denver, University of New Mexico

I’m sure the majority of applicants involved with this forum are above average, yet still from reading the past four pages of posts I can’t help but feel a myopic fixation with “the ivies.” Up until recently my lineup were all the before mentioned blueblood schools, but only recently did I consider where I would be happy, what kind of competitive environment I wanted to function in, where I wanted to settle my roots, where I could be a big fish in a small tank rather than a little fish in a big pool…. All I’m saying is that for me personally, if accepted (doubtful as it likely is) to all my choices it would honestly be a hard decision between Columbia and the state schools. Many people on this forum were denied from all their choices last year, just saying maybe everyone should consider “safety schools.”

Now comes the fun part. Here’s my portfolio. I vacillate between thinking it’s a wreck and successful. I hope you guys, especially those who have made portfolios before, could give me some criticism so that in the next couple weeks I can continue refining it; the more intense the critique the more constructive the process. I encourage everyone else to post their portfolios here as well and we can all help each other out. Thanx guys.

http://abtreeson.googlepages.com/COMPENDIUM.pdf

< take a deep, relax, things will work out >
Sincerely,
Blaise

hey blaise, welcome. i like your honesty (i.e. big fish) and your port is pretty dope. i think you're getting pretty good feedback in the other thread. your work is definitely hot, but you're not getting enough mileage from the photos of your sculpture models. i'd suggest reducing the number of 3d renderings or presenting them in diagrams that show process. but really your models are dope enough and could be very powerful on their own. also watch spelling--caught one on pg 15.

i think we're in almost the exact same place in terms of the application process right now. i'm nervous, yeah, but it's been a fun process so far. can i ask how you picked those schools? lol, did you purposefully choose every corner of this country? personally, i don't believe in safety schools. too much time and money to go somewhere that's a backup. if you do get accepted to all your schools (fingers crossed) i'm sure it will be a very very easy decision.

hey bo,
i'm glad to hear your feedback. Like everyone elses it's quite helpful. Oh and the spelling error, yah stupid overlooked mistakes can be fatal.
as far as my school,

Columbia
+ i did the summer program there, its the most cutting edge school in the city, i have several contacts
- NYC... do i really wanna live in that pressure cooker for half a decade, people there are too smart, have to give up my dog

Parsons-
+ ?, only really applying as an option if i get the small letter from columbia but my gf gets a big envelope from columbia law
- i don't really wanna go here

CCA-
+ SF is a dope city, school (while not accreditted now) has TONS of potential, uncle on the board
- program might not get off to a good start and get certified in the next couple years, not a fan of fog

CU Denver-
+ in the state i went to boarding school and college in, where i want to pracice postMArch, cool city without being a congested metropolis
- my old bones no longer like cold winters, not brandname

UNM-
+ hometown, NM = land of enchantment (or is it entrapment?), instate tuition, where i would potentially like to practice postgrad, dad is MD faculty, brand new Predock facilities
- not brandname, oblidged to see family more frequently

if that fingers crossed situation arises.... i think i'd like to go to UNM, but will likely end up in Denver because the GF is more inclined towards DU's law school. We shall see, maybe i'm just touting justifications.
And you where are you planning on applying? got a port you'd like to share?

hey blaise, good luck. based on your work, i'm sure you'll get into most of the schools you're applying for. it will just come down to choosing the right one. i know what it's like trying to stay in the same school (or state) as the gf. if anything, it makes your decision easier. i'm a little hesitant to show my portfolio right now because it still needs a ton of work before i start getting some feedback. applying to six schools: yale, columbia, gsd, princeton, berkeley, and ucla. no, i don't believe in safety schools. lol

btw, what's up with page numbers in portfolios? required yet totally unnecessary. plus it's uglifying my work.

i was thinking the same thing. i bet they dont even care/notice the page numbers anyway..

im more scared about my personal statement being too cliche. and the fact that its way too long.

just don't say something like, "ever since i was a little boy/girl i've wanted to be an architect" or "architecture has been my true calling. the difficult journey i've been through has led me to the where i am now"

i feel the same way about the personal statement. i started writing it back when i figured out i'd be reapplying. it all seems too mundane and like they've heard it all before. i'm still writing it... i have like 4 pages of stuff and nothing i really feel like i can use.

i have to say, i am starting to get a little stressed. i'm taking some classes right now too (urban design/planning) and the combo of those classes, the applications and working full time is starting to get to me. at least i'm almost to finals!

maybe some good thanksgiving dinner will help.

I'm not liking the personal statement either. I spent almost one month writing the statement of purpose and Berkeley wants a Personal History Statement in addition to the SoP.