conormac:

Good luck with that.
I moved to the Middle East, learned Arabic, and still didn't get into Harvard.

I would recommend focusing 90% of your attention on improving your portfolio.
I think the rest is secondary to admissions.

As others have said, I think attending a summer program like Harvard's or Columbia's would be good for '09 commiserators...it shows a continued dedication to academia and perhaps making some potential connections if you do a summer program at institutions to which you are applying

I just registered for the UCLA Jump Start program. I hope they make people cry.

Thanks citrus. Going to their websites now...

So now... basically almost the notifications are rejections?

I can't wait to receive mine...

YbTH, I really hope that isn't true. For one, I haven't heard from two of the schools I would like to attend. One of which hasn't sent out even one letter to advanced placement applicants. I have spoken to MIT and they said they were still working on acceptance letters/packages this week. Both of their websites say that notices will be sent out by April 1st. I haven't given up all hope yet, you shouldn't either.

Anyone feel like giving up their Pratt acceptances for poor wittle wait-listed me? :)

chopsky: are you m.arch1? this might be your lucky week ...

double rejection today :( from Upenn and Yale.... both arrived via postal today. Also a friend of mine also got rejected from both those schools today.

Upenn, Princeton, YSOA: rejected
Columbia: accepted
GSD,MIT,SciArc,Toronto,Berk: waiting

that brings the rejection streak on Grad Cafe to 8... and counting

hehe, I am

chopsky, hang in there!

ohmygosh? are you saying you might gives yours up sometime this week? sorry, I'm a little lost here... :-/

Druvius, i'm a little intrigued by the fact that you got into columbia and rejected from UPenn.. I always thought that they were more or less at the same level? unless i'm wrong. but that just goes to show how arbitrary the admission process is.. i bet they put our names in a hat and pick out acceptances blindly. hah

yes, yes. sorry to be vague. it doesn't appear that they granted me advanced placement which means i can't accept the offer of admission. i'll probably attempt one last time to see if they can change my status but it looks reallllly bleak.
were they able to give you any information about the wait list? some schools tell you how many people are on the list and even where you stand.

billi u learned arabic? that's serious. lol

I will spend the vast majority of this year, pending 4 final decisions, being vexed by the challenge of showing process in a 20-page-max portfolio...

Nah, they weren't able to tell me anything. She basically said that candidates on the waiting-list aren't ordered at all and I'll probably only know after May 1st when people have paid deposits, and that blows to say the least.

noritabonita: I also think that Upenn and Columbia are the same level.... and yes this does show how the admissions process is somewhat arbitrary.

But perhaps I'm just a better fit in Columbia's program and not Upenn's? Maybe one of my recommenders had more pull in Columbia? It's so hard to tell.... one thing I'm finding out though is that recommendations are super important and quantitative stuff (GRE,GPA,etc.) count for shit.

i can't believe that quantitative stuff like gre and gpa count for shit. i have great recomendations, what i consider to be a good portfolio and statement, but a crap gpa and a decent gre, and i'm not getting in anywhere.... so maybe if your gpa and gre are great, then they don't matter so much, but i think a low gpa still counts

What's the word with working while pursuing the MArch? Is it feasible to get some part time work for firms in the area or is that suicide?

Riedell: Sorry, perhaps "counts for shit" is a little strong. What I mean is that it will only hurt you if you're quantitative is bad. Good numbers doesnt help too much.

I agree with most that the portfolio is paramount. But honestly half of the applicants have "good" portfolios. After that the recommendations are all they care about. (Unless the personal statement, etc is particularly poor)

That's somewhat crazy... I think GPA should count for something. It shows how well you can handle your workload, etc... Well atleast from my point of view.


What kind of pull did your recommender have? I had a professor who was a UPenn alum and a dept chair who taught at both Yale and Pratt write me two of my letters - but was rejected from UPenn and Pratt. heh

see discussion a few pages back...someone posted a percentage breakdown that was, roughly, 75% portfolio, and 25% everythings else. That's pretty much spot on.

Princeton said they look at portfolio ONLY first and cut at least half the applicants based soley on it.

letters of recommendations come after personal statement(s).

marik, most degree programs actively discourage students from working while school is in session, except to TA or through a work study job. it's a good idea to work over summers and maybe even for a few weeks during winter break, but it's probably not the greatest idea (for your studio work, employers, or health & sanity) during the year.

noritabonita: by "pull" i mean, does one of your recommenders know someone on the admissions commitee personally? Cause just being a Penn or GSD alum is, i'd say, just average in terms of the competition.

I'm not saying that this is the way it should be... just the way it is.

Oh, gotcha.

asbuck: exactly, half the ppl get cut on the portfolio (50%) but they only enroll 9%.... hence the next step is those LORs...

another stupid GRE question:

what would be considered bad for a quantitative score? do you think that breaking 500 is enough?

My buddy was accepted at MIT this year with a 1090 GRE.

norita - I totally agree with you there. I feel like the schools paid no attention to my GPA and GRE scores. Grades say something about your work ethic and academic ability (generally speaking).

If they don't pay attention to the GRE, then why make students waste their time studying for it. I would have loved to have that extra time to work on my portfolio. I can understand how the portfolio is the most important piece of the application, but wtf, they should pay a little attention to the transcripts and GRE scores they make you send in.

has anyone checked cornell's aplication status on the embark site???

Exactly.. I completely agree with you.

I mean, if you can't handle your undergrad work.. how do they expect you to be able to sustain a 3.0 (which i believe is mandatory) in grad school?

It's one thing to be creative.. it's another thing to be creative and lazy.

i think GPA is weighted less heavily than might seem appropriate because many applicants have been out of undergrad for 10 years or more. in those cases GPA may offer very little indication of an applicants' work ethic or time management, so i think schools only use that and the gre as a tie-breaker or a red flag in more extreme cases.

there is a lot of debate over the validity of the GRE in predicting success on the graduate level. a quick google search will point to some differing opinions. a lot of programs these days (other than architecture) no longer require the GRE's.

i took a GRE prep class (yeah, actually, i did and it was worth it) and my teacher told me that the analytical writing part was actually the most reliable part of the exam.

one state school that i applied to gives out financial awards based on GRE. they admitted they didn't like that system but that's the way it goes. so, you might be a little surprised to find out what your merit scholarship was based on.

snar: took the words out of my mouth

i didn't take any GRE prep class, took it twice and just went with those scores, not the best by any means but everyone told me to concentrate on portfolio instead, I always wonder if I had more time to prepare for my applications if I would have put the same amount of effort in all of them. So i'd say it comes down to time, if you have time to take a prep class do it, but make sure your portfolio is stellar before sticking your head in a giant GRE book.

these are my results:

upenn-accepted
columbia-accepted
usc (planning & develop)-accepted
princeton-reject
yale-reject, gsd-waiting

what i gathered from talking to admissions people at some of the ivies this fall is that (to echo druvius) they cant really help you that much, regardless of how high they are except when it comes down to two otherwise equal candidates. what they can do, however, is hold you back, below a certain level and you better be able to make up for it in portfolio, recs, and personal statement. a person at one of the big ivies told me that they look at over 1400 the same as 1600. probably not completely true (at least i hope not) but probably to some extent.

is anyone else getting the feeling that this is like a long rollercoaster, where the attendants wont let you off? just around and around, waiting for something to change? that is, an envelope, big or small, to show up?

It may be that way for architecture and arts programs, but it seems that other grad programs place more weight on the GREs.

Hey, look at the grad entrance exams: MCAT, LSAT, GMAT. Those are REAL high-stakes exams, and I thank my lucky stars that we don't have to write one of those... whose with me?

druvius, i am with you.

*who's

any more acceptances to columbia anyone?

No, still waiting. I know that some people were able to find out online, but I cannot seem to figure out how to do that....

just log into your application account... i think.

bluebear, whizkid: log on to your account and below the "application status:" and list of submitted materials will be bold letters that read "decision status: available beginning (date)". Below that is a clickable link that reads "your application decision is now available online". When you click on that, your decision letter pops up in PDF.

If there if no decision status there, or no clickable link you can assume that a decision is still pending.

For those already accepted to Berkeley, do you know when you have to give them an answer by?

april 18th for Cal

I'm curious if anyone who got into both Berkeley and schools like Yale, GSD, Columbia, MIT would consider going to Berkeley instead; if so, why? If not, why not?

Trying to start the decision process.

guess MIT is gonna wait until Friday to reveal final acceptances?

RSVP for open house is monday