is berkeley done? haven't heard any news......

me too, curious about berkeley

there have been a few berkeley acceptances but there's a lot of people waiting still.

On another note, I was reading through the posts from last year and it seems that this week last year everyone received their rejection letters from GSD. So, to all of us waiting still...we should be getting the official rejections soon enough!

ouch

haven't heard from GSD. Any rejections or waitlists yet for MArch I (without AP).

I'm just wondering thoughts on WashU? My boyfriend (soon to be fiance) and I have strong ties to the "Lou", and though it's ranked #5, there is not a lot of talk on this thread about it...is it because it's relatively new in the ranks or is it the midwest locale? Just trying to find out more info from other prospective students...He's been accepted to Penn, Mich, etc. but I think we're set on WashU.

Perhaps smithwillb you have some insight?

p.s. I'm using his account because I didn't feel like creating my own username, but I should since I've been actively reading this for the past three weeks! (fyi-I'm Leah :))

I talked to Cornell and they told me that Writing/Analytical is the most important.

rafelito: i was accepted but I didn't even see the status update on my embark. so... i wouldn't trust it...

conormac:

well, I didn't learn arabic JUST for grad school.


Also, I thought it would be a big asset to meet with professors. Not only to learn more about the program but to make personal contact. The professors I met with at MIT and Harvard absolutely loved me, but as it turns out, I was rejected by both and accepted to UCLA, Berkely, and Columbia where I met with no professors and really made little effort.

It's all a crap shoot.

If you can show some kind of process or skill in your portfolio that sets you apart from other applicants this is the best in my opinion. I think the ceramics course is a great idea. I know how to weld so I think this was an asset to me. In the very least focusing mental energy into your portfolio is far better than obsessing about the process of applying. In the very least you have something tangible to show for a year of effort.

Good luck.

pbandj:

i was accepted to Columbia and am considering Berkeley.

Mainly for the following reasons.

A. it's cheaper
B. I went to Columbia undergrad and am not particularly excited by the prospect of going back.
C. the studios are small and they lack facilities, due to the nature of NY.
D. I live in the Middle East and the thought of freezing winters kills me.
E. I'm a bit tired of pretentiousness.
F. Grad school is crazy enough without being in a city that makes you crazy. And this is coming from someone that loves New york.
G. The restaurants around Berkeley must be better than those around CU.
H. Sometimes choosing a place that makes you happy over a "brand name" is the smartest thing to do.
I. From my experience at Columbia the classes are great but the administration is useless which can make life as a student a bit hellish. I would like to be at a place that actually works for me.
J. Berkeley must be way more chill than Columbia and you are more likely to have a community that will talk about things other than architecture. which will make your friends much less likely to hate you.

At the same time I think Columbia, in theory, is probably better. It is in New York so you have a wealth of external resources and professors who are practicing architects in New York. As a downside to that you get much less attention from these sort of professors. I'm on the verge of choosing Berkeley, but fear that I will regret my decision, because let's face it, we are all human and ego maniacs and like the big names....

anyone have any experience with Berkeley that can share some insight?

anyone know when the Columbia deadline is? I can't muster the energy to log into the website.

april 15th

billibneen, thanks. those are my sentiments exactly, except substitute "boston" for "middle east." i'm also trying to decide between the two. i'm leaning toward berkeley but since i live on the east coast - and lived in ny for a couple years - i'm much more familiar with columbia. i did live in l.a. for a while, but don't really know the bay area, so i'm trying to get information about berkeley. i hear they have changed in the last few years or are undergoing some kind of change, becoming more digital. i like that they seem to have a combination of digital and hand made approaches, from what i can see of the work...

good luck with your decision.

pbandj:

good luck to you as well.

I also lived in L.A. for awhile and while I was also accepted to UCLA, I just don't see L.A making me happy. In my opinion, some places in L.A. are nice, but westwood is horrible and I would like to be able to walk to class everyday. The less time in transit the more time one has to sleep. Although I hear that UCLA is better than Berkeley.

If you find helpful info about Berkeley let me know. I emailed the department asking if they could put me in touch with a student. I'd like to see a photo of the studio. Sort of feels as though I'm ordering a school online, but I really have no other choice...

billibneen, i went to ucla for a different graduate program and liked it very much, though i don't know much about their architecture program. my husband attended the urban planning school there and they had fairly recently split from architecture. for him, l.a. was a wonderful place to study urban issues. i keep hearing really polarized opinions about ucla architecture; people seem to either love it or hate it. it's funny that it doesn't even make the design intelligence ranking. i think there are so many different ways of assessing these schools that ultimately it's probably good to go where you know you'll be happy...

where do you find these rankings?

you can just google design intelligence rankings 2008 or something like that... better yet here's the page i was on. it's a magazine called architect magazine that is reporting on design intelligence's rankings:

www.architectmagazine.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1006&articleID=602885

i have a hard time believing that Yale is a runner up. I was under the impression that it was the top school in the country.

I hate those lists

lets not get into this...the list debate is a dead horse.

speaking of dead horses.

my horse died.

I kid, I kid.

The principal of my firm is talking about his theory about the Kennedy assassination.

oh, and the janitor just chimed in.

whatever , you clown

a clown or not, i've got a fist full of nija stars with your screen name on it.

lists are silly

_juut, why do you you, "guess MIT is gonna wait until Friday to reveal final acceptances?" Their website says that applicants will hear something by April 1st, which is next Tuesday. I doubt that is a hard and fast date, especially with the postal service as a factor. The woman I spoke to said she would still be working on notices this week. So, unless she has finished them all, then we might not hear until as late as next week. Also, if it were me at admissions, I would probably give myself until the first to drop them in the mail.
I think the same thing is true of Georgia Tech. Having gone to Tech, the university is on point about due dates, updates, information, accountability, consistency, and expedience, but the College of Architecture is much more loose in all respects.

I challenge all you Ivey Leaguers to a duel.

yay for most of the schools i applied to not being ranked!

i'm sorry i started this...i was just trying to point out that ucla seems to be awesome yet is not on the list, thus questioning the list...

I once dreamt of Ivy League, then my rejection letter to UPenn said that my blood wasn't blue enough. J/K, I totally messed up my letter of intent and turned the application in late.

thanks pbandj...I am going to UCLA! YAY!

you didn't start this though...ppl post the those Lists on the commiserate thread like every other week. watch, in about two weeks we'll see another one.

sometimes my top schools are on them , sometimes not. ..it is never reliable.

oh...speaking of dead horses...how much do you guys think GRE's factor?

(kidding)

hahahah

before I saw your parenthetical, my inclination was to punch my computer monitor at the reawakening of the gre convo.

it would have been very unsustainable of me.

the worse part of getting rejected from all my schools this year will not be the crushing humiliation....however, will be having to go through 87 more pages of "uuuuum here's my theory on the gre/gpa..." in '09's version of this thread

asbuck,

I , also, was briefly angered by such a suggestion: a knee jerk reaction to say the least , at any inkling of discussion about GREs


;-)

that's great ff33! i loved my time at ucla and the city is second to none, especially for those interested in architecture and urban issues. plus great food, beach, mountains. i miss it!

yeah, i have to say from dealing with this being my second commiserate thread.... i'm glad this is the last one for me.

not that i don't like you guys! but you know...

I said that because the website says RSVP for open house is march 28....so, I figured all admitted students must know by then, in order to RSVP- make arrangements for open house...

hey ff33, It is highly likely that I'll be joining you in the fall. Go Bruins!

congrats ff33!

as for me-

RISD - waitlist...

Wait listed at Columbia today... received email notification but no status change on my application page...

still no news from my last 2 schools, but i did just add everyone as a friend on facebook.....

Let's for a moment say that lists are not silly. I'd like to access this DesignIntelligence list. Does any one have it? or know if anyone's posted the full thing online? I rather not pay $30.

scroll up...its about 20 posts back

i want the whole thing...

marik.
i just saw your portfolio online and i wanted to tell you how great the layout was. your graphic skills are impeccable.

crockerdile,

thanks. great name.

-marik

@Riedell101: how did you get everyone's facebook profile?

btw, is anyone starting MArch I @ GSD this fall? i just created a group on facebook.

nariman: I have the whole DesignIntelligence thing (yup, paid the $30). I don't feel comfortable posting the whole thing online-but was there something specific you were looking for?

Also...has anyone else heard from Columbia? How does it work: what's up with the acceptances on the 14th/15th, was that the whole of their acceptances and now they will simply fill the spots that were turned down, OR will there be another wave of acceptances? This is dismal.

there's a 2008 M.Arch applicants commiserate here facebook group

does anyone want to work in shanghai this summer before school starts?

thanks riedell101