where do you want to go, tumbles?

i will get you to places you have never been before :P

Well, DAMN! I was hoping that I wouldn't be a part of this thread, but since I was rejected from every school I applied to for Fall 07, looks like I'll be around to commiserate for another year! Go Fall 08!!

been waiting for this thread....

I'll be applying to UCLA and Sci-Arc for sure.

UW, Parsons and Pratt are maybes

Is anyone considering a joint degree? I've been thinking about getting an MArch/MBA. I'd like to just apply for MArch programs now and apply to the MBA program wherever I go next year.

what are you planning on doing with the march/mba, jank?


just wondering.

i know that my coworker went to njit and they had a joint program with a march/mba. you might want to check that out.

I'd be most interested in the entrepreneurship aspect of a business program, getting into a small firm and knowing how to expand effectively. When you consider how so many people with just architecture degrees are running their own businesses, it seems like there should be big opportunities for more specialized knowledge.

Thanks laurilan, I will

i'm trying to convince myself that going to grad school really is a good option. i've been working for 4 years out of school (worked the whole way through too) and am finally got a good thing going on. I am taking my licencing exams starting next month.... don't need a masters but LOVE school.

eff. anyone else in the same boat?

Just wanted to introduce myself, even though it's a little early in the process- Applying (hopefully) this fall with a non-arch background (BA English 2006). Currently working as a paralegal (WAS interested in law) and am looking for architecture-related jobs in order to gain some exposure, but only have minimal experience with CAD from a summer internship at a small firm (any advice?). Haven't done art since high school, am currently taking a figure drawing course, and will be attending the Columbia summer program. Planning on taking the GRE this summer (btw, plans for the revised GRE have been canceled according to the website so test should stay the same), and probably will have to retake calc. in the fall since I didn't receive college credit for it. Nice to meet you all and I look forward to corresponding in the upcoming months.

clenore: i'm also convincing myself that grad school is the way to go but on a different level. i haven't worked a day in my life (just graduated with a bs in architecture from a far flung country) but i feel like i dont deserve to start working in a firm -- big or small. so i'm going back to school right away.

well wish me luck since it looks like im already going this year. i already got accepted (MSc Bldg Engineering 2007) at the politecnico di milano but i have to wait for the scholarship details since i want to stop mooching off my parents. (yes they paid for everything while i was in school and i feel like they deserve a break from the responsibility. totally my choice to study again so it's not their responsibility anymore to feed, shelter and clothe me)

archdc: im also a paralegal and applying in fall with a non-arch backround. not to deter you from the career move, but your time might be better spent keeping your job and focusing on the apps...a job (even as CAD-monkey) might be a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of your apps. i also considered doing the same, but soon realized that i could push paper at an arch firm and get paid pennies, or push paper at my law firm and make a lot more money.

hi all,

i'll join the inaugurating class of 2008 applicants with a hesitant yet enthusiastic will. i'm applying for March I - having no arch. experience - do legos count? i'll be going to the columbia program this summer, which hopefully will allow me to add a couple of pieces to my 'portfolio'....speaking of portfolio (since that seems to weigh heavily on admission's decisions) what are all of the NON-archs putting in their portfolio....

i'm shooting for 10 items, which include but are not limited to:
a full length play (thumbnailed into 2 pages in a, like, arts/graphic rendering way),
a set design for a Chekhov play,
some graphic design posters,
photography,
a somewhat strange weather/art/science project
and hopefully 2 solid 'real' pieces from columbia studio

anyone else? ideas? thoughts?


right now i'm knee deep in Calculus (final next week) and i'll start physics in the fall. whoop!

Wait are you trying to fit 20+ pages of script into 2 pages?

Assuming your play would be illegible I'd suggest taking a different angle. Maybe you could intersperse performance photos in a script excerpt.

well, it's more like 114 pages. i was going make each page a "pixel", so to speak and digitally sculpt a picture - just to give weight to the scope of the work - a testament of creative and artistic endurance - i know it would be illegible; however, i was going to print the entire body of work as a supplement to the portfolio.

i like the idea of excerpt with photos - however - and i know this sounds weird - but the play was performed under the auspices of a festival, which owns all rights to photos - even though the work is copyrighted by me. so, i have no production photos - just rehearsal shots.

is any of this making sense? sorry, i'm tired. i'm going to sleep for the next week.

okay. now i'm scared. i just spent the better part of the work morning reading the 67 pages of the 2007 version of this thread. shit.

I've notived a new nasty trend in new architecture students and new applicants to m.arch programs. It seems like many of them hate architecture, make fun of it, don't enjoy it, and appologize more for engineering and autocad stuff than design. Far too often they are begining to leave architecture out of their work and out of their projects.

My best recomendation is to go to architecture school if you really LIKE architecture and want to BE an architect.

And also I highly recomend that students keep their drama and attittudes back in the 7th grade. Oh and listen to your professors because they know more than you do. The sooner students could accept that, the better off they will be. Trust me.

That's all.

noted.

I'm so glad to have a whole new thread to pepper with all our neuroses.

anyway...how many schools do you think you'll be applying to?

there are only a few that I'm really into, but I might end up applying to 6 considering how much of a crap shoot admissions tend to be.

I applied to five schools this past year. I'll probably apply to more than that next time. The jury is still out on when the "next time" will be, though.

My original "Plan B" was to do the Columbia summer program this summer, finish my BA this fall, and then hopefully start grad school in the fall of 2008. But unfortunately, now it's looking like I won't be able to sell my car in time to cough up the tuition for the Columbia summer program. I'll still be able to move to NYC at the end of this month, but the summer program may have to wait. So that leaves me looking at a "Plan C."

What Plan C looks like will probably depend on what sort of job I get in NYC. If I end up in another shitty CAD monkey position, I'll most likely finish my BA as soon as possible, and then start grad school in 2008 at whatever school I can get into, even if it's not my #1 choice.

If, however, I find a good job that's challenging and allowing me to grow professionally, I may be inclined to wait another year for grad school, maybe attend one of the summer programs (Columbia, Cornell, or GSD) next summer, put together a kick-ass portfolio, and aim for my top choice M.Arch. programs in 2009.

In other news, I'm finishing up my spring quarter here at DePaul. This has been a rough quarter, with me doing a workload equivalent to roughly 16 credit hours on top of my full-time job at this dysfunctional firm. Thankfully, I feel like I'll be getting good grades... Now I just need about a week or so to catch up on sleep.

One class in particular -- sort of a pre-thesis "Research Seminar" class -- is been particularly gruelling, but the instructor has been very pleased with my work and has offered to write me letters of recommendation when I re-apply to grad schools. She used to be the associate dean of the school and pretty well-known in academic circles for her involvement in organizations such as Amnesty International and the ACLU, so I'll certainly be taking her up in her offer sooner or later.

By the way, who do we talk to about getting a red dot for this thread? The 2007 thread has one.

This is my first time applying for M.arch. My major was journalism, which means most of my portfolio will be writing, photography, misc. items and a couple of designs from the Columbia Program I’ll be attending this summer.

I’m applying to 11 schools.

Sick.

But I know that every program I’m applying for resonates with me in one way or another – whether it’s someone on the faculty, structure, or scope of the program.

I just finished Calculus (after not having math for 6 years) – so that was, um, interesting.
Physics is next.

Taking the GRE june 30th

boom

this is my second time around as well. i've got my bs arch - and i only know of one school i will be applying to for sure and about 7-8 that i'm considering.

i've got the gre's done and a good start on the portfolio (but obviously not good enough to get me into where i wanted).

last year was supposedly really competitive. any thoughts on if it was kind of an odd year or it's just getting more competitive?

i'm guessing every year is harder than the last.

and it's been my impression - and others as well - that the portfolio is what makes or breaks you in the application process, which of course scares the shit out of me.

yeah and i understand that it's all about portfolio - it was just surprising to me that some of the people i know who applied in 2006 and were accepted were not as qualified (portfolio-wise) as some people who were rejected in 2007.

it just seemed like a huge jump.

were they applying for March. ii or M.arch i?

mostly old classmates w/bs arch as well - so march 1 - like myself.

i know this question may have already been answered somewhere, but i'm lazy. do you have to do your physics and calculus requirements BEFORE sending in your application or can you do it the ensuing summer?

no bo...you can do it after you're accepted (they'll write the conditions in your acceptance letter). I'm doing physics this summer and going to Penn in the fall.... though I do wish I would've got it over with earlier...

some schools, like U. Mich, require that you complete your pre-reqs by JUNE of your enrollment year; however, most schools just require you complete them before you start as whattodo stated earlier.

i am a little overwhelmed because some schools don't require any - like UVA (though they strongly recommend it), some schools require just one semester Physics and one semester Calc, some require one whole year of Physics, which also assumes you've taken calc - while some schools require 2 studio art classes (U.mich), and most (but not all) require at least one semester of arch history survey course.

...which is why I didn't take them before I figured out where I was going...

Hey all....
haven't looked on this thread (or even site) ina while.... but tis getting to be about that time. ahhh!
I see alot of you are planning on applying to alot fo the schools i am (SCI-arc, Berkeley, USC, UCLA......and maybe another for me...not sure.) ..so maybe we'll be classmates...!

My dilemma is i am not sure which program to apply for. I know its a decision i have to researchand make on my own.....
I have a B.Arch. So... my optins are:
M.Arch II
M.city planning/urban design
or ...M.science...with a concentraion in sustainable tech./studies....

Do any of you think that certain programs are easier to get into....????? or is it all..... depending?
just askin
thanks

UMich makes you finish your prereqs by June because their MArch I program starts in June.

thanks all. im just going to hold off on calculus until the very last minute.

anyone know how much Penn factors in whether you've finished ALL of the prereqs at the time of application? I'm taking physics in the fall, and only have the decriptive drawing and a second studio class left. will this hurt my chances? i'd rather not hold out on taking those two classes, but i work from 50-80 hours a week on a regular basis, so i've already been pushing it with a sculpture class (which conveniently conflicts with my work schedule:))

other question: has anyone taken physics in New York? I need to take a class in the fall. Must be a weekend class (or really late evening, starting at eight or so). I work down on Wall Street and live in North Brooklyn, so any suggestions around those areas would be great. oh, and NOT NYU... i despise NYU (no offense:))


also, what layout programs do you all favor?

For physics in NYC, Borough of Manhattan Community College on Chambers Street (part of the CUNY system) would be your cheapest and most convenient option. I'll most likely be taking my calculus and physics prerequisites at BMCC next year.

For layout programs, many people seem to prefer Adobe InDesign.

As for myself (and many people think I'm nuts for doing this), I've found AutoCAD to be a pretty powerful tool for layouts. With the proper pen table setups and know-how, I don't think there's much you can't do in AutoCAD can be done in InDesign, and you obviously have much better control over importing DWG files.

Cdee- it shouldn't hurt your chances at penn except for the fact that you don't have projects from those classes to put in your portfolio. The rule is that you have to have the required courses completed by the time you start (some schools even seem to let you take in the first year- Penn doesn’t).

Anyway, for specifics about this vs. that course, you need to call the school. Though I have found a lot of helpful info on Archinect, I wouldn't base something this important on hearsay or speculation.

2 semesters of physics for archs at penn is the equivalent of 1.5 semesters of regular physics material. the course had (when i took it) no labs, and was really easy (no calculus).

isn't the requirement one semester? my math is fairly good, so, i don't mind having calc involved. has anyone here heard of people skirting the UMich lab requirement....that is seriously the only thing stopping me from applying. i just don't have time to take the class and the lab.

i don't have time to take their 2 studio art classes

do you think those are of vital importance?

i planned on just taking calc and physics and history - calc is finished and i'm starting physics in the fall (with a lab)

but umich is one of my favorite choices so far....uhg.

hi everyone, i just signed up and thought i'd stop by to say hello. i, too, am applying for a 2008 m.archII program and wanted to get in on all of the discussions you're all having.

i'm not sure where i'll end up going- still trying to figure it out.

Living in Gin, how come you did put Penn on your list? any reasons?

At one point Penn was my top pick (I used to live in Philly and I know the Penn campus very well), but the more I learn about their M.Arch. program, the less impressed I am with the direction it seems to be headed. They have some good faculty, but for the money, I see myself being much happier elsewhere.

Would anyone from Penn like to defend? anyone?

Why does anybody need to defend Penn? I only stated why I'm not applying there. If somebody else wants to go there, they should go for it and not let me stand in the way.

i'll be applying MarchII this fall, im not as financially secure as i wanted to be but i think im just going to go for it; i've been working on my portfolio which will take a couple of months. then i'll focus on the GRE's later not so concerned about them

I’ll be applying to 1 maybe 2 schools

I'm just dropping in to steal the 100th post, and let you know that the 2007 thread regulars are rooting for you!

hey guys...loving the re-applying myself...so I was wondering, after taking a year off after school should I retake the GRE....got around 1250 or so, and of course I have those high aspirations such as everyone else of going to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc....give me the brutal truth and let me know if I need to cram and take again to get into those schools

hey guys...loving the re-applying myself...so I was wondering, after taking a year off after school should I retake the GRE....got around 1250 or so, and of course I have those high aspirations such as everyone else of going to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc....give me the brutal truth and let me know if I need to cram and take again to get into those schools