nariman - your work is awesome! really dig the website

Congrats to everyone that has heard good news. For all the ppl that got accepted at UofT did they offer you any sort of financial aid? To piggyback on what nariman has said, if anyone is planning on going to the open house or visiting the Faculty of A&LD, it would be great to hear your thoughts about the program.

"although we are unable to offer you a merit-based fellowship at this time, you will be considered for a fellowship as funds become available."

-al&d utoronto

Did UofT email or post?

chopsky: UofT was postal followed by email.
ibiza: I was offered a small fellowship even though I didnt apply for aid.

i wasnt offered anything in the way of aid. got the same message as nariman.

sounds like im the only one here able to visit in the next few weeks, so ill try to remember to drop some info here while im in toronto.

the design studios are doing their term reviews, and thats what ill be visiting for. ill be getting in touch with yvonne in the next couple days to schedule something specific. she didnt mention anything about an open house or other organized sort of program, so shed arrange a more ad hoc meeting at my convenience.

i really have to spend some time thinking about what it is i want from a program. i have broad interests, so theory is perfectly fine. but let me compare for you all the first year of studies at UofT versus VTech.

Toronto:

TERM 1
ARC 1011Y: Architectural Design Studio 1: Design
ARC 1021H: Visual Communication 1
ARC 1031H: Historical Perspectives on Topics in Architecture 1
ARC 1041H: Architecture in its Technological-Ecological Context

TERM 2
ARC 1012Y: Architectural Design Studio 2: Site, Building, Tectonics
ARC 1022H: Visual Communication 2
ARC 1032H: Historical Perspectives on Topics in Architecture 2
ARC 1042H: Site Engineering and Ecology

VTech:

Fall

Qual. Design Lab 1
Qual. Design Seminar 1
Basic Principles of Stereotomy

Spring

Qual. Design Lab 2
Qual. Design Seminar 2
Descriptive Geometry & Structures

What does that tell me? after going through the course descriptions, i see that before you ever focus on building science/structures at toronto you take two classes on ecology, more on theory nd history, etc. im into studying theory, sustainable practices and ecology, but really? i think VTechs program sounds much more technically rigorous, which follows what ive heard in other researching. tech grads really know how to build.

so while i would much rather live in toronto than blacksburg, this visit is going to have to prove to me that toronto will teach me to build at least 2/3 of what tech can, and in half as many building courses.

but im definitely going in with an open mind.

if any current/former UofT MArchs could chime in, it would be really helpful.

Thank you guys for your feedback, that was great. I liked the forthrightness, something friends/family are not always terribly good at.

nariman -

i second the awesome portfolio comment. i don't know about the programs you applied to but most i applied to requested paper portfolios - did you, and how did you, alter the web content for submission?

mrbren,

To be honest, architecture school isn't about learning how to build a building; at least in the strictest sense. It's about much more than that. The more technical aspects of your architectural education are really best learned within the working environment under the constraints of professional practice.

Things like theory are every bit as important as building technology/ecology courses (if not more so) and are most likely something you won't get any of in the working environment.

citrus: I agree completely. As I said, every accredited program will give you what you need as far as the technical stuff. The rest will be learned in professional practice. design school, to me, is more about learning how to build with meaning and intention. After all, we are entrusted with the task of building the places where we live/work/play... and these complex activities require an understanding that transcends building code, HVAC, etc.

andytee,

thanks for the compliments. all of the programs i applied to did require paper portfolios. the website has almost no design to it, and was done after the printed edition. i can't put the whole thing online, but i'm putting up two spreads. i will take pictures of the printed object tomorrow and post here.

www.narimanmousavi.com/sandbox/mousavi1.pdf
www.narimanmousavi.com/sandbox/mousavi2.pdf

Final Tally (M.Arch II Applicant):

Columbia AAD - accepted
Upenn - accepted
AA DRL - accepted
Bartlett - accepted

Princeton - rejected
Yale - rejected

Really wanted to get into Yale but didnt know too much about it. Leaning towards Columbia. Funny thing, i had to call penn and yale today to finally get a response.

Best of luck to everyone.

legit points, and ones ive considered. my concern is just whether the balance is right for me in a given place. in speaking with professionals i never heard anyone complain that new hires were weak on theory, just that they were weak on technical know-how. that said, they also told me that these days grads were bringing new things to the table and teaching them about planning and green practices.

its def good to hear your points from people who probably know more than i do. it helps put some of those questions to rest.

mrbren, I'm sure the pros will always complain that graduates don't have enough technical know-how coming out of school, but that's only because they're hiring recent graduates to draw construction documents, weatherproofing details, and look up material specs. They're not interested in applying what you know about architectural history or urban theory etc.; the vast majority want a technical monkey.

It's your design abilities that'll make you valuable beyond your technical knowledge, and history/theory is an invaluable part of that equation.

whose waiting on sci to the arc?

I am waiting for m.arch on sci

Actually I can't wait anymore due the deadline application of my scholarship .... ARRRRGGGH and Syracuse ask for your decision no late of 15th April.

Whats going on with SCI_Arc??

they're making us suffer... because they can. they're probably reading this right now laughing at us

today is the Berkeley open house. I can't go because I live on the E. coast and am trying to save money...

Anyone who goes (or anyone else connected somehow with Berkeley), would you mind giving your impressions?

hey guys :)

I got accepted to:

USC-M.Arch (pp)
UIUC-M.Arch (2yr tr)
WU, St.louis- M.UD (1yr)
UF, Gainsville- M.Arch (2yr tr)

havnt decided yet but I am leaning towards USC. would love to get to know my potential classmates :)

Hm, i haven't heard from Yale yet. I have been swamped with work so bady I'm just realizing it's now the 7th.

Has anyone else not yet heard?

Still waiting on sci-arc as of today : \

Are there any good threads about Pratt M.Arch I? I applied on a whim and so far it's my only option out of 7. (4 waitlists ..... this has just been the most hellish months of my life)

citrus - thanks for the input, seriously. thats a good point. its always good to consider who is giving you each piece of info. academics will stress academics, and professionals will stress the technical. both likely are true.

discrete - 4 waitlists? sounds brutal. at least you were strong enough to be considered. i got straight rejected from 4!

*mrbren, check out second year at utoronto

2nd year, term 1

ARC 2013 Architectural Design Studio 3: Culture and the Metropolis
ARC 2023 Intermediate Computer Applications
ARC 2043 Building Science, Materials and Construction 1
elective

2nd year, term 2

ARC 2014 Architectural Design Studio 4: Comprehensive Building Project
ARC 2044 Structures 1
ARC 2045 Building Science, Materials and Construction 2
ARC 2047 Environmental Systems

it seems like second year is all about the practical. besides the base studio courses the rest are technical classes.

ju.dr, i got into usc too...thinking about it. i'm visiting in a few weeks. curious to see what kind of impact the new dean has had. i'm finding it difficult to get a lot of useful info, especially samples of student work (other than on the website)

...the west coast is the best coast

Thanks mrbren, I appreciate that.

I'm definitely psyched to have gotten the nod for the waitlists. That said, I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not I should look at this as meaning my portfolio was not ready, accept with pratt, or cross my fingers and sneak in on a waitlist.

My portfolio today is about 100x stronger than my portfolio in December in terms of complexity, org. / layout, quality of work and thought . . . I never thought I could spend 100s of hours on something and not feel much satisfaction.

I've gotta figure out what's going on with my Yale app though. Their open house is this week (i think) and I've heard nil. I feel like I'm the only one that hasn't heard!!!!

thanks nariman,

i had a good look at the entire program's course progression. i just thought it was interesting that they didnt try to develop the two elements in parallel. but i did notice that they pick it up in the second year.

one other thing that i noticed was you cant much focus on geometry, structures or statics, et cetera, in your electives.

i will be looking into this more next week during my visit. ive been digging and digging and digging for student work online, and have to say it looks pretty good so far. im sure theyll have answers to all my concerns.

there's an "introduction to furniture design" as an elective. i'm sooooo taking that.

Just got my GSD financial aid report... anyone else get theirs? I know they have a big endowment and all, so I was just trying to figure out how much (in grants) they might typically award to an incoming student. Just curious... anyone have a clue?

endowment is not big, remember gsd alumni are still architects. i come from the lower income bracket and was offered 16k/year.

hey d-train..........even I am very curious, i think the new dean is one of the main reasons that USC sounds appealing :) pls let me know what you think of the place when u get there............................ btb where else are u thinking of going??

So was I... guess that's the norm. I was actually surprised that I got that much! (and yes, I realize their endowment is not very big compared to some of the other schools at Harvard, but compared to other ARCHITECTURE programs I figured they were still on top.) Thanks for the response, DJ.

i also saw the furniture class. if i decide on toronto, ill definitely see you there.

ju.dr...my only other option is sci-arc, which of course i haven't heard from yet

d-train.... ya i was seeing quite a lot of ppl seem to be waiting for sci-arc.......:) best of luck on that. I have to make a choice (and fast!!!) between UIUC, WU St.louis, UF and USC

Have we established that sci-arc has not sent out any notifications? good or bad?

My appreciation for on-line notification is growing rapidly.

Numerous people have called (myself included last week) and posted their generally similar findings from sci-arc:

- Last week was final faculty meetings/decisions.
- They have not sent out any notifications yet.
- They are sending out tuesday and wednesday of this week. Not sure if that means email or mail.
- One person was given an answer (waitlisted) by email and posted it a few pages back (not sure how they got an answer out of em).

when i was at sci-arc last week i was told there would possibly be phone calls for acceptances....

....courier pigeons

bio-morphous pigeons enmeshed within LA's suburban fabric...

[from the cabinet magazine issue about electricity] - i would be tickled to get my sci-arc acceptance via one of these - waiting when almost everyone else knows where they're going blows

Anyone have any insight on which program has a better reputation - Pratt or USC. Ive narrowed it down to those two but am still unsure of what to do. USC i have scholarship and is only two years but I am not very familiar with the facilities. I am from NY, as my family still all lives here so I am thinking that Pratt will be my final answer. Also - anyone know about study abroad programs at either school? Thanks!

the 16K that GSD gave --- it that for the first year only or every year for the 3+. MIT made some generous offers too, mind-you the are only aiming for 20-25 students in september.

grants are need-based and decided by what you put on your FAFSA. if you make the same amount of money in the following year, you will most likely receive the same amount of financial aid.

hokay...

I'm considering USC as well. Though I can't compare Pratt vs. USC I did tour USC a year ago. They were just finishing their brand new school of Arch building which I was impressed with. They were definitely promoting their certificates in Building Tech, Preservation, etc... Even though I realize those certificates don't have all that much "pull" on a resume, I really like the availability and options that they're offering if your personal enthusiasms take you into more slightly varied fields like engineering, etc. Also there is a new Beijing summer study abroad... as well as trips to London and Madrid. I'm not sure the details but it seems every correspondance I get from them has a mention about those. One other note on the facilities is that USC is very centralized and even though the Arch dept is on one edge of the campus it is still very much part of the Trojan area... college feel (as opposed to say Sci-Arc or the likes).

My personal opinion from what I saw is that attending USC in the next few years would definitely be catching the program on the way up. I think most people agree that these programs all fluctuate and have their "heyday" as well as declines. I don't know anything about Dean Qingyun Ma but I get a sense from what I saw that the program is on an uptick. Yes I realize that comment doesn't have much backing it so everyone has to get their own feel but I'm reacting to the general enthusiasm / optimism I noticed. Oh... and their staff has been by far the most friendly and responsive out of any dept I've visited or had to deal with in applying. With that being said... I got 1/2 tuition covered by the arch dept scholarship and its still my most expensive option... so I don't know that I will be able to do it.

Thanks for the fantastic info. I have a plane ticket to go visit this weekend but I'm unsure if I am still going to go if I decide on Pratt, to save money. Hmmm.... you would think all the toughy parts would be over after the whole application process. I can see myself happy at either place, I just don't know a whole lot about the USC program. What other schools are you deciding between?

pbandj:

first of all congrats. there were 750+ applicants and 52 were selected total.

the berkeley open house was very informative. the program is very FLEXIBLE. you basically define your own curriculum based on the 5 program areas in which you must complete courses. you can as well apply this fall for some of the joint programs you may be interested in but did not apply for - they have spring admission. they encourage taking course within and outside the college/department.

the faculty has serious depth - from sustainability to urbanism to technology and design embodiment. if you have an interest, the resources exist. no hand holding going on. the open door policy is for you to take advantage of.

my concern was california public school budget cuts - but because berkeley is the only arch program in the UC system with ugrd&grad the money is still flowing. such that they are purchasing 2 new laser cutters and another 3d starch printer... the wood shop is great. theres a rare book archive in the building. library pretty nice.

abroad opportunities thru traveling studios. 10days working on projects in places like india, liberia, china. or the branner fellowship. 30k and 12months travel.

overall some really revolutionary things are going on in the program. much opportunity to grow as a designer, theorist, professor - whatever your direction may be.

Acceptance email from SCI-Arc, M.Arch 2.

really?


COOOOOL

in at sci-arc march 2! hell yeah grey! open house is april 19th..kinda awkward....ill see you folks at the columbia open house and the sciarc open house....