Michigan has a pretty high acceptance rate...I think it's somewhere around 30%...well, at least it was when I enrolled a few years ago. Turned out to be the best decision I ever made. Also, check out Syracuse, RISD, and Va. Tech. That said, I wouldn't consider any of these schools "safeties", nor any ranked by DI, for that matter. There are plenty of good quality schools not ranked by DI, so I would take a look around to see what you really want out of your education.

Thanks. Michigan is currently ranked #1 for MArch, so I wasn't expecting it to be a safety. But that acceptance rate looks good (if it's still like that).

If anyone else knows the acceptance rates of other schools, that'll be helpful.

You are going by more than just the DI rankings in choosing your options, right? Like sinisterminister said, there are many great programs that aren't covered by DI (there are also ranked schools that are really questionable).

mr. minimal,

Yes, I understand there are many great programs not covered by DI. That's precisely why I'm asking here. I need help finding these programs.

Okay, but your use of the term 'safety school' suggests that programs not in the DI top ten are necessarily inferior. When rankings like that are leaving out schools like Princeton, Cooper Union, UVA, and Syracuse, something funny is going on.

I don't think you could find many people who would say that Princeton doesn't have a superior program to say, WUSTL or Cincinnati, both of which are in the "top 10."

And Michigan's a great school, but as has been discussed on here before, they were outside DI's top 20 last year. How does a school go from 20+ to #1 in a year without flawed methodology?

They're all great schools, but there is a guy from Michigan throwing tons of $$$$$$$$$$$$ around...money tends to buy a lot things:)

By "safety schools," I don't mean programs that are inferior; I mean programs that are easier to get into for someone with a limited architecture background and a 3.4 GPA.

So, rather than discuss the validity of DI's rankings, if anyone wants to share info on acceptance rates, average GPA of incoming students, etc., that would be great.

Thanks.

i have an old acquaintance who teaches at louisiana tech --- a few years ago he sent me a link to an exhibit with an online component that they had just held and i have to say, it was really impressive work --- i was talking with another acquaintance who had been at LSU for a few years about that time and he kinda confirmed that they seem to have something going on down there --- the faculty seem to do a very good job --- 

Read a few other posts from people who applied to M.Arch for Fall 2011 and you will find that UCLA is not exactly a safety school.  Everyone seems to have been rejected from UCLA  and the worst part is they didn't let anyone know.  There are still those who have not heard from UCLA yet.

So much of this depends on your particular interests.

Do you want a program focused on sustainability, digital fabrication/building technology, theoretical digital design, urban design, design/build, the convergence of art+architecture, or something else? The four schools you listed as your top choices are somewhat all over the place, but maybe there's some common thread that isn't obvious.

I used http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools.aspx as a guide for acceptance rates, some dont list them and some are off but it's still good to get an idea. As was mentioned Michigan has a pretty high acceptance rate, their website shows 2010 as having about 68% for the three year program. My safeties were Oregon and Michigan which I both got into, among three other schools, WUSTL, VT, and Cincy.

UWM SARUP is a good choice.

I have been doing a lot of research, and someone correct me if I am wrong.....but, there are very few schools that will accept most anyone.

It seems that a couple are more lenient. Examples include Lawrence Institute of Tech, BAC, Catholic, and UT Arlington. I don't know about the quality of education received there, but they do not absolutely require portfolios (pretty sure), and they have simple cut offs for GPA/GRE.

That said, don't be fooled into thinking the state school you haven't heard of is some how easy to get into. Schools like NJIT, UC-Denver etc. are in desirable locations (Newark real close to NYC) for low tuition. I don't know their acceptance rate but I really don't think they are fit into the traditional definition of a "saftey school"

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

So I was checking the website provided by lomas3, and it seems that jordans99 is right: there aren't that many schools with particularly high acceptance rates (thought that site didn't have admissions stats for every school).

Now I'm wondering if applying to a greater number of schools is the best strategy. I'm thinking of 8 schools: my top four and four other less selective (but still somewhat selective) schools.

Top Choices:

- GSD

- Yale

- PennDesign

- MIT

Less Selective Choices:

- UCLA

- USC ??

- Syracuse ??

- Michigan ??

Or I could just apply to 8 selective schools, adding Columbia, Princeton, etc. The thing is, I was reading the posts by others who have applied, and it really does seem like a crapshoot: people have gotten into seemingly more selective schools while being rejected into presumably less selective ones. So should I just try out my luck?

Shy Guy,

You're all over the map. Why are you applying to any of these programs? I'm inclined to believe you don't know what you want from them other than to say that the Ivy league brand are your top choices and everything else is secondary. You haven't made any references to what you are looking to get out of your education, what you want to do, where you want to work, what teaching styles you prefers.

Being from the northeast, my inclination is to say USC and UCLA are a step down from the other 6 programs you mentioned (all of which I would put on the same level). CalPoly and UC-Berkeley have better reputations here than them.

sci-arc. j/k

burningman,

Thanks for pointing this out. You're right, I haven't been specific about what I want: mostly, I'm looking for schools in the Northeast and California (I like it better in these parts of the country), and my top choice schools and UCLA are all schools which I have visited and decided that I like their campuses and locations within their respective cities. The only exception to this is Yale, whose location isn't as good, but I really admire Robert Stern.

So yeah, this is what I'm looking for in a school:

- Northeastern or California city

- Good location (i.e., nice neighborhood) within its city

- On-campus housing for grad students

- Resident Assistant opportunities for grad students

So, this is why I'm choosing these schools:

- GSD: Dorm-style on-campus housing for grad students and the opportunity to be an RA at undergrad dorms; having a seventh semester to work on your thesis sounds great.

- Yale: I have always liked Robert Stern's architectural style; I think grad students are eligible to be RA's here too

- PennDesign: West Philadelphia isn't so bad; also dorm-style on-campus housing for grad students and the opportunity to be an RA at undergrad dorms

- MIT: One of my recommenders teaches at MIT; and again dorm-style on-campus housing for grad students and the opportunity to be an RA at undergrad dorms

- UCLA: Attractive campus in good LA neighborhood; collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering; nearby apartments for grad students.

One thing I learned as an undergrad is that I work more efficiently when I live close to my clases. This is why residential life is such a big factor for me. Grad student housing at the GSD and Penn is particularly close to the architecture schools.

Why do you care about being an RA, especially when you could be a teaching assistant instead?

Choosing a graduate program should be primarily based on what you want to pursue academically, not where you can live while you're there. With the exception of your interest in Robert Stern at Yale, all of the reasons you listed are tiebreakers (at best). 

If you're accepted to an M.Arch program, you'll probably be notified in March/April, so you'll have 4-5 months to find a convenient place to live. 

Here's a better question, maybe: You're going to have to write statements of purpose for every school to which you apply, so what are the reasons you'd tell the GSD, MIT, Yale, Penn, etc. that you want to go there? Surely not because of location or grad student housing; your application would get laughed out of the room.

you can go to UMiami where burningman went, then you can sell your soul to classical architecture and other nostalgic pecker-suckers like Robert Stern. And then you can make homes you will never live in......... for rich old people, that will make up for all the loans you take out, plus you whine about what "real" architecture is for the rest of your life to make up for the fact you had a mediocre conservative education.

At Yale, I dont know what your chances will be for getting Stern as a studio professor, I would avoid it.

go to a place pushing things forward, it might not even be in america

Lol, for those who have been on here recently. I have a stalker, Louis Kahn, aka Louise Kunt, who follows me from one thread to the next. For the record, I didn't go to Miami. But if you are looking for a third rate artsy safety school in southern cali, Sci-Arc accepts 70% and there is no application deadline;)

Seconding burningman, don't apply to eight schools. Looking at your "top four" choices, these programs, with the exception of boasting strong reputations, are wildly divergent in their approaches. That's also a hell of a lot to ask of a recommend-er, that he/she tailors EIGHT individual letters from your interests and abilities to emphases and tradition at said school.

I've heard, time and again, to apply to no more than five. If you think you don't have a shot at the ivy's, why spend $400 bucks + portfolio cost + your recommend-ers not taking you seriously as to your interests?? Choose an absolute safety, two reasonable schools, and two dream schools - tops.

It sounds like you need more time to read about the programs that interest you. At the GSD open house, there were students choosing between Yale, MIT and the GSD. For the life of me, I can't understand how a student has an inkling of her own interests or goals while finding this decision incredibly difficult. At that point, if you've taken time to explore the programs, it's clear that you just don't know what you want, which is a dangerous premise for four years of graduation education.