andimdone, my recommenders had a lot of trouble getting applytexas recommendation emails. spam folders weren't the culprit -- simply no evidence of their existence. third time was the charm for one of my recommenders.

oops, I did mean application rates

I've got signatures from both Columbia and Yale on my portfolio delivery, yet no reports online. Calling them only seems to make them angry. I don't like feeling helpless. GSD was nice enough to send an email telling me they got mine.

Anyone know if there's a way to check the status on UCLA? I've got a signature from them too, but I don't know anything about what they're doing.

is anyone missing recommendations on the status page for yale that they know were sent in well before the deadline?

Anyone applying to UPenn?

I was about to mail in my digital portfolio but right before noticed instructions from the department to keep the file at 72 dpi screen resolution. um...they mean ppi right? The only way I know of controlling the ppi in Acrobat is to go to Advanced>PDF Optimizer>Image Settings...

I set it at max. 72 ppi and ew the images look so bad :( Do you guys think this is that important of an issue? I'm thinking of upping the resolution.

On another note, people keep mentioning it, but man it's so quiet in here! Is everyone done with apps and momentarily passed out from the bliss of completing? Hope so!

Quiet here indeed --- it actually took me a a bit to initially find the thread as I had expected it to reside in 'Academia.'

Regarding your UPenn application -- I am not applying there, but I imagine that more so than 72ppi, they're really looking for smaller file sizes... 72 ppi in is super bad!

di-c:

72 dpi is the usually the maximum that a computer screen can read. This probably means that they will not be printing any portfolios onto paper. With that said, 72 dpi should be sufficient for all of your digital images.

I think it's this quiet because I've noticed that sometimes when people ask questions, some are referred to earlier posts such as the one for 2008. Since there's so much in those other posts, no one bothers asking anything new in this one.

agreed jimmyarch - and while i do believe that the use of the search function can help avoid a lot of redundancy, i do find it annoying that that is the go to response so often. a number of these posts that are referred to time and time again are getting old - i know that when i was searching for information about university of michigan i could find plenty - but it's dated 2005 etc... the school's got a new dean at this point and a "refresher" for the school would have been great.

I'm mailing Penn a printed portfolio. I'm way too neurotic to trust web res on a monitor or projector that probably has really shitty color.

and technically, 72ppi is LOWER than screen res. most modern monitors fall in the ~100ppi range

20" @ 1680x1050 -> 99.06 PPI
24" @ 1920x1200 -> 94.34 PPI
30" @ 2560x1600 -> 100.63 PPI

http://www.thirdculture.com/joel/shumi/computer/hardware/ppicalc.html

let's keep this alive then. lol. so which schools have you guys applied to?

I have asked this question in previous page but didn't get any feedback so i'm asking again. I'd love to hear thoughts.

If you try to re-apply for the same school that you were rejected last year, does that improve your chance of getting in? or not?

i'd be happy to get into the same school as my undergrad, but even that would be tough challenge this year..

just tim, i'm not sure that applying to the same school again is going to necessarily improve your chances, but i don't imagine it would count against you (although, i think some programs may limit the number of times you may reapply in a certain period - so check for something like that). i know a girl that was rejected from UT's SOA in 2007 but was accepted the next time around.

i think if you have something new to offer that's going to be a plus. i had originally intended to apply to school for enrollment straight out of college. i ultimately aborted that process halfway though - but had i applied and been rejected, i would definitely be reapplying this year. the extra time to graduate, finish my senior thesis in painting, and get a job with an architecture firm has led me to believe i have a much stronger application overall.

jaymo24, per my post above - applied to UT (Austin) and U of Michigan.

just tim, I don't see it counting against you. I'm applying to schools for the second time this year, and the sense that I've gotten is that the schools will be looking to see what you've done with the year between applications.

margot

how did you resend the recommendation email from UT Austin to your recommender? someone from grad school admissions told me to email gradref@austin.utexas.edu

same for you? please let me know, as I would obviously like to try and resend that email asap.

andimdone, i believe i was able to do it from the applytexas.org website -- but i was doing this prior to submitting the application -- i see now that i am not really able to do much. you could try that email address - you might also try giving GIAC a phone call and see what their advice is.

also, and perhaps you've already thought of this, have you had your recommender look through their spam? this of course may be of no help if it didn't go through at all the first time (as was the case with mine)

Although I am sure this is the case, is anyone certain that the Columbia FAFSA forms can be submitted online?

Kaysc and the rest of you Yale applicants-

One of my rec. letters shows as 'not received' by Yale, but I unlike you am not 100% sure it was ever sent. This is for a hard copy letter and my 2 other Yale letters were done online.

Also, anybody else send their GRE to Yale and still having it not appear on their Yale app status? I sent mine back in Nov. & I'm starting to think about resending it, erg.

I am in a similar position re: Yale and am not going to worry about it for a couple of weeks. Given that everyone is having problems and it seems like the school is just getting used to this online application system I would say you are probably in the clear.

thanks-helps me have piece of mind.

I am in need of a soothing voice to tell me everything is going to be okay, even though I have one recommendation writer that has been MIA for weeks and deadlines are on the horizon. I've tried to be polite in reminding him, but I've received zero response from him. Can someone make me feel better about this?

Good luck to everyone else who has things left to do! You're almost there (I hope)!

margot and jhooper, thanks for your insights. this is my first time applying for grad school and it is highly possible that I will re-apply next year.

imsleepy, i feel sorry for you and I too went through that path. one of my recommenders failed to submit recommendation by the deadline though I bugged her many times. According to her, the supplementary materials aren't treated as strictly as your application. well, she submitted her letter like 2 weeks past the due.
imsleepy, just have faith and submit your application. schools are kinda soft on (check your schools) letters of rec.

come to think of it, my recommender was just getting back to me for giving her hard time in her studio. I barely managed to print my poster for the final review when the presentation was halfway over...
were you being naughty too??

I don't think so, and the teasing/joking was mutual. I have to believe that if he decided he wasn't going to write it, he would tell me but who knows. I don't get people sometimes.

imsleepy, everything will be alright.
do not worry too much, for it is not something you can control.
i'm sure schools you're applying are aware of that too.
in a previous page, there's a story about this lady who got her recommendation letter couple months after the due. (in fact, her recommender just forgot to write one). my recommender took 3 weeks to learn that I requested a letter from her.
all my recommenders (except my former boss) and most recommenders mentioned by fellow archinectors in this thread are somewhat unpunctual and sluggish in communication.
with that said, just try have a good sleep and focus on your application. Good luck to you and everyone here!!!
let's see some more portfolio!!!!

imsleepy
I was in this situation and have decided to find someone else for my rec. I just can't understand why it was so difficult to sign a written letter. It actually took me 2 month to stop worrying/waitind/reminding and try to go to someone else. It was the most unpleasant experience during the whole prosess of application prep.

I'm with kungapa and AP, I dont want to post my portfolio til after I know my acceptance/rejection status.

In case you guys haven't read the M.Arch II thread, someone in there posted that they had called Yale to ask about the number of applicants this year compared to last... they said that last year the number was 500-600, and this year it's closer to 1000. GAH!!!

wow, that's intense

hi all, back after a much needed "not thinking about my application" break. Feeling much more relaxed than last week.

n400, i decided to play by the rules and i actually came out with two written pieces which flow quite nicely together, but are strong on their own. Still not 100% sure, but I guess I will know if I did the right thing in a few months.

pinkbug... glad to find someone else applying for UBC, not sure what the process is for LA though. You're well ahead of the game by starting to think about it now, good for you! I procrastinated til october, gah. I can say that beyond a doubt the hardest part of the application for me was the written stuff. I am pretty confident with my portfolio (hope they agree), but don't feel 100% about the two docs. If I am accepted I would be happy to share them with you, but don't want to send you in the wrong direction just yet :)
I'll probably stop by once a week or so over the next while, not as obsessively as before, and I will for sure post my results.

Good luck again to all, hope you are all past the deadlines and enjoying a well deserved break.

I wonder if schools ever consider upping their admissions slots? There may be a lot of architects looking for teaching work if their experiencing the worst of this recession.

Wishful thinking.

their => they're

i'm officially done with my applications. sent them yesterday to GSAPP, Pratt and NYIT (for post-prof programs), knowing that two of my recommendations havent been sent yet. *ulp* i sent them a message last night before i went to bed, and this afternoon i checked and my recs are complete. i think my being pushy worked after all. haha.

time to relax a bit, all of you (unless you havent sent your stuff yet). wish you all good luck! im also posting my stuff probably after knowing the results.

Here's a question for you guys. You might need the whole picture but I'll give you a run down. GPA was not good from first University (4 yrs Chem Engineering), transfered to another and got on Dean's List (attended for 1 year part time - Graphic Design), transfered again to a well established art school with no GPA system (4 yrs BFA). Applying for MArch 1 2009. My question is, I'm getting absolutely glowing letters from the Program Director of the Graduate Arch Dept and from the former Chair, now Professor, of the Grad Arch Dept., will this help offset the low GPA from 6 years ago? I figure it should considering it shows how I am doing now versus years ago.

I think it will help. Also, people in previous threads said that when GPA is low, its better when, over time, your GPA was improving rather than getting worse.

Some apps., and furthermore some archinectors, mentioned that if your GPA was significantly low at some point that you in some way explain why, perhaps in your personal statement. Thankfully for you, your lowest GPA was during your chem. eng. and you can explain it away as lack of passion for the subject matter, ergo the reason you changed schools (or maybe it was illness or family stuff or economic hardship, etc.).

just curious, how old are you lost in stress.

Lesov, I think that playing by the rules was the right decision. The reviewers are your future professors and the application was your first assignment. I'm curious to know why others disagree with me here.

Is anyone else applying to UF this year?

I submitted my application online, so my letter of intent can no longer be changed; I'd like to trade it via e-mail if anyone is interested. I'd also like to trade my portfolio with others from non-arch backgrounds.

pinkbug - 28, my UG education has been a 10 yr ordeal

GiantClam - I did use my essay to help explain my past academic education and what I learned from it. Despite my low performance I still consider it a valuable experience.

GSAPP still says my portfolio hasn't been recieved...but USPS tracking says it was delivered and signed for a month ago!!

Someone please comfort me with a similar anecdote.

They could still be processing all the mail they received. Top schools get something like 400 apps a year. I called Penn today and asked about my app status and they said one transcript was missing, called the school that I requested it from and they said it was sent out beginning of Jan. Called Penn back and they said not to worry because they are processing so much mail that its probably in there. Plus, end of Dec and early Jan is holiday season so probably not much work got done between the 15th and the 1st. I wouldn't worry until they call you and tell you that you're missing something. Either case you have tracking that proves someone at GSAPP signed for it.

Thanks. I called two weeks ago and this is pretty much what they told me. I was just getting a little antsy now that it's been a month. I guess this can also be used to console people pulling their hair out over rogue recommenders/other "missing" items.

They all talk a big game like the deadline is the be-all-end-all, but if you call and push them a little bit 2 weeks down the line, they'll reluctantly admit they haven't even gotten to sorting everything out yet.

Conversely, if the number of applicants is really up almost 100% this year, as the post above indicates, I'm probably in trouble no matter how complete my application file is.

landshark said:
"In case you guys haven't read the M.Arch II thread, someone in there posted that they had called Yale to ask about the number of applicants this year compared to last... they said that last year the number was 500-600, and this year it's closer to 1000. GAH!!!"

i picked a bad year to apply =(

Wow, maybe I'm not getting into Grad School this year. Anyone know what the M Arch 1 applicant pool looks like?

hahah

ick though!

what are the numbers for the other schools? any intel on that one?

also,
has anyone been thinking about math/physics prereq.s i.e., when to take them, what sort of prep. is necessary?

I don't think I ever took precalc, but I took trig. What can I do to prepare for going back to high school?

I realize now that my 'missing' Yale LOR may actually be missing.
Any thought/tips on how to prod a forgetful & busy recommender? Who also happens to be my current boss?

has anyone who has applied in previous years had late recommendations and still managed to get in anywhere? i've heard that some schools only review complete applications as of the deadline and let the late ones in if they have space afterwards...

as for the prereqs, i'm talking calc at night at the cc this semester while working full time and its actually not that bad, though tuesdays and thursdays are going to be looong days

i called and found these stats:

mit = 50% increase in applicants in architecture department (march - 20% increase)

berkeley = 33% increase in march