Hi guys,

For anyone attending both the GSAPP and the GSD Open Houses:

A friend of mine, who used to live in Boston and often traveled to/from NYC, recommended taking a bus. She said it takes about the same time as the train, and is way way cheaper, and supposedly the trains arent a hell of a lot nicer than the buses anyhow. Here's a link I found listing multiple options, my friend specifically recommends the Fung Wah Bus (disclaimer-she says this bus line is owned by the Chinese Mafia, but shouldnt be cause for concern)

http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com/transport/bus/bos_nyc_bus.html

Well I guess I can slide UCLA into the "no" column then since I haven't seen hide nor hair of them. I doubt I'll get any love from the west coast.

I'm still waiting to hear from Pratt and sci-arc will probably send out in the next week or so
The way these things go, I guess i'll hear from pratt by the end of the week?

It can't be longer than that. Open House is april 6th.


Someone had asked at what time Columbia was having their open house? Its at 9 am, april 1st.

I called.


Just sent out my scholarship app today. Under confusion i didnt send it out before the original deadline, but they will but me on a scholarship waitlist of sorts.

I really hope I'm able to get a large package somehow. My parents make as much as the school costs.

meowkytekt-

I'll pitch in for the champagne, if need be.

fyi, there have been a couple of occasions where fung-wah bus tipped over on its way to/from new york.

also, i wouldnt take the fung-wah bus if its raininig outside.
this guy took of his shoes in the midway because it was wet and shit.
the situation was unbearable after that.

but yes, its crazy cheap.

loulou, do you happen to know when GSD will send the decisions out for M Arch II applicants?

st1ch - i only applied to ubc (which is the reason for the insanity and impatience on my part). I did my b.eds at Dalhousie '02. I've been working in arch ever since.
and i found out yesterday that for sure i'm losing my job.... effective end of March, so yeah, i need to know whether i should be a little worried or a lot worried.
plus i'm sick... so i'm feeling VERY sorry for myself at the moment.

and one incident where the bus caught on fire and the driver just abandoned the riders somewhere in the middle of philly on its way back to ny from dc. granted it's was a diff. route but uh...of the same company. good luck - i would rather do grayhound even if the seats are nastier, your life may depend on this ride!!!

Yikes! Thanks for letting me know your opinions of the Fung Wah! Perhaps my friend had unusually positive experiences with them.

i have been avoiding posting my stats, but have finally decided that i am ready to reveal more :)



ucla b.a. psychology ('06) - crappy 2.77GPA
gre: 790Q / 600V / 5.5
completed jump start @ UCLA during summer '08, got a 4.0GPA

also a CAD/BIM monkey @ a small arch. firm in south pasadena

portfolio consisted of 2 jump start projects, and fine arts coursework from santa monica college & pasadena city college.




my tally thus far, in order of my personal preference:
UCLA: IN!!
SCI-Arc: ??
UCBerkeley: ??
U.Oregon: IN
U.Michigan: IN w/10K scholarship
ASU: IN
Cal Poly Pomona: ??

i have friends who ruuuuuv the fung-wah bus.
have not heard of abandonment or fires, but will def. warn them after reading all these horror stories!?

I've taken the Fung Wah (aka chinatown bus) once and it wasn't bad. Pretty blazin' fast ride. I've also taken greyhound (They have the earliest am bus departure from NY). Bolt bus is also another option.

Entasis,

congrats on RISD! I'll be going to the open house in April too. Maybe I'll see you there.

hobo.. you have kick ass score on your quantitative. Good job!!!!

btw, I have not heard any horror stories about any of the buses. I took it from NY to DC several times. I'm still here!!!

5f2b; what I was told was that acceptances would be mailed during the last week of March and the last notifications ( rejections?) should arrive by the first days of April. I think they are not sure exactly when they would be mailed, and hopefully is earlier than their estimates.

...just a few articles re: fung-wah bus...


http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10662200/detail.html

http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=62338

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/no_one_hurt_as_1.html

thx loulou.

sounds like they're just being lazy. haha.

so, i leave for australia on friday. i received my acceptance email from wash u, but thats it. nothing from the other schools, either. mail came today and there was nothing of importance, otherwise i have to rely on friends checking my mail and giving me updates via email. this kind of sucks.

so...are there any recommended alternatives to fung wah, or just more horror stories?

never nude:

greyhound is marginally more expensive ($30 vs. $20) and generally more reliable, although you cannot guarantee that you'll get a seat on your ticketed time if there are more people than seats (not usually an issue, except on holidays).

boltbus and megabus are both cheap and you can reserve a specific departure but they tend to sell out quickly.

amtrak is more expensive ($70 - $140) but is generally on time, comfortable, and is not subject to traffic and winter weather. it is not significantly faster (3.5 hrs or 4 hrs, versus about 5 on the bus).

never nude:

greyhound is marginally more expensive ($30 vs. $20) and generally more reliable, although you cannot guarantee that you'll get a seat on your ticketed time if there are more people than seats (not usually an issue, except on holidays).

boltbus and megabus are both cheap and you can reserve a specific departure but they tend to sell out quickly.

amtrak is more expensive ($70 - $140) but is generally on time, comfortable, and is not subject to traffic and winter weather. it is not significantly faster (3.5 hrs or 4 hrs, versus about 5 on the bus).

GSD MArchII's are going out. Just got my package. about 75% funding.

Have been a silent observer until now, but everyones anxious to know that stuff is comming out. check your mf-ing mail boxes, bitches!

my stats
GSAPP MSAUD on monday. decent 'scholarship'.

gpa 3.95
gre uhhhhh, very low.
MArch from msu (MT) 2006
2yrs post grad work experience at decent shop

where should i go? perhaps ill leave it up to the openhouse. harvards USPS package contents are cooler.

never nude, where are you coming from? of course there is the good ol'grey hound if you're thinking on tight budget. if you can spend a bit more, amtrak is the way to go. if you can spend a little more than that of course there is the bullet, amtrak's acela from dc-penn station nyc-boston

my boyfriend's brother only has negative things to say about amtrak and on time/timely arrivals. it's my understanding that amtrak must defer to freight trains and thus can get stuck at crossings along their route continuously. he apparently always had a hellish time getting between ann arbor and chicago.

awesome, thanks a lot bartleby

lesov:

what is the b.eds. at dalhousie? I applied there for their m.arch and they said that i would have to apply for their b.eds. program because of their prerequisites. I'm completing my a degree in environmental design right now.

st1tch: where are you doing your B. End?

missmeer, that ann arbor - chicago corridor is notoriously bad for amtrak. My realives have yet to have a good experience on it. I have to think it's better on the eastcoast. Afterall, it gets Biden to work every day right?

newport i'm heading there from dc. so ny first by a different chinese bus 'new century travel'. they do dc-philly-ny
then to boston, i guess on the 2nd. looks like i'll be taking greyhound. then maybe amtrak it back.

missmeer i've heard some people complain about amtrak timing as well. hopefully this should be a non issue if people are coming in the day before.
is anyone gonna tough out an overnight bus to the 9:00 am open house?

whoa, that's weird, I thought they allowed people to transfer into the m.arch as long as you're doing the same thing as the b.eds (which it sounds like you are). Hmm, maybe call and talk to someone about it?
oh, b.eds = bachelor in environmental design. that's wack that they'd make you do it twice. I saw screw them.

erm...I *say* screw 'em.

fivestring,

congrats-

where are u located?

yeah, the person i spoke with may have no idea what she was talking about. It didn't make any sense getting another degree in Environmental Design before doing my M.Arch. I guess it just all depends on what my options are after I receive all of my decisions.

andimdone: I'm taking ED at OCAD right now

thanks f52b, im on the west coast.

i'll be saying "no" to uic, uva, umich, gsd and gsapp, so for everyone on the waiting list--you're one person closer to getting an offer.

bartleby, my thanks as well. I didnt realize my post about Fung Wah would prompt such contention!

BTW for anyone flying into NY for GSAPP, my bro has had good experiences taking a pre-scheduled multi-passenger shuttle from Laguardia > Manhattan. But who knows, maybe these vans flip over and lose their wheels too, ha.

miro.m

Awesome. Thanks for the congrats.

Hope to see you there.

So, I missed a DHL delivery today. I used the tracking number on the sticker to see where it came from. It originated in Vancouver, Canada. So that just means one thing... UBC has sent me a package. :)

I got into RISD too - will be going from Boston to the April 7 open house.
Trying to decide between RISD and Pratt. RISD gave me an assistantship as well so that sounds fun.

what's going on with MIT ?? it seems like the only people who got in (MarchI) found out via phone (?)

jimmyarch - omigod! How do you get it??? Oh, that would drive me crazy. And... where are you located? Hope it's good news!!

i would like a package from ubc -_-

me too, me too! i'm going to be home in 45 minutes... cross your fingers... although, i would only have a missed courier slip, which would likely push me over the edge at this point.

Fung Wah bus from NYC to Boston = super scary. They're craaazy drivers. Plus all sorts of breakdowns (from what i've heard from friends). Splurge the extra 30 bucks and go for Greyhound.

Sorry didn't see all the posts on fung wah before...

There are other buses you can take. I never took fung wah, but other buses aren't too bad!!!
here is the link: http://www.ivymedia.com/

lesov,

The sticker I was referring to was a courier slip saying, "Sorry we missed you."

I called DHL and told them that I would pick up the package myself at their office tomorrow because I won't be around to pick it up, and I don't want them to leave it on my door. So, I'll see tomorrow.

Oh, and I'm in the Seattle area. So, I'm probably one of the closer ones to get a package from UBC here in the states, since UBC is only a few hours away from me.

According to thegradcafe, acceptance letters (packages) to GSD are still arriving ever so slowly...

Keep your hopes up everyone.

if you are going boston -> nyc, i would agree amtrak is a nice way to go. made the trip over the summer... came in ahead of time, reasonably priced, and more comfortable/more legroom than a highway bus. i'd definitely recommend it after my experience on that particular route.

though i will say, i took amtrak once from jacksonville fl to baltimore and that was horrendous...

hey never nude, ny to boston amtrak service is quite reliable. not sure how much in advance you plan to be in boston before your open house but maybe you should consider taking amtrak there and bus back. the ride is much more comfortable like TheDavester said so you will be much "fresher" for your open house :)

bolt bus all the way. they have the internets.