thedudeabides-

I'm not going to penn, and you probably already knew this, but your screen name is from the best movie EVER.

haha thanks man... you're a friend of mine just for knowing what movie its from

I heard it was in Philadelphia.

that's the rumor going around...
@dudeabides: howd you decide to go there so quick? Im in too but cant decide- also got "invited" to attend the summer program. we're so special.

2009- I chose between UPenn and Michigan. I am choosing Penn for a few reasons: I like the program and its direction. I also know a prof there and I have spoken with him at length about the school. I am also from the Philadelphia area and I really want to live close to family/ friends for a change after 4 years of undergrad pretty far away. On top of that, I got basically the same amount of funding from both schools.

What other schools are you considering?

all logical and sound reasons.

mine are:
ccny- its dirt cheap
parsons- they have a construction project studio that sounds really sweet
but penn has study abroad options, which would be good.

and Im still waiting on a couple of schools.

was just accepted to penn as well and i'm curious as to what it is you like "about the program and its direction"? can you provide specifics? i'm probably going to be at the open house and will here more on this, but penn was one of the last schools i decided to apply to and to be honest, didn't do as much research on their program as some of the other schools. any insight you've gained from your own research or from the prof you spoke of would be helpful... and yes, i do plan to do my own research as well :)

thanks!

the comment i just posted was directed to thedudeabides.

re: 2009's comment... so you've heard from ccny already?

Upenn seems a liitle easy to get into this year.

I was accepted for the M.Arch II and right now I am leaning towards going there. I plan on going to the open house, so hopefully that will help me decide (though if I don't get in anywhere else, the choice is simple!).

About the housing issue, while getting my B.Arch, I generally found that the closer I lived to campus was better. It's easier to go home for a food break/nap, pick up something you forgot to bring to studio, do laundry, etc. Also, having a short commute home at 4am after working for 20 hours is nice.

sunshy, I also noticed that it seems many people have been accepted, which I thought was peculiar given that schools are seeing huge increases in applicants.

i'm a current student at penndesign, although in the phd program rather than the m.arch. program...

regarding housing, i live in northern liberties which is a pretty cool neighborhood on the NE corner of center city... i really like it here, but i don't think that it would work that well if i was a masters student and had studio... i can be on campus in about 20 minutes via mass transit which is fine for me going to class and the library, but if i was going to be in studio for long hours it would probably be a little too inconvenient... i think that most people live in west philly/university city... i also know quite a few people that live on the far western side of center city which still puts you within relatively easy walking/biking/transit distance...

ccny emailed me around 2 weeks ago, then a phone call. I dont think they're doing mass emails though they just get to people when theyre done looking at the application. my application was late. give them a call if youre still waiting cause they seem a little disorganized.

sunshy: looking at these forums and noticing that alot of people are saying they got into a certain school doesnt mean shit. you should base your opinions on something more legitimate.
for what its worth, a friend of mine just got into gsd but was rejected at upenn, for some reason.

I could really use some advise. I have been accepted to UPenn's MARCH I program and I'm really excited because UPenn was my first choice. However, I didn't receive much funding and going to UPenn would mean $100k more in student loans than UBC which I have also been accepted in. Would the extra $100k be worth it? Will graduating from UPenn provide opportunities in my Career that would justify the addition loans? Or would UBC be a better option?

stephy864: Actually I was also accpeted in UBC. UBC and Penn have two different focus in their programs. UBC might be good at sustainable design, and Penn seems put their energy more on the digital and critical thinking.

Penn is actually highly landscape + ecologically based.

The cross fertilization from landscape + urbanism is strong.


not to mention David Leatherbarrow, Dalibor Vesely, KieranTimberlake, Matthais Hollwich, winka dubbeldam, Weiss Manfredi, cecil balmond, KBAS, Manuel Delanda, Joseph Rykwert, Laurie Olin, John Dixon Hunt, James Corner, ....

dude abides...

well my man UPENN is your school...

you know fuck Harvard and Yale
those kids are pompous
and logical

Penn is real my friend.

you have Annette Fierro, seriously intellectual shit...
about PLAY and ARCHRiGRAM...

the dude would dig that

oasis in a world of intellectual pomponous,,

UPENN.

don't go to penn. buy bulletproof jacket if you are dude, buy condoms if you are a girl, in case someone jump into your apartment to rape you.

you will learn nothing at penn, but playing around on the computer for pretty graphic. all ivies are the same shit. if you want name. go to penn, if you want to learn. home school. pay nothing. save yourself $37k + money to the food cart.

peace out. fucking tired... fuck all nighters.

riiight...

heres what you should do design.
go to a nice policeman, tell him you want to check yourself intoa prison cell. save yourself rent and living expenses for the next 3-5 years. never stay up past midnight and dont do anything all day but sit in your cell. and bring condoms for all the guys who are going to assrape you. get an economy box to save money on the condoms, youll need a bunch.
oh, and maybe bring some flavored ones too.

ugh... witty banter about rape from two dudes.

wow.

stay classy, boys.


This thread is officially dead.

I'll be at the open house (most likely)

I've been accepted into the MArchII.

Maybe I'll see some of you there.

i keep driving by Fiero road and i keep thinking...

that little lady made me brain hurt...the thing about grad school, at a serious grad school like UPENN, is you quickly figure out that even at 150 IQ with semi-eidetic memory you're still a moron.

UPENN. do it, this thread is alive.

I had Annette Fierro for studio. I liked her a lot. Good lady.

hasselhoff, it's the guy who pissed off the only studio profs who actuallly lived in the philly....

how is Japan, you still there?

It's official -- I'll be at Penn starting in June! Really really excited!

Anyone else out there enrolling this year???

put the deposit in the mail this afternoon :: looking forward to Penn's 3 year MLA + MARCH!

I'll be there for the M.Arch II. Anyone know what they are planning on doing for housing yet?

smarchitect, I'm in the same debate as you...

MArchII

assuming that's undecided, but off campus.


any advice from current students?

I've been scouring Craigslist (well, PadMapper.com) for off-campus stuff -- on-campus housing consists of two 1970s apt towers that cost around 1250 for a 1BR1BA. A bit pricey for what you get if you ask me. One of the towers also has a portion of undergrads, just FYI. But they might be nice, what do I know...

I'll probably be subletting for the summer studio session and then finding a place (and a roommate??) after getting a feel for living in Philly and around campus. I do hear that most grad/prof school students live in Center City, and judging from the options that may be where I end up.

Take a gander here, these have been pretty useful:
UPenn Grad/Prof Housing Ratings (by students)
UPenn Off-Campus Services
UPenn Graduate Housing Guide (pdf)

(I'm M.Arch I btw)

Thanks for the links Davester - Good Stuff

A lot of the students at the open house seemed to live in center city and said they have a 15 min walk to campus....that may get annoying when going back and forth to studio late night

I'll be heading over there next week to walk around the area and scope out some places....I'll let everyone know if I come across any bargains

By the way - any other MArchII's curious where we will be going next fall? I hope somewhere warm

Guys I have started up a facebook group for MArchII students attending/attended PennDesign. It would be a nice place to meet your peers and discuss about housing/professors/course/campus/philly/electives...

Please join:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78780290676&ref=mf

M E
I'm finishing up my first year in the M. Arch III program and the Certificate program in Graphic Design. I have a BS in Architecture from the University of Louisiana. I'm pleased with the way the program is structured, I would have preferred to start of in the M.Arch II program though because the work done in 600+ studios is what I'm really interested in.

P R O F E S S O R S
As far as professors go, that really depends on what you're looking for. I find the work coming out of Ferda's studio very interesting (and hope to get him next year) also Matthais's studio produces intriguing work as well and he runs his classes unlike any other studio I've seen before.

P R E P - W O R K
Things I wish I knew before coming here....that would be Maya, Rhino, Grasshopper, Scripting, Generative Components. Toying with those programs before coming here can come in handy for sure.

H O U S I N G
As for living...I live in University City 6 blocks west of campus. Most people do live here or Center City. Center City is awesome because everything is so conveniently located and is a great place to live. The distance from campus can be an issue depending on where you live. But you can always get a bike and make the trek much shorter, and find a place on the Penn Bus route (which you can call at wee hours of the morning to take you directly to your home for free.)

[Now for my shameless plug] I'm moving back to Louisiana for the summer to spend time with family and friends and am looking to sublet my apartment for the summer. I'm renting out my VERY spacious master bedroom (240 sf) in a 4br/2bth apartment (totaling 1272 sf) for $890 a month (includes utilities/hi-speed internet/cable). The apt is brand new and designed by Erdy McHenry Architects (professors at the University) and comes furnished with a number of amenities. It's in a prime location (pretty much on campus, next door to a grocery store, movie theater, a number of restaurants, etc.) You can e-mail me at netter@design.upenn.edu if interested. Also check out the website at www.theradianapartments.com
[Plug over]

J O B S
As for jobs, the economy obviously isn't very pretty right now. But Penn still managed to bring out a number of firms in for a job recruiting fair. Professors are willing to aid in your job search as well as firms (such as RMJM) that specifically seek out UPenn students. But don't expected to be handed a job on a silver platter, you're still going to have to work for it.

The things I would like to see changed about the school is mainly aesthetic, the building (as you may have noticed if you visited) could use some work. Other than that, I dig Penn.

*i live 6 blocks west of the architecture building, not 6 blocks west of campus* Easy to make a mistake like that in that long ass post, lol! Hope what I had to say helps!

Does anyone know about the on-campus housing?? If it's worth it/convenient.

buy yourself a $1 dollar property in the hood..

Stay away from Sansom Place East and West. They might look like beautiful modernist masterpieces to have come out of Neutra's office.

In fact, they smell of garbage.

wbnetter - thanks for all the helpful info!

kungapa - yea, i've heard the dorms are not so hot... i'll be steering well clear. i'd rather not spend 1.3k per month on an apartment that reeks of refuse.


for those of you entering the 3-year m.arch program, i received some interesting numbers from the admissions office:

the summer studio starting in june will have about 24 people enrolled, and the number of new students matriculating in the fall will total around 55 or so, a bakers dozen of which are international students.

thanks for the stats davester. for some reason i thought the class would be bigger. i'm one of the international dozen.

did anyone get that summer reading list? i'm deciding which ones to read. there're many interesting ones.

having just finished my first year at penn, i would consider looking at the DeLanda, the Reiser Umemoto, and the David Leatherbarrow. they may be the most directly helpful to have read entering the first year.

kaywris- would you mind posting some of Penn's reading list? I'd like to get an idea of what they're assigning you, to see if I want to apply for 2010.

I am having a difficult time "placing" GSD vs. GSAPP vs PENN... each seems very theoretical and computer-based... can anyone comment on this?

I think it changed just slightly this year, but last year's is listed below.

http://www.amazon.com/UPenn-summer-reading-list/lm/R1Y7UTJGXLRB9F

mdwetmore- are you supposed to read that ENTIRE list in 1 summer? that's over 20 books and i imagine they're not easy-reading!

Wetmore and Netter, two of the the classiest gentlemen you will ever meet. Basic breakdown, first year, you are gonna live in west philly in a shitty apartment and overpay, watching drunken frat boys harrass bareley legal teens, you will shop at a ghetto grocery store, and eat lots of great ethiopian food while sipping on some coffee from the green line cafe. Year two, living situation is so much better!...You move to center city, right over the bridge from campus, and move into a huge house with really cool roomates, pay only $235 (that's right), and have a backyard, lots of good restaurants and bars, and a couple blocks from parks at the river and rittenhouse square. Avoid Sansom if you can, most everyone that I've spoken with are not big fans. Reading list wise, those books are dominated by pretty pictures, I think you can handle it. Penn rocks and Philly is awesome, I can't wait to get back!