starting page 25 off with a bang

god i'm good

ADavin- thank you for the kind words my friend.. how are your decisions shaping up?

a.sore .. I think you meant GO BUCKS! .. well, anything 'cept go blow that is.

oh, and: got into maryland, woohoo! my saftey, but nice nonetheless :)

Congrats villain, how did you find out about the maryland acceptance?

a.sorell - I'm a 2004 graduate, so suffice it to say that I've been away from academia for a little while. Excited to be returning after 6 tumultuous years in the working world!

I too am hoping for a bona fide offer from Michigan (and from the others!), but regardless of where I land I will always be an Illini, and Ann Arbor will always be a whore--even if that makes me her John.

well villian,

right now I still only have one decision (WUSTL)... pretty disappointed to not have gotten an email from UofO yesterday, hopefully they have a second round of admittances.... Per grad cafe there were two rounds of emails about 10 days apart accepting students into the program. Hopefully it will follow suit...but that would be a super tough choice if they become my only options. Are you leaning Michigan or Columbia at this point?

Anyone else hangin' on to hear from UofO?

On another note:
So what the hell do you guys think is going on with MIT?
Working out final few acceptances and establishing a waitlist? Letting our hopes and dreams build so they can properly crush them a second time?

Anyway - I am off to the bar. I feel like all my non-arch friends are so sick of hearing me bather on about this. Thank god I don't have a smart phone to upload archinect or gradcafe on the go...

Have a good weekend everyone. Lets hope those GSD letters are being processed at the cambridge sorting facility right now..... :)

Cvett, an email from UMd

AD, well Wash U's a great school, so you have that. Columbia v. Mich is very tough right now. World-class, expensive, long, program vs. very very good, cheaper, shorter program .. I couldnt tell you right now, get back to me later. It is funny that I see alot of posts on archinect re:people in my position contemplating a UofM acceptance v. a GSAPP one. I feel like it's scripted for me.

I've given up on MIT at this point, but I do like your logic there.

So Berkeley folk, third Tuesday of March last year (17th), think it'll be the same? 4 DAYS UNTIL WE KNOW??!! God, I hope so.

Anyone out there still waiting on WUSTL?

Last year I was rejected by them in the first round, hopefully I'm being argued over in the "maybe" pile since I haven't heard anything yet?

Anyone have an idea about U of Cincinnati? Gradcafe suggests nothing for another week.

Last Saturday was a successful one for me, hopefully tomorrow I get some more good news mail!

Woohoo

I'm in UBC Architecture!! came in mail

and wait listed in UBC Land Arch.

Any other UMD applicants hear from them today? Thought today was gonna be the day, one way or the other.

Passerby1ce, Congratulations on UBC!
ADavin I'm rootin' for you in at U of Oregon!!

In at GSAPP M.Arch 1

Got into Maryland as well. They sent an email notifying me. Nothing about scholarship info or anything about an official letter in the mail but nice to have options nonetheless.

Finally got my official Parsons acceptance in the mail...was hoping for something a little more exciting then a one page letter...also conditions my acceptance on completion of a 5 week summer course...which I like since the closest I have come to a design class was drawing class in college 6 years ago.

seriously, i'm here on friday night! there is something wrong with me.

it's Saturday afternoon here... my patience is now at its peak. I shouldn't stay online cuz it just breaks my nerves. :S

Congrats to those who got into GSAPP, Maryland, Parsons, etc...

+ UBC :)
go Canadian schools!

Does anyone know when UofT sends out the results!? should be next week no? I really dont mind going to Toronto.................

Passerby1ce: congrats on UBC Arch. I'm the other way around, I got into UBC MLA on Feb. 25th but haven't heard anything from the M.Arch program. You say they notify by mail, not e-mail?

Still waiting on U of T as well.

Atty, I am still waiting for the official letter and I got a letter from the financial aid dept asking me to send the proof of US citizenship. HA!!
Did they mention about their open house?

Those of you who already got UBC notifications: do you live in Canada?

archhk- no mention of the open house. I am guessing more information is on the way. This was a letter from the Parsons Director of Admissions not from the School for Constructed Environments. Hopefully it comes soon.

Yeah, I live in Toronto.

Any US residents get their UBC letters yet?

I was away from this thread last night, and now I can't catch up with it.. Anyway, seems like GSAPP has sent out accepting mails, and CONGRATS thevillain!

So, as for me, I'm waiting for a fat envelope from GSD... Has anyone gotten one?

hirano, if (or should i say, when) you get into the gsd, where do you think you will be headed?

hw10, alonso978, lewisandclark, PandaEyes

I know how you guys feel. Don't despair! I think there are more than enough guys here who are too busy celebrating victories of the lucky ones who have landed a place in at least one grad sch, so I am gonna root for the 4 of you.
Afterall, it' a commiserate thread and we should watch out for each other regardless of achievements. This should be the spirit. So, good luck to the 4 of you : )

@melany - it's strange how u have disappeared with your kickass portfolio that got you into all the ivies. I think it would benefit many others if you can just share that portfolio up here, just like how you have benefited tremendously from the discussion here.

imfalling, my first choice is the GSD.

i think everyone's first choice is the GSD...it's like the holy grail.

Speaking of legendary portfolios there is a guy who went to my undergrad who applied to ten schools and got into every single one. He was M. Arch 1, BA in Geology and Minor in Studio Art.

It was incredible. Mind you, this was before the economy crashed and the competition got as brutal as it is now, but if I can somehow get a copy out to all of you, I will.

He ended up at GSD.(duh!)

Once Again, this is a true story.

My portfolio (since I have had no luck so far with 3/9 schools) is probably of no use to any of you BUT if i can manage to find out what was in it, or he has published it somewhere, I will let you all know- I owe my sanity to everyone on this message board.

If I end up having to reapply (which seems likely), I am signing up for summer school in physics and some sort of geoscience. If you read one of the GSD school blogs they mention that GSD prefers to take students with a straight science background. I don't think that would hurt anywhere else either.

sweetpotato,
it sucks to see a monster like that.
i have a similar painful true story that most of my studio buddies got into grad school except me.
4 of my studio buddies got into GSD AP; 3 to GSD; 1 to GSAPP; 1 to MIT; 1 to Yale...
it feels like i'm the only one who's left out...

i'm gonna second pythagoras. keep your head up, folks!

i really don't think there's any shame in re-applying. my goal was actually to apply in 2008 after completing the making + meaning summer program at sci-arc, but i knew i wasn't ready. i waited a whole year before applying, taking classes at the art center in pasadena, LAIAD and participating in berkeley's 1st summer program.

pandaeyes_ i think that the benefits of LAIAD depend entirely on the student. as with any program, there are those who will find it helpful and those who won't. i do think that a program like LAIAD is better than taking classes at a community college or something like that since it is dedicated specifically to help those without an architecture/design background develop a portfolio. many even receive significant scholarships. but as with anything in life, there are no guarantees. i did the whole LAIAD thing for a couple of months, but ended up dropping because i had to get emergency surgery and was working full time and finding it really hard to keep up with the work load. plus, it was expensive and i couldn't keep up with the payments. so that's another factor, time. if you're a disciplined/ hard working student who has the time, then i think the program would be worth while. even more important than the project you come up with, bill taylor trains a certain type of thinking that takes concepts that are abstract or intangible and helps you turn these ideas into models and design problems. it's really interesting. it was twice a week and i would go after work, so i'd get really sleepy and bored sometimes. ok, honestly, it wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean it might not be for you. my critique would be that it got pretty redundant and boring at points... from personal experience, the sci-arc and berkeley summer programs were a better experience and higher yield for me. hope that helps a little and doesn't confuse more... though it's probably the latter.

Sucks worse when every school is expecting you to be AS good as that monster. Only two people tried from my school this year, and we have had no luck so far.

Stasis: When you are up against monsters, I believe the best thing you can do the next time around is become as monstrous as possible yourself. You have the "playbook", because your friends got in and you can see their portfolios, and if you can't improve the content , you can make it better-looking, you can get one of those expensive printers to make it look amazing. If your academics were suckier than theirs, you have time to take more classes, more studios, etc, and show them new and better work. Enter lots of contests, and try to win them.

if you end up "left out"in the end, time is on your side!

pythagoras, well said.
i wish i have a friend like you.
my friend who just got into Yale called me to dine with him for celebration though he knows that i'm rejected from the same school...

just discovered this website, seems pretty cool though. So far accepted to (masters):

1. CCA
2. UBC
3. U of O

UBC seems like a neat location in Vancouver. Anyone else apply to these schools? It's going to be a tough decision.... Canadian tuition is much cheaper that out of state tuition for Oregon. Anyone else pondering going to CAN from the U.S. for a masters?

sweetpotato,
thank you for your encouragement.
your points are valid but my biggest problem last year was my financial situation.

in my 2nd attempt of application, i think i have tried the things you listed though... except taking classes since i just couldn't affort them.
However, the rejection last year actually led me to work on more projects, competitions (though i didn't win), and my portfolio.

Most of my friends also interned and got their letters of rec in star architects offices (OMA,UN,Morphosis, MVRDV, etc). I wish i could do ths same but i simply could not afford to do so. To work as an intern in stararchitects office, you ironically have to spend money to work there since they pay you so little. well, my friends are loaded.

You'll probably question why I still insist to go to grad school though i might not afford to go.
well, i'm still a sucker for architecture. I like to see what grad school would teach me what i had not learned. I also wish to find a way to empower architect's role rather than being a subordinate to developers.

oh well, i got rejected from Yale and Princeton so far, and i don't think that's a shame. Yale's a tough school and princeton's almost impossible to get in. i'm just hoping to hear good news from Berkeley or U of Washington. I wish you the best as well.

Will GSAPP work on Sat or other schools for that matter or are some of us going to start our Spring Break... in jeopardy :-/

I've seen Young Ho Chang in my dream last night :)))

Then you must be delirious.

Anyone dare to ask the GSD what stage their admissions decisions are at?

Got into Maryland as well, I found out an email laballed as "University of Maryland Architecture Program" this morning, very existed..

Villian and mugged, can you visit the school on their open house.. since I'm a int. student I won't be able to make it, if u have any infromation about this program can u please let me know.. congrats everyone who got their acceptances..

Stasis, I recognize the projects in your portfolio, and the certain kind of aesthetic you used - you went to Cal? It looks amazing, frankly, and far more diagrammatically rigorous than mine. Yours, jten's, and hirano's portfolios are those that inspire some (lots) of envy. If I had to give any constructive criticism, it would be that you have beautifully resolved + represented processes, but less of a defined architectural product. The design of your buildings seem to require further work, in terms of scale of details and maybe materiality. Reflecting the rigor in process, in your form and representation also, would really transform the spatial experience in your renders.

I graduated in Dec 08, class of 2009 - just about the worst time to enter the job market. Last year was just 12 months of quiet desperation: 100+ cover letters, informational interviews that never led to anything permanent, worrying about leaving my man (work visa validity issues), an unpaid internship at a well-respected SF firm. I was lucky enough to have financial support from family, but there was the crushing shame of having to live on parental handouts at age 23.

So I didn't have any starchitects that would hire me either (SOM sent me a crumpled 'thanks but no thanks' postcard), but at least I learned stuff at the SF firm - my first 'job'. My portfolio benefited from how much better I got at Indesign and presentation (I was put in charge of their monograph project) and I got my boss' ghostwritten rec letter. Any architectural internship helps, and if you are American, you can earn cash outside office hours as wait staff or as a tutor. God knows I've envied the little navy passport enough - it gives one far more latitude than most realize. If you're still in the Bay Area, I've just heard of an entry-level position that you may be interested in. Otherwise, have you considered applying to SHoP? They're doing great stuff, redefining designer/developer roles in New York...

Hang in there Stasis, hw10 and everyone else... things will work out, I'm crossing my fingers for you.

To those of us waiting for GSAPP... It seems last year, they remained open on Sat & sent out notifications. Lets hopw the remaining of find that beautiful note from Dean Smoller !

Hey discordant, yeah I got a package, a thick package cause of the book they included of their trip to tokyo, in the mail friday night, it was sent express. I also got that email from UBC land arch in Feb as well. Still waiting for U of T and Dalhousie. Good luck!!

has anyone from the US heard back from UBC?

I was getting sad about it but after seeing these other posts maybe it's just slow mail.

koru: I probably wont be going to the open house because it's on the same day as michigan's, which I already booked a flight for.

hey so i don't know if this is weird or not but i found this on issuu and thought it was REALLY COOL! it's a landscape portfolio, but a lot of architecture stuff too. presentation wise, it's great.
http://issuu.com/thbrownjr/docs/thbrownexhibitions

if this is anybody's portfolio on here, hats off

waqas: thank you for those kipnis notes. It reminds me of when I took his seminar @ osu .. crushing self-doubt, humiliation, brilliant revelations, fervently trying to record it all, etc.

hey guys, long term lurker, first time poster, like a lot of you

here are the schools i applied to:

michigan - IN + $$
gsapp - IN
mit - no call (assumed rejection)
UT -
ucla -
gsd -
berkeley -
cornell -
rice -
upenn -
sciarc -
maryland - IN

Columbia v. Mich is very tough right now. World-class, expensive, long, program vs. very very good, cheaper, shorter program ..