kesterl-

when was the UW packet postmarked?

@word2bird ~ congrats on getting into UC Berk w/ $$$; I wish you luck on securing it on an annually basis and not just a one time deal. The grad program there is awesome, I seen a lot of awesome projects from time to time. I would love do grad school there but I need a change of scenery/perspective.

@tyMArchII ~ ah man, you beat me to it! I was planning to look it up and post it on here. yeah, it's definitely a good idea to kill off some IDP req. since it's pretty hard to do that in this bloody economy/job market.



Btw, does anyone here use the NAAB website to double-click all the grad schools that they apply to in order to make sure that all them are fully accredited? I'm wondering since I swear I remember reading somewhere that if you graduate from a school that's not accredited at the time of your graduation, but the school in question gets accredited within 2-3 yrs since you graduated, then your degree counts as an accredited professional degree. Can you imagine it would be horrific if the worse case situation happens. Sorry, I'm trying to find that book/website that I got that info from; hopefully someone here might of heard of something like this before and can clarify this info.

holy shit

so strange. what some people do for kicks and giggles.

anyway, i just started a new topic for final results, stats, etc... it may be easier for people to look through when everything is said and done since this thread is at page 41 and will probably reach the 50's

architecture apprentice_ i'm not from or living in sd. just making an anchorman reference. sometimes only i think i'm funny... well, a lot of times.

TheGrimAce_ after the first year, i'm hoping to get a gsi position or hopefully another fellowship. i hear that funding is easier to come by after the first year. either way, thanks for that post. it was really helpful. in conducting my own research, i compared berkeley with umich, ann arbor and as a ca resident, tuition at umich would be $44k for the 1st year, then over $28k upon residency. this is still more than the approx $20k/year at berkeley with the professional fees included. even an in state michigander might pay over $8k/year more than a californian at berkeley. also, i've always wanted to relocate to the bay area and get out of los angeles for a minute. my sister lives up there and it's far enough for socal, but not too far.

@ Daubentonia

It wasn't financial aid money.
It was a $30,000 fellowship.
Since I am an international student, I am paying more for the tuition. Tuition + professional fee will be around $34,000.
So I still need to pay for roughly $4000.
At least all I got to worry about now is the living expense.
Good thing I kept all my stuff after I graduated from SCI-Arc!

@Pythagoras: I posted this a few pages ago:

The fleuron, hypercube, and the Kubo font were my own projects, which I did over fall 2009. The clock tower and the atomic orbital were LAIAD projects. I didn't include anything from M+M

To come up with ideas for projects i did a lot of research. I read art blogs, DIY books about topics i was interested in, looked up interesting concepts, and read scholarly papers. I took some classes like a lighting design class and a structrual weaving class. I also considered classes on papercraft and arduino/processing. I then tried to combine what I learned into something interesting.

My portfolio contains only the projects that turned out well. There were several other projects in various stages of completion that didnt make the cut

Ugh that using grad cafe results as a forum thing is really stupid and annoying. Especially since all the comments are worthless.

If it was here I wouldn't care as much since it is a forum filled with trolls already.

does anyone have the 2010 DesignIntelligence top 20 graduate architecture program list? I have only been able to find the top 10.

I know rankings are bs but I am still curious...

thanks, dude.

this is why i love this forum.

still waiting on Harvard and Berkeley...

thanks loremipsum !

Sorry to post this really long thing, but I think that it's important to note. The Design Intelligence ratings posted above are the result of an answer to a survey of many Architecture firms nationwide... (listed below) is your firm listed here? I have counted a huge number of firms from Virginia (where I am currently located), possibly explaining the prominence of Virginia schools on this list... not to say that they aren't great schools, they are. The methodology is here is entirely subjective, that's something to keep in mind.

It is extremely difficult to quantify quality :).

Aardvarchitecture
AC Martin
ACCO Brands
Adams:Kinkade Design LLC
AECOM Design
AHBE
Allegro Interior Architecture
Allen + Killcoyne Architects
Alley, Williams, Carmen & King Inc.
AlsupWatson Associates Inc.
Amtrak
Anderson Brule Architects
Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects
Answers Inc.
Applica
Arbuckle Costic Architects
Architects Dayton, Thompson & Assocociates
Architects Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues
Architectura Inc.
Architectural Design Guild
Architectural Resources
Arcturis
Aspen Medical Products
Astorino
B/E Aerospace Inc.
Bally Design
Balzer & Associates Inc.
BAR Architects
Barton Malow
Baskervill
Bauer and Wiley Architects
Baxter
Baylis Architects
BBG-BBGM
Beck
Becker + Becker
Bent Tree Design PLC
Berkshire Design Group
Berliner and Associates, Architecture
Bernier Carr & Associate PC
Beverly Prior Architects
Bink Partnership
Bird Houk Collaborative
BKA Architects
Blitch Knevel Architects
BLT Architects
Booth Hansen
Bose Corp.
Bosse & Pharis
Bostwick Design Partnership
BrandPartners
Braun & Steidl Architects
Brent Huffman Design
Butler, Rosenbury & Partners
BWBR Architects
C. Preston Dalrymple & Associates
Callison
Cannon Design
Carl Muller Design
Cascade Design Collaborative Inc.
CBT Architects
Centrepoint Architects
Centric Architecture
Chait Studios
Chong I. Design Collaborative
Christopher Consultants Ltd.
City of Concord, N.C.
Clark Condon Associates Inc.
Clark Nexsen
CMSS Architects PC
Composite Inc
Conservation Design Forum
Container Research Corp.
Cornerstone Studios PA
CRSA
CSD Architects
Cubellis
Cunningham + Quill Architects
Cybul and Cybul Architects
Daedalus Excel
Dale Gardon Design
David M. Schwarz Architects
Derthick Henley & Wilkerson, Architects
Design Continuum
Design Craftsmen LLC
Design Office Inc.
Design Worksop
DesignDesign Inc.
Designforum
DesignTeam Limited
DiMella Shaffer Associates
Dix.Lathrop
Dixon Weinstein Friedlein Architects
DLM Architects
DLR Group
Dujardin Design Associates Inc.
Ecco Design
Echo Visualization LLC
EDAW
Edward Pinckney Associates Ltd.
Efird Sutphin Pearce & Associates PA
Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
Einhorn Yaffee Prescott
EMC Corp.
Environetics
Equipment Collaborative
EverGreen Architects Inc.
Exterior Images
Exteriors by Chad Robert
Facility Group Inc.
Fisher-Price / Mattel
FKP Architects Inc.
Fletcher/Farr/Ayotte Inc.
Fluke Networks
Fontanese Folts Aubrecht Ernst Architects
ForrestPerkins
Foster Conant & Associates
Francis Cauffman
Frankel + Coleman
Fred Sparks Design
Frederick + Frederick Architects
Frisbie Architects Inc.
Gangi Architects
Garavaglia Architecture Inc.
GBD Architects Inc.
GE Healthcare
Genesis Group
Gensler
Gerding Collaborative
GGLO
Gideon Toal Architects
Gkkworks
GLE Associates Inc.
Gluckman Mayner Architects
Goettsch Partners
Gossen Livingston Associates Inc.
Graham Design LLC
Gresham, Smith and Partners
Griffith Consulting Group
Group Mackenzie
GSBS Architects
Gund Partnership
Hanson Design Group Ltd.
Hastings Architecture Associates
HDR
Helix Architecture + Design
Hewlett Packard
HEWV + Co.
HGA Inc.
Hierarchy Architects & Designers
Higgins & Gerstenmaier
Hill Studio
Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interiors
HKS Architects
HKT Architects Inc.
HMC Architects
HNTB Corp.
HOK
HOK Planning Group
House + House Architects
HUI
Huntsman Architectural Group
Hurford Architects Inc.
Hutker Architects Inc.
IA Interior Architects
IDEO
Infusion Design Inc.
Integrated Design Solutions
Integrus Architecture
Intel Corp.
Interbrand Design Forum
Ishida-Design
Isley Hawkins Inc.
JSDA Inc.
Jacobs
James Mansfield
JHS Architects
JMZ Architects and Planners PC
John Milner Associates Inc.
John Poe Architects Inc.
JRS Architect PC
JW Pet Co.
Karim Rashid Inc
Kaz Inc.
KEK
Kendal King Group
Kimberly-Clark
Kirksey
KlingStubbins
KLLA
Knoll inc.
Koch Hazard Architects
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
KPS Group Inc.
KSA Interiors
LandDesign Inc.
Landscape Technologies
LDA LLC
Lenox
Leo A Daly
Leotta Designers Inc.
Lettuce Office
Levi + Wong Design Associates Inc
Levinson Alcoser Associates LP
Lewis/Schoeplein Architects
Lextant
Lifetime Brands
Little
LMN Architects
Loebl Schlossman & Hackl
LPK
LRS Architects
LS3P Associates Ltd.
LWPB Architecture
Lyman Perry Architects Ltd
LZT Architects Inc.
Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects
MacPherson Construction & Design LLC
Madix Inc.
Mahan Rykiel
Mahlum
Margulies Perruzzi Architects
Marmol Radziner and Associates
Marnell Consulting
Mayer/Reed
McCall Design Group
McFarland Davies Architects
McFarlin Huitt Panvini Architects
McGill Smith Punshon Inc.
McKim & Creed
McKinney and Co.
McNeely Associates PA
Mekus Tanager Inc.
Miles Associates
Miller Boskus Lack Architects PA
Mitchell Associates
Mithun
ML Architecture & Urban Design
Moeckel Carbonell Associates Inc. Architects
Moen
Moman Architects
Montalba Architects Inc
Morris Architects Inc
Moseley Architects
Motorola Inc. Mobile Devices Business
MSA
MulvannyG2 Architecture
MWDL Architects
National Institute of Building Sciences
National Park Service
NBBJ
NBD
NES Inc.
Nestle
Newman, Jackson, Bieberstein Inc.
Newton Landscape Group
Niles Bolton Associates
Nimlok Co.
Nissan Design America
Norris Design
Nottingham-Spirk Design Associates Inc.
NPS
Oglesby Greene Architecture
OLC Architecture
Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects
Ordiz-Melby Architects Inc.
Organized Living
Otak Architects Inc.
Otto and Moore Furniture Designers
Painted Fern
Paper Boat
Pascal Aughtry & Associates, PC
Paul Lukez Architecture
Payette Assoc Inc.
Pb Elemental Architecture
PDR
PDSI
Peckham & Wright Architects.com
Perkins+Will
Pica + Sullivan Architects Ltd.
Pitney Bowes
Planners & Engineers Collaborative Inc.
Polk Stanley Architects
Prescott Muir Architects
Professional Design Group
Publix Super Markets Inc.
Puma
Purvis & Associates Inc.
QMA Design+Build LLC
Ratio Architects Inc.
RDG Planning & Design
RenquistDesign
Reztark Design Studio
RGS Associates Inc.
Ridge Landscape Architects
RMJM
Rockwell Group
Rogers Marvel Architects
Rogov Design Inc.
Rosser International
Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey
RSP Architects
RTKL Associates Inc.
Rubbermaid Commercial Products LLC
Rubeling & Associates Inc
RWA Architects Inc.
Ryall Porter Sheridan Architects
Scheer & Scheer Inc
Schmitt Walker Architects
Schwartz Silver Architects
Seaver Franks Architects AIA
Seay Seay & Litchfield PC
SEC Planning LLC
Sheerr McCrystal Palson Architecture Inc.
Shelden Architectuture
Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott
Shive-Hattery Inc.
SHKS Architects
Shore Point Architecture
SHP Leading Design
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Slifer Designs
SMMA
Song + Associates
Sowinski Sullivan Architects PC
Spector Group Architects
Spine3D
SRBL Architects
Stantec Planning and Landscape Architecture
Steelcase
Steffian Bradley Architects
Stewart
Stirling Design
Strand Design
Studio Intrigue Architects
Studios Architecture
Sun Microsystems
Taylor
TBA Architects Inc.
Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects
The Benham Companies
The CJS Group Architects Ltd.
The Estee Lauder Companies
The Lightfoot Planning Group
The Marketing Store
The Miller/Hull Partnership
The Switzer Group
The Toro Co.
The WLB Group
Think Design LLC
Third Brain Studio LLC
Thomas Cox Architects, Inc.
Thornton Tomasetti
Timmons Group
TK Architects
TLCD Architecture
TMP Architecture
Toshiko Mori Architect PLLC
Touch360
Tramontina
Tres Design Group Inc.
TTI
TVSdesign
Viking Range Corp.
Vision
Visual Terrain
VJAA
VOE
Ware Malcomb
WATG
Weinstein AU
Wellner Architects Inc
West Office Exhibition Design
WhiteLight Design
WHR Architects Inc
Wilson Associates
Wold Architects and Engineers
WPL
Ximedica
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP

for GSD. when is the open house for the acceptees?

yeah, i actually spoke with my old professor last night to get insight about which school to choose, and he mentioned that the rankings are really just a amalgamation of old friends calling old friends to 'vote' for them.

WARNING do not make decision based off rankings.

@tintin
open house is the friday April 9th
they also have an even in new york for
accepted students and alumni at OMA new york
on the 12th
i received a phone call this morning about being
compt 2 nights in a hotel and 250 in travel
so look out for that
or ring them up

@stuzzzzzie
The letter in the UW envelope was dated March 15, and it was postmarked on March 17. It probably got here on Friday, but I'm not sure since I wasn't the one checking my mail

I received my UW packet on Thursday, 3/18 (but I'm in Seattle.) I'll be at the open house-- it sounds like an awesome day!

Another thing about the rankings-- the smaller programs turn out less graduates so have less people voting for them and lobbying for votes. Just more evidence that those rankings are somewhat arbitrary in terms of education quality. Net net, do your research and pick the program right for you!

weineko,

I received a similar offer from UCLA geared towards out-of-state residents. I was not sure how competitive UCLA would be for me personally with other schools I applied to, but this offer has definitely leveled the playing field.

I do not know if the Suprastudio (post-prof) is the best 'fit' for me, but going to grad school and not exiting with enormous debt is definitely a consideration.

Any UCLA undergrad/grads have thoughts about the Suprastudio program? It seems both an incredible opportunity yet a very focused (limiting?) approach at the same time. It seems geared towards contemporary practice, which is great, but maybe not towards teaching in the future which is also an interest of mine.

-sub

Does anyone else find New York State TAP Grants' income level eligibility requirement pretty ridiculous?

"Single graduate students with no dependents and under $5,666 in NYS net taxable income are eligible, as are dependent graduate students or independent graduate students who are married or have tax dependents with under $20,000 NYS net taxable income. ward Amounts
For graduate students, awards range from $75 to $550. Graduate or professional students may receive up to four years of TAP, in addition to their undergraduate allotment. "

What lazy-ass is making under $5666 a year... Iif you're in school you're hopefully working during the summer or TA-ing, and if you're unemployed you're probably on unemployment! And all for a whole $550!

Lol, am I reading this right? Has anyone ever received TAP?

adrasteia,

I've been super confused about NYS TAP Grants. I'm going to visit the financial aid services at Columbia to go over a lot of this stuff. I'll let y'all know what I learn.

how many students does Penn take each year?

I think all of the ranking talk is very interesting now that many of us are beginning to make decisions. Obviously the name of a school has a lot of bearing; however, we should look beyond the name and take a look at what we truly want to accomplish from the degrees we are pursuing. Although I also think we must keep in mind that the 'big name' schools must have done something substantial that has made them so well-known.
I applied to only two schools, as I mentioned in my previous post and have only heard back from one but I have been completely taken aback by my mentors' reactions on where they think I should choose to go. My first and only choice from the get go was GSD's MAUD program but during the application process on of my mentors (GSD graduate) suggested I apply to MIT's SMarchS program. So far, I have only heard from MIT and they gave me a pretty good financial offer. As soon as I told him I had been accepted at MIT (and while I still had hopes on GSD) he sat me down and talked to me for a while about why MIT would be a better 'fit' for me than GSD (and I haven't heard back, and frankly not really holding my breath). I was surprised at a lot of what he said about both schools. While we were talking, another professor came up to us and my mentor told him I had been accepted to MIT and waiting on GSD, immediately, the other professor said "today, I would take MIT over GSD without thinking about it." Keep in mind GSD was my first choice all along (and these guys don't really get anything out of me choosing MIT over GSD), until I began hearing a lot of this talk about MIT having a better learning and cooperative environment. The more forums I look at, the more I see this and also a lot of talk about how unhappy GSD students are. I have a few friends at GSD and some are happy, and some are not, which I thought was normal of ANY school. I'm beginning to wonder if it really is all hype or if it really is all jealousy and rivalry between the two Boston schools. Regardless, the whole thing is silly, I know both schools are great but this whole thing is making me wonder beyond what I would have originally (and not hearing back yet from GSD isn't really helping, I guess).
What are people's thoughts on this? Do people often think about turning down a GSD offer because they truly think another school is better for them?

Hey Kestrel,
Looks like we both took a similar approach in our application process. I decided to apply in December and I'm personally regretting it just a little bit because I missed the UCB + UCLA deadlines but oh well! I'm in at UO but am away from home so haven't gotten my accept/reject mail from UBC and UW yet. See you at the Open House!
Toshi

AAbelSun,

That would be great if you could post what you find out!

From calling the financial aid office, they basically said I have two options: Take out stafford loans and take out a private loan; they have a list of recommended on the website.

I'm thinking about taking out a HELOC on my condop instead...

Just spoke with UW. All remaining decisions for m.Arch will be sent out via snail mail on April 2.

-MABARCH

I'm curious as to what your mentor told you MIT has that Harvard lacks? I am still waiting on MAUD but am not too concerned. Columbia's MSAUD was my first choice for various reasons. I have been able to get an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each program but I would think because there is so much collaboration between GSD and MIT, you wouldn't be choosing one to the exclusion of the other.....could be wrong for Urban Design tho.

Kestrel and MArch4April, were your UW packets postal mail? I've moved but havent updated my address yet. I know USPS will forward, but possibly not FedEx or something.

voneckht,

The majority of the comments I have heard, not only from my mentor, who graduated from MAUD, were not exclusively about the programs themselves but more about the learning environment, the faculty and the politics within the schools. Another one of my mentors has a PhD from MIT and the comments were similar, especially since he got to collaborate with GSD students a lot while he was at MIT for the PhD program. Both professors have kept themselves in the loop of what is going on and they have been to recent reviews and know students and professors alike in both schools. To say it most tactfully, they all have insisted that currently, MIT has a more real learning environment, where teachers and students collaborate with each other in better harmony than at GSD. You are right about the cross-registration options, but still you would be mostly at one school over the other. I've just been taken aback by the whole thing and really wonder how much of it other people have heard and how much of it is just coincidentally similar experiences from my mentors... I really don't know, especially since MAUD was my first choice.

UW sent packets via postal mail (not fed ex).

Columbia - out
MIT - out
UPenn - out
USC - in with $20,000
GSD - no word
Berkeley - no word


I heard from USC yesterday via email. Have very many others heard from them yet?

i just got accepted into the AA MArch Housing & Urbanism program!


tally thus far:

AA - In
University College of London - Rejected
London Metropolitan University - In
University of Nottingham (UK Safety Dance) - In
Pratt - In
Sci-Arc - ????
University Colorado Denver (US Safety Dance) - ???


BS Arch from Ohio State

MArch4April, if I remember correctly, you're in at UW, U of O, and Austin, right? Those are the 3 I'm deciding between, and I'm planning to visit all 3 (unless they start telling me about $$ and one just becomes financially unfeasible compared to the others -- I'm out of state everywhere). Hopefully we'll cross paths at one of the open houses and can compare notes.

My stats:

24 year old female
BA in Art history and Italian
GPA: 3.6
GRE: 790 Math, 700 Verbal
Worked at two architecture firms during high school, college summers and post-college but no studio experience except for GSAPP Intro to Arch this summer.

Yale: In + $
UPenn: In
UMichigan: In + $
UTAustin: In + $

GSAPP: waitlist
UVA: waitlist

MIT: rejected

GSD: no word

GSD GSAPP TCAUP UIC UTA UCB MIT UVA MAUD AA UW...

I am all acronymed Out!!!

Acceptances:
Cornerll +$
U Texas Austin +$
Rice (Informal email)
UMichigan +$

Wait List:
Yale - Top choice, love everything about the program

Rejections:
MIT -$80
Princeton -$90

No Word:
GSD
UCBerkeley


Info:
24/ m
BA Clemson University
3.59 GPA
1310 GRE
Design Assistant, Vladimir Kagan Design Group, NYC

Is no word from GSD a rejection at this point?
Any advice on wait lists? It will be difficuly to visit other schools while holding out hope.

just got off the phone with RISD, apparently they forgot to call me and send the packet...aint that some shit! but im in!

nicholasbailey, no joke!

i often laugh when thinking what someone who might stumble upon this discussion would think.

what a world of jargon architecture is.

Yes, I've been accepted to those schools. At this point, I'm just planning to go to the UW open house since it was my first choice anyway. I am not going to the Austin open house (it was just too expensive to fly to Austin and after I was accepted at UW I couldn't justify it.) I am undecided about attending the UofO open house (since they would have to give me a ton of money to trump UW.)

I don't think I received any scholarship funds from UT or UofO so for costs I am just comparing in-state vs. out-of-state tuition. I live in Seattle so am in-state for UW. I think that in WA and TX you can qualify for resident tuition after one year of school. I'm not sure about Oregon's residency laws. (This is in contrast to CA residency laws-- since I don't think you can establish residency while you're a student.)

I have also heard that you can ask schools for out-of-state tuition waivers (so you would only need to pay the in-state portion, even for the 1st year-- that sounds like an awesome deal to me!)

Will look out for you at the UW open house. I'm assuming it'll be a small group since the program is so small.

For those attending Berkeley's open house... I'm planning on staying at the Piedmont House (a Berkeley hostel). I'd love to meet up with anyone who is familiar with the area, or interested in learning more about it.

I will also be in Philadelphia for Penn's open house, April 9th-13th

Message me via the email in my profile.

I applied to PRATT MARCH 3 year. Haven't heard anything back. I was able to speak to someone in the undergrad admissions office(Graduate office is always voicemail) who told me they are sending out responses April 1st. Can anyone attest to this or is it polite hogwash. I had to resend most of my info a couple weeks ago because they lost it.

Undergraduate- Landscape Architecture
Worked for a few LArch firms now design children's playground equipment, go figure.

Congrats to everyone on their well deserved acceptances!

I recently applied for an MArch I degree and heard back from all but one of my schools:

Tulane: In + $
UMiami: In + $
Clemson: Waitlisted
Syracuse: Waitlisted
Georgia Tech: No reply yet


I am having a tough time picking what school I want to attend. Tulane and UMiami were my safeties, but now that I'm accepted into those schools, I was hoping to gain some more insight into the MArch programs. I've heard some good things about Tulane being a "Hidden Gem" in Design Intelligence and have many organizations to help rebuild New Orleans.

If you had a choice to go into these programs (location aside), what program would you recommend and why?

Thanks!

UMich - In/$
UCLA - In
Pratt - In

GSAPP - Rejected
Yale - Rejected

SCI-Arc - waiting...

PS- Kestrel, and anyone else considering UW but unfamiliar with Seattle:

I would be happy to be a resource for you for the Seattle area -- tips on living here, neighborhoods, visiting for the open house, etc. We can start a new thread if there's interest.

Lewisandclark, is this for a post professional degree?

...someone got an email from UofW just now. come on UofW!!! give me some love.

on gradcafe, left that out.

MArch... 3 year.

MArch4April -- That'd be great! I did my undergrad in Walla Walla, and thus know a LOT of people either from Seattle or living there now (or both!), but haven't spent a significant amount of time there myself and would love any tips you have. Could start a new thread, or you could just email me through my profile if there isn't a lot of other interest.

I called UPenn today to find out about conditional acceptance and prerequisites. During their summer studio (June 28-something), they also offer arch history and physics. Both of the other prereqs offered "dovetail" (she said) with the studio, so that when studio gets intense, students can focus on it. Sounds good. Send me some $$ info!!!