ichwei- I got my acceptance to the scifi program as well. Now I have to decide between that and gsapp. Have you heard anything about awards or scholarships? Also sucks that the open house is so late in the game

I went and checked the program out in november of last year and was able to meet with the guys running the show. I don't plan to go to the open house since I already made it out. If you have any questions, let me know. Are you deciding between the MSAAD and SCIFI? Good luck!

@ boundless,

Thanks for your info on the open house at UTSOA's open house. Sice you've been to both schools, how would stack UTSOA's facilities over UVa's?

Is there anybody who got accepted to GSD MArch2 who will not be going there? Seems unlikely, but I'd like to know what my chances are for getting off the waitlist.

Also, does anyone have an informed opinion on GSAPP_MSAAD versus AA_DRL? I've been researching what former students have gone on to do...it seems like more of the DRL guys go on to teaching (many at the GSAPP). I had a professor recommend the DRL because "everyone has a degree from Columbia".

Oh yeah, forgot to mention - I'd like to gain some work experience in a big city (like NYC) after school and then eventually teach at some point down the road. Many thanks!

Does anyone know where to find the link to UCLA's decision form? I want to clear up some space for the waitlisters out there, but I havent received the 'official' ucla graduate letter containing the link that the arch letter mentioned. thanks

@tyMArchII

I am attending the open house next Friday for MArchII..I will ask the group there and get a general sense. I am going to go, just have not told them yet because I want to leverage financial aid. (although this is the only school I applied to, so there really is no 'other' choice)

I think there are statistics on the typical % of accepted who commit. Just can't seem to find them for the GSD. I would imagine it is in the 60% to 70% range? Maybe others have found this stat?

APARTMENT NEAR GSD (or MIT):

Sorry--I know this message doesn't apply to everyone, but not sure how else to easily get in touch with GSD prospectives:


I'm a current GSD (MArchI) student and am looking for two (clean, responsible) roommates for the upcoming year. (First floor of a three-storey walk-up, very typical for the neighborhood, in the 'GSD ghetto,' a 12 minute walk to Gund, there will be three of us in total, $600/month plus utilities). It's actually a 4 bedroom apartment, so there's a possibility of having four of us and reducing our rent below $500 if you want, and if the landlord agrees. Please EMAIL at lchang1 at gsd dot harvard dot edu for info!

(And GSD MArchI prospectives, feel free to email me if you have questions about the program or want to get in touch prior to the open house this week!)

Lian

Anyone still waiting for USC decision?

psheldahl,

Definitely let me know how things go at the GSD open house. I called the admin office and they said there were only a "handful" of students on the waiting list, so I would imagine that they do not get very much movement.

I'm guessing you'll hear more from USC after the ninth... thats when initial applicants must make their decisions by

Mary, I was not directing my comment towards you specifically, I appreciate what you have to say. It's tough man, applying to eight schools was a nightmare for the most part (if you want tips, even if they are small tips on ways to organize everything, let me know), but it turned out being rewarding. It's just that schools don't let in applicants, and it is not because their work is bad. They may not let in applicants whose work is damn good. Who knows why they don't. One can't ask, one just has to apply to a bunch of schools. Just like as I am trying to find a job right now, I have to reformat my resume, embellish it, and send it out 10, 15 times a day. Again, big schizophrenic world, big numbers game...

Again, sorry for being frank in the other note...

psheldahl,

how did you word your email to the financial aid department?
I'm in the same boat
going
haven't told them i'm going
trying to get more money

hey all,

what's the email address for emailing GSD about their admissions decision?

cheers

did anyone try admissions@gsd.harvard.edu on apr 1 or 2 and not get a response?

(addressing m.arch i applicants)

Hey- asking this question *again*, but did anyone hear from University of Miami (FL) M. Arch ( Or any of the other programs there?) Seems like most of the people on this board are NE or west coast... Do any SE coast people have opinions abut Miami? I looked at their undergrad program and really liked it four years ago (gorgeous campus, amazing city), but I don't know anyone who has looked at their grad program directly.

I have some serious life decisions to make and they have been completely silent. Grad cafe gives no indication either. Apparently they didn't notify anyone until the middle of April last year. I hope they didn't send my letter to the wrong address.

really, really frustrating.

P.S. I'm on the Sci-arc waitlist, and I would absolutely be in heaven if I got in. That was tied for top choice on my original list. Are there any good strategies for getting accepted off the waitlist? I am trying to scrounge up the resources to fly to LA from the SE coast to get there for the Open House. Is this a good way to show my enthusiasm, or is spending >$700 on an unlikelihood irrational

has anyone else gotten off a waitlist for any school?

thoughts?

Fuzzy,

Did your USC email or letter really say you had to make a decision by April 9? That a whole month before most schools want a deposit!

Ichwei-I am deciding between msaad and scifi. Different focuses but I really wanted to toss my hat into the sciarc ring. What did you gather the focus of the scifi program is? How "architecturally" driven is it? I would love to diversify into something outside of architectural design since I have a b arch, but am not too informed with the program. Hopefully the literature they will be sending out will explain more.

@guyforget - I didn't figure your post was directed toward me. I just agreed with what you had to say to Greg, and I appreciated your frankness. No hurt feelings at all. I wish someone had given me the same advice as far as applying, so I'm kicking myself right now. We'll see when the mail comes tomorrow or Tuesday, and then I may need your advice for next year. Who knows what's going to happen...

Thank you for the offer of help. Much appreciated.

@maryagnes: I was prepared to reapply this year if I didn't get in to any of the three programs I applied to (got in to all there luckily/amazingly), even if it meant I had to watch my friends go off to grad programs without me. I know a lot of people that applied to the program of their dreams, didn't get in, reapplied the following year after a lot of hard work and focus, and got in! It's obviously a let down when you aren't accpeted, but it doesn't have to be a closed door to the profession. Like GuyForget said, it's often just a numbers game in regard to which schools accept you and which don't.

That said, if I didn't get in anywhere, one extra year of prep was actually looking exciting to me, since I would have been able to learn a lot about my own interests through personal development at a slower pace - trying to see failure as an opportunity for a variety of choices and/or segues in my move towards the profession of architecture.

I figured I would have taken another year to work on my portfolio by choosing/creating projects that filled in any perceived gaps/weak points in my portfolio, focusing on small scale projects of shape and simple abstraction (often beautiful in their simplicity), drawing obsessively, building conceptual models, and generally absorbing architecture and design at a slower pace than the forced frenzy of the studio. I also planned on talking with instructors from the schools that rejected me and hoped to develop working relationships with them. I think having a few instructors know who you are before you apply to the school is a big help - like planting the seed - when trying to stand out in a sea of applicants.

I actually decided I wanted to be an architect years ago (2007 to be exact) and have been slowly working towards applying, since I had no formal training in the subject previously. I worked at a firm (studio asst./office manager) and took a summer program to get exposed to the field. The biggest thing I learned while working at a firm was the value of perseverance and resiliency when working in the industry, since failures and let downs were always among the successes and victories, and I can't think of a more appropriate time to give credence to this lesson than right now. I'm sure others on this board who've worked at architecture firms would agree.

Anyways, sorry this is so long-winded and verbose. You could very well get into the school you haven't heard from yet.

hey all,

what's the email address for emailing GSD about their admissions decision?

did anyone try admissions@gsd.harvard.edu on apr 1 or 2 and not get a response?

(addressing m.arch i applicants)

cheers

clearlyambguous

Yes I have to tell them by the 9th, I imagine they would extend the deadline if asked though. It sucks because I'm waiting to hear about financial aid from sci-arc before I make my decision.

@Ichwei & Bucku

I have been following some of your recent posts and was very excited to hear about your acceptances into SCI-Arc's Post-Pro Programs. Congratulations! Looks like both of you were accepted to SCI-FI. I was accepted to the MediaSCAPES Program and am not quite sure if I am going to go yet. Although, I have taken an extensive look at the website into all potential classes I can take and exactly what the program has to offer.

Regardless, I would like to hear Ichwei's thoughts on the program/school as it sounds like you visited and spoke to several people who run the program... unless I am mistaken, which I might be. Would love to hear your input about it.

In addition, to both of you... I was wondering if anyone is going to the Open House. I would very much like to go, but my pockets are not as deep as I would like. I was thinking maybe we could consolidate our resources and make the trip cost effective. Just a thought... in the event that you go. Not sure where you guys are located, but maybe we could think of something.

Either way I would really like to hear what you know about the program. Congrats! Hope to hear from you soon...

Thanks

Do you guys think a theory/experimental curriculum like Columbia would be a great place to foster a career in humanitarian design or do you think one should go to a more "practical" design-build oriented school for that? I'd love to hear any thoughts. Thanks!

well you know, in thinking outside the box you might be able to work out new prototypes of humanitarian design... but at columbia they will most likely just teach you how to script things (beware..a columbia degree might make you the designated render expert at your next firm..i've seen this happen a lot..)

but to be honest.. a previous gsd student showed me a project she did in a group there for a project in latin america... and it looked just as practical as anything that would come out of oregon. just sayin.

@ aveclaudenum - you have said a lot of the things I've been thinking of in the last several days. I have been thinking of all the things I could change in my portfolio, of how I could take a drawing class or another italian class (completely unrelated, that one, I know). I also can't help but think that maybe my children might like to have me around more for a bit, as they don't a whole lot right now since both my husband and I are full-time students.

I've also thought of how this may give me a chance to look at schools that I may not have previously considered, or ones that I didn't even know of before. So, yes, I'm trying to look at both possibilities as having the potential for positive outcomes.

Don't get me wrong - if I find out I've been accepted to the other school, I'm definitely taking it, but if not, I'll be going down the other road, but this time with a lot more knowledge of what's waiting at the other end.

I agree that connecting with professors ahead of your application can be pretty beneficial. I think that's also something I will be utilizing.

All of this was new to me as I didn't have anyone close who had ever been to grad school, or even architecture school. Neither of my parents went past undergrad, and neither of them understand the visual arts that well, so portfolio criticism was hard to come by with them. My husband is a science guy and has no idea what he's looking at when presented with a plan or page layout, so he's not much help, either. That pretty much leaves my 4 and 6-year old sons, who will tell anyone that their work is beautiful! :) I think looking at portfolios on here and looking at student work on the arch schools sites has been really helpful in getting me to understand ways I can utilize my pages.

Sorry, now I've gotten long-winded. You are right. I very well may get good news in the mail this week. But if not, I think many of you have helped me realize that this shouldn't be such a huge blow to my ego, but rather an opportunity in which to build upon.

@Sbeth85; word2bird

Whoa, that's a nice little incentive for attending/finishing Sci-ARC's Making+Meaning summer program. Thanks for the confirmation/tip; definitely gonna come in handy when I decide later which summer program to go to.

@Pythagoras

Now it's a tie between summer programs for UCLA or Sci-ARC due to the new info from Sbeth85 & word2bird. Still looking into other summer programs but trying to stay in CA if possible since I can crash at a friend's place during the summer program.

@Joscelin

If UC Berk your goal then you really should get into their summer program; it will probably give you a leg up over other candidates for grad school. Especially if you make a solid impression on the instructors there. Cal (UC Berk) would had been one of my first choices of grad school but I did undergrad there and to be honest I need a change of scenery (also it's incredibly hard to get back in there).

tyMArchII

Thanks for calling GSD.
Those are pretty much the questions I had.
I looked back at last year's forum,
and nobody got off the waitlist :(
It's a weird feeling.
cause GSD is like right there, but still far away. haha

I don't know how to juggle this waiting game with the other schools,
cause they want to know by the 15th...
Maybe I should call and get an extension?

@Daubentonia

Well...as you know since I only applied to the GSD I really don't have much leverage. If you have multiple offers from competitor schools, they will take a look at those and sometimes 'match' them. Just don't call their bluff on this one, they will ask you for your original award letter.

Since I don't have any other schools to leverage, I only have my pleading and begging. I am sure that Keith gets his share of sad stories, but the truth is, without more aid I don't know how to make it all work.

If you want more $$ (i.e. Tier II grant at GSD), make sure that 1) your parents are not wealthy and just holding on to their money. You will have to give them your parents 2009 tax returns ...and 2) that you are not wealthy :)

After my final tally was over
I had to take a break from archinect.

I am deciding between MIT or Cornell AP
but after reading lots of comments from Aguacate, hardkorean, MABARCH
I am leaning toward MIT.
Nevertheless, I am attending both of their open houses next week
to not regret on my decision.
Actually MIT in 3 days from today.
Hopefully I will see ppl from this forum at the open house.
See you!

jten:

hi. Did you give up your wait list option at gsapp ?

AFernan: yes I gave it up about a week ago. Good luck to you!

@ ahas - sorry for the delay. It's hard to say which has better facilities since UVa is much a smaller program so you have far fewer students accessing them. UT certainly has bigger facilities, but I'm not sure that means better....

One thing that UT has which I don't believe UVa does is a materials lab. It's a pretty cool resource that allows you access to a massive amount of materials. You can check them out for presentations, etc.

They also have a light simulator machine (more accurate name is escaping me) for photographing models. You can mimick natural light conditions at any time of year at any coordinate on the planet.

While these were both cool resources, I left wondering if they are really things that should drive a decision. For me, I left feeling not, but I imagine others may feel differently.

Lastly, I think this is probably true everywhere, but I did hear that the computer labs at UT can be a source of frustrations toward deadlines.

I think the bottom line is they both have awesome facilities, but UT has some neat additions which UVa does not.

the villain: I just called UCLA and they are still processing the decision letters that contain the confirmation link. If they don't arrive by the 15th they'll extend the deadline.

Did anyone make it to the UIC open house and want to give their impression of the program?

@ Ga Tech M. Arch applicants who were accepted...

Anyone planning on going elsewhere? If so, what program did you get accepted to?

Notice the similarities in these 3 rejection notifications:

Most notably, each email's contents and each corresponding school's subsequent actions (or lack thereof) suggest that each school attempts to evade sending official postage to rejected applicants. Yale, for instance, emailed more than 4 weeks ago, saying that their emails to rejected applicants would be copies of the letters that would be arriving by mail 'shortly'. What happened, Yale, did the letters get lost? Harvard says that official letters to rejected applicants have also been sent via regular mail, and supposedly the letters were sent weeks ago, but many people have still not received theirs - particularly international applicants. Finally, Princeton outright states that they won't be sending out official postage unless requested. However, at least Princeton has a better attitude in this area than the other two schools, as it doesn't seemingly lie about sending out official postage to every rejected applicant.

If I had to guess why the other two schools would lie, it would be that it requires an inordinate amount of time and resources to prepare unique letters, envelopes, etc. for approximately 1,000 rejected applicants and then match them up and send them out. Guys, your hesitation in this respect is completely understandable - but if you're not going to send the letters out, then don't say that you will. It just makes you (as a supposedly leading and 'respectable' institution) look ever so slightly corrupt, and potentially loses you a ton of respect, respect that people may have once had for you. And the more you engage in these libelous acts, the more respect you LOSE. What does this mean? Your reputation will be hindered and fewer people will want to associate themselves with your school. And this has still further, potentially more damaging negative implications to your institution. So overall it would be your loss. Don't lie when you have a ton of reputation to potentially lose by doing so.




HARVARD

Dear Dr. Fucker,

We regret to inform you that after careful consideration of your application, the Admissions Committee is unable to offer you admission to the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. We would like to underscore that the Committee is keenly aware that there are many strong candidates whom we are unable to admit.

Please note that an official letter has also been sent via regular mail.

We very much appreciate your interest in the Graduate School of Design and wish you the best in your career pursuits.

Sincerely,

Gail Gustafson and Geri Nederhoff
Directors of Admission





YALE

Dr. Fucker

This is a copy of the letter that you will be receiving by mail shortly.

The Admissions Committee of the School of Architecture has concluded its meetings and I regret to inform you that we are not able to offer you admission to next year’s class. As there were many more applicants than available spaces, many promising candidates simply could not be accepted.

We do, however, appreciate your interest in our program and recognize that you put a great deal of time and effort into the admissions process. We wish you the very best in the development of your professional career.

Thank you again for your application.

Sincerely,

Joel Sanders
Chair, Admissions Committee





PRINCETON

Dear Dr. Fucker:

Thank you for applying to our Graduate School for the 2010-11 academic year. While I assure you that the materials you submitted were carefully reviewed by the faculty in the Department of Architecture, I regret to inform you that the department did not recommend your admission for the coming year.

The number of places available at Princeton for entering graduate students is extremely limited and we cannot offer admission to all who are well-qualified. Indeed, many departments consistently have applicants who would be admitted without hesitation if the resources were available. Our decisions take into account not only the applicants’ merits, but also the suitability of the department’s programs to the candidates’ expressed interests. Our goal is to achieve a sound match between the strengths of our programs and the interests of the relatively small number of outstanding students that can be accommodated.

We chose to advise you of our decision via email on the assumption that a timely response would outweigh the informality of this means of communication. I would be happy to provide a formal letter upon request.

I wish you success in your plans for graduate study and thank you for considering Princeton University.

Sincerely,
William B. Russel
Dean of the Graduate School

@miamiDC
I'm seriously considering GaTech. University of Maryland is my other option since I found their interdisiplanry porgram quite intersting.

Anybody going to SCI-Arc open house??

@ koru

I applied to the 2 year program and I'm currently on the waitlist. I called them today and found out my number on the waitlist, so I am trying to gauge my chances before I accept anywhere else (My position on the waitlist is relatively high so theres definitely a chance!). They told me they would know by the week of April 12th..

People accepted to Ga Tech, don't go!! Haha just kidding, but seriously...

@ boundless, thank you for the info!

I'm not gonna base my decision on that, but I was just wondering because I know UTSOA is much larger that UVa, and like you said that doesn't necessarily mean the facilities are better. I'm just trying to weigh the differences/similarities in my head since I'm overseas and can't visit unfortunately.

Thanks again!

@miamiDC

I'm a M.Arch I (3.5 year) applicant. I hope you'll hear the good news soon. The final decision date is 9 April for admitted students, so most probably you would will found out the result in a week.

GSAPP accepted students:

When do you have to give in the final decision.

Thanks

WaitImpatiently and bucku:

I may go to the open house. I have a Southwest ticket I can use that would make the flight free-I am just trying to decide if it will work with my work schedule. I will let you both know if I will attend.

In terms of the programs, I can only comments on SCIFI as I visited specifically to find out about it. I met with David Bergman and Peter Zelner. They took me on a tour of the building and to the studio space for SCIFI. There wasn't too much work out, but I was able to talk to them about the focus of the program a bit better:

David Bergman is an Urban Planner and Peter Zelner is an Architect. The Program is Studio based in that all research, investigation, etc...resolves itself in a formal solution. What I really found interesting about the Future Initiatives program is that it isn't so much a focus on "Urban Scale" as much as initiatives for the city that could be what we refer to as "Urban" in scale or "Architectural" in scale. Since work is largely rooted in "bottom-up" design or processing, there isn't necessarily a preconceived idea about what the final solution will actually be.

I happened to visit the same weekend the SCIFI program held a forum entitled "Other New Urbanisms." A panel of professionals that had submitted work for a competition sponsored by the SCIFI program presented their findings.

I thought the dialogue was great. There definitely was a openness and willingness to discuss critically if the offerings were truly better ways to think about assembling systems that are able to respond to urban issues.

One of the best things I heard was when Andrew Zago began talking in which he started off his presentation with a statement saying "well, I'm not really sure what I'm doing here-I'm an Architect!"

That happened to be one of the first issues the panel touched on as Andrew pointed out how typically Architects have made a horrible time of city making...and maybe rightfully so. What was great about this comment is that it brought out exactly what SCIFI is trying to look at-the reality that no longer should it be about what the Urban Planner does vs. the Architect, but more of a synthesis of these traditionally segmented fields of "expertise." It spoke to the obsolete and static way of viewing Architectural and Urban scales.


If anything, I was energized by what I experienced. I personally enjoy the way SCI-Arc is set up. I really appreciate the exchange between formality and informality that exists there. As Eric Own Moss said it "SCI-Arc put the academy on the street." I have to agree with him based on what I saw.

@ miamiDC, I also applied to GA Tech 2yr program. Waitlisted as well. Did they mention how long the waitlist was? I guess I'll call tomorrow to find out my placement. What time did you call? Goodluck to you. Is Tech your first choice?

did anyone go to the UCLA open house? If so, what did you think?

anyone else making a decision between UCLA and UVA? I know, I know, very different academic environs.

I am a little worried about living in Charlottesville, VA for four years versus LA but then again tuition @ UVA would literally be half UCLA's for me.

Anyone can talk to the quality of facilities? professors? general feel of excitement at the two schools? sense of innovation?

I have been reading the above thread on UVA vs UTSOA but I'm wondering how UCLA compares. Am I missing something? Is there a clearly better school?

Went to Cal Open House today and it was a really great experience. All the professors were involved, got to participate in some crits, etc. And it was a sunny day in Berkeley, over looking the bay, sf skyline and GG bridge from your potential studio space sells itself.

But just got home and got financials from Wash U equalling are around a 25k a year renewable scholarship. Man, choices, choices... Anyone else in the same shoes right now?


In any case, I live in Berkeley and did their summer program last year and new I loved it here, but kind of re-fell in love with the old 'crappy' Wurster hall that everyone kind of disses - I think it's a great space... and the faculty is really exciting at Berkeley, and the students are interesting, cool, laid back (as much as one can be), love Cali. Thought I'd share just in case others were deciding on Cal.

@ andimdone:

I am not an expert on UVA architecture, but I did go to a writing program for two summers there, so I have a good idea about what Charlottesville is like. Although UVA has a reputation for being a really "preppy" place, Charlottesville is actually pretty cool. If you are artsy (like I am), there is a cute little neighborhood within walking distance of campus that will fulfill your need for cafe dining and buying random art objects/knickknacks to put in your apartment.

The cost of living is nowhere near as high as it is in LA, and you will have all the quiet space you need to study. The campus really is beyond gorgeous, and because it is in the sunny south, things are green most of the year. I miss reading or sleeping lying out on the green between classes...good weather keeps you in a good mood, and I think most people do better work when they are relaxed.

I understand your qualms about Charlottesville, but as a New Yorker (from NYC proper) who went to undergrad in the south, I can tell you that you that the transition was altogether positive - the only problem is that you might start saying "y'all"after two years and not be able to stop...


If UVA is much cheaper for you, I would say go for it - not only will you avoid the stresses of big city life, but the stresses of student loans as well.

@ guyforget

I also came home to my Wash U financials, nearly 22k, and yeah, it's really making me want to really like it when I visit on friday... are you going to the open house?

Yeah, I'll be there. Get into St. Louis really late Thursday, but excited about the Open House. It is going to be a hell of a decision, I thought it would be easy, but Wash U is making it hard on me! Regardless, I'm in a good spot, by no means complaining. (it was funny running into people from this thread at the open house today, I expect much of the same in St. Louis... )