totally agree, thats why I'll most likely apply. My fear is I have too many of those reach schools on my list.

Annagraph - we have pretty similar situations. I've been a graphic designer for 5 years but don't have as much of my own art to include. Hope the summer program and some drawing I've been doing recently will help round that out. My plan is to only include one or two of my very best G.D. projects.

Also saw you were thinking of ASU. Do you know much about their program? I've seen it asked about a couple of times on the thread (including from myself) but no one has replied... is that a bad sign?

Why would you want to limit your graphic design projects to 1 or 2? Sounds like you've been doing it for a while. If it's good stuff, you should include it right?

Well, a lot of my work is pretty commercial. I think out of context it might not be impressive. Maybe one or two pieces was a low estimate. I guess if you have awesome stuff, you should include!

njohn - regarding the Yale program and urbanism, I believe you are a little bit off.

In my research of the programs, Yale actually seems to have a strong connection to urbanism. The fact that there is not a dedicated urban design program does not mean that the school does not address urban issues - instead all the urbanists coming to the school teach in the M Arch program. One of the semesters in the core curriculum is entirely dedicated to the urban scale, and there are usually advanced studio options addressing the same issues.

That said, I agree with you that MIT has a very integrated program, though in some aspects I have heard than in reality the mixing between the disciplines is not as good as it could be. For Harvard, the same goes - even though everyone is in the same big room, you don't necessarily mix much with other degree programs.

Of course, if you do a dual degree you would get great exposure - Penn is also a good choice in addition to MIT and Harvard then.

Also, same thing goes for Princeton as for Yale - the lack of dedicated program of urbanism means that teachers investigating such matters end up engaging directly with the M Arch students.

That's a good point, no doubt. But I would say that there's a difference between bringing urbanists in to teach arch students and bringing arch students into collaboration and contact with other disciplines full stop.

The first scenario preserves the primacy of architecture, the other may present differing/challenging viewpoints on the nature of the built environment and how to go about shaping it. At the end of the day, I have a hard time imagining that I'm going to get the same diversity of thought from the urbanists at Robert AM Stern's school as I would from a place where they have their own resources/faculty.

Personally, I am more interested in the latter than the former, but that's not a value judgment, just a statement of preference.

I was just looking over the 2008 commiseration forum. Acceptances at Princeton are incredibly few. There was like one accepted person out of all the people posting. Sigh.

yeah, I was not kidding...6%. If you look posts back, I posted their admissions stats for the last 4-5 years... 9-10% area up until last year when it dropped to 6.

Its a great school, I guess its just important to not get hopes up too high on it. I mean at 6% you're rejecting ALOOOT of talented people. there are many other schools like Princeton though without as high of name recognition/attrition rate

I hope we all get to where we want to go down for graduate school! I'll be taking a shot at OSU, UTexas, Princeton, UIUC, UMich, and Univ. of Houston. I know there will be a lot of competition with the stumbling economy and all, but I know I'm prpared and we seem like a determined group. Good luck to us!

Does anyone read "the academic shuffle" on architectmagazine.com? Seems like it could be pretty useful in the months to come.

I went there AG, but i dont get it...to me it looked like the dean situation at 4 schools in about a paragraph's worth of space. Am I missing something, link maybe?

Yeah, that's all the info there now. But generally seems like a good place to see what kind of professors are going or leaving places that you might be thinking of applying. For example, maybe helpful to know the interests of the new deans. Kim Tanzer the new UVa one seems to have an big urban design slant to her work.

The round-up on the site is not wildly informative, but good starting point for some research.

aaah I see, seems informative....ive been looking around for some good architecture school related blogs, but have yet to find any..suggestions anyone?

On a mildly unrelated point, does anyone know how to glean 3d building information from google earth?

I've had the same problem looking for blogs. Architect seems to be as good as it gets....

Whoops. Archinect.

Sooo.... I've sort of realized that because I've only spent four quarters in studio so far (though I'll be in the DIS/Copenhagen studio this summer), my portfolio probably won't be as fat/lengthy as I'd like it to be. I guess that's one of the curses of a pre-prof co-op program! >_<

Anyways, has anyone had success with including their 4th year fall quarter work (Sept.-Dec.) in their MArch portfolios? Because the deadlines are Jan. 1st - Jan. 15th or so, I'm wondering if I'll be able to supplement my portfolio with this studio work. It'd be great if I could, because the studio is one of the most rigorous years we have here at UC undergrad.

I don't know, any thoughts? Can I count on having enough time to include that work in my portfolio, have it printed and mailed out? Providing the rest of the portfolio is completely finished? If not, then I'm going to have to bust my balls this summer on prior work.

those wanting to go to YALE;

I was a silent 2009 applicant, never posted up...until now..YSOA was my dream school- wanted to get on the inter-disciplinary nature of the curriculum/the incredible first year building project, didnt like feel of HARVARD, PRINCETON irked me..applied only to YALE and got a full scholarship as a 'top-rated applicant for a very competitive year'-Joel Sanders ..


The best advice I can give any of you is;

1. PORTFOLIO,PORTFOLIO,PORTFOLIO; this is the single most important component of your application, show diversity, drawing skills, three dimentional aptitude, try to show a mature aesthetic sensibility.
2. DONT do what I did, hedge you bets, give yourselfs the best possible chance.You dont have to apply to 10 schools, but a few options will not hurt..BUT if you are confident in your ability...save yourself the app fee and go for the one...LOL.
3.GRE; Regardless what anyone else says, There IS a cut off point for YALE, generally around the 600 area, most applicants-as i found out at the open house-got 700 upwards, but not to worry, around 600 should suffice.
4.PERSONAL STATEMENT; open with something interesting/arresting, you dont have to justify why you are applying, but every line should pack a punch-ps; not too verbose-GRE word...LOL.
5.Visit the open house if you can, gives good insight into the school and material to put in your personal statement...


Good luck folks...


M.

PS;


Your portfolio does not have to be a the size of War and Peace, less is sometimes more. It is often said that the admissions committee have a sense of your aptitude by the third page.What you leave out is as important-if not more. Its implies discernment and intellectual acuity.

Hi, I thought I'd add myself here. I read the entire 2009 thread. I have to say that Archinect has been a great resource and everyone seems to be very determined and supportive.

I graduated with a BFA in Illustration, so my portfolio will be based on my illustration work. My GPA is 3.0

My three letters of recommendation will be from the Assistant Chairman of my illustration department, a Berkeley/Columbia architecture alum, and a Cornell architecture alum.

I've yet to take the GRE, but I'm studying everyday for it. That's the thing I'm most nervous about at this point. I plan on taking it in 3-4 months.

I'm currently considering doing the Columbia Introduction to Architecture summer program (they're still accepting applications). I just applied but ultimately, I'm not sure if it will be worth it for me to do. I almost feel that adding any architecture-related work to my portfolio may actually weaken it for the M.Arch I.

Also, a note about the size of your portfolio... I know in illustration it's advised to keep it around 10 finished pieces. For my admissions, I may edit it down even further because I plan on including process sketches and explain the conceptual meanings behind every piece.

For architecture, most of the architects that I've met have told me that their portfolios consisted of ONE project. Basically, complete documentation on the thinking process and development of their best work. I know one person with no architecture experience even did their portfolio entirely based on one sculpture. So, I think it's definitely quality over quantity.

So, good luck everyone! We still have a way's to go... there's the admissions process and then the dreaded wait.

Hi!

So, I only recently fully decided on going to grad school straight out of undergrad. I'd been skirting around the issue quite a lot and was distracted with end of term madness. But now, I'm finally getting around to picking schools and freaking out because I'll be abroad in the fall, so I basically have to do EVERYTHING before mid august! I just registered for the GRE (I'm taking it at the end of July...meaning I have under two months to prepare. I'm not excessively worried about this because the subject matter is still pretty fresh for me, but still, I'm concerned). And I spent the entire day today researching schools and finding out what their requirements are, etc. So, I have some lists:

Dream:
a. GSD, MIT
b. Princeton, Yale, Columbia (?)

Good/Happy:
a. UVa, U. Cincinnati, Rice
b. Berkley, SciArc (could be more towards the dream side)

Safety:
Clemson, Pratt, U. Maryland, Va. Tech (I don't actually know if any of these schools are truly safety...)

Anyone have any opinions/thoughts to share about these schools? My goal is to narrow this list down to six schools (two in each category), but I don't know if that's possible (or advisable?). Should I really weigh all three equally?

Also, am I absolutely crazy for trying to do this in such a short time span?

ps. I'll be graduating with a BS in architecture next spring, so I'm going for the advanced standing in MArch I.

Slightly off topic: does anyone have an opinion on the best prep materials for the GRE?

I find safety school to be a weird concept when applying to grad schools, and I think itd be hard to rank rice below GSD/yale, or VT below UVA, etc. That said, its definitely a good idea to rank them as far as personal reasons for liking one school more than another. Your list doesnt look too far off mine as of now (sans yale, UC, uva, and a few others, and add a few).

I also wouldn't say you're crazy for starting now. I've just started to tackle my portfolio, plus you're in a bs arch program so you're already in critical thinking mode...so you'll be fine.

GRE prep advice: I got something pitiful like ~1000 on a Barron's or Kaplan practice test. The only Qs I aced were the reading comp questions. I decided to go to law school instead because the LSAT was easier. A few months later, I decided I wanted to go to architecture school and my friend had the ETS CD lying around (that's the free software the GRE people send you when you sign up; I think you can download it online) and I decided to take it for the heck of it. I did really well, like in the 1300s. It was much easier than that other weird test in that weird book.

Anyway, the free ETS software comes with 2 free computer-adaptive tests. I took that first one a few times, until I got a 790. I learned that it is very important to answer every single question correctly (durr! I mean don't guess), even if it means not finishing the test. Then I took the second computer-adaptive test and got a 780 or 790. When I took the actual test, I didn't sleep the night before and realized about fifteen minutes in that I was still on the second question and had actually forgotten how to subtract. I didn't answer the last several questions on the quant section, but still ended up with a 720. It's important that whatever you do answer is correct, because then it will start giving you the "harder" stats and probability questions (which are much easier for me than things like subtraction and long division) and you get more points for answering those correctly.

By the way, I flipped through a GRE book that didn't even teach the stats and prob stuff, claiming there would be so few of those questions on the test that it didn't matter. That is false. You want to see lots of those on your test; it means you are doing well.

Regarding the verbal, I did use the Barron's and Kaplans books. I marked the ones I didn't know, then rewrote them in very small handwriting so that I could keep it in my pocket and look at it while getting gas and waiting in lines and whatnot. It took a few days to mark and rewrite the ones I didn't know so that I could carry them around with me. I also took out a few days to memorize nearly all of them while watching stupid movies. I thought about the word for a few seconds, made up a dumb sentence with it or something, and then it was there in my head and I crossed it off the list. I ended up with 770 on the verbal.

It looks like a lot of words, but it doesn't take very long at all. A friend of mine got a 1590. I don't think he had to study for the math at all, but he used note cards to study the vocab.

I skipped the essay, because my school did not require it.

hey everyone,
so i've been reading these forums for a while now,
and i guess i'll toss something in to the conversation:

i'm graduating with a bachelor of environmental design,
looking to study urban design or landscape architecture.

the only schools i'm applying to are my top school,
and i've ranked them in order of how badly i'd like to get accepted.

1. Sci-Arc -Sci-Fi Program
2. GSAPP - Urban Design
3. UBC - Landscape Architecture
4. Pratt - Urban Design
5. Cornell - Landscape Architecture (Probably won't end up applying, do not want to leave Toronto to live in Ithaca)

Hello everyone,

So this is my first attempt at posting on this site. I joined after doing a Google search for UCLA's summer jumpstart program and then hitting a search result linking me to this site... so I joined (and I am happy I did.)

I am actually a recent graduate from CSU Fullerton with a BA in Moral/Legal/Social Philosophy—I know, I know, philosophy?

The original plan was to attend law school, but after taking on a job (my current job) at a private defense firm and realizing the type of work attorney are subjected to, I realized that law was not for me.

I have a background in ceramics and sculpture, and frankly I have always been more of the creative type. I think I just got carried away with the glamour of being a philosopher, and once I declared my major I realized I needed a "real world" career.

That's how I got here.

My GPA is average, 3.47. I didn't attend a top undergraduate school, and I don't have much of an architecture background. I haven't yet taken my GRE but I hope to kill it :D

As for the great and positive things about my application…
I am driven. I love design and I know my philosophical background has nurtured this love in a new and different way. I have great letters of recommendation from my attorney/boss and from professors. Though I didn't quite excel in my undergrad studies I did receive a full scholarship for my high school work, so I know I'm more than capable of succeeding. I have received great reviews for my ceramic and sculpture work and I know I have an eye for great design. I plan on attending the UCLA jumpstart program, which starts next week, and use some of the work from the program for my portfolio.

I am also considering LAIAD for two semesters during my year off.

My top five schools are the following:
1. Yale
2. UCLA
3. Berkeley
4. USC
5. CalPoly Pomona

I plan on staying in CA but will gladly make an exception for Yale.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions, or reality checks from anyone out there are more than welcome.

Thanks

welcome. just keep reading this thread everyday for the next 9 months. it will be huge.

I thought I'd post my plans for 2010 here as well.

I graduated in 2003 with BA in Industrial Design concentrating in furniture design.

I've worked in furniture design on my own, as well as for a few decorative concrete companies. I also worked as a machinist for awhile.

I am currently taking a M.Arch studio/prep course at LAIAD. It's a non accredited program started by the guys that start sci-arc. It focuses heavily on theoretical, which it turns out I like.

My wife and I are currently preparing to sell our house in Los Angeles and move to Austin or San Antonio. It depends on where she gets a job and where I get into school. But we're hoping to move in Sept or Oct, so we could move again before fall 2010.

Obviously, I'm applying to UT Austin and UT San Antonio. Austin is my #1. San Antonio, while not the prestigious choice that Austin is, I figured you make the program and I am a motivated self-starter. I know there is a prestige thing with schools and get hired at top firms, but I'm hoping that by the time I get out, I'll be able to start my own design/build firm depending on the recovery of the housing market.

We're planning on visiting San Antonio and Austin in September after my class ends. I'll be perfect - school will have been in session for a month so I can tour the active studios at both schools.

I guess the one thing I really have going for me is the portfolio. If anything, I worry about spending a lot of time boiling down the last six years of professional work, plus any of my ID school stuff, plus an env. design class I took at Art Center on top of my summer studio work into something that really shows the I know the design process. I actually really looking forward to it. Graphic design is one of my strong points as well. I'll probably get started on it in a month or so when my class and the house are done.

I still have to take my GREs but that will have to wait until after the house and class as well.

Does anyone know if It helps if you apply early? I assume they don't have early decision like UG.

tasslehawf,

I will be starting my M. Arch at UT Austin this fall. It is good that you exhibit confidence in your portfolio/graphic design skills as that is the most important part of your application by far. My only suggestion is to not "over"-design it. You do not want it to seem like you are trying to compensate for lesser projects with nifty photoshop tricks in the layout.

In response to your question about applying early; yes, it helps in the sense that you know all your materials will arrive on time. However, I'm not sure that it makes an incredible impact on their decision. I delivered my portfolio in person the day before it was due (utilizing every minute up until then to tweak it), and heard of my admission with the first wave shortly thereafter.

Best of luck to everyone going through the arduous event of portfolio making/school research/application process...it did indeed consume my entire last semester of undergrad. In the end it was well worth it, and I was able to choose between my top 2 schools (almost as grueling a process as the former!).

Roarkschach,

Yeah. I tend to do clean layouts usually minimal graphics on white. As a designer, I know how I want to show my design process. I know that's what they want to see - my thought process.

I think I will likely focus on 4 or 5 major projects: two architectural, one env. design, and one product or furniture design. Show the whole breakdown: image boards, sketches, mockups, models, final renderings, etc. And probably a couple misc. drawings, photos that don't relate specifically the the main projects.

The more I discover about UTSA, the more I like it. I'm getting the impression of a small school mentality; my art school was like this. Since portfolio is king, school is what you make it. There is no denying that school reputations are big factors in getting hired, but I'm not sure I care about that. I'll know better when I visit SA and Austin in September.

GO PENN!

I'll be starting PP@PD - Penn's Post-Professional MArch2 - this Fall so if anyone has any questions...

I'm applying to a M.Arch II program (MIT, U Michigan, U Penn, Yale?, UBC, Sci-Arc), working on the portfolio and had a question: how much process should one show? Should it be a step by step growth of an idea, or is an initial study model or drawing adequate? I'm sure it probably depends on the project, but I was thinking that clearly explaining the reasoning and workings of the design would be more important to show than study models? Thanks.

You should show as much of the process in pictures and diagrams as you can. You can't count on them reading the descriptions. But maybe try it both ways. I think if you want to submit a writing sample, they want it separately.

bruin2013:

as a newly admitted UCLA M.Arch I student, i can tell you with full confidence to save your money and do NOT attend LAIAD.

you can build a great portfolio using MUCH cheaper resources. PCC has truly great art, architecture, and design courses that will help you create great projects for your portfolio without having to spend thousands of dollars. i took design and architecture courses @ PCC that were taught by sci-arc & art center faculty ... much less one-sided than bill taylor's cult-like ways @ LAIAD.

i also completed jump start the summer before i applied and that was a huge learning experience, not to mention the two projects were the bulk of my portfolio.

with these resources i got many acceptances and even a scholarship offer from michigan.

also, keep in mind that you CAN'T attend USC without a prior b.arch - they only have m.arch II, not m.arch I.

I couldn't find any summer courses at PCC, so I took the LAIAD summer semester. Cheapest summer intensive architecture program I found. Most (put on by schools) were twice as expensive for half as long.

Hey everyone,

I've a question about LOR.

I had a bachelor and master degree in computer science. I'm applying for M.Arch 1 program for Fall 2010. I'm not sure facing who i should ask for recommendation letter from.

Here are my options:

(1) Ask from my old Computer Engineering professors at U of Michigan, which they can verify my acdemia strength in math and science, but i don't think they will have anything to say about architecture and artisitcs. They may be able to back up about my design ability and creativity in software programming...btw, i havn't contacted them for 6 years since I graduated...

(2) Ask from my current and previous employers. They prob have nothing to say about my potential for success in architecture either, but should have alot to say about my professionalism as an IT consultant, and suggest that i'm smart.

(3) I just took a painting and a drawing classes at Indianapolis Art Center, a local non-profit organization. Many freelance artist teaches there. So I get to meet two teachers from my classes. I think they also teach at a local community college. I can ask from them, but wonder if it would be a strong recommendation, since they only know me for 2 months.

So, I want to get some opinions who I should ask for recommendation.

thanks,
Jy

Jy-Some schools request letters from people who knew you in an academic setting, so past employers won't necessarily count unless they're internships or something. You should check your potential schools' requirements to make sure. Most people will probably suggest you get letters from whomever will be able to write the nicest, most detailed things about you.

i attended LAIAD for the grad prep program and really liked it. it was a extremely positive and compelling experience. i completely disagree with hobo's take on this program. and the "bill taylor cult-like ways" is non-existent . i'm not sure how that opinion was formulated, but i don't share it at all.

i was accepted and will be attending sci-arc in fall. every project in my portfolio was from LAIAD. my other classmates also got acceptances to top programs and received scholarships.

good luck everyone

I'm so glad I found this thread. I'm applying to schools for MArch 1 programs for fall 2010, and I basically just am going crazy because I have no idea what my acceptance chances are since I don't know anyone who has ever applied to these programs before.

Some background on me- I have a BA in English (my first degree from when I had no idea what I wanted to do in life) and a BS in Interior Design. My GPA from that first time in school was a dismal 2.8, but I had a 4.0 in all my classes for my interior design degree. They average out to about a 3.35. After graduating with the ID degree, I worked as a designer for 2 years, but for the past 2 years I've been working a totally non-design job. I did decently but not wonderfully on my GRE (680 Quant, 550 Verbal, 5.0 writing), and I think my portfolio, LORs, and personal statement are good (my LORs should really be very good), but I can always nitpick my portfolio and personal statement and am worried that maybe they aren't as good as I think when compared to other people's.

I'm definitely applying to UVA, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina State. I feel like I have a good chance of getting into NCSU, a decent chance with VT, and just a slight chance with UVA. Does this seem correct or incorrect to anyone? I'm thinking of applying to some more schools that have higher acceptance rates, but I also hate to spend the money on the application and more copies of my portfolio if I don't need to. On the other hand, while the schools listed above are my definite top 3 choices (location is very important to me at this point in my life), I'd much rather go to a less-ideal school than to not go anywhere at all.

Another MArch 1 applicant here with some portfolio questions: how does I show "process" with photos? I did my undergrad at Berkeley in Japanese, and have spent over a year there, taking lots of pictures. I've also been doing semi-pro sports photography for the past 8 years or so. I'm thinking of using a couple choice Japan photos/Sports photos arranged with some short writing pieces that address the photos in the larger context of what these experiences have meant to me and how they shape the way I "see" (being careful not to overlap with my SoP). I gather that too much writing in a portfolio should be avoided(?), but I don't want to just present a pretty catalog of work. Has anyone else struggled with this?

The rest of my portfolio will be freehand drawing and maybe design projects from community college classes I've been taking since I finished undergrad. I have a good idea of how to show process with these pieces, since I have the early sketches, abstractions, and final products, and can describe what my motivations were.

But that brings me to another question. I have a sense of how I can tie everything together in a way that is visually consistent, but I'm struggling with the lack of consistency in subject matter. Or would it be ok to have very distinct chapters in my portfolio?

Ideas, suggestions, critiques, insults?

Thanks!

chiming in to say good luck, that is all.

600 verb, 750 quant - phew!

For those of you seeking to apply to Graduate Programs in Architecture, consider attending the following Open Houses

Fall 2009 Graduate Open Houses (Partial List)


Friday, September 25, 2009
North Carolina at Charlotte, University of
www.coa.uncc.edu

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Rhode Island School of Design
www.risd.edu/visit_info.cfm#grad

Friday, October 9, 2009
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of
www.uwm.edu/sarup/

Illinois at Chicago, University of
www.arch.uic.edu/

Friday, October 16, 2009
Cincinnati, University of
www.daap.uc.edu/said/

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Rhode Island School of Design
www.risd.edu/visit_info.cfm#grad

Friday, October 23, 2009
Maryland, University of
http://www.arch.umd.edu

North Carolina at Charlotte, University of
www.coa.uncc.edu

Wednesday, October 26, 2007
California at Los Angeles, University of
www.aud.ucla.edu

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Michigan, University of
Architecture Open House
www.tcaup.umich.edu/news_and_events/events/?event=2988796

Friday, October 30, 2009
Minnesota, University of
http://arch.cdes.umn.edu/open_house_2009.html

Virginia, University of
www.arch.virginia.edu/admissions/visiting/openhouse.php

Wednesday November 4, 2009
Columbia University
www.arch.columbia.edu

Thursday, November 5, 2009
Yale University
http://www.architecture.yale.edu/drupal/open_house

Friday, November 6, 2009
Harvard University
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/admissions/visiting/

Monday, November 9, 2009
California College of the Arts
www.cca.edu/calendar/graduate-program-information-night-0

Pennsylvania, University of
www.upenn.edu/gsfa/arch

Friday, November 13, 2009
New Mexico, University of
saap.unm.edu/

Illinois Institute of Technology
www.iit.edu/arch/admission/graduate/

Tulane University
http://architecture.tulane.edu/

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Rhode Island School of Design
www.risd.edu/visit_info.cfm#grad

Friday, December 4, 2009
Lawrence Technological University
www.ltu.edu

This is such a helpful thread, I'm so glad I found it. :o)

I'm thinking of applying to an M.Arch I program this year for next fall. I'm in my fourth year of undergrad in a completely unrelated program (Television/ media communications)....and I'm starting to think that taking a year off might be a good idea. I'm from Canada but am thinking of applying to schools in the States, which means I have to GREs on top of portfolios, LoRs, Applications, and portfolios. I haven't done any of it yet, and I also have a full course load. Is it unrealistic to be applying now? I really don't want to do a poor job on my applications and in school this year just because I was trying to do too many things at once. How long does the general application process take (gres, applications...). Does anyone else who's still in school have this problem?

mistenfilston- it must be nice to be at yale this year. Job well done!!
What was your other records like, gpa, work experience, recommendation, etc.
thanks

Is it easier to get accepted to MARCH I or MARCH II? Does MARCH I only consist of people with no architectural background like i don't know biologists or is it mostly BSc and BA in architecture?
One more question - are the requirements for GRE for foreign students as tough as for you all? ( You know getting 600+ for verbal part and essay for a foreigner is damn difficult) Is applying with lower scores just in vain?

Fusbug,

I'm glad you found this too. It did wonders for me when I was applying this time last year. Honestly, though, I started the application process in June the year before I was applying before and ended up quitting my job/getting laid off in November to finish my applications, portfolios, LOI's etc. If you start now and narrow it down to a legit 4 schools (no more), then you may have a chance to get it done. However, with the Holidays, final exams, and all that jazz, you're looking at mostly Dec 15th and Jan. 15th deadlines. That's pretty tough. Sometimes (but rarely) earlier than December 15th.

And yes, the M.Arch I is a program for people with undergraduate degrees in something other than architecture (myself). I am personally in a 3.5 year program, most likely what you would end up being enrolled in.

My advice would be to take your GRE's NOW. Get them over with. Next, spend EVERY weekend (no fun) working on getting your Rec's and Letters written/organized. And finally, PORTFOLIO PORTFOLIO PORTFOLIO. It is certainly the MOST important part. If it's great, all of the other stuff doesn't matter much. Also, a word of advice, if you want to go somewhere really bad, don't hesistate to call the school, talk to someone, get your name out there, shmooze them a little. It can't hurt. I know this doesn't sound fun, being that you are in school already and will have to balance the two, but you have to take it seriously. There is no half-ass applying to architecture school. Well, there is, but you just won't get in.

On a positive note, there is a fellow classmate of mine who also majored in Media Communications and got into my program....

*I'm very surprised by how dead this thread is. This time last year, it was teeming with prospective and hopeful (sometimes laid off) students all rushing to get their stuff together. Good luck to you.

Banannie,

Have you thought about Clemson? I'm a little partial....

To answer your question though, I think the way you have gauged your expectations of potential schools is fairly accurate, although guessing at this point is crazy and will just give you anxiety. I think your numbers look good for all of the schools. I think you might fit in well at NC State with your ID background. I just saw Marvin Malecha speak the other day. He's great.

Just perFECT that portfolio.

PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO

joentasis ,
Thanks so much for your reply.
That was really helpful!!!
At this point I have no idea how I'll get it all done, but hopefully I'll manage :o)

Thank you again!!!

@joe,
I'm also surprised at the lack of activity. But man, am I freaking out right now. With only two months left to go, I'm like 20% through with my portfolio (98% is in my head/in various incomprehensible rhino models), I need to get rec's lined up still, and haven't touched any of the other stuff other than the GRE I took two years ago. Couple that with a list of schools still at 10ish, and things are looking TOUGH right now!