Yes, finally!

Looks like we made the same decision archnewbie (re: penn/harvard vs in state tuition/almost a free ride at UW). I've had a bit of a hard time finding UW admits for this year—many of the MLA posters who applied didn't get in and thus there's a general lack of current information/enthusiasm for the CBE. Thanks for starting this thread!

If I remember correctly you're a MArch I admit, right?

I'm currently in Portland, but I'll be up there this fall for a dual MLA I/MUP with a specialization in urban design. I plan on being up in Seattle this coming week to talk more with Jeff Hou (LArch Dept Chair) and to scope out some neighborhoods that are an easy bike ride away. Friends have mentioned Wallingford, Ravena, Greenlake, Ballard, Freemont... something on the bike trail... do you have any clear favorites of these?

I have a friend I went to undergrad with who is just finishing up his first year of a MArch I—he very much digs the program and the CBE.

Glasgow - Congrats! Yeah I'm a MarchI, but I hope to do some crossover with Urban Planning, possibly go for the Certificate program.

As for neighborhoods - those are all great picks. I'm a little biased b/c I live in Ballard - it's a great community with a farmer's market and actually quite a few interesting small firms to look at. But I am thinking I'll have to drive to campus for late nights - it's a bit far to bike home at 2am after being in studio.
I love Wallingford. I love Fremont and Greenlake too. I'm sure you will too - just take a look around and see what's available.

Did you go to the open house? Did they have one for MLA students? I went to the one for MArch and I got a real sense of a strong design community and a very supportive faculty/ studio culture. The school is very much tied to Seattle/ Northwest firms and there's a definite Northwest focus in their education. I did notice a lack in digital presentation/ modeling, so I think that's just not the focus at CBE, for better of for worse. But yeah, I hope you'll be as happy with the people/ environment as I was.

archnewbie - Congrats as well! Thanks for neighborhood advice.

Alas—as far as an MLA open house, there wasn't one, and I unfortunately visited on the same day as the WASLA conference in early April so Gould Hall was pretty dead. I met up with a female MLA student who transfered to UW from Penn (after 1 year) at the happy hour event and spoke to her about both programs over a couple of beers. Her work was excellent and she really enjoyed the program. I also met a few Arch professors who were really kind and happy to talk to a prospective LA student.

The only real problem I had during my visit was that the program coordinator in the landscape architecture office was AWFUL. I didn't find this uncommon with some of the other schools I applied to, but it still bothered me. However, I've heard once you're accepted she has little bearing on your experience in the program. The actual professors and students I contacted via phone or email were really responsive and had positive reviews.

I agree the CBE doesn't focus heavily on digital presentation/modeling but I got the impression from students and professors that it's something you can pursue if you want to—I do. There's a professor in the LA department that's really into graphics so I hope to hook up with him early on. There's also a Design Computing certificate in the Architecture program as well. What intrigued me was that there were a lot of voices in the program regarding ideas and design. I hope to take a lot of crossover courses between architecture, urban planning, and LA, which seems pretty easy to do. In general, I found there were quite a few professors in all the fields that were interested in the same topics as I am, which bodes well for a great experience/environment. I'm also stoked for the Urban Design Copenhagen Studio with Nancy Rottle.

Are you taking any summer classes to prepare?

In general, I'm reading a lot from both the UW and Penn "summer reading list." The Landscape Urbanism Reader is quite good. I also just discovered 'scape magazine...

any other UW admits out there?

Yes! I will be attending MarchII. I already live in Seattle so no moving for me. Can't wait to meet everyone.

kanu—welcome. Look forward to meeting you in the fall as well.

I was just up at Gould last week. Ben Spencer and two new hires in the ARCH department have been pushing for new digital representation software and fabrication equipment. Everything is ordered and should arrive over the summer. We should have some great cutting edge equipment installed by this fall/winter quarter.

They're also working on a weekly student run workshop to get any interested kids familiar with new programs and equipment.

congrats guys on getting into the UW!
glasgow - just curious - are you sure it was the program coordinator being awful? if you're talking about joanne, she's actually pretty wonderful and organized, keeping things running. i would make friends with those type of people early on if i were you:)

hungry — thanks and touche. are you in the mla program/do you want to share a bit more about your experiences there?

Regarding your question:
JoAnne was very kind and i was nothing but kind/friendly back and certainly never rude; however, it was hard not to notice how i had a hell of a time just trying to get simple information from her. I'm sure she was just having a really busy two weeks (she does ALOT), but some of the things that were said to me/ emailed seemed a) curt and b) didn't pertain to what i had emailed her about. i did have other students tell me that was normal, so I guess different people have different (but still valid) experiences... <shrugs>

I'm obviously still stoked about the program and hope to develop a stronger relationship with JoAnne. I'm sure she's seen some shit and has some great stories. ::]

Yo so i received something a while ago saying that my registration date was june 22nd which is coming up quick. Does anyone have any idea what that means. Am i just going to be signing up for the classes they told us about at the open house? did i miss something? I think i remember someone else saying that it would all be taken care of at the orientation. it would be nice to figure it out sooner rather than later so i can let my employer know what my schedule might be like and what if any kind of hours I might be able to work.

Is Murcutt still teaching there?

kanu — my reg. date is June 22 as well. You need to set up a MyUW account. Once you have that you can register and finalize financial aid stuff. You will also need registration codes from the program assistant/coordinator for each of the classes you need to take (generally around 15-16 credits per quarter). The first quarter is pretty much full of required classes (at least in my department)—a list was given to larch students and appeals could be made to the program chair. All the above info was in mailed packets from the school or emails from the larch dept.

I'm sure your program coordinator would be able to give you details as well.

Good luck and see you in the fall!

make — alas, I think he's a visiting professor at Yale now...

Thanks glas,

I waited until about a week ago to set up the MyUW account. I guess i missed some stuff or something. Emails have been sent and are currently rattling around the internet tubes of the Arch department. Looks at least one person has gone on vacation till the 22nd. So the forwarding begins. Hopefully I will have it figured out soon.

I wonder if this means im the slow kid in class.

Guess we will find out in the fall.