Still waiting for UMass. This whole month has been one long wait. Hey LeanGreen, when did you hear from Umass?

redroad- I informally got to check RISD out, as I am from near Providence. The City is great- especially the Brown/RiSd area. The Bayard Ewing Blding has tons of space and enough bang in their resources to accommodate everyone. Mikyoung Kim's work is amazing. Colgate Searle is great too. Tons of Study abroad opportunity.

Any RISD folks receive financial packages yet?

Taking a look at this site, looks like GSD acceptances have been sent out:

http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=landscape+architecture

Thanks, jester -- I appreciate your comments. I am still waiting for the financial info from RISD.

RE: GSD the admissions office at GSD said that they were sending out their official notices in batches, and hoped to finish mailing them out by the end of this week.

Jester - no word from RISD on financial aid yet. I got my Umass acceptance pretty early, a few days after RISD - late February, I think.

Can we start a running list of programs with descriptions of their "personalities"? This seems like a good idea to help current and future applicants with tough decisions.

RISD:
Emphasis on design and process, free and open, wintersession, travel opportunities, the Northeast

UVA:
emphasis on sustainability, social/ecological agenda, town life

Tcamp - I heard from GSD last week.

I contacted RISD and they said they were going to try and get all Fin Aid info out this week (they have spring break next week I believe).

LeanGreen2- how did you get the acceptance so early? I was at the Umass info session on march 3rd. One fellow there had recently been accepted...

I liked the faculty at UMASS and the practical emphasis, though the facilites are a little dicey. Theres a good encouraging feeling in there. Gosh it would be nice to finally hear from all the schools so I can make the next big decision.

so far got into RISD and UPenn.. no scholarship info yet for me either and contemplating on which one to go or none at all.. not sure if I can afford if I dont get any funding..

to those waitlisted at UPenn, i got admitted to the 3 year program but dont think I will accept (just can't afford)... so there will definitley be one spot opening up. congrats to all...

why is berkeley taking so long! driving me nuts...

hi all--new to this but glad to see some discussion about berkeley,

gives me some peace of mind that no one else has heard from them... I even sent an inquiry email to the program officer because I was concerned I had missed the email. Of course it's now their spring break and the office is closed until the 30th. So, I'm guessing it won't be until then that we'll find out one way or the other.

Best of luck to you all!

is anyone considering UW? Seems like a good program but I haven't seen much discussion on here about it...

UW seems like a good program with the distinction of having unique pacific northwest ecology and also the urban context of seattle. That, Oregon, and UBC seem to be the best in the northwest.

I'm still looking for outside resources that give an objective description of programs that aren't GSD, Berkeley, or Penn. Other than talking to students/faculty, anyone have any good tips?

If anyone wants to know more about RISD's program, feel free to email me. I think what you do is click on my name at left and then the email link.

In short, I loved the program (I graduated in '08). The faculty are great, very approachable, and definitely push each student's creativity. While it is an art school, and I guess compared to other programs there is definitely a strong creative vibe / push to the unusual, I feel there are solid technical and theoretical components to the program. One thing in particular that I drove me to the program was that I felt the faculty are not trying to push their agenda, but are more about helping students come up with who they are as designers / artists. This culminates in the final thesis project / research where you choose your own specific line of inquiry that is reserached in theory, precedents, and then 'tested' via design.

Otherwise, RISD as a whole is an exciting and inspiring to be at. A lot of great artists swing giving presentations or sit on juries. Even walking around the other studios, especially the MFA's, is inspiring (and intimidating). Plus, as a RISD student you get to use Brown University's resources and take classes there (I did a year long one on how to teach at the college level).

Good luck as you decide whereever you go!

If anyone wants to know more about RISD's program, feel free to email me. I think what you do is click on my name at left and then the email link.

In short, I loved the program (I graduated in '08). The faculty are great, very approachable, and definitely push each student's creativity. While it is an art school, and I guess compared to other programs there is definitely a strong creative vibe / push to the unusual, I feel there are solid technical and theoretical components to the program. One thing in particular that I drove me to the program was that I felt the faculty are not trying to push their agenda, but are more about helping students come up with who they are as designers / artists. This culminates in the final thesis project / research where you choose your own specific line of inquiry that is reserached in theory, precedents, and then 'tested' via design.

Otherwise, RISD as a whole is an exciting and inspiring to be at. A lot of great artists swing giving presentations or sit on juries. Even walking around the other studios, especially the MFA's, is inspiring (and intimidating). Plus, as a RISD student you get to use Brown University's resources and take classes there (I did a year long one on how to teach at the college level).

Good luck as you decide whereever you go!

As a side note, I currently teach at an architecture school in San Diego where we are in the process of starting up an MLA and possibly a BLA program this Fall. Let me know if you have any questions about that too.

Besancon, thanks so much for the insight into RISD!

Besancon, judging from your username, I think I know who you are from the student work section of the RISD website. Nice projects!

I sent you a message earlier today but I'm not sure if it got to you ("invalid page" after I hit 'send'). Could you let me know if you haven't received anything?

!

Balanca, no - i didn't get an email. Not quite sure why.

Thanks for the comments on my student projects.

Fellow GSD fall 2010ers:
Are you looking for roomates and apartments?
I am, and won't be at the open house, so please get in touch!
eemcmillan@gmail.com

Congratulations again to everyone: on your acceptances, decisions and future paths as L.Arch's.

First I would like to say congratulations to everyone on their acceptances.

Secondly, as a graduating MLA II at the GSD, I would like to post notice for a room for rent in an awesome cabin slash condo on Oxford Street which is approximately 10 min walk / 5 min bike ride from the GSD.

You will be sharing the cabin slash condo with 3 other MLA 1's for the coming year and the room will be available June 1st with a one year lease.

Please shoot me an email at css294 at mail.harvard.edu if interested and I will be available at the open house for questions.

-beatbox.

Anyone get a financial aid packet from RISD. Mine was....less than enlightening.

Still waiting on mine --

What was in it? What do you mean "less than enlightening" ?

Well, I mean it was a very basic computer print-out, without any real explanation. And the numbers didn't even come close to covering RISD's tuition, even with an expected contribution of almost nothing on my FAFSA. So, I guess it was enlightening...in a bad way.

Has anyone heard from Berkeley yet? hmmmm

LeanGreen -- one thing that I would check into with RISD's Financial Aid office is making sure they know what your expected level of income will be while in school. I remember having a similar problem (my FAFSA showed how much I and my wife were making as full-time architectural employees). I gave an updated estimate of my earnings while in school and the student loan figures came out much better.

I hope this helps.

Haemee-- I sent an email last week to the grad student affairs officer and she emailed me back this tuesday (when the spring break was over). She said the notifications are scheduled to be sent out via email by the end of this week. I didn't get mine today, so tomorrow or Friday?!

krmiller -- thanks for the info , wow,, cant believe berkeley delays their decision this late.. I thought they lost my apps lol... good luck :)

Does anyone else think Berkeley is just shooting themselves in the foot with their late decision making? I've heard from all my other schools, some as far back as march 13. And now, Berkeley, isn't even on my radar as I've already accepted an invitation and started paying money for another school. What. Ever. Berkeley.

I seem to have forgotten that I don't have (nor have I ever) a trust fund, huge savings or an insanely rich spouse when I applied to schools. Hmm...

jester im with you, seriously, shouldn't how much we pay be at least remotely proportional to how much we will make? or that just too logical?!

150 K for UPenn 3 year degree? is it really worth it?

^ 150K debt for 3 year degree and case of starvation and trench foot for not having food or shelter. Just not sure how to swing it all.

i finally lost patience and phoned GSD admissions today: they'll let you know by email if you still haven't heard, as of today, good friday. so i got rejected by email, sweet. just wish they would've told me mid-march so i could get on with planning my life...!

still no word from berkeley: at this point if they begged me i'd probably say no, definitely shooting themselves in the foot...

Berkeley's decisions are now available online.....

Hey guys, this may be a little off topic, but I'm going to be visiting schools to which I've been admitted and want some advice on questions I should ask/things I should look for. Aside from "what are the strengths and weaknesses", any suggestions on things that will cut to the core of the department? Thanks!

Has anyone heard back from the University of Toronto?

Great question, tcamp.

If you're anything like me, you'll figure out all the questions you should have asked about twenty minutes after you leave the campus.

In this economic environment, I would definitely inquire about the financial health of the state and university, and whether there are any expected tuition hikes.

Talk to the grad students. Ask them about the workload and what it mainly consists of (drawing vs. writing) to make sure it aligns with your interests.

Look to see how well the faculty communicate with other, whether they're familiar with each other's work or only concerned with their own research. Lack of cohesion or infighting is a warning sign.

If you have a favorite professor that is drawing you to the school, make sure he/she won't be on sabbatical for the majority of your time at the school.

Check out the student work. If it's not up to your level across the board, it's likely the school, not the students. Don't fool yourself into believing you will be the one person to excel above the demonstrated work.

They're not going to point out their shortcomings. On a recent visit I was half-way out the door before I realized I hadn't been shown their library. Sure enough, the department didn't have one of their own.

If the program had both grad and undergrad, I would ask how they handle the mix. Also, inquire about the number of students they accept on yearly and the average class size.

Would love to hear more suggestions.

Here's my updated list:

Cornell - accepted
Illinois - accepted
Oregon - accepted
Vtech - accepted
UW - rejected
Berk - rejected

Berkeley was my one clear choice (not sure that was even so clear after waiting so long), so now I'm strung on where to go.

Anybody else having trouble deciding? How is everyone else going about their decision?

burrito, thanks for the excellent advice. i'll be sure to put your suggestions to work. as for my decision, a large consideration i have to make is the amount of aid i'm going to get. a few places have given me projections and others have given me no info, which is making it more difficult than it already is! other than that, lots of talking with students. another approach that has yielded some pretty frank responses is finding faculty in one program to which you've applied who have studied at another school to which you have applied, and asking them to compare.

I'm just chiming in. I applied to only UC Berkeley and Cal Poly Pomona for their 3-year MLA programs. I got rejected from Berkeley. Who got accepted?! I've seen 6 or 7 rejections posted on gradcafe.com and one on this site. Haven't heard of an acceptance. Anyone know how many applied?

I got wait listed for Cal Poly Pomona. Candidates must respond to acceptances by April 15th (Thursday). Anyone else apply to Cal Poly Pomona? If you got in the 3-year and will not be accepting, please let them know ASAP. I would have less than 2 months to move down to Pomona before mid-June summer session......

Anyone interested in UW-Seattle?

I'm a bit late to post, but I'm a first year UW // LA student (chose the program over Harvard, Penn, UBC and UOregon) last year.

Happy to chat with anyone who's accepted or still mulling it over.

Still deciding between Toronto and Guelph. Any advice?

gink.. def toronto i think if u're into landscape urbanism and not sure what Guelph specializes on but its not a top landscape program for sure.. if it caters to ur need.

On a side note, I was a bit disappointed by RISD's student work after the open house. the place and the space is awesome + vibe but the student work didn't seem as intensive. am i right or wrong to think so?

I loved Ithaca. Very pretty, with lots of outdoor recreational space close by. I can't imagine a more picturesque setting for a campus.

Make sure you inquire about the City and Regional Planning degree. For an extra thirty credits (?) you can obtain a second master's in CRP.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the city and the program.

re: RISD student work

I'm currently at RISD and I just wanted to chime in about the student work as presented at the open house. I feel like RISD has been historically bad at presenting student work. When I attended the open house, I remember being confused by the work presented and frustrated by the lack of work shown on the department website (still annoyed that the student work on our site is not representative of the work created here). That said, I want to give some insight into the way that we are creating our own process at RISD.

Attending during a crit would have given you a much better sense of the work we make. At mid-semester, everything on our desk is in an in-between stage. I think another reason that the work from RISD doesn't read collectively is that it is all so very different. I can look at a student Landscape portfolio and guess where they go to school because many of the top programs have a feel that is recognizable. (By the way, this is precisely the reason I chose RISD over Penn because all of the work on the walls at Penn looked the same). That's not the case with work from RISD. That is a reflection of the focus on developing your own way of working, your own voice as a designer. It's an empowering place to be because the faculty always take your ideas seriously and help you to refine them and find your own way of making.

All of that being said, RISD is NOT for everyone. If you fancy yourself a leader, someone who is independent and driven by your own ideas, then RISD is likely a great fit. As far as the work being intensive, I think there's a reason you meet current students immediately after spring break when we are more relaxed. At any other time, nobody would be able to take time away from studio to talk to you! Come visit tomorrow when we have a pin-up in four days and you can bet the atmosphere is more, ahem, intense.

I was pretty certain that I wanted to attend RISD and the Open House sealed the deal for me. The main take home message echoed what Falon said: faculty are dedicated to supporting their students as individuals and are very much opposed to the cookie cutter, one "look" approach.

Final decisions? New thread?

Sorry, TGO. I graduated from a west coast school in a major completely unrelated to landscape architecture. Although we seem to be drawn to Cornell's program for the same reason--its flexible, open-ended approach to the study of landscape architecture--I know nothing more about the program than what is available to the general public (rankings, prof. interests, internet forums).

With that said, I did choose Cornell. So see ya in the Fall if you do decide to go that route. Best of luck in selecting a school.

I got accepted to Cal Poly Pomona for their MLA-3 year program off the wait list on April 29th. It was 3-weeks of suspense, but well worth it. Looks like a great program.

I got rejected from Berkeley on April 2. I only applied to Pomona and Berkeley (the two accredited MLAs in Cali) Pomona's program starts in June, and I'm going. Anyone else out there who's going to attend the MLA 3-year at Cal Poly Pomona?

Hello,
I wanted to ask you guys when you received the risd mla1 mail packet or email acceptance notifications last year as well as for the gsd?