Try including more conceptual and original work.  Your drawing and painting skills are very good but that is not what the admission panel will be interested in.  They want to understand your way of thinking, the ideas in you, the questions you ask yourself and the solutions you come up with for thought-provoking issues.  I've seen people who lacked drawing skills but got into Harvard and other top schools because every project they included were different and made you think. 

I am surprised you got all rejections the work is quite nice. Did you only try IVY programs or something?

why is FESTOON just one spread? and near the end of the portfolio?

in my opinion, its the only creative project that really stands out. If you have more stuff to show, definitely include it. 

its great you can do sketches, but theyre not doing a lot in my opinion. the layout is good, and its nice that you understand white space, but its almost TOO much white space. 

and where are you trying to apply to? you should see other non-architecture background portfolios who got into your target schools. i have seen some good portfolios here and all it was a portfolio of sketches, but they were like sketches of cities or futuristic cities, etc. 

keep in mind your personal statement should not be disregarded. really fine tune your personal statement, asking yourself why you really want to do architecture. keep in mind you are going to graduate school with an inquisitive mind.

You talked a lot about technology, the word popping up more than anything else in that brief intro essay. Yet nothing you presented held much technological inquiry. Except that last augmented hoodie thing which seems like a fun project, all the rest are outside what your avid passion seems to be in. What about technology and architecture/design? Like digital forms or connected homes or the general openness of a connected world?

But before all that, what role does technology play in your hand-drawn sketches, ebook, or the pink flags project? I'm not seeing the connection/s--of course I can make them myself but that defeats the purpose of trying to know how you think.

^ The comment about personal statement is really worth noting. As a non-arch/design background you really need to blow their socks off with your statement, that's how they really get a picture of who you are and how you think.

I agree that it would be helpful to know where you applied.

Also, I am curious about people's opinions on you including content from a 3D modeling class. Personally I feel as though it may be counter productive for the portfolio but helpful once you are in school. The content from the other two might be more suited for a portfolio, but hey, that depends on what you produce in all three.

I agree with a lot of these comments, the layout is pretty elegant but it is quite sparse.  And, of course, what are the design implications of technology for you? When answering that, I would warn against thinking of architecture as a technical profession (as in, architects use AutoCAD and therefore technology shapes our lives). That is like saying you want to do architecture because you like math and art and architecture is both blah blah.  I think you need to go much deeper and conceptual.  Architecture school is first and foremost about design and conceptualization.  It is especially true that schools look for how you think rather than technical skills like drawing and modeling.  

I would definitely keep the drawings and paintings you have but add a short description, not of how it was made, but of what you were thinking or how you conceptualized it in a greater context. This could be totally post-rationalized, it does not matter if it was present at the time of creation but it should make sense.  If you take the figure drawings, for example, they're not just a figure, you could talk more spatially about chiaroscuro and the human body or how you were trying to represent how that person perceives themselves in their environment. I don't know. You can probably think of something better.  This may be very difficult to make convincing.  Also, since you have a good 6 months or so until the next application round, try doing some self-driven projects starting with a concept and working through that.  This could still be painting or whatever you want.

A great tip from my portfolio reviewers this year when I was applying, since I also don't have a background in Architecture, is to make sure your portfolio tells a story about you. They kept saying to me similar things like "you need to be remembered" "be remembered as the girl who thinks everything is a bridge" or "the girl who is obsessed with circles". So I went with the girl who is passionate about urban interventionism and tailored all my work to somehow apply to that theme.

I think some of the comments above are getting at the same idea - you talk about technology in your introduction but it isn't the vein of your work. If that's what you are passionate about studying architecture for, make that come across better.

That's all totally just my opinion of course, but I don't think it's the quality of your work or the way you are laying it out that prevented your admission, but more because the admissions committees don't have a good sense of who you are as a candidate and what you'd bring to the program from your portfolio. Tell more of a story about how your work relates to why you want to study architecture!

If I were u I would just try to design a few small spaces.  Use your drawing skills but try to use them to represent an idea rather than a figure or object.  Nice drawings though.  Just have fun with it.  I would add 3 designed spaces.  Can be a small house, landscape, furniture, bus stop.  Whatever just make it a representation and try to show some thought process.

^ dont just draw architecture stuff for the sake of architecture.

as AJ_urbanist said, its a story about you. not a story of someone trying to pretend he or she is an architect.

Your personal statement needs work. It sounds like b.s. (sorry)

You draw acceptably/ good enough for architecture, but I wouldn't include more than one nude, and certainly wouldn't lead with it. If you want to show off your figure drawing skills, maybe a clothed model is a safer bet. Why not a self portrait or drawings of buildings - but not "architecty" drawings, just careful observation. I don't think that the art stuff needs text added. Just make it good.

The geometric painting you showed seemed derivative (not Frank Stella? but I don't know who off the top of my head.) I would think that paintings like that would only work as a series.

Don't fall into the trap of trying to make things that look like undergrad arch. projects if that's  not what you did in school. You have a professional graphic design project, show us your best school work as well.

We don't need to know what kind of camera you were using for your photography.

Pick some backup schools as well. State schools are fine and will save you money.

What makes you think a clothed figure would be "safer"? I thought architecture schools supported nudity in art (unless you are going to school in Alabama?).  One of our professors teaches a nude figure drawing class every Saturday.  

 Yes, a everyone who goes through a college art program will have drawn and painted nudes, but:

1. The drawings are usually studies, a musician wouldn't play scales at an audition. In this instance, the drawings are just figures on a blank ground with no real feeling for composition.

2. You never know who will judging the portfolio. There are non-prudish people for whom nude figures might be problematic.  (And the architects I have seen hanging around the open figure drawing sessions at Universities have been creeps, and bad artists.)

3. The only drawing that I would keep in my portfolio if I were the poster would be "junkyard" It is the best developed, and has the beginnings of an interesting composition. The shell drawings are too loose, and haphazardly composed. The first nude, maybe, on the last page of the drawing section.

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys. Sorry it's taken awhile to respond. I've been traveling this past week. Replying in line to folks here...

@Beepbeep -- I just left my previous job in technology in Nov and only had time to apply to one school so, I applied to UTSOA since I'm already living in Austin, am familiar with the program and was okay with staying in Austin longer. In hindsight, I should have applied to more than one, but I'm glad I went through the experience and can apply to more programs this round. 

@batman - totally agree with your points. In a hurry, I didn't highlight the truly good projects like Festoon as well as I could have. I'm going to re-envision how I'm highlighting that particular one for the next iteration. Agree with your comment on the white space also. The layout can be improved a lot. I think I was going a little too far on the minimalism train of thought...oops ;) 

@retinald, @nocturne, @AJ_Urbanist -- great advice on how to go about the essay and re-approaching how I'm representing and creating my work -- making it a story about me essentially. In hindsight, I think I made more of an art school portfolio in a hurry to see if I could get in this year, but with more time I can do much better and apply more conceptual thinking that is my own and shows my personality and thought process. 

@natematt -- on the 3D modeling comment, do you mean that it's less useful spending my time taking 3D modeling classes now while preparing to apply again? Do you (or anyone else) have strong opinions on the best things to spend your time on while preparing a non-arch background portfolio? Obviously sketching your ass off, but outside of that, is it really whatever suits you (pottery, woodworking, etc.) and shows your personality and thinking --or-- is there a more strategic way to go about choosing which categories of pieces make it in the final portfolio (e.g. typically winning portfolios include sculptures, paintings, drawings, etc)?

One thing for sure, a nude figure is a lot heck harder to draw than a clothed figure.  One can easily tell if you have drawing skills or not by looking at your figure drawing skills.  It is why every art school and even drawing classes in architecture school have nude figure drawing classes.   I'm going to guess the one who suggested that a clothed figure might be a better choice come from a country where any forms of nudity (even in art) is thought to be offensive and frowned upon.

@rooyal I am not sure where you live...But look into taking an exploratory architecture program in your area. Many of the universities offer one during the summer and it can be a great way to generate content for the next application cycle.

@insomniarch - I'm in Austin and definitely applying to UTSOA's and others in Los Angeles and SF where I have friends/family that I could crash with for 6+ weeks. Thanks for the advice! I think the summer programs is something that is going to be pretty invaluable to me right now.

I am an incoming MArch 2 student, but before applying for my BArch I took a summer program and can still remember the great times I had. It really helped when constructing my portfolio and lended itself to a better essay as well!