Arizona State Univ.

@arquiteuthis thanks! you have a strong portfolio! I am so curious to hear how everyone will do!

Is anyones yale application still saying they are waiting for your GRE score report? I sent it in September!

@CThomas, my scores is there. perhaps you should email ETS to have your scores send again.

@CThomas, my GRE scores are there too. I'd follow mitboi's advice and call ets.

My recommendations still say 'awaiting' though.

Anyone know if they'll still consider the application if recommendors missed deadlines?

@CThomas, I noticed the same problem with my scores on Monday and sent an email to ETS. The sum of their response:

Your GRE® scores were included in an electronic file made available to the following score recipient on October 28, 2010.

They will give you a file number to help Yale locate the the information. I assume that the Admissions office is still sorting through applications but I would get in contact with Sharon Deluca (sharon.deluca@yale.edu) and to express your concerns. Good luck!

apologies for the typos

@jetvancake: they will definitely be lenient concerning the letters of rec. If you think about it, you're asking for letters from important, talented professors or practitioners (or both), or if your'e lucky, important talented, and friendly professors - meaning it's likely in both scenarios that the people who are writing your letters also have numerous requests from other candidates.

Admission committees understand how taxing it is to handle all these letters as well as the recommenders' own work/lives. Even if your letters aren't in by the time the committee reviews your app package, if they like what they see, its likely they'll contact the person who hasn't submitted via the contact information you were required to submit for each recommender.

I wouldn't worry too much.

Well the stress has reduced greatly, and the new year is on it's way!
SO I decided to upload a shorter version of my portfolio, hope you guys enjoy- and cheers and good luck to all.

http://issuu.com/rkmust/docs/rkm2010_portfolio

@ramaLAMA

great portfolio! where are you applying?

USC limits portfolios to 20 pages. anyone know if that's 10 pages front and back or 20 pages total?

@ameliabadillia

Thanks, i'm applying to the usual suspects- i posted above.
Although i didn't follow through on Columbia. May also post to Penn and Sci-Arc. Where are you applying? Good question about USC's twenty page limit-I have no idea... cause total pages on mine were 56.

Last year's results, to get a better idea for when we should be hearing back from schools:

http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=architecture&t=a&pp=50&o=d&p=22

@ramaLama

I'm applying to U of Oregon, Pratt, Parsons, USC, U of Washington.

@ameliabadilia

Didn't you go to UTA as well? A few of our alumni have gone to those schools you mentioned, but I am not sure when you would have been around and if you knew any of them.

On another note, what made you decide between USC and UCLA? I know you probably have crossed your t's and dotted your i's (pardon the figure of speech and the pejorative to follow), but isn't tuition going to be a bitch? I suppose I should think the same thing based on where I am applying, too, but I am always curious about people that apply to some of the often overlooked private schools.

Having said that, I know a few people at USC thanks to my days in AIAS and the national conferences we held, and they swear by the school, so it is not as if to say I don't think they are a great institution because they actually do a lot of compelling work, albeit different than what I jive with.

@ ameliabadilia

Interesting choices! Living northwest would be such a great change from the DFW (esp Arlington) environment...!! Good Luck!! :]

Did you ever find out if the 20 page is total or f/b?

@arquiteuthis

I did go to UTA, graduated in 07. UCLA isn't cheap either. The out of state tuition and the new professional fee come to 33,232 a year.
USC has a strong research focus which attracted me. The Center for Sustainable Cities in particular.

@ramaLAMA

Yes, I'm looking forward to a change of scenery. Hopefully I'll get accepted!
I haven't found out about the page limit. My portfolio is about 30 pages, I think I'll just hope that its total pages and not cut anything.

I AM AN IDIOT.

I can't quite believe i did this, I think just too much stress and tiredness- but i was just checking through one of my applications and my essay is addressed to the wrong graduate school. Arrgghh i could hit myself! Do we think this is automatic rejection...i can't imagine them being too impressed. I've attempted to mail them the correct one but I'm not too optimistic.

CThomas, that sucks. Hopefully they'll go easy on you.

___________

Just submitted most of my and so wanted to share my portfolio while the anxious wait begins.

dreaded missing word: applications

Just thought I'd let you guys know (especially CThomas and others freaking out about the possibility of 1-2 minor things missing):

Last year when I was applying to programs, I was told by the school I eventually attended that they give quite a bit of room for unusual circumstances (they dont say it on the website because people would them aim for that subsequent deadline). Do you really think they are going to throw away your whole application because one LOR was a few days late on account of the mail courier's fault? They understand these things happen; it will take a few days for them to sort everything into your individual folders anyways; and finally, ITS ARCHITECTURE. We are naturally inclined to wait until the last minute. They know that.

As some genius wrote on the wall of our studios:

Smile. It will be alright.

Good luck!

Anyone applying to ASU?

I am in the process of uploading my portfolio.. I've put it off because it is so annoying. How are you all uploading it? It says to have 8-25 documents, pdfs can be no more than 10 mb each.

I started breaking my portfolio into 2-page spreads, about 2mb each, but this seems like such a hassle for reviewers to view (I'll have 17 files). Should I combine spreads, to have 6-page documents?

What are your thoughts?

@iamjena

There are three ways you can do this, starting with the most efficient. This will easily merge all of the files into a single PDF under the required file size while maintaining image quality.

Method One: InDesign

1. Open Adobe InDesign and create a new book.
2. Once the new book is created and titled, press Control+N or Command+N to create a new set of spreads and set up the appropriate number of pages.
3. You may modify the configuration of your spreads and page size under the Pages menu tab (if not visible, check Window>Pages, or press Control+F12 or Command+F12)
4. Once you have your spreads set up, select File>Place or press Control+D or Command+D to begin placing your .PSD, .TIFF, or .PDF files within the InDesign book template.
5. Your cursor should become a small arrow with a page symbol next to it, so click toward the upper-left hand corner of the spread and it should stretch across the spread.
6. Once you are done configuring your layout, choose File>Export then Adobe PDF (Print), save your file, and bam! You're done.
7. Check your file size, and if the file is too large, you may change your export settings in the dialogue previous step.

Method Two: Acrobat Pro

If you happen to have a copy of Acrobat Pro, this is an alternative method that is easier for a one-off PDF, whereas InDesign is good if you are continuing to edit the files as each spread is linked to an instance of the file itself.

1. Open Acrobat Pro and choose File>Create PDF>From File
2. Select all of your files that you intend to combine and click open.
3. If the files exist across multiple directories, select all of the applicable files in the first directory, create the PDF, and then under the pages icon in the upper left hand corner below the main menu bar, right click on any page and choose "insert pages", select the new files, arrange, and done!
4. Now, as before, select File>Export, save the file, and you're good to go!
5. As before, your file may be larger than required, so re-open your final exported PDF, choose File>Export and under the drop-down menu that contains the file type, choose "Acrobat PDF (Optimized)". From there, you may choose from a variety of options, but the standard optimization is normally effective. I had a 150 MB, 50 page (25 spread) PDF and under standard compression, it reduced the file to around 80-90 megs. For further compression, you may change the image compression settings under the menu choice at the right. You'll get the idea once you start toying with it.

Method Three: Adobe Photoshop CS2

This was a handy method when I still used CS2 three to four years ago and was very effective without having to open another program.

1. With any file open, choose File>Automate>PDF Presentation
2. You will now be exposed to a dialogue box that should be relatively self-explanatory from what I remember, but here again, I have not used this method in some years. There will be options to select multiple files of various formats and you will also be able to rearrange their order dynamically. One thing I would suggest is to disable the check box that says something to the extent of "Automatically Advance Slides." I don't remember, and I doubt this method is applicable.

Anyway, I hope this something along the lines you were asking for, so let me know if this helps, or if you have any questions!

ASU is a great school and I have a former classmate there, good luck!

wow, arquiteuthis thanks for writing all of that out! amazing!

I, unfortunately, don't have InDesign, Acrobat Pro, or CS2! ha. I do, however, have Illustrator (CS4), and have compiled (placed) my document using artboards.. This is the best I have come up with without acrobat pro or InDesign.. so it works for me. BUT, my compiled file is 150mb without compression. I can alter the compression settings when I save as PDF, but I can't get it down under 10mb without severely compromising image quality.

The specifications on the ASU slideroom uploading site says 8-25 files, so I am assuming 8 is the minimum? I was just trying to get an idea of what other people were doing, because my portfolio definitely reads best viewed as a bound hard-copy. Especially since I have two pages that fold out of the portfolio.. it was a 1 km long floor plan for my thesis and it just reads so much better printed and folded out on your desk. So I don't really know how to address this upload/no hard-copy submission.
breaking my portfolio up into sections seems so much like I am tearing apart this document I've spent a lot of time babying!

ps. Yeah ASU was an unexpected surprise.. I have really enjoyed researching their Stardust Center, and was able to meet one of the founders last September. Pretty cool stuff going on there

Ah, I see. I wouldn't be too concerned about the minimum file requirement. If you're work is good and comprehensive, I think you're alright. I, too, had a fold-out spread for my competition boards I worked on with ramaLAMA and for digital submissions and online viewing to Yale and issuu, respectively, but I kept the boards separate from the document, yet still in order with the rest of the PDF. I was ecstatic for how the full-bleed fold-out turned out.

One thing I may suggest to avoid your fear of discontinuity of work is to label page numbers in the bottom corners of the spreads, as well as titling each document with the number order it is intended to be viewed. Another popular theme that, admittedly, I am not that partial to because EVERYBODY does it, is to colour-code the projects. Think, for instance, of running a thin band of colour, say .125"-25" along the bottom edge of each corresponding project to tie them together graphically. I am sure you have already considered this, but it is probably the only solution that I know of. Regardless of the solution, as long as it is graphically effective, I say go for it. Artboards with Illustrator are a very viable alternative as well.

In the meantime, get the Adobe Creative Suite! I know that people say that the software is just a tool, but trust me, if it contributes to your piece of mind and a more efficient work flow, you cannot discredit the benefits! Re-tool and delve into some software in the hiatus between now and when you hear back from schools.

As for the Stardust Center, the work they do is very admirable. The guy I know from my school that went to ASU went there specifically for their work, and we even had an opportunity to work together on a similar puzzle-piece to a comprehensive community design project in Dallas.

@iamjena

I retract the comment about colour earlier. I viewed your portfolio a moment ago and saw that you had already done what I suggested! How funny. :)

@ ameliabadilia

today's the day- hope you figured out the page count issue!!
THEN get excited bout going west!! :]
ps. do you have your portfolio on issuu?


@iamjena

Acrobat Pro's save as optimized pdf is the simplest and best way to reduce pdf size (as described in step 5 of Method Two of arquiteuthis' post). It took my 560mb .pdf file to 20.3mb w/o much quality compromise. I know you said you don't have it- but just saying.... get you some on the interwebs!


@arquiteuthis

I heard something bout him doing study abroad in Argentina/South America also.. i don't know much bout ASU's study abroad program- but it sounded like a blast.

just received an email from yale, apparently self reported scores for GRE is sufficient

just got that same email too. although i did have ets send my scores before the deadline.

just hope this doesnt mean i'll need to resend the scores when/if they want it later.

trivial stuff though.

Question: What an admission package looks like ? What's include in it ?

Do most schools look at overall gpa, major gpa, or final 2 years of school gpa when considering applicants for admission?

ohmzzz: they look at all the g.p.a., but most importantly the final two years of your undergraduate work. They do take a lot of other things into consideration though, like classes you've taken after college (like in your major), but that (I think) is just a consideration and not what they consider for minimum g.p.a.'s. While all (I think all) look at g.p.a. on a 4.0 scale (most require you to put all of your courses on the 4.0 scale regardless of what scale your college uses), they all take a different as to what years they "include" as part of that scale, with more weight given to the last two years.

I have my updated transcript with my fall marks but I'm having trouble finding information on whether to email it or mail it to Harvard and Columbia. I emailed them and asked but have not received replies from either. Does anyone know which they prefer?

arketkt:

I applied to both of the schools you mentioned- either on their websites or on the applications themselves they state that they will ask for final official transcripts upon acceptance.

buena suerte

cjw5027:

I know that final official transcripts aren't required until acceptance but the transcripts I submitted during the application process did not include my Fall 2010 grades because those classes were still in progress. My GPA has gone up after receiving those grades and I would like to send it to them. Yale specifies that if Fall grades become available, we should send them a copy of the transcript, Princeton states that we should email them a scanned copy of the updated transcript, Columbia and Harvard, however, do not specify which they prefer. I did get a reply from Harvard though and they said that I should mail them one. Anyone have information for what Columbia prefers?

This wait is absolutely dreadful.

i second that sentiment.

I think we'll start hearing first week in march. which means I'm going to have to figure out how to distract myself for an eternal Feb.

greetz:

23 M
M.Arch Univ. Kansas (5+ year first professional degree, summa cum laude), plus some undergrad work at Cooper Union, and graduate work at Fachhochshule Postdam (a german university near Berlin).

I've recently uploaded my portfolio to issuu.com, and would like some feedback, particularly from people with insight into these postgraduate programs:

AA Projective Cities
Bartlett Urban Design
Berlage Institute's Postgraduate program
ETH MAS in Urban Design
TU Delft MSc Urbanism

I've not yet decided which of these to apply for. I imagine the list will get smaller once I log the hours figuring out financial aid for international students. If anybody has info or experience with this, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

I've also applied to you standard lineup of Ivy's. Needles to say I'm not entirely confident about admissions to these schools, which is why I'm planning some European plan B's. Anybody know of other Eurpean under-the-radar programs in urbansim that I haven't covered?

Best of luck to all applicants!

http://issuu.com/p.zuroweste/docs/portfolio

That is the most impressive portfolio I have seen in this thread. A great collection of work for someone so young. I don't think you'll have a problem with admittance to some of the Ivy's. Good luck.

Pzuro - have a look at Cardiff University, Westminster and Oxford Brookes in the U.K.. Over here the 3 are considered to have the strongest urban design programs.

I studied at the Bartlett and can tell you their UD program is not great; its more about large architecture and spaces and lacks the interdisciplinary approach necessary for a strong program (the school does have a better international reputation then the 3 i mentioned, so I understand why it would be a preference).

Your porffolio is pretty strong so I should think you'll be able to make a competitive application to all of the programs you listed. If i was going to study urban design again, I would go for TU Deift. Theyre program seems really robust, holland would be an amazing place to study urbanism...and its well cheap!

Good luck.

Hi all,

25M. I have applied to three year programs with a bfa in photography at UBC. It's my first post and I'm very happy to have found archinect. I am here because this wait is indeed dreadful. I have been making little to no money even though I think many would consider me to be a pretty successful recent grad in my field. I love photography but not as a profession. I took the summer program at berkeley last year. It was an expensive gamble but I discovered how much I love to design and my work was received well. I have applied to:

Berkeley
CCA
Oregon
Texas
Pratt

Berkeley is my hardest and cheapest choice, but I have mixed feelings about what I experienced there. If anyone has any questions let me know. Coming from a fine arts background, I'm trying to find a balance between theoretical and practical academics. I really wish there were options overseas. Right now I think Oregon ad CCA are my most likely destinations. I think Pratt is too expensive and I do not think I'm the kind of applicant that Texas prefers, but I will have to wait and see. Two more months.

One concern and question I have from reviewing the forum posts is the brevity of my portfolio. I have noticed that most applicants from unrelated fields have shorter portfolios than the applicants with arch degrees, but even still, my portfolio is only 14 pages. I gaged what its length should be through Berkeley, where they require a brief portfolio. I believe mine is strong, I went over it with many reliable connections, but I was also trying to be concise with it. It covers three sculptures, three design works from the summer program, and 11 photographs (three of which were very time intensive projects). Does this come across as being enough? I intend to post it when I get the chance to do so. Good luck to everyone!

@pzuro

I dig the topological urbanism, specifically the West Bottoms project as I am from KCK, joco to be specific. The other urban projects are diagrammed very and each feel as though they have their own identity. When it came to the ancillary projects, I want to like them as-is, but I felt as though they needed something else. For instance, when dealing with the "Tuberous Root Taxidermy" project, I almost want to see cross-referencing diagrams talking about the morphogenesis between the varying forms of potatoes as they have very similar genetic code determining rules for growth and form (in this instance, think of Pliant's grid studies from guppies to flounders and their inherent similarities in form as fish).

The Central Park analysis is fine, but not for a portfolio, in my very humblest of opinions. To me, it is more of a tracing of the features present in the park describing visible relationships, rather than an analytical diagram that investigates characteristics that must be observed empirically. On top of that, your diagrams for the other urban projects KILL the drawings for Central Park, so I think it sends conflicting messages on what you understand to be urban events.

Needless to say, your architectural designs, drawings, and paintings are very nice and are more than enough to support you for your application to the Ivy's, so I corroborate with the previous two posters on my confidence in your success applying to those locations.

@persimmons
Of those three, Berkeley, Oregon, and Pratt would be my choices. I have a friend that applied to Texas two years ago and was placed on the wait list, but he received a near full-ride to Harvard. Consider that a personal boycott on my end. Austin is an amazing city, though.

As far as the length of your portfolio, I would not be concerned. If your work is well crafted, relevant, and imaginative, I see no problem with a committee earmarking you for further review and consideration of your qualifications. Admissions are a funny thing, from everything I am able to gather.

@LinkOne: What's the word on Westminister? I've been really moved by some of the projects that won Presidents Medals... is most of the work coming from there having this same sort of phenomenology/projected memories/residual landscape sort of flavor? How would you compare their breed of urbanism to AA? I have to confess, however, that the price of London is horrifying, even to a New Yorker, and Holland is seeming more and more like the land of milk and honey.

@arquiteuthis: i'm from joco! I grew up on 99th st., SMS grad... i've had a fetish for the west bottoms ever since frequenting the haunted house scene as a youngster. I appreciate your comments, especially on the Tuberous Roots project. And I agree the Central Park drawings are kind of once-over eye candy, and could stand to be omitted. I took a look at your portfolio, and it is strong... i'm glad to see another joco fella properly reppin' the hood. Best of luck!

@pzuro
I lived off of 127th and Antioch and went to Heartland from the time it opene until I was in Middle School. I would have gone to Harmony and then to BVNW, if I remember correctly. My family still live around the area in Lee's Summit, Independence, an Raytown, but I've lived in Texas for around 12 or so years now. I go back every Christmas. :)

As for your portfolio, the way I see it is that it is always a work in progress. I sumbitted 3 different variations to 5 schools, and I have two more variations for jobs. Keep up the good work and keep us up on further developments on school and your projects! :)

hey everyone.

joining in now a bit late as I finished up my portfolio, got a test print, and am ready to get the final batch and send out! didn't want to bump my own portfolio crit thread from a few pages back, but that was definitely a help having some archinect comments, and any more is always welcome.

24M/
finishing uWaterloo coop undergrad architecture/
applying/applied to/
+ CCA
+ AA
+ Bartlett
+ AHO

that's my first set of applications - a shortlist of top choices for masters/diploma. If I have no luck this year, I'll always have next year to try again to a lot more schools (grab some more work experience and do GRE's).

anyways, good luck to everyone, and I'm about as anxious as everyone else seems to be here!

http://issuu.com/dionysuscho/docs/dionysuscho_2011

@Persimmons

What about Berkeley gave you mixed feelings?

I ask because it is my top choice, but I am coming from a mixed engineering background.

@arquiteuthis

Thanks for the feedback. I think those are my favourite three as well. I really like Oregon's balance. I'm going to stop fretting over my portfolio after getting further feedback this weekend. It's submitted and there's nothing more to do. I don't know why, but when I looked at the admission results from the past two years, I soon realized that UT probably is't going to prefer what I have to offer. Perhaps it is because it seems to be on the more technical side of things in comparison to the other programs that I applied.

It's amazing that someone can get a full ride at GSD without even getting accepted to Texas. Goes to show how arbitrary this process really is.

@cjw5027

If I get accepted to Berkeley, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to turn it down. In reality, I don't have much to compare the program to. The downsides for me though were some, but definitely not all, of the professors. The best example would be the head of the department. I really didn't like what she had to offer both in lecture and when I met with her personally. I found her focus to be pretty conjectural... her most recent projects looked at San Francisco decades, even a hundred years into the future and how it could be sculpted into a model of sustainability... a "wilderness". She is fixated on changing the role of the architect, which is intriguing, but in my opinion she takes it too far. Coming from a fine arts background, I am primarily drawn to architecture for its artistic pragmatism, and her focus might as well have been a conceptual art project. It didn't help that the GSIs I got to know the best were disgruntled for some of the same red flags that I had encountered. I'm a really positive person, but I often felt like I was surrounded by an undertone of discontent.

That being said, I realize my experience was limited and I am just focusing on the negative. There are plenty of positives, but do also know that the engineer students that I got to know in the summer program have decided to apply elsewhere. I have applied there because I do indeed like what they offer overall. I currently live in the area, and it's one of my favourite places to go on campus. Wurster grows on you... somehow.

@Persimmons

Thanks for your feedback- I have heard so many varying impressions of the place that it's very hard to get a gauge of what their foci are. Based on their available courses (especially the abundance of building technology courses) I am always surprised to hear that they are somewhat out in left field with the heavy emphasis on theory. You are not the first person to have said such, either.

I find it interesting that you are coming from a fine arts background and are interested in architecture for its 'artistic pragmatism'- from my engineering background, I was drawn to the profession based on the ability to be technically expressive. I think it is amusing that these are more or less two very different terms for the same middle ground, and something that I am coming to love about the field.

Berkeley is still going to be my top choice unless I visit and something seriously rubs me the wrong way. I'll have to wait and see if i a) get in, b) can afford it, and c) can visit it. It would be a nice of scenery at the very least- Penn State is horrifically cold this time of year.

On another note, I noticed you had Oregon on your list above- a fellow PSU architectural engineer from my year (with similar interests) wound up going there this past fall and absolutely loves it. Its curriculum seems incredible, but from his description the area seemed a bit less urban than what I am interested in.

Best of luck!

*change of scenery

Guys, I found a few typos later on after checking my portfolio when it was printed and few digital blurred photos slight pixellation... this was my first time using indesign and didnt know you should spell check on it.
i was under a lot of personal issues going in my life and must have put a strained on my performance working on my portfolio... any comments?