25/m
1 yr

Just took gre, v:570, q:720. I dont know writing, but I hope its at least a 4.
gpa:3 (BS Arch, non-professional)

GSD, MIT, UPENN, GSAPP, PARSONS, and (Safety)

Anyone can suggest a safety school in either philly, nyc, or boston?

I looked around and Northeastern provides a two year, and the programs seems to be alright. Any suggestion would be appreciated~
thanks

I looked around and Northeastern provides a two year, and the programs seems to be alright. Any suggestion would be appreciated~
thanks

24/ m/
International Student/
b. Engineering with Honors/
Ex-Redactor in chief of student's newspaper/
Academic publications in conference/
2 yrs work experience in structural building engineering/ currently employed.
Crappy verbal score (ashamed)


i am aiming high & wishing to apply to:
1- Berkeley (M.arch I with emphasis in earth architecture)
2- GSD (M.arch I with emphasis in islamic architecture AKA KHAN)
3- YSOA (M.arch I)
4- McGill (master of MUP)

if i am not accepted, i will stick with structural engineering 'cause a have a good salary for a junior engineer and good perspectives.

Good luck for everyone!

just took a look through this thread and wow... I asked many schools how their recent grads were doing job-wise before I applied and all I got was the run around (if they responded at all). CMNDCTRL if you're still reading this thread I would love to see those emails. that is impressive you even got a response.

i said i was leaving this thread....but this is the reason i do check for my name - to help people like this. if you'd like the emails, email me through the site. i will send them. i will remove the personal information for obvious reasons.

yes...the information is hard to get. i had to be A an alum, B, a somewhat recently admitted student, and C pretty pushy. I do NOT have the official Yale email (just one from a friend who had spoken to the career services center as an alumnus of their program). I have the numbers from the other few schools, and only for the most recent year (because the previous couple years were so bad they would not even tell me!)

i did not take those metrics lightly upon attending, and neither should any of you.

good luck.

hello all,

27/f

BS in Arch from UTA 2007

3.1 GPA

been working since at a small firm:

+IDP complete

+LEED AP : managed LEED efforts project wide on 2 certified bldgs to date

+co-founded a mentoring program that has won a couple awards: Fort Worth AIA President's Award 2010, 2010 TSA Associate Special Merit Award

+ serving on AIA Executive Committee as I/A Director 2010 (2011)

gearing up for grad school application, somewhat pessimistic, but pushing forward. the unedited list of possibilities:

Columbia
USC
Berkeley
U of Oregon
UCLA
Princeton
U Wash St. Louis
Syracuse

(basically top 20's, i need to identify some solid safety schools)

scheduled to take GRE on Dec 1 (1300 SAT - a very long time ago)
still working on my portfolio (may post for critique if it gets done in time)

edit:

TSA = Texas Society of Architects

and me, i'm whitebread (no glorious minority card here)

-ameliabadilia: Arizona State University is a great school, that could be a safety. It seems you can branch into many interests as you like as I see diverse types of faculty. Tuition is also reasonable. Another note, one of the founding members of Morphosis and Sci-Arc, Michael Rotondi, goes there. I would apply there, but i have to stay in boston, nyc, or philly. (And I love being freezing cold, while hating heat)

Correction, its actually University of Arizona, Not arizona state. They are two different schools.

-aag2022: you are completely wrong. i was talking about ASU.

This is ASU
http://sala.asu.edu/

below is University of Arizona:
http://www.cala.arizona.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=358&Itemid=196

I don't know much about University of Arizona, but I'm sure it is a respectable school.

whoops. sorry about that, I misread Tuition for Tucson :) You are absolutely right.

hey guys, i'm just wondering if schools want to promote diversity in their acceptances... so for the citizenship of the applicant, does either one have an advantage if I apply as a Taiwanese or as a Canadian (dual citizenship). or maybe i'm just thinking too much.

thanks!

@mitboi: I'm not 100% sure. But, when most schools talk about diversity, i'm pretty sure they are talking about ethnicity, not citizenship.
However, either way, I do not think you will get any special treatment being asian, or being a canadian. Both are already well represented in grad school.
Talking with some profs, schools tends to favor students who are hispanic, afro-american, or native american, who are traditionally not as well represented, this is only if they want to diversify too...so not reliable.
In conclusion, i dont think it'll matter! :)

What are people using to print portfolio anyways?

have many of you already applied? I graduate with a fine arts degree this december, AND i'm applying to grad school. Its been tough. My mom who has been on the admissions committee for a graduate school (not architecture) says this time is getting to the point where it is too late (regardless of the deadline). i'm freaking out!

Most arch programs aren't rolling-in basis though.. That applies more towards research grad schools, handful of law schools, and.. I don't know what else.

@eeevalynne: don't freak out. you dont have a better chance of getting in by applying earlier unless its rolling admissions like issacrhim said. Most ivy league deadlines are dec 15th, and many other schools goes as far as jan 15th.

I do know that "BAC" boston architecture college is rolling admissions, but they are a competitive school to get into, while offering a unique program.

they are not* a competitive school (revised)

Well the GRE is finally out of the way, or at least for now. I ended up with a 690q and 500v. Im not happy at all with the verbal, but now I am kind of stuck since I waited this long to take it. Even if I had the time to study intensively and take it again in a week or two, I would really be pushing it for the January deadlines. Any advice or comments?

I am 24, b.s. in business with a minor in music, 3.5gpa applying to 3yr m.arch programs. I am not really applying to any of the top schools, though I had considered one ivy as a reach. I am mostly applying to state schools.

I am hoping that at least my written portion will come in a bit higher to offset the lower verbal. I was also planning to submit some examples of business writing and creative writing, so I think this could help a bit.

Any thoughts anyone? Damn, I wish I would have studied those vocab words.

@cmarshalle my mom is on the admissions committee for dental school and she says that the scores on those tests is basically just a bar to meet and if you exceed it it doesn't matter that much. so if the school tells you to get a 500, you just have to get a 500, anything above that doesn't increase your chances of getting in.

also, when I visited UT Austin, they told me that they don't take into consideration the written part

Yeah, I think I just had the post GRE anxiety immediately following the test. Its over and that is one more thing I can cross off my list. Now its time to seriously focus on the portfolio and get everything wrapped up.

Good luck to everyone

Does anyone have any good websites to peruse portfolios and post your own? The Dec 15 deadline is looming near and I'm running out of steam. Much in need of a fresh set of eyes and some inspiration

Issuu my friend, issuu.

Once you've uploaded it you can post it on here and get some critique.

Thanks!

essays: i like writing, but gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon

Im almost certain this is a stupid question, but if one of you would be so kind as to indulge me for a moment...

is it okay to print portfolios at A4 instead of U.S. letter size? Theres about 0.5cm difference between the two....

stupid imperial system

Im almost certain this is a stupid question, but if one of you would be so kind as to indulge me for a moment...

is it okay to print portfolios at A4 instead of U.S. letter size? Theres about 0.5cm difference between the two....

stupid imperial system

I think they'd understand. Just my opinion though, you might want to shoot the admissions people an email.

Anyone submitting but retaking the GRE's? I am definitely going to as I didn't get what i wanted at all.. can this be done? 475v 475q ... ugh... i laxed too much on studying for them.. otherwise everything is going well with everything else though..

@ukchomper

why are anyone be submitting then retaking it? wouldn't people retake it then submit?! i'm not applying this year, but 475's seems too low.

why *would anyone..

you have to submit by a certain date, i am not about to retake them with 2 weeks till first app is due.. and they need scores with application submission

Ukchomper, you might be able to get away with taking and sending them in late December/early January since I doubt anyone is checking the official scores sent by ETS until (way) after the holidays, however I wouldn't put complete confidence in it.


LinkOne, I don't see any reason why that would be a problem just as long as the size you print isn't any bigger than the max size schools accept. A lot of people don't design their portfolios to be standard 8.5" x 11" anyway, mine isn't.

therebyfar, a couple of schools I've seen have 9x11 as their max size. So the A4 would exceed it in length but not in width.

Even so, since it is such a small difference I dont think it would be a problem - but probably safer to check. Btw, LinkOne, your portfolio looks great.

Gotcha. I'm a silly American and had no idea what the dimensions of A4 were. The most common max size I've seen in 9x12. Considering the number of international applicants I would think schools see that size rather frequently, though I guess still not an excuse if schools ask for something smaller.

For those applying to Berkeley, how are you all tackling the 12 page max? Im thinking of just taking my top two projects which are three spreads each, but i wanted to know what others were thinking...

on paper size:

as i understand it, the primary reason schools limit the size of portfolios is to make them easier to file. each application is compiled in a single file folder in order to keep everything together and easy to find. if your portfolio is wider than the folder, the whole package won't fit in a filing cabinet, and at the very least the office staff will curse you for making things needlessly complicated. fortunately, hanging files and loose folders made to hold US letter sized paper are actually 297mm wide - perfect for an a4. i don't think they'll hold it against you.

on berkeley's nefarious page limit:

when i applied, i decided "12 pages" could be interpreted as 12 sheets, or 24 sides. my portfolio for other applications included eight projects, which i cut down to the five strongest for berkeley and then edited out a spread or two here and there to get to 24 sides. i ended up being accepted, so i would say that is probably a reasonable strategy.

good luck everyone - you can breath a huge sigh of relief once all your applications are in, and then go back to biting your fingernails for another three or four months....

Thanks for the replies chaps - I got confirmation from admins that it will be okay. Excessively particular I know, but its always best to be safe then sorry.

and Jetvancake - thanks for looking over my stuff.

Got everything printed and mailed out today - its a good feeling. I'm off to have a beer or two and play some fifa 2011 (i realise you guys probably won't know what this is, but that's okay).

Good luck to you all, and see you around here in March for some anxious times no doubt.

Thanks for the replies chaps - I got confirmation from admins that it will be okay. Excessively particular I know, but its always best to be safe then sorry.

and Jetvancake - thanks for looking over my stuff.

Got everything printed and mailed out today - its a good feeling. I'm off to have a beer or two and play some fifa 2011 (i realise you guys probably won't know what this is, but that's okay).

Good luck to you all, and see you around here in March for some anxious times no doubt.

Hah. I DO know fifa, its been keeping me from getting my essay done.

If we end up in the same program/city, we'll have a fifa face-off.

Enjoy your beer, you've earnt it.

Haha, yes we can.

Cheers man - good luck!

hey, so anyone printed their portfolios yet? got any advice? what's the turn around time?

thx

also.. what types of places are you printing them at?

I'm ready to get my nice swift kick to the nuts. Bring it on.

http://issuu.com/aag2022/docs/portfolio_11302010

I've still got some work, but any feedback at this stage would be great.

Good luck everyone!

aag2022 - your portfolio rocks ! I love the clean layout! I am sure you will get into the schools you apply to. Anywayz, which schools are you applying to?
Good luck !

wow. Thanks. I'm not feeling uber confident but your enthusiasm is refreshing :) Im applying EVERYWHERE... unfortunately for my bank account.

columbia, mit, berkeley, parsons, pratt, upenn, u mich, wash u, ucla, sciarc, u oregon, ohio state

Trying for a good range of schools in a broad range of places. Last year didnt work out so well so I'm hoping this year does.

you are a return applicant?
Last year was a freak year with an abnormally high no. of applications to grad school. It should be easier to get into a good program this year (fingers crossed).

Your portfolio definitely says a lot about your potential. Be confident, you will be able to get into one of those programs you listed.

I like the cover too....it's very personal, and that's what a portfolio is about i.e. a strong statement of who you are.

wow, aag2022 that is alot of essays right there

I have two written (since berkeley and oregon both ask for two) and I'm just going to expand and contract them to get to desired lengths. still going to be a bitch though.

@aag2022

Your port looks really good and has a nice individual and unique feel to it. What is your background?