@heywassa

comment: now you wait and see. we all wait. just sitting around waiting...

@ramalama

i was wrong about which school had the page limit. it was u of washington and they wanted 20 or 10 front and back.

i never posted my portfolio online, it changed for each school and was never done more than 20 minutes before i had to send it out. no point in posting it now since i can't tweak it per comments anymore. hopefully it was good enough for somebody!

@cjw

You've summed up my feelings on why I am so inclined to pursue architecture. It offers an amazing balance. If I end up at Oregon, I hope to transfer to Portland after my first or second year. Eugene doesn't appeal to me either. I recently read a thread that compares UO to UBC (where I did my undergrad in fine art) and it made me kind of wish that I had applied there… but like you I want a change of scenery.

I think Berkeley has so much to offer that you can kind of pick and choose your path. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the heavy amount of theory. In all honesty, I loved the art theory I studied as an undergrad and it is a major reason why my work was well received in the summer program. I don't want to veer completely away from it. I just want my work to have a practical significance as well.

@heywassa

I made a quick layout alteration shortly before printing the first round of my portfolios. I didn't realize it at the time, but my s key was sticking and I typed "ditance" instead of distance. It still pains me to look at that page. I probably looked it over three times before printing and didn't notice it. I hope the reviewers don't either.

And I'm a photographer, so I was not completely happy with my below photo quality prints. I see what most don't. Most anything that comes out of a laser printer looks pixelated to me… especially when dealing with colour. But as long as the pixelation is slight, I doubt it will hurt your chances.

Hi everyone, I've been following this discussion for a while, this is my first time posting. I'm applying to the usual assortment of M.Arch programs for next year. I know this is probably a pointless question, but I can't help obsessing just a little bit more... does anyone have any admissions stats on Berkeley (my first choice)? I read somewhere that it was 7%, but not sure how legit that information was. Thanks, happy waiting to all...

Here you go buddy,
http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=architecture+berkeley&t=a&pp=250

Is anyone else having issues with SCI-Arc "not receiving" admissions materials? I.E. did sci-arc lose other people's stuff also, or am I the lucky winner?

More than 900 apply for 50 spots at YSOA...

link

So maybe it will be just as competitive to get into a grad program as last year. It looks like there are slightly fewer people applying, but there are fewer spots available because so many people were admitted last year. Or it could be that Yale is a bit of an outlier.

Competing for top spots? Yale applications are down this year, but competion is still up. http://mytinyurl.com/9f69dy8s2z

Many of our students have found that the rigorous studio courses at LAIAD prepared them with the design foundation and portfolio needed to present a competitive M.Arch application.

In the M. Arch program here at Berkeley, I was a 2010 commiserator.

'We're looking for volunteers to help read applications for the M.Arch program. We have nearly 1000 applicants this year...'

Seems a bit lower than last year, I look forward to seeing some of your portfolios! Good luck :)

Cornell applicants...have you received any information or contact from the school? I know Cornell and Harvard do not have a status website but Harvard has emailed me confirming they received my portfolio a while back but I haven't heard a single thing from Cornell.

arketkt..

I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you received the application submission confirmation for embark they received it. I was an applicant last year and I never heard back until they sent out acceptances.

Good luck to everyone!

@ arketkt:

Neither did I receive any confirmation from cornell. Maybe the best thing to do is just to wait.

Yeah I'm not too worried, just wondering if I missed anything. This wait is actually driving me crazy though. On a positive note, the forum seems to be fairly quiet, this time last year it was on its 9th or 10th page, hopefully there are much less applicants and we all get accepted! Haha.

Totally the same here...I have no idea how I am gonna spend the entire Feb...never expect it would be this hard to wait...good luck to us!!!

Hey all, I was one of those obsessed souls on the 2010 commiserate thread... hang in there, and try not to let this consume you...

Anyway, I am now a student at Wash U St Louis. Our Dean, Bruce Lindsey announced the other week that they received over 100 more applications this year than they did in 2010, nearly 800 applications.

The incoming class is around 100 students. Good luck!

Does anyone know when the acceptance letters are sent? I heard that for Harvard GSD the date is mid-March?

I applied for M.Arch II programs though, so not sure if the time is the same.

ADavin... thanks for scaring the shit out of me.

Well, here is my portfolio:

http://issuu.com/diaphanousabyss/docs/spatialexplorations

I applied to Cooper Union + GSAPP(wish I had applied to Yale)

I am 27/m/B. Arch. currently working as a Project Designer at a mid-sized firm in Manhattan.

If I get accepted, I will face the tough decision of giving up a stable job at a firm that does good, built work in NYC(not pushing the envelope, but solid), or going to grad school knowing that I will probably come right back out in a year making(if I'm lucky) the same amount of money that I currently make but gaining an extra 90K in student loans.

Commiserators!

More info regarding WUSTL:

This Friday, there will be no studios - every faculty member will be taking part in an initial review/filtering of the applications. Not sure how it will work exactly, but if I come across any info, I will keep you updated. Just know that for certain, on Friday, many people will be pouring over your application.

If anyone has any questions about Wustl, please feel free to email me, or ask on this forum. I am extremely happy here - it is an extremely balanced, well-rounded school that produces excellent work and has some outstanding faculty. I will be happy to share my work with anyone who asks.

Particularly in regards to the location (which I think deters many people from considering - almost myself included), I think I can offer some helpful insight - in addition to this fact, keep in mind that we have, hands down, the best abroad programs and opportunities in the country.

Take care! This forum died down around this time last year... get ready for an eruption come March.

Just found one entry on gradcafe says an admission from gsapp (m. arch)....this is so early! anyone heard any news?

@Luthien

I saw this

Columbia University GSAPP Architecture (March), Masters (F11) Accepted via E-mail on 9 Feb 2011 A 10 Feb 2011

Not sure how grad cafe works. do they get spammers on the site?

@israelias

I'm not sure. feels a little strange though

@ own1221 Typically, the GSD sends out acceptances in "waves" over a period of about three weeks. Unlike Princeton, UVA, etc., you won't find out via email. You'll basically get a FedEx package with about 10 similar acceptance letters from different layers of the GSD. My hunch is that this year the first wave will be sent out on March 11. They send out rejections after all the acceptances have been mailed, so it can be a very painful three or four weeks of waiting even after others have found out...they'll give you a slow death if you didn't make it.

Applications to the GSD are indeed down this year from last, but still well above pre-2009 levels. The common figure always thrown out years ago was that the GSD had a 20% acceptance rate for m.arch 1, but they've been well below that for years.

I don't know of the exact numbers for m.arch 1 this year, but I've been told that applications for one of the other programs, which in the past averaged around 165 applications, had 320 this year after having 412 a year ago. So the numbers are still way up, and the yield rates have been higher recently, plus the GSD has found itself in a bit of a space crisis recently. They're out of desk space, and really can't afford to over-admit this year. They didn't go to the wait list at all last year.

My guess is they'll accept maybe eight or nine percent this year for m.arch 1.

*Not really sure to post this as I don't think it warrants a thread on its own.

I'll be sending out applications to 2-year M.Arch I programs next year. Transferred out of studio fine art/urban planning-design double major into the pre-professional architecture. As such, I have quite a bit of architectural design work to show, but I also a large amount of fine art work to show, some of which I am quite proud of and think that it shows my thought-process quite well. My initial idea was to have two parts in my portfolio, one of architecture work and one of artwork. It wouldn't be seperate portfolios, but rather integrated into two aspects of creative work according to intentions of architecture vs. intentions of art. Any thoughts and opinions on this?

@ BenC

I think it depends where you're applying. Perhaps in contrast to what might seem like the logical answer, for state schools and such you may want to show more of the architectural work. However, for the GSD, for example, the description I've heard multiple times from faculty about what they're truly looking for is an evaluation of your "capabilities as a graphical artist". For a lot of M.Arch I programs, they don't care if you have the slightest architectural background...at the GSD approx. 50 percent of incoming first years have no architecture background, though many did Career Discovery.

Generally, I'd say avoid having too awkward a portfolio presentation (i.e. two portfolios packaged together or something). That can set you apart, but mostly it will just confuse the admissions committee. There's no need to be overly creative with the preparation...let the work speak for itself. If your work neatly fits into two categories, then simply make two categories in your portfolio with a clear delineation between the two sections.

That was my understanding and intention as well. Nothing that sets them apart, simply a creative work portfolio with a section of/labeled "Architecture" and a section of/labeled "Art" without any real seperation between the two. Thanks for the advice; the last thing I would want to do is submit two portfolios (thats, like, twice the work mannn...)

After getting the benefit of viewing many of the portfolios for this round of applications, I feel like I should contribute. Here is my abridged non-arch portfolio.

Additional content depended on the school to which I applied. This was really my first crack at design. The design projects started with my summer program at Berkeley. There is much I would change if I am to apply again. I actually think I would start completely fresh. Feedback is welcome regardless.

Hope everyone continues to enjoy the wait...

@ameliabadilia that's wild, i heard UofWash had some crazy restrictionsor guidelines... a friend was going to apply but didn't in the end!
Overall that's my general outlook also- hope it was good enough for somebody! The wait is awesome...
I LOVE waiting.

This wait is excruciating. I hate feeling out of control of my future. I didn't really have a constructive comment to make - just wanted to join the discussion because I've been following along in the shadows, and I can't stay silent any longer. I must share my misery!!! Thanks to all for offering a place to do so.

@maryagnes I am with you completely. I do think things are in motion, as I've gotten some automated emails, and Penn for example let me know that admissions decisions will be made available march 14 after 12 noon. Its still not soon enough though!

Anyone else notice the Yale entry added today on grad cafe? I'm imagining someone sitting back enjoying making all the other applicants freak out.

http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=architecture&t=m

I assume the same.

@ aag2022 - Yeah, I've noticed some of those emails as well. It still feels as though the second week of March is a world away.

And yes, I just noticed the Yale entry a bit ago. I imagine that if I were in that same position, I'd be doing the same. "Ha ha ha... these lowly prospective students running around like chickens with their heads cut off. What a show!" He/she's sitting pretty, right?

I'd like to forget that I ever applied. You know, erase it from my memory. It'll lighten the blow of a rejection letter, and render an acceptance letter that much more of a surprise.

I thought I'd be over it by now. But dang, I am like a ravenous wolf hunting for any sign, any word, any news, any hope. I yearn to be at peace. I have nightmares where I realize I should be questioning how highly my recommenders speak of me, and how overly confident they are of my candidacy. What if they just don't know any better? Have I been given false hope? I am telling myself this, once again, to justify a rejection. "I was never really that good." On the other hand, I had a dream last week that I got into Yale. It was so terribly real. I could feel the chills as goosebumps inundated my entire body. How rude -- and I cannot think of a more sour, immediate disappointment -- to have ever woken up for that dream. You know, the problem is not that I may or may not stand out as a candidate; that I may or may not have scored above the enigmatic GRE cut-off; that I may or may not think my portfolio is immaculate; that I may or may not have graduated with honors; that I may or may not have spent four months writing my personal essay; or that I may or may not have letters from prominent architects in the industry. The truly, irreversible and undeniable problem is that I fucking care too much.

If the anticipation for death really is far worse than death itself, then we should all be engaging in revelry as it is all up hill from here.

@ aag2022
@ Laurem
@ maryagnes

There was one for GSAPP last week.

But seriously, how valid are these posts? Chances someone is spamming? I'm not familiar with how Grad Cafe works.

its filled with spammers. They actually created a report spam button this year because of it. Considering how many of us applied and are checking for updates every five minutes, I'm assuming these two are spam.

aag2022

That's comforting. But who reports spam that are actually verifiable? An admissions person?

I guess it's best to avoid checking it until the expected admissions dates are very close.

Good thing February is only 28 days.

@ israelias - no idea
@ laurem - i promise myself every morning that i wont check until march. and then i immediately check. :(

@aag2022 Of course I wrote that comment and hit reload on gradcafe right after.

that yale entry on gradcafe is so ....dont know how to describe
lets cross our fingers!

I agree with Laurem- it's way to early for anything like that to be legit. That entry has to be bogus.....

Hello All, just wanted to say I have enjoyed seeing all of the great portfolios and am throwing mine in for something to help pass the time. MArch 1 applicant, non arch portfolio:

http://issuu.com/ofcacek/docs/portfoilo

Hope to see more, good luck!

@nofacek

Nice work!

I've always wondered why archinect often attracts a lot of non-arch majors. It seems in this forum there are equal (if not more) non-architecture majors posting portfolios and discussing them. It's cool to get a glimpse of what a dynamic environment graduate school will be!

I was just looking at last years grad cafe entries and we all gots one more week before:



O SHIT! O SHIT!!

@ jetvancake - you just made my day. I remembered wrong, I guess, because I was thinking it was around mid-March. This is really good news! Or bad news... Either way, it's news, right?

Have you all noticed from gradcafe that all of the PhD candidates are finding out right now? The activity is picking up...... We're next, people! Let's get excited because our lives are about to get really interesting, at the very least.

I just realized that I basically rephrased what jetvancake said. Sorry, jetvancake, not trying to steal your thunder. Just too anxious, I suspect.

Yeah lives are gonna be very interesting in the following weeks!

It is great that we are sharing this together. Excited.

damn Washington U News emails! ! !

I second that. The other day I received their email about verifying physical addresses, and it had me feeling nervous to open it because I thought it might really be something. The constant news emails continue to throw me off, even though I should know by now!