It's that time of the year again. Let's go ahead and share our stats, anxieties, questions and decisions together.
Following information would be helpful for future applicants:
- Age/Sex/Citizenship
- Undergraduate degree/ School/ Year graduated
- GPA
- GRE
- TOEFL scores for Int'l students
- Letter of recommendations - from whom (this can be general; employer, professor, etc.)
- Personal Essay/Statement
- Portfolio
- Schools (results [in, out or waitlist], any $ offered, any other pertinent info)
- Open house impressions
- Results (the school you plan to attend, waitlist, rejection.)
- Tips
Leafy1
Feb 12, 18 12:54 pm
I was just wondering, does anybody know when the offer holder/open house days for US unis tend to be? Are they usually all within the same time period or how do they work?
Gloominati
Feb 12, 18 1:46 pm
They're usually within a couple weeks of each school's decision deadline. But those range from March through late April/early May, depending on the school (some don't even send their decisions until early April) so they're not all at the same time.
Leafy1
Feb 12, 18 2:03 pm
Thanks for the response! Ah I see, that could prove to be a bit annoying as an international applicant. I intended to fly down (hopefully) and go through a gauntlet of just checking out the different institutions.
Gloominati
Feb 12, 18 2:35 pm
If I were you I'd just go visit them all when it's convenient to you. You'll get a better idea about how the schools operate on a daily basis that way anyway. Open houses, especially those for admitted students, are kind of an orchestrated show. They purposely schedule their best lectures and exhibitions during those open houses, usually try to have some edgy crits going on with impressive guest critics, and they invite hand-picked extroverted, friendly, attractive students to schmooze with the applicants, even going so far as to try to discourage the known disgruntled students from being around, or keeping them busy elsewhere. Visiting on an ordinary day, walking around the studios and picking people to talk to on your own, and seeing what's going on when things aren't on show will be more revealing.
Non Sequitur
Feb 12, 18 1:10 pm
Good time to remind everyone that no architecture degree is worth $100k debt regardless of the name on the paper.
BR.TN
Feb 16, 18 1:44 pm
Why do you say that?
Non Sequitur
Feb 16, 18 2:05 pm
because the same wankers will be back in 3 years complaining about massive student debt and non 6-figure salaries.
Non Sequitur
Feb 16, 18 7:10 pm
not bitter, I actually did go to my "dream" school.
Non Sequitur
Feb 16, 18 8:40 pm
How so? Having a solid career with several large projects that affords me and my family a house and comfortable living is rather decent. Enjoy your delusions and 6 figure debt.
Non Sequitur
Feb 17, 18 9:08 am
Congratulations, you’ve entirely missed my point.
Non Sequitur
Feb 17, 18 1:01 pm
No, it does not. But good for you for believing the jive.
jrhews
Feb 17, 18 1:20 pm
Why are you so intent on scaring people out of going to their dream school/doing it their own way?
I had hard times, took several years off school, then went back at 27 to do what I love and am finally getting my BArch at 30, doing double studios for 2 years. I have no experience, because I couldn't, have self supported myself, and don't have the time frame to just 'work my way up' for years and years at an already older age. I'm going for MArch because I feel I need to, and because I want to, for myself and my future. To me the name on a paper will lead me to more, quicker, because of my situation. Everyone does it different. There is no right answer. Stop being a prick.
Non Sequitur
Feb 17, 18 1:46 pm
Was that a serious question? Do a search through the forums and see how many poor saps are crying foul for not being treated and paid like the genius these overpriced schools label their students.
joseffischer
Feb 20, 18 9:42 am
Jrhews... wow, double studios. I didn't know they even allowed that, older or not.
jrhews
Feb 20, 18 3:23 pm
@joseffischer I was a transfer student from a CC. Needed to catch up
Volunteer
Feb 17, 18 8:15 am
If a prospective "Masters" student already has a degree he should be made aware that in fifteen states he does not need to take any collegiate courses in architecture at all to sit for the exam, just the experience requirements. In some states no college at all is required but only the experience requirements.
The colleges are really doing their students a disservice. The "Masters" programs they offer is just a "catch-up" BS in Architecture for students who chose their undergraduate program unwisely and have graduated with an unemployable major. By calling their catch-up program a "graduate" program, the schools can and do increase tuition by quite a bit knowing full well that federal education loans are not capped for graduate loans. The student typically leaves owing massive amounts of graduate school debt piled onto unpaid undergraduate school debt.
In addition to the debt the student has forgone several years in the workplace where he could be productively earning money, saving for starting a family, a house, and putting away money into savings.
The trick is to get hired on the lower rungs of the ladder without an architectural degree. A course or two in drafting and previous construction experience might be very attractive to a design/build firm. In any case that route should be investigated before being nailed to the wall with unpayable debt.
joseffischer
Feb 20, 18 9:46 am
Very much agree. Coming in with a lot of highschool level credit, I found that in my junior year, I had taken all the courses required except for the mandated "4 years of studio" Except Georgia Tech allows students under certain conditions, including specific studio type electives, to graduate early with 3 years of studio. I thought it was great! Fast forward, and I'm back for my M. Arch because Tech's undergrad program isn't a professional degree (no one explained this to me back when I was 17... but I guess I deserve some blame) and they tell me since I only did 3 years of undergrad, I'll have to do 3 years of grad school. That extra year was pretty expensive considering as an undergraduate, Georgia's HOPE program covers all tuition costs. I felt pretty duped at the time.
jpeg dot jpeg
Mar 17, 18 11:30 am
What is your opinion of Tech's graduate program? I'm considering it but I'd love to know what they emphasize/ what the studio culture is like/ etc.
joseffischer
Mar 19, 18 5:32 pm
That's tough to answer without a lot of caveats. I attended Graduate school during the interim right after Dean Galloway, and before the new dean and the new revamp into the "College of Design" occurred. Leaving aside the fact that the ship was sailing without a captain for a few years, my biggest regret was that the first year of my 3 year program (usually 3.5 years for those without any architecture experience) were two semesters of carbon copies of previous undergraduate studios I had already taken. Their 2-year program was really strong, and if you could weasel your way into having the Advanced Wood Products Lab access (only about 25% of the students got access) which was off campus a bit, you had a wonderful assortment of 3D equipment (printing, routing, etc) to use.
joseffischer
Mar 19, 18 5:32 pm
I'd definitely try and get some feedback from someone who attended post dean-change as they really did switch things up for the better.
jpeg dot jpeg
Mar 19, 18 5:34 pm
thanks for the tip!
PreResultJitters
Feb 20, 18 7:14 am
-26/F/Indian
- B.Arch/ RV College of Architecture/ 2014
-Applying for M.Arch II
- 3.7 - 320 -107
- Architectural Mentor/teacher + Thesis Guide + Past Employer
- Schools Applied - Berkeley CED + Rice SOA + UTSOA + Sam Fox St Louis + Taubman College Ann Arbor + Yale SOA +Harvard GSD
So, if last year is any indication, you should hear back from Yale and Harvard next week.
frigidstars
Feb 23, 18 2:15 pm
24/M/American
BS in Biology/ University of Alabama at Birmingham/2016
GPA: 3.75
GRE: 161Q / 162V / 5.0AW
Letter of recommendations: undergrad research adviser/professor, associate director of honors program/professor, founder of community art space where I volunteered for a long time
Schools: In at Georgia Tech, received email notification on 2/23. Official acceptance letters and info regarding funding will be available in a few weeks. Still waiting to hear from UW and MIT.
Open house impressions: GT open house is on March 30th, and it's just a short drive so I'm planning to attend.
Results: Still waiting to hear back from other schools
Good luck everyone!
stefanbrits
Feb 24, 18 9:55 am
Congrats, see you at the open house.
frigidstars
Feb 24, 18 2:45 pm
Thanks! See you there
frigidstars
Mar 2, 18 9:36 am
Accepted to Pratt with 15K annual scholarship. Open house on March 29th, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to attend.
frigidstars
Mar 8, 18 10:01 pm
Accepted at University of Washington. The official packet should come in the mail next week. The email came in about an hour ago.
PreResultJitters
Feb 26, 18 1:35 pm
Still no word from any college!
PreResultJitters
Feb 26, 18 5:34 pm
I am just a little anxious. I'm sorry if this is irritating to you. If you don't want to reply you don't have to. But that doesn't mean you have to be mean. Cheers mate! Just goodwill coming your way.
PreResultJitters
Feb 26, 18 7:52 pm
Then I'm sorry! Hope we can all pull through this.
mikiji
Feb 27, 18 7:15 pm
Just got in WashU, MArch 2 year program
1_1_1_1
Feb 28, 18 12:25 pm
@placebeyondthesplines_ listen buddy, I have no control over your usage of this website and many people new to archinect will not be familiar with your username but I’m going to kindly ask you to take a step back and reevaluate your life. After a quick google search of your username and scrolling through your history of comments on this website its very clear that you get some kind of high/kick out of spreading negativity and discouragement. I understand that people post their portfolios, resumes, etc. for constructive criticism but there is a difference between constructive criticism and being a downright dick (excuse my french, there are no other words to describe you). Archinect is a site where we encourage people to share their work but if a troll like you is constantly putting people down without providing any real helpful feedback, it prevents people from doing so. Perhaps your parents didn’t hug you enough when you were a kid? Maybe you got rejected from almost all the architecture schools on here? Or maybe you're just some fat slob working a terrible job somewhere? Maybe even all the above? I hope this post finds you well and I just want to let you know that I actually feel sorry for you, a life fueled off negativity is most certainly not enjoyable. And to the archinect community, if you see any comments from placebeyondthesplines_, please just ignore. Oh and best of luck to everyone! Thank you.
jrhews
Feb 28, 18 2:40 pm
Looks like he got banned or somthing, good riddance.
archKash
Feb 28, 18 3:28 pm
Finally
1_1_1_1
Feb 28, 18 3:32 pm
thank god, I know he can just make a new account but hes been doing this under that username for almost 5 years now, enough is enough
1_1_1_1
Feb 28, 18 3:56 pm
Is that your go to argument for justifying your dick behavior? Last time I checked any critic in arch school wouldn't say
“Did someone ask you for your definition of architecture? Is there a reason why anyone anywhere should give a fuck?”
-placebeyondthesplines
Keep trolling bud and rot in your negativity, you know exactly what you're doing. Good day.
archKash
Feb 28, 18 4:45 pm
Hahaaa he said much worse. But in his defense I did completely redo my portfolio bec of him. Still can critique in a more elegant manner tho.
Edaii
Feb 28, 18 5:31 pm
Just received an offer from Yale for the M.Arch I.
PreResultJitters
Feb 28, 18 7:46 pm
Congratulations
!
Edaii
Mar 12, 18 3:24 pm
Update - with $25K funding (international student)
naiyana
Mar 13, 18 5:31 pm
How did you find out about fundin
g? I still have not gotten an email regarding Yale's financial package.
naiyana
Feb 28, 18 5:36 pm
Just got into Yale for M.arch I!
mon11
Feb 28, 18 5:46 pm
congrats!!! it'd be great if you could post your stats for other applicants to reference (see original post)
PreResultJitters
Feb 28, 18 7:47 pm
Congratulations!
omaga
Feb 28, 18 10:55 pm
Congrats! I Got in Yale M.Arch II.
PreResultJitters
Feb 28, 18 7:12 pm
Got into Michigan and Wash U St Louis (Sam Fox). Rejected by Yale! So I'm guessing GSD is going to reject me too. Waiting to hear back from Rice Columbia Austin and Berkeley.
stefanbrits
Feb 28, 18 7:42 pm
I just heard back from. M. Arch I 1st Professional. Looks like you will hear back soon. Goo
stefanbrits
Feb 28, 18 7:42 pm
I just heard back from UT Austin M. Arch I, 1st Professional. Looks like you will hear back soon.
Good Luck
stefanbrits
Feb 28, 18 7:42 pm
UT Austin, sorry.
stefanbrits
Feb 28, 18 7:42 pm
UT Austin, sorry.
PreResultJitters
Feb 28, 18 7:47 pm
I have applied for M.Arch II.. so hopefully soon!
Dangermouse
Mar 6, 18 8:14 am
Michigan is an outstanding school and you should feel zero regrets going there instead of yale/gsd.
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 1, 18 4:08 pm
SCI-Arc offered! Still waiting for the rest!
mikiji
Mar 1, 18 4:27 pm
Just got into UPenn MArch I 2018 Fall!
Shannon Perez
Mar 6, 18 9:40 pm
Congrats!
mikiji
Mar 8, 18 6:22 pm
Thx!!!!!!!!!!!!Still waiting for Cornell and Columbia!
genesse
Mar 1, 18 5:30 pm
@PreResultJitters We're applying to a lot of the same programs, I just realized. I also applied to Yale, Harvard, Berkeley for MArch II's, in addition to programs at UCL, AA, and MIT. Wait-listed for Yale, interviewed at Berkeley, now anxiously awaiting Harvard's result!
PreResultJitters
Mar 1, 18 7:35 pm
Hey Genesse! Congratulations on the waitlist! Good luck with the rest :)
PreResultJitters
Mar 1, 18 7:36 pm
I got a mail from Harvard telling me the status has been updated. But I can't seem to
myself to open it!
genesse
Mar 1, 18 7:38 pm
Haha, you can do it! Mine was a rejection. :-/ But that means your chances are better. :p
mikiji
Mar 1, 18 8:20 pm
Also rejected by gsd :(
archKash
Mar 1, 18 8:54 pm
Same here
PreResultJitters
Mar 1, 18 9:31 pm
Same here!
genesse
Mar 5, 18 1:41 pm
Hate to bump everyone on this comment, but @HerArchitect, have you heard anything from Berkeley? I'm assuming you applied to Studio One?
PreResultJitters
Mar 5, 18 6:30 pm
I haven't heard from Berkeley yet!
genesse
Mar 6, 18 6:41 am
I see - hopefully we have some good news soon!
miawallace
Apr 13, 18 8:17 pm
hey @genesse kind of random comment here but do you mind if I ask if you were accepted in Studio One?
yutongli
Mar 4, 18 9:16 am
22/F/Chinese
Bachelor of Architecture/2018
- GPA 3.47/4.00
- GRE 160V 165Q 4.0AW
- TOEFL106
- Letter of recommendations - from professors and tutors from China, Australia and Japan
- Schools
in: Rice, RISD, WUSTL($17000/yr), UMich, USC($44255/yr) all MArch2 or similar degrees
waitlist: GSD MArch2
out: GSD MAUD&MDes, (nothing from Cornell guess it means rejection)
Still waiting for UPenn and Columbia...
BTW, does anyone know what to do when being waitlisted by GSD...? Update them about my internship this winter?
Bloopox
Mar 4, 18 5:49 pm
Nothing to do now.
Bloopox
Mar 4, 18 5:49 pm
There's nothing you can really do when you get waitlisted but wait. You can check in at some point to try to find out how long the wait list is and where you are on it, but some schools won't answer those questions. The committee deliberations are done at this point - it won't help to tell the school about your winter internship now - the decision makers are done.
Bloopox
Mar 4, 18 5:49 pm
.
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 4, 18 1:18 pm
got into Pratt with 27k scholarship which is nice! Anyone else in at Pratt and actually interested in going?
MS Arch
JCArchi
Mar 4, 18 5:38 pm
I was also admitted to Pratt and will certainly be attending their luncheon. I don't know if I will attend the program, though, as I was accepted to the 3 year without advanced placement according my scholarship.
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 4, 18 6:59 pm
Ummmm yea 3 years suck what did you get for scholarship? I’ll probably go to t
he luncheon as well if plane tickets aren’t $$$
JCArchi
Mar 4, 18 7:37 pm
I got $10k/year. Not sure why I didn't get advanced placement. I did for Michigan, but every school is different. Hoping it's something they can shed some light on.
archmst
Mar 4, 18 8:44 pm
@ahhhhGradSchool Same offer in same program. Congrats! but I'm not going...
dzou
Mar 7, 18 1:35 am
I've been accepted into Pratt with a 30k scholarship and advanced standing. I'm considering the program's offer but I'm still waiting to hear from other schools. I will have a better idea after attending the open house.
e.b.
Mar 9, 18 2:05 pm
i was admitted as well, with advanced standing and $20k per year. seems like a pretty good deal and i am considering it, but i'm still waiting on some other decisions.
Renzo's Piano
Mar 5, 18 12:43 pm
- 24/M/USA
- B.A. in Architecture/Clemson Univ/2015
- GPA: 3.15/4.00
- GRE: V157/Q159/A4.5
- Letter of recommendations - One from current principal, three from former professors.
- Personal Essay/Statement: 500 word essay talking about what I have done in the years after graduating from Clemson, and going on to speak directly about certain things I wish to achieve in each M.Arch program. Send me a personal message if you want to see one of them.
- Portfolio: Made up of some school projects, personal projects, and competitions. Again, send me a personal message if you want to view it.
- Schools & Results:
In: UCLA (3.5yrs, no funding); USC (2yrs, $44k/yr); Pratt (3yrs, $22k/yr); UIC (3yrs, semester free for first year, no info on subsequent yrs)
Out: None
Waitlist: Non
Still (anxiously) waiting to hear from MIT and Columbia.
- Open house impressions: No idea, haven't gone. Will most likely be visiting Pratt. Depends on the decision from MIT and Columbia.
- Tips: I have a few tips that hopefully can help some of y'all. I want to say that I applied to M.Arch programs a few years ago: Cornell, Penn, Michigan, Berkely, SCI-Arc, Colorado at Denver, UT, and I was only accepted to SCI-Arc and UC Denver. I decided to wait a couple of years and work because I realized that I clearly wasn't ready, and so far it has been a great decision.
1. Research. Do a lot of research into all of the schools you wish to apply to. The location, pedagogy, the faculty, the facilities, the student work, everything. You must have a very clear idea about what you want to get out of graduate school and then apply to schools that will be the best fit. For example, if you want to focus on environmental sustainability, don't apply to SCI-Arc. This will help you narrow down your list and also help in preparing your application materials such as the essay and portfolio.
2. Letters of Rec. For the love of god, choose professors/co-workers who are on top of their shit and actually know you personally. A letter from your studio professor who has a degree from UIUC is going to be better for you than a visiting professor who has a degree from MIT and submits their letter two weeks late. You want people who can vouch for you and talk you up, not someone to write some generic letter about how "you'd be a good fit for ___". Also, tell your recommenders about #1 above, it will help them to understand why you're applying to each school and they can tailor their letter to emphasize those reasons.
3. Personal Essay/Statement. Start it early and revise, revise, revise. This is arguably more important to your application than the portfolio, as it personalizes your application and can set you apart from the other applicants. You want the admissions committees to see you as a person, with your own dreams, interests, background, desires, etc, and you want to convince them that their school is perfect for you because of those things. Also, everything in #1 that made you choose that school to apply to, put it in the personal statement. Talk about the faculty you want to study under, the location of the school, the facilities, etc. DO NOT WRITE A GENERIC ESSAY AND SWITCH OUT SCHOOL NAMES. If you're applying to five schools, write five different essays. They can have the same themes of course, but except for the first 100-200 words, the essays should all be different. Yes, it's more work. But just trust me, this is necessary. If you can't take the time to personalize an essay for a school, you probably shouldn't be applying to that school.
4. Portfolio. This is actually difficult to give tips on, because it is strongly subjective. But here are a few. Start it early. I started in June and it still felt like I didn't have enough time. You will go through many iterations, so give yourself enough time to get critiques and work through them properly. Rework certain drawings if they aren't as good as they should be. Same thing for renderings, hand drawings, etc. Five projects should be enough, and you shouldn't go over 25-30 spreads. Four quality projects is better than eight decent ones. Use InDesign. USE A GRID LAYOUT. Seriously, use a grid. Don't use more than two different typefaces (a good place to look at type pairings is fontsinuse.com). Whitespace. Lastly, don't just do one portfolio and hope that it fits for each submission. Some schools require it be 8.5x11, some say to have the portfolio formatted for digital viewing, some require you to print and mail and physical copy to the school. Make sure you know all of the requirements for each submission and follow the instructions exactly.
Hope this helps anyone looking to apply next year!
TerribleArchitect
Mar 5, 18 4:49 pm
Hey guys,
Got some results and figured I'd share em.
-22/M/USA
-B.A. in Arts - Architecture / Lehigh University
-GPA:3.3
-Q157 V159 W5.0
-Portfolio: Message me if you'd like a link to it on issuu.com. Just a collection of student work from the last couple years of undergrad.
-Recommendations: 2 from undergrad professors, one from an old employer
In:
UPenn, Univ. of Michigan ($$), Washington Univ. in St. Louis ($$), Pratt, Univ. of Virginia ($)
Waiting to hear back:
Columbia, Cornell
frigidstars
Mar 5, 18 5:22 pm
congratulations on your acceptances. you must not be terrible like your username states.
Shannon Perez
Mar 6, 18 9:54 pm
- 22 / F / US
- B.S. Architectural Studies / Norwich University / 2016
- 3.7 GPA / GRE 164 V 155 Q 4 W
- Letter of recommendations - current employer, professor & university president
- Results (M.Arch I)
IN: Syracuse U (3-year, $8k annual, 12 credit reduction)
PENDING: UPenn & Princeton
OUT: GSD & UT Austin
woooo
Mar 7, 18 1:03 am
- 24/F/Taiwan
- B.S Architecture/ 2017
- GPA 3.75/4.0 - GRE Q166 V153 AW3.5 - TOEFL105
- Letter of recommendations - from my current employer, university studio teacher, a German professor form my exchange program
- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, UC Berkeley, Cornell, UofT, University of Washington (All M.Arch I)
- In: UPenn(Waiting for fin-aid)
-Out: GSD
Still waiting to hear from other schools.
frigidstars
Mar 7, 18 10:18 am
I'm still waiting to hear from UW as well. I was wait listed last year, and I received that email on 3/14. It looks like acceptances normally go out around this time, so hopefully we'll hear back soon. Best of luck.
frigidstars
Mar 8, 18 10:00 pm
@anxiouslywaiting looks like UW sent out emails about an hour ago
woooo
Mar 8, 18 10:06 pm
Yes! I received it! They're giving me an offer!! Really nice.
woooo
Mar 8, 18 10:07 pm
@frigidstars I hope you got an offer too
frigidstars
Mar 9, 18 8:08 am
@anxiouslywaiting I did! UW is my top choice, so I'm ecstatic. Congratulations!
Did you apply to Cornell for the M. Arch I or M. Arch II course? I'm still waiting to hear from them!
Tejavu
Mar 8, 18 2:04 am
Hi all.
Can anyone tell me about the program at WashU St.Louis ?
I’m looking for a program that is theoretical and research oriented. Any idea on the kind of research being conducted at the school ?
ke.bin.prk
Mar 8, 18 4:07 pm
- 24/M/Asian-American
- B.S. in Architecture/2017
- GPA: 3.3/4.00
- GRE: V157/Q155/A4.5
- Currently: Working under one of my professors, funded design research on the side. Took a year off after graduation to improve my portfolio, study for the GRE, and anything else to mitigate my average GPA. It was also to make money for school as well as gain experience before I go back.
- Letter of recommendations: One from current principal/professor, three from former professors.
- Personal Essay/Statement: Requirements depended on the school. Some wanted close up to 1000 words while others wanted less than 500.
- Portfolio: School projects, one work project that I actually had a design role in, and graphics from a personal research project. It’s under construction (again) because I’m just never satisfied with it. Updates coming soon…
- Schools & Results:
In: University of Michigan (2 years, $15k/year); Cornell (3.5 years, $14k/year); UVA (2 years, $14k/year) All came with TA opportunities, but I'm not sure how common that is.
Out: UT Austin
Waitlist: None
Decision: Currently debating between Taubman and Cornell…
- Open house impressions: I haven’t gone to any yet. I’ll probably visit Cornell again since I’ve already visited Michigan and seen their student work.
- Financial aid: TBD...
- Tips:
First, Research all of the schools you want to go to or even THINK you’d like to go to. Start from the location and delve into curriculum, faculty, facilities, student work, etc.. As you start to narrow down your choices a bit, get a clear understanding of what the schools are all about and how it aligns with your interests. For example, if you’re interested in environmental sustainability, look for schools that place an emphasis on it in their curriculum. I have seen schools that don’t care for it and belittle it in some instances. This will help in preparing your application materials, such as the personal statement and portfolio. If it's possible, take a visit. Being there in person definitely beats looking through a computer screen. You may even be able to schedule an appointment with a director or someone in graduate programming and have them talk about the school and answer any questions you might have.
Second, a lot of people underestimate the process of choosing people for your letters of recommendation. First, think about how many schools you’ve narrowed down to. I don’t recommend asking a person for more than 3 letters because quality recommendations do take time and you’d prefer not to take too much of theirs. With that in mind, start listing people and how many letters to write to fulfill the required number per school. The more schools you have, the more people you need to seek out, which can often be difficult.
When seeking recommendors, make sure they know you personally. They’re the ones that can talk highly of you and refer many good qualities about you. If you feel the need to ask someone specific (maybe an alumni from your interested school, visiting professor, or your program director), but haven’t gotten to know them all that well, set up an appointment to talk about your interests and which schools you’re applying for. It’ll give them a better idea of where to go with the recommendation.
Another thing to keep in mind is WHEN to ask. Give them at least 3 months to write it. More thought can be put into it when they aren’t under a deadline pressure. AND MAKE SURE THEY DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Sending one in 2 -3 weeks late not only looks bad, but it slows down the application process because they have to go back and review yours again. Stay on their ass until you know they sent one. You might seem like you’re being annoying, but it’s your future we’re talking about.
Third, start your statement/essay EARLY. Get it done and have it revised multiple times. This is debatably just as important to your application as the portfolio. It personalizes your application and can potentially set you apart from other applicants. Each school had different aspects that interested me so I simply wrote separate ones for them explaining what I’m looking forward to, what I could gain from the experience, and what I can give back to the school as a student and as a professional in the future. DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE SCHOOLS. Committees can easily pick out generic bullshit and it shows that you aren’t that interested in them enough to write a custom statement.
Lastly, the portfolio…The portfolio is subjective so it’s going to be difficult to give generic tips for it in terms of design.
My #1 tip: START IT EARLY (duh). I had a previous version of my portfolio from the year before, but it wasn’t anywhere near presentable to graduate programs. I started mid-summer and told myself to stop a little before deadlines, but I still felt that it wasn’t enough. Getting different eyes to see it is beneficial too. I was still able to redo some drawings, renderings, and models. But again, not enough time for me personally...
In terms of content, five projects seem to be the average I’ve seen among my peers. One thing a graduate program director told me is that a personal project that isn’t architectural can put applicants at an advantage. It could include drawing (painting/sketching), photography, woodworking, graphic design, fashion, or any other personal design project. All in all, this should get you under 40 pages. Keep in mind the school’s requirements because they vary greatly. I’ve seen some places where they REQUIRE a minimum number of projects and others completely ignore page limits. My suggestion would be to have multiple digital versions of your portfolio to cater to each program. It’s not all that much more work. It’s simply a matter of putting in/taking out content.
InDesign is your best friend. It is specifically made for these kinds of things. A grid layout makes organizing ridiculously easy to do and is also easy on the eyes in terms of reading a page. Start with a 4-square and try a 9-square if you feel up for the task.
Hope this helps! I’m open to answer any questions so feel free to ask!
Renzo's Piano
Mar 8, 18 4:29 pm
Did you just take the tips that I wrote and just reword some of it?
ke.bin.prk
Mar 8, 18 4:35 pm
I had written this a little more than a week ago, but never had the chance to post it because I was so busy at work. I just ready your post and it does sound very similar to what I had posted.
Renzo's Piano
Mar 8, 18 4:35 pm
This may be the funniest thing I've personally seen on this forum. Like, why?
ke.bin.prk
Mar 8, 18 4:37 pm
I agree with all of your advice and I didn't realize it would sound so similar. I sincerely apologize
if it seemed like I was piggybacking on top of your post.
me_for_president
Mar 8, 18 4:46 pm
Maybe you should take Renzo's Pianos advice (or your own as you claim) and 'DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE...' original poster.
Renzo's Piano
Mar 8, 18 4:49 pm
I mean I really don't give a shit, it's just hilarious to me how you wrote it "a little more than a week ago" yet the tips are in the exact same order, and each one gives the exact same examples. The first, research, you talk about researching the exact same things in the same order as I did, and give an example of choosing schools based on environmental sustainability, as I did. The second, letters of rec, you talk about choosing professors you know personally and making sure they don't submit two weeks late, just like my post. The third, the essay, talks about submitting different letters to different schools, as I suggested, but then you literally all-caps the same exact sentence as I did in my post. And the fourth, the portfolio tip, talks about how it's too subject to give tips, as I did, among a number of other things like five projects is enough, using InDesign, using a grid, multiple versions to cater to each program, etc. Now these tips are actually useful, and I don't expect others to have never thought about them before my post, but come on man. You're not fooling anyone about how you wrote it over a week ago and it's essentially my post just reworded. It's laughably sad.
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 8, 18 5:13 pm
kinda makes you wonder where ke.bin.prk's portfolio content came from
Renzo's Piano
Mar 8, 18 5:14 pm
Someone who has posted here before perhaps? Also, glad to have you back splines
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 8, 18 5:20 pm
love you call me mean it
but also: DO NOT WRITE A GENERIC ESSAY AND SWITCH OUT SCHOOL NAMES
Renzo's Piano
Mar 8, 18 5:24 pm
I think you mean: DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE SCHOOLS
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 8, 18 5:29 pm
also research all the schools!
...so that whoever you're paying to make your portfolio knows their audience
.indd
Mar 9, 18 9:31 am
Renzo's Piano... it's not like your post was particularly nuanced either...
Renzo's Piano
Mar 9, 18 9:49 am
Exactly. Which is why it's funny because there was no reason to basically copy my post.
hrm_b
Jan 17, 19 6:38 pm
Renzo’s Piano, you are such a bully. Read your post above in the thread and thought, oh thanks for the tips. Saw you do this, and now I can’t take your tips seriously. You said you “didn’t care” then continued to spend time on this. Smh.
GGWP18
Mar 8, 18 10:47 pm
Does anyone know if Columbia GSAPP sends out letters in waves?
I see on gradcafe everyone is listed as accepted meanwhile my application status remains submitted. Does that mean chances are thin for acceptance or simply they haven't gotten to everyone yet?
Thanks
ludwigmiesvanderrohe
Mar 8, 18 11:49 pm
...nobody on gradcafe posted results from GSAPP's M.Arch program yet. You probably got confused from people getting into GSAPP's other programs.
Don't trip chocolate chip.
mikiji
Mar 9, 18 12:04 am
Im waiting for GSAPP as well. Seems they havent started sending M.Arch admission out yet. Some of my friends got into MAUD though.
e.b.
Mar 9, 18 1:55 pm
one person posted an m.arch acceptance! getting extra nervous now, still waiting.
GGWP18
Mar 9, 18 12:31 am
Sorry to clarify, I applied for the Advanced Architecture Design program...
really not sure what the chances are...
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 9, 18 1:28 am
slim to nil, I’m afraid
.indd
Mar 9, 18 9:23 am
I received an email yesterday that stated the status of my application had changed
jessmgg
Mar 9, 18 1:13 pm
- 25/F/Mexican- American
- B.S. in Architecture/2016
- MS Construction Management
- GPA: 3.06
- GRE: V148/Q147/A3.0
- Letter of recommendations: 3 Professors
-Experience - international firm in China and construction management.
- Personal Essay/Statement: Requirements depended on the school. Some wanted close up to 1000 words while others wanted less than 500.
- Portfolio: School projects, one work project that I actually had a design role in, and graphics from a personal research project. It’s under construction (again) because I’m just never satisfied with it. Updates coming soon…
- Schools & Results:
In:
UC Berkeley ( 10K fellowship year)
2 year University of Washington at St.Louis (25k/ Year)
Pratt (10K per semester)
Waiting on:
U Michigan
Sci-Arc
Out:
Yale
Amazing grades were not necessary, Portfolio! is all about that...
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 9, 18 1:45 pm
that must have been a hell of a portfolio. well done, congratulations.
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 9, 18 3:41 pm
got in to Columbia, no aid.... estimated cost of attendance 133k tho?????!!!
e.b.
Mar 9, 18 3:55 pm
same boat lol
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 9, 18 11:32 pm
did you not know the cost of attendance before applying?
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 10, 18 3:02 am
Obviously dude that’s where the aid part would come in you genius
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 10, 18 10:50 am
so then you just wildly overestimated your chances of getting merit-based funding, got it
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 10, 18 2:27 pm
Didn’t overestimate shit, got funding from all the othe
r schools I applied, I was really trying to get the fellowship. What program did you apply for again?...
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 10, 18 3:33 pm
hahahaha,
“really trying” and “too busy to take the GRE” from the same applicant, priceless.
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 10, 18 3:40 pm
Hey Ill put an application together for you instead of you trying to live vicariously through us... that are actually doing something with our lives. Just send me your email ok, I love charity work
arch.fx
Mar 16, 18 11:05 pm
Btw did anyone get aid for the M.S.AAD program at Columbia?
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 17, 18 2:13 am
I haven’t heard or seen anyone that did, I do have a friend that got into the MS AUD and he got a
id didn’t ask how much tho, what are your choices at the moment?
e.b.
Mar 9, 18 4:01 pm
- 22/F/USA
- Bachelor's of Environmental Design 2017
- GPA - 3.8
- GRE - 162Q/156V/4.0W
- Letter of recommendations - 2 past studio professors, 1 past employer, (+ for GSAPP - 1 past prof who attended gsapp)
- Portfolio - 5 projects from undergrad studios
- Results
In:
- Columbia GSAPP (no aid)
- Pratt (2 year, $20k/year)
- UT Austin (2.5 year, funding TBA)
Still waiting on: Princeton
koalatea
Mar 9, 18 11:47 pm
Ok, I figured I would post to give some hope to people without arch backgrounds haha.
- 24/F/NZ - BA in Computer Science (US college), 2016 - GPA: 3.67, GRE: 166V / 170Q / 4.5A - Letter of recommendations: 1 from college CS professor, 1 from college English professor, 1 from Berkeley [IN]Arch instructor - Personal Essay/Statement - Portfolio: My portfolio was 1/2 stuff I did during the Berkeley [IN]Arch program, and half visual arts stuff that I do in my spare time (photography, painting, prints, and sculpture) - Schools: University of Tokyo (in), UCLA AUD (in, in-state tuition grant), UC Berkeley (in, 30k fellowship), Columbia GSAPP (in, 18k fellowship), MIT (waiting) - Tips: I think attending a summer program like [IN]Arch helped me a lot as someone without an architecture background, but also don't lose hope if you are someone with nontraditional background even though you can't find many examples online of what applications look like from these sorts of applicants, just share your story and maybe the schools will find you interesting enough to accept you :)
Nausheen Zaman
Aug 23, 18 4:14 pm
Honestly, your post gave me some hope for this track. I'm coming from a history, languages and cultures degree (a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies... I'm not out of undergrad long enough for me to regret my decision but I'm slowly starting to now) and I've wanted to do architecture for a long time, but because of family I was not allowed to do anything that was considered 'artsy' or something that 'wouldn't give me a stable job' (the irony is not lost on me) and architecture was not something I was allowed to do for the longest time until now, so I'm essentially starting from scratch. Thanks for posting this, and good luck in the rest of your endeavors!
Arles
Mar 10, 18 3:35 am
LHi friends!
Everybody here that are in GSAPP (by the way, congrats!), anyone is MS AAD?? I applied for MS AAD and still my application status remain submitted... so anxious. And now wait until Monday
miawallace
Mar 10, 18 3:54 am
Hey ! I received my acceptance letter yesterday, if that helps. Same program, MS AAD. But, as far as I can see from what people say, such a delay for your letter is not necessarily negative! Keep your hopes up and good luck!
Arles
Mar 10, 18 4:55 am
Thanks for your reply and honestly congratulations! When you tell letter, you mean post letter? Or just email?
miawallace
Mar 10, 18 7:46 am
thank you! no, just email. But I guess I received an email notification because I am from Europe so I wouldn't receive a post letter (?) - I have read about US applicants who received post letters or even direct
phone calls.
arch.fx
Mar 16, 18 11:10 pm
Got into M.S.AAD too! Try to figure out how to pay for it lol
miawallace
Mar 17, 18 4:47 am
Congratulations ! Argh, I know the struggle - I am going through this phase now as well. But you are lucky, most of the forums here appear to be about GSAPP and its tuition so there is tons of information about it. Still, congratulations!!
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 17, 18 4:53 am
Yea this no aid thing is really a bummer but I’m going to NYC to try to figure this out in person
miawallace
Mar 17, 18 4:55 am
This is by far the best thing you can do. Are you going to bargain for a financial aid?
AhhhhGradSchool
Mar 17, 18 12:11 pm
They said that financial aid went out with our letters, but they have assistanships which I wanna know more about, it’s about 10k per semester minimum working 10hrs, that’s easy, a
nd then see if there’s something we are missing, like a late scholarship or something, anything helps
Arles
Mar 10, 18 8:16 am
Europe? Me too! Spain. So for this I asked, I was wondering if they send until here (in fact I live in Japan), then I will be waiting the email. And where are you from?
So you will study there?
Thanks for the info friend
miawallace
Mar 11, 18 5:34 am
In any case, you will receive an email so don't think too much about it - my personal advice is to not wait for anything because it will drive you nuts, the whole anxiety and anticipation. Japan? Where, if I may ask? I used to work in Tokyo aaand I am from Greece. As for whether I am going to be studying there, I seriously don't know - haven't made up my mind yet, still examining my options. And don't even mention it, glad I had some info to share with you!
audhsi
Mar 10, 18 3:43 pm
Age/Sex/Citizenship
24/M/USA
- B.S. Arch 2016
- GPA: 3.8
- GRE: 159v / 152m / 4.5 writing
- Letter of recommendations - 1 principal, 2 professors
- Personal Essay/Statement
Generally wrote about gentrification, tailored the situation to each school
- Portfolio
3-4 school projects, photography, sketches. 30 pages in total
- Schools
IN:
UT Austin - 40k/year
USC - 28k/year
UVA - 25k/year
Oregon - no funding info yet, anyone know when to expect?
These were the only schools I applied to so pretty happy with that.
- Results (the school you plan to attend, waitlist, rejection.)
I am hoping for a good amount of funding from Oregon, and would actually like to try USC if they offered a little more funding (LA is expensive lol). UT is definitely looking attractive though
- Tips
I think honesty and being genuine in applications can actually be beneficial. In my statement of purpose I wrote why I felt this way about my topic, and why it matters in the long run. I steered clear of typical architectural buzzwords which can come across as pretentiuos and made sure not to write about how I love architecture because I played with legos as a kid.
it covers most of tuition, living stipend, and health care
jamesherm
Mar 10, 18 6:26 pm
Are you really doubling down on this? UTSOA literally never gives out that much money. You are lying.
platzzwischendenrucken
Mar 11, 18 6:55 pm
Remember guys, "honesty and being genuine" is beneficial... lol
Dangermouse
Mar 11, 18 7:10 pm
holy shit, $8,230 - $9,509 for a year of UT-Austin?? and to think someone else on this board wants to spend 100k per year for GSAAP
jamesherm
Mar 11, 18 8:54 pm
That is also inaccurate; GSAPP tuition is $50k/year (http://sfs.columbia.edu/content/cost-attendance-architecture). They're very different schools operating at
different levels with regard to faculty, resources, pedagogical approach, and urban environment, so there's an argument to be made that a GSAPP education has greater value that should be reflected in the tuition. Whether it should be 5x as much is another question entirely.
Dangermouse
Mar 11, 18 10:40 pm
my 2c: cost/quality is basically your only metric if you have to take out massive loans b.c. you weren't good enough to get merit based aid. and personally i'd take UTSOA over GSAAP even if the funding was equal
jamesherm
Mar 11, 18 10:53 pm
I guess if you want a far weaker faculty, far less talented peers, a far crappier city, and a program that has barely been updated since the 1970s, UTSOA would be the way to go. It's not that it's bad, it's just incredibly behind the times and proud of it.
Dangermouse
Mar 12, 18 9:09 am
No id just prefer not to pay 5x for an M.Arch 1 at an institution that hasn’t done much since tschumi left, with garbage, overcrowded facilities, comparable faculty...and let’s be real, Austin>NYC as a place to live by virtually every metric.
calebehly
Mar 12, 18 11:11 am
you would rather go to UTA over GSAAP even if funding was equal........ what world do we live in. Im sure you could make that comparison ifyou were extremely interested in the work being produced by UTA, but their not producing any work thats new or beyond interesting..... or if one program was soooooo avant garde that they might deter someone from going.......and GSAAP is far from that.....so in those regards im rather concerned for you.
jamesherm
Mar 12, 18 12:35 pm
I'm from Austin and I'd much rather live in NYC. It's almost like people can have different opinions and priorities. And you're moving goalposts; one minute you say you'd choose UTSOA even if the funding were equal, and the next you say you wouldn't pay 5x the tuition.
And if you think GSAPP's facilities are overcrowded, you clearly haven't visited UTSOA recently. They're doing their best, but they just don't have the resources to keep up with the top schools in terms of fabrication...or anything else.
As for "comparable faculty," that's a joke (who at UTSOA is on the level of Frampton, Tschumi, Holl, Prince-Ramus, Benjamin, Ishigami, Jaque, Tsurumaki, etc.?). And what new ground has UTSOA broken in the era since Tschumi left Columbia? Or since the 1950s for that matter?
Dangermouse
Mar 12, 18 6:15 pm
yes, i would chose UTSOA over GSAAP for the m.arch one then swing back and get an m.arch II/M.E.D/MDes at the ivy of my choice, because then i'd actually have the flexibility to tailor my research agenda to a specific faculty member or agenda present at the school.
Dangermouse
Mar 12, 18 6:31 pm
Moving goalposts? No. Neither of my positions are mutually exclusive. I personally would not pay 5x for GSAAP or even the same, over UTSOA. As this has clearly always been about my personal preference and not a manifesto, I like UTSOA's focus on material tectonics and history. I don't give a shit about new and novel techniques in and of themselves.
But thanks for being good forum police and drawing out the choice structure for a hypothetical set of circumstances I will never find myself in (I go to the GSD).
jamesherm
Mar 12, 18 6:33 pm
Cool. We were all waiting with baited breath to find out what your personal preferences on
graduate school would be.
hrm_b
Jan 17, 19 6:41 pm
jamesherm is proof cyber bullying is still alive and well.....smh reading these posts.
jamesherm
Mar 12, 18 12:34 pm
.
Edaii
Mar 13, 18 5:06 pm
Acceptance from Princeton and Columbia (M.Arch I)
Edaii
Mar 13, 18 5:43 pm
Update: Princeton - Full Scholarship
jamesherm
Mar 13, 18 5:51 pm
Is your portfolio online?
splinesbetweentheplace
Mar 13, 18 6:04 pm
Why, so you and others can copy it?
jamesherm
Mar 13, 18 6:42 pm
Fascinating question coming from you, splinesbetweentheplace
archKash
Mar 14, 18 12:30 pm
I would love to see this portfolio!
randomised
Mar 14, 18 1:21 pm
So Kash, after all those portfolio posts, did you get in?
Did anyone get into GSD and what's the deal with financial aid or grants?
.indd
Mar 14, 18 2:23 pm
Financial aid should already be posted. As for grants (I could be wrong) but I'm pretty sure you would know by now if you received one.
vitafusion
Mar 14, 18 2:28 pm
is it possible to apply for it now? would it be too late
.indd
Mar 14, 18 2:31 pm
I'm not 100% sure, but I recall the deadline was sometime in February.... you should have gotten an email about applying for it in January.
placebeyondthesplines__
Mar 14, 18 3:11 pm
yikes
Tiosnoor
Mar 14, 18 4:22 pm
- Age/Sex/Citizenship
22/M/Vietnam
Urban Studies/University of California, Irvine/ 2018
- GPA: 3.44
- GRE : V: 146, Q: 150, A: 3.5
- Letter of recommendations - 3 professors from the current undergrad school.
- Personal Essay/Statement : ~700 words. Though some schools have different requirements about the length, I kept the essay consistently in one page.
- Portfolio: 2 academic works, some sketches, paintings, photography, and one big model of an Asian town made out of matches. Total 22 pages.
- Schools:
IN: Wash U (14K/Year), USC (5.5K/Year), UC Denver. All M. Arch +3
Out: None
- Open house impressions: Planning to attend Wash U's on Mar. 22.
- Tips: For M. Arch +3 future applicants: Try your best. Keep your portfolio and essay consistent with your interests. Try to create a theme. Mine was about an image of a corncob and how that drew me to the topics of sustainability, ambience design, urbanism, and affordable housing issues. Try to make your essay and portfolio unique with a certain theme, but don't get too far away from the main discussion, which should be about you and your interests. And "don't stress over creating an 'architecture' portfolio" (Thanks SpatialSojourner for that!)
Honestly though, I wasn't expecting I would be admitted, so those 3 schools are the only schools I applied. Still don't know which school to accept between Wash U and USC, though. Any advice would be nice!
miawallace
Mar 14, 18 4:25 pm
has anyone received any news from MIT SMarchS ?
.indd
Mar 14, 18 4:35 pm
I think the admissions committee got buried in snow.
arch.fx
Mar 16, 18 11:06 pm
Lol I guess
dmnle
Mar 14, 18 11:10 pm
is there anyone still waiting GSAPP MArch results?
or they've already sent all out?
platzzwischendenrucken
Mar 14, 18 11:34 pm
All sent out. Same with waitlist. You didn't get in. Deal with it. Move on.
mikiji
Mar 15, 18 12:31 am
Same here waiting. Are you sure they ve been all sent out? I thought there would be another round.
mikiji
Mar 15, 18 12:33 am
Anyone knows if being waitlist, will the schools send a letter to inform? Or just nothing? Still haven't heard from Cornell and GSAPP. Not sure if im being rejected or waitlist.
mikiji
Mar 15, 18 12:34 am
And when is the waitlist deadline?
splinesbetweentheplace
Mar 15, 18 7:01 am
When the school officially rejects you, you will see a change in your status on the application portal. Usually they will email you once that happens. If the school has already sent out acceptances and waitlist notifications the chances of you being accepted are slim to nil. You should start preparing your mind for a rejection from those schools.
adampitt95
Mar 15, 18 11:51 am
It is worth saying that there is still a chance to be waitlisted. I did not hear from UWash when they sent acceptances, but received a spot on the wait list a week after they sent acceptances. So there is still a
chance if you didn't hear during their first round.
mikiji
Mar 15, 18 2:06 pm
Thank you guys for ur info.Just got a rejection from GSAPP. :( Guess the same thing from Cornell.
mikiji
Mar 15, 18 2:16 pm
- Age/Sex/Citizenship
22/F/Canadian
BA in Architectural Studies at University of Toronto
- GPA: 2.94
- GRE : V: 150, Q: 165, A: 3.5
- Letter of recommendations - 2 studio professors, 1 professor from business school and 1 employer.
- Personal Essay/Statement : 500 words
- Portfolio: 1 revised academic work, 3 competition, and 1 AAVS work
- Schools:
IN: Penndesign (10k/yr), Wash U (18k/yr)
Rejected:
GSD, GSAPP
Nothing from Cornell but I guess will be a rejection
Decision: Penndesign
1_1_1_1
Mar 15, 18 4:23 pm
congrats!
1_1_1_1
Mar 15, 18 4:21 pm
__
rains_
Mar 16, 18 6:01 am
Hey has anyone been waitlisted for UC Berkeley? How likely is it to get admitted if you are on waitlist?
miawallace
Mar 16, 18 6:17 am
are you talking about MArch I or Studio One?
rains_
Mar 16, 18 6:59 am
The master of urban design (MUD) course actually.
miawallace
Mar 16, 18 7:23 am
I see. Of course this is just my personal opinion but, since the MUD is a pretty common choice for applicants who, as I have seen in multiple forums, are usually applying for other prestigious programs as well and therefore often decline offers, being on waitlist is not the end of the world, you still have chances of getting in! It all depends on where exactly you are in the waitlist - something that, again by reading what people say about it, unfortunately you will not know.
rains_
Mar 19, 18 9:13 am
Yess, exactly, no information makes is worse contemplating! But nevertheless, hoping for the best!
allumers
Mar 16, 18 11:48 am
still waiting on Michigan and Berkeley.. has anyone heard back yet? I know Michigan set out their decisions already... ?
ynxi2017
Mar 16, 18 12:00 pm
I think Michigan has sent out all their decisions already :/ heard back from them at beginning of March
Christine N
Mar 16, 18 12:06 pm
----
ynxi2017
Mar 16, 18 12:07 pm
you should receive an email with your status + check if you have any financial aid documentation. If not, I'd say your not in luck
allumers
Mar 16, 18 12:04 pm
delete
frigidstars
Mar 16, 18 2:30 pm
delet this
frigidstars
Mar 16, 18 2:30 pm
delet this
Bob's your uncle
Mar 17, 18 12:22 pm
24 / M / UK
BArch / University of Dundee / 2015
3.84 / 163V 163Q 4.5W
2 academic references (from my tutor and year 3 head) and two professional references.
Statement was on the shorter side; kept it neat and precise as to my targets. 30 page landscape format portfolio; mix of academic work, own work, and professional work.
Applied to GSD and MIT - this is the second time I've applied to MIT
Rejected from GSD, accepted to MIT (half-tuition fellowship).
I'm very wary of accruing any sort of debt from this - especially coming from Scotland where our tuition is free for your first degree. So although I'm overjoyed at getting into MIT, I'm not allowing myself to get too excited until my finances have been sorted out. To that end I've contacted MIT to ask about what sort of extra routes are available (TA-ship / research assistant-ship etc) to offset the rest of the costs, so we shall see in due course!
I'm currently working in Mumbai, so I can't really afford the trip to the open house, but c'est la vie! Perhaps I'll see some of you in the 'fall' if all goes well? :)
miawallace
Mar 17, 18 12:45 pm
May I ask, to which MIT program did you apply?
Bob's your uncle
Mar 17, 18 12:59 pm
Ah, forgot to mention! To both GSD and MIT it was the MArch 1.
mikiji
Mar 17, 18 1:28 pm
Congrats!
Dangermouse
Mar 17, 18 1:35 pm
fwiw, mit likes you now, they'll probably still like you if you come back in a few years for a post professional program, where you generally have greater freedom to tailor your curriculum; often times you can get more aid/research awards in this setting vs. an MArch 1.
Bob's your uncle
Mar 18, 18 4:07 pm
Thanks mikiji, and fair point Dangermouse, though I don't see myself aiming towards any sort of extra degree after my post-grad. At least not for the foreseeable future.
Hey guys!
It's that time of the year again. Let's go ahead and share our stats, anxieties, questions and decisions together.
Following information would be helpful for future applicants:
- Age/Sex/Citizenship
- Undergraduate degree/ School/ Year graduated
- GPA - GRE - TOEFL scores for Int'l students
- Letter of recommendations - from whom (this can be general; employer, professor, etc.)
- Personal Essay/Statement - Portfolio
- Schools (results [in, out or waitlist], any $ offered, any other pertinent info)
- Open house impressions
- Results (the school you plan to attend, waitlist, rejection.)
- Tips
I was just wondering, does anybody know when the offer holder/open house days for US unis tend to be? Are they usually all within the same time period or how do they work?
They're usually within a couple weeks of each school's decision deadline. But those range from March through late April/early May, depending on the school (some don't even send their decisions until early April) so they're not all at the same time.
Thanks for the response! Ah I see, that could prove to be a bit annoying as an international applicant. I intended to fly down (hopefully) and go through a gauntlet of just checking out the different institutions.
If I were you I'd just go visit them all when it's convenient to you. You'll get a better idea about how the schools operate on a daily basis that way anyway. Open houses, especially those for admitted students, are kind of an orchestrated show. They purposely schedule their best lectures and exhibitions during those open houses, usually try to have some edgy crits going on with impressive guest critics, and they invite hand-picked extroverted, friendly, attractive students to schmooze with the applicants, even going so far as to try to discourage the known disgruntled students from being around, or keeping them busy elsewhere. Visiting on an ordinary day, walking around the studios and picking people to talk to on your own, and seeing what's going on when things aren't on show will be more revealing.
Good time to remind everyone that no architecture degree is worth $100k debt regardless of the name on the paper.
Why do you say that?
because the same wankers will be back in 3 years complaining about massive student debt and non 6-figure salaries.
not bitter, I actually did go to my "dream" school.
How so? Having a solid career with several large projects that affords me and my family a house and comfortable living is rather decent. Enjoy your delusions and 6 figure debt.
Congratulations, you’ve entirely missed my point.
No, it does not. But good for you for believing the jive.
Why are you so intent on scaring people out of going to their dream school/doing it their own way?
I had hard times, took several years off school, then went back at 27 to do what I love and am finally getting my BArch at 30, doing double studios for 2 years. I have no experience, because I couldn't, have self supported myself, and don't have the time frame to just 'work my way up' for years and years at an already older age. I'm going for MArch because I feel I need to, and because I want to, for myself and my future. To me the name on a paper will lead me to more, quicker, because of my situation. Everyone does it different. There is no right answer. Stop being a prick.
Was that a serious question? Do a search through the forums and see how many poor saps are crying foul for not being treated and paid like the genius these overpriced schools label their students.
Jrhews... wow, double studios. I didn't know they even allowed that, older or not.
@joseffischer I was a transfer student from a CC. Needed to catch up
If a prospective "Masters" student already has a degree he should be made aware that in fifteen states he does not need to take any collegiate courses in architecture at all to sit for the exam, just the experience requirements. In some states no college at all is required but only the experience requirements.
The colleges are really doing their students a disservice. The "Masters" programs they offer is just a "catch-up" BS in Architecture for students who chose their undergraduate program unwisely and have graduated with an unemployable major. By calling their catch-up program a "graduate" program, the schools can and do increase tuition by quite a bit knowing full well that federal education loans are not capped for graduate loans. The student typically leaves owing massive amounts of graduate school debt piled onto unpaid undergraduate school debt.
In addition to the debt the student has forgone several years in the workplace where he could be productively earning money, saving for starting a family, a house, and putting away money into savings.
The trick is to get hired on the lower rungs of the ladder without an architectural degree. A course or two in drafting and previous construction experience might be very attractive to a design/build firm. In any case that route should be investigated before being nailed to the wall with unpayable debt.
Very much agree. Coming in with a lot of highschool level credit, I found that in my junior year, I had taken all the courses required except for the mandated "4 years of studio" Except Georgia Tech allows students under certain conditions, including specific studio type electives, to graduate early with 3 years of studio. I thought it was great! Fast forward, and I'm back for my M. Arch because Tech's undergrad program isn't a professional degree (no one explained this to me back when I was 17... but I guess I deserve some blame) and they tell me since I only did 3 years of undergrad, I'll have to do 3 years of grad school. That extra year was pretty expensive considering as an undergraduate, Georgia's HOPE program covers all tuition costs. I felt pretty duped at the time.
What is your opinion of Tech's graduate program? I'm considering it but I'd love to know what they emphasize/ what the studio culture is like/ etc.
That's tough to answer without a lot of caveats. I attended Graduate school during the interim right after Dean Galloway, and before the new dean and the new revamp into the "College of Design" occurred. Leaving aside the fact that the ship was sailing without a captain for a few years, my biggest regret was that the first year of my 3 year program (usually 3.5 years for those without any architecture experience) were two semesters of carbon copies of previous undergraduate studios I had already taken. Their 2-year program was really strong, and if you could weasel your way into having the Advanced Wood Products Lab access (only about 25% of the students got access) which was off campus a bit, you had a wonderful assortment of 3D equipment (printing, routing, etc) to use.
I'd definitely try and get some feedback from someone who attended post dean-change as they really did switch things up for the better.
thanks for the tip!
-26/F/Indian
- B.Arch/ RV College of Architecture/ 2014
-Applying for M.Arch II
- 3.7 - 320 - 107
- Architectural Mentor/teacher + Thesis Guide + Past Employer
- Schools Applied - Berkeley CED + Rice SOA + UTSOA + Sam Fox St Louis + Taubman College Ann Arbor + Yale SOA +Harvard GSD
- Waiting to hear back.
Update?
When do you generally hear back from schools?
This is a good site for browsing past results http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=architecture&t=a&pp=250&o=&p=2
So, if last year is any indication, you should hear back from Yale and Harvard next week.
24/M/American
BS in Biology/ University of Alabama at Birmingham/2016
GPA: 3.75
GRE: 161Q / 162V / 5.0AW
Letter of recommendations: undergrad research adviser/professor, associate director of honors program/professor, founder of community art space where I volunteered for a long time
Schools: In at Georgia Tech, received email notification on 2/23. Official acceptance letters and info regarding funding will be available in a few weeks. Still waiting to hear from UW and MIT.
Open house impressions: GT open house is on March 30th, and it's just a short drive so I'm planning to attend.
Results: Still waiting to hear back from other schools
Good luck everyone!
Congrats, see you at the open house.
Thanks! See you there
Accepted to Pratt with 15K annual scholarship. Open house on March 29th, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to attend.
Accepted at University of Washington. The official packet should come in the mail next week. The email came in about an hour ago.
Still no word from any college!
I am just a little anxious. I'm sorry if this is irritating to you. If you don't want to reply you don't have to. But that doesn't mean you have to be mean. Cheers mate! Just goodwill coming your way.
Then I'm sorry! Hope we can all pull through this.
Just got in WashU, MArch 2 year program
@placebeyondthesplines_ listen buddy, I have no control over your usage of this website and many people new to archinect will not be familiar with your username but I’m going to kindly ask you to take a step back and reevaluate your life. After a quick google search of your username and scrolling through your history of comments on this website its very clear that you get some kind of high/kick out of spreading negativity and discouragement. I understand that people post their portfolios, resumes, etc. for constructive criticism but there is a difference between constructive criticism and being a downright dick (excuse my french, there are no other words to describe you). Archinect is a site where we encourage people to share their work but if a troll like you is constantly putting people down without providing any real helpful feedback, it prevents people from doing so. Perhaps your parents didn’t hug you enough when you were a kid? Maybe you got rejected from almost all the architecture schools on here? Or maybe you're just some fat slob working a terrible job somewhere? Maybe even all the above? I hope this post finds you well and I just want to let you know that I actually feel sorry for you, a life fueled off negativity is most certainly not enjoyable. And to the archinect community, if you see any comments from placebeyondthesplines_, please just ignore. Oh and best of luck to everyone! Thank you.
Looks like he got banned or somthing, good riddance.
Finally
thank god, I know he can just make a new account but hes been doing this under that username for almost 5 years now, enough is enough
Is that your go to argument for justifying your dick behavior? Last time I checked any critic in arch school wouldn't say
“Did someone ask you for your definition of architecture? Is there a reason why anyone anywhere should give a fuck?”
-placebeyondthesplines
Keep trolling bud and rot in your negativity, you know exactly what you're doing. Good day.
Hahaaa he said much worse. But in his defense I did completely redo my portfolio bec of him. Still can critique in a more elegant manner tho.
Just received an offer from Yale for the M.Arch I.
Congratulations
!
Update - with $25K funding (international student)
How did you find out about fundin
g? I still have not gotten an email regarding Yale's financial package.
Just got into Yale for M.arch I!
congrats!!! it'd be great if you could post your stats for other applicants to reference (see original post)
Congratulations!
Congrats! I Got in Yale M.Arch II.
Got into Michigan and Wash U St Louis (Sam Fox). Rejected by Yale! So I'm guessing GSD is going to reject me too. Waiting to hear back from Rice Columbia Austin and Berkeley.
I just heard back from. M. Arch I 1st Professional. Looks like you will hear back soon. Goo
I just heard back from UT Austin M. Arch I, 1st Professional. Looks like you will hear back soon.
Good Luck
UT Austin, sorry.
UT Austin, sorry.
I have applied for M.Arch II.. so hopefully soon!
Michigan is an outstanding school and you should feel zero regrets going there instead of yale/gsd.
SCI-Arc offered! Still waiting for the rest!
Just got into UPenn MArch I 2018 Fall!
Congrats!
Thx!!!!!!!!!!!!Still waiting for Cornell and Columbia!
@PreResultJitters We're applying to a lot of the same programs, I just realized. I also applied to Yale, Harvard, Berkeley for MArch II's, in addition to programs at UCL, AA, and MIT. Wait-listed for Yale, interviewed at Berkeley, now anxiously awaiting Harvard's result!
Hey Genesse! Congratulations on the waitlist! Good luck with the rest :)
I got a mail from Harvard telling me the status has been updated. But I can't seem to
myself to open it!
Haha, you can do it! Mine was a rejection. :-/ But that means your chances are better. :p
Also rejected by gsd :(
Same here
Same here!
Hate to bump everyone on this comment, but @HerArchitect, have you heard anything from Berkeley? I'm assuming you applied to Studio One?
I haven't heard from Berkeley yet!
I see - hopefully we have some good news soon!
hey @genesse kind of random comment here but do you mind if I ask if you were accepted in Studio One?
22/F/Chinese
Bachelor of Architecture/2018
- GPA 3.47/4.00
- GRE 160V 165Q 4.0AW
- TOEFL106
- Letter of recommendations - from professors and tutors from China, Australia and Japan
- Schools
in: Rice, RISD, WUSTL($17000/yr), UMich, USC($44255/yr) all MArch2 or similar degrees
waitlist: GSD MArch2
out: GSD MAUD&MDes, (nothing from Cornell guess it means rejection)
Still waiting for UPenn and Columbia...
BTW, does anyone know what to do when being waitlisted by GSD...? Update them about my internship this winter?
Nothing to do now.
There's nothing you can really do when you get waitlisted but wait. You can check in at some point to try to find out how long the wait list is and where you are on it, but some schools won't answer those questions. The committee deliberations are done at this point - it won't help to tell the school about your winter internship now - the decision makers are done.
.
got into Pratt with 27k scholarship which is nice! Anyone else in at Pratt and actually interested in going?
MS Arch
I was also admitted to Pratt and will certainly be attending their luncheon. I don't know if I will attend the program, though, as I was accepted to the 3 year without advanced placement according my scholarship.
Ummmm yea 3 years suck what did you get for scholarship? I’ll probably go to t
he luncheon as well if plane tickets aren’t $$$
I got $10k/year. Not sure why I didn't get advanced placement. I did for Michigan, but every school is different. Hoping it's something they can shed some light on.
@ahhhhGradSchool Same offer in same program. Congrats! but I'm not going...
I've been accepted into Pratt with a 30k scholarship and advanced standing. I'm considering the program's offer but I'm still waiting to hear from other schools. I will have a better idea after attending the open house.
i was admitted as well, with advanced standing and $20k per year. seems like a pretty good deal and i am considering it, but i'm still waiting on some other decisions.
- 24/M/USA
- B.A. in Architecture/Clemson Univ/2015
- GPA: 3.15/4.00
- GRE: V157/Q159/A4.5
- Letter of recommendations - One from current principal, three from former professors.
- Personal Essay/Statement: 500 word essay talking about what I have done in the years after graduating from Clemson, and going on to speak directly about certain things I wish to achieve in each M.Arch program. Send me a personal message if you want to see one of them.
- Portfolio: Made up of some school projects, personal projects, and competitions. Again, send me a personal message if you want to view it.
- Schools & Results:
In: UCLA (3.5yrs, no funding); USC (2yrs, $44k/yr); Pratt (3yrs, $22k/yr); UIC (3yrs, semester free for first year, no info on subsequent yrs)
Out: None
Waitlist: Non
Still (anxiously) waiting to hear from MIT and Columbia.
- Open house impressions: No idea, haven't gone. Will most likely be visiting Pratt. Depends on the decision from MIT and Columbia.
- Tips: I have a few tips that hopefully can help some of y'all. I want to say that I applied to M.Arch programs a few years ago: Cornell, Penn, Michigan, Berkely, SCI-Arc, Colorado at Denver, UT, and I was only accepted to SCI-Arc and UC Denver. I decided to wait a couple of years and work because I realized that I clearly wasn't ready, and so far it has been a great decision.
1. Research. Do a lot of research into all of the schools you wish to apply to. The location, pedagogy, the faculty, the facilities, the student work, everything. You must have a very clear idea about what you want to get out of graduate school and then apply to schools that will be the best fit. For example, if you want to focus on environmental sustainability, don't apply to SCI-Arc. This will help you narrow down your list and also help in preparing your application materials such as the essay and portfolio.
2. Letters of Rec. For the love of god, choose professors/co-workers who are on top of their shit and actually know you personally. A letter from your studio professor who has a degree from UIUC is going to be better for you than a visiting professor who has a degree from MIT and submits their letter two weeks late. You want people who can vouch for you and talk you up, not someone to write some generic letter about how "you'd be a good fit for ___". Also, tell your recommenders about #1 above, it will help them to understand why you're applying to each school and they can tailor their letter to emphasize those reasons.
3. Personal Essay/Statement. Start it early and revise, revise, revise. This is arguably more important to your application than the portfolio, as it personalizes your application and can set you apart from the other applicants. You want the admissions committees to see you as a person, with your own dreams, interests, background, desires, etc, and you want to convince them that their school is perfect for you because of those things. Also, everything in #1 that made you choose that school to apply to, put it in the personal statement. Talk about the faculty you want to study under, the location of the school, the facilities, etc. DO NOT WRITE A GENERIC ESSAY AND SWITCH OUT SCHOOL NAMES. If you're applying to five schools, write five different essays. They can have the same themes of course, but except for the first 100-200 words, the essays should all be different. Yes, it's more work. But just trust me, this is necessary. If you can't take the time to personalize an essay for a school, you probably shouldn't be applying to that school.
4. Portfolio. This is actually difficult to give tips on, because it is strongly subjective. But here are a few. Start it early. I started in June and it still felt like I didn't have enough time. You will go through many iterations, so give yourself enough time to get critiques and work through them properly. Rework certain drawings if they aren't as good as they should be. Same thing for renderings, hand drawings, etc. Five projects should be enough, and you shouldn't go over 25-30 spreads. Four quality projects is better than eight decent ones. Use InDesign. USE A GRID LAYOUT. Seriously, use a grid. Don't use more than two different typefaces (a good place to look at type pairings is fontsinuse.com). Whitespace. Lastly, don't just do one portfolio and hope that it fits for each submission. Some schools require it be 8.5x11, some say to have the portfolio formatted for digital viewing, some require you to print and mail and physical copy to the school. Make sure you know all of the requirements for each submission and follow the instructions exactly.
Hope this helps anyone looking to apply next year!
Hey guys,
Got some results and figured I'd share em.
-22/M/USA
-B.A. in Arts - Architecture / Lehigh University
-GPA:3.3
-Q157 V159 W5.0
-Portfolio: Message me if you'd like a link to it on issuu.com. Just a collection of student work from the last couple years of undergrad.
-Recommendations: 2 from undergrad professors, one from an old employer
In:
UPenn, Univ. of Michigan ($$), Washington Univ. in St. Louis ($$), Pratt, Univ. of Virginia ($)
Waiting to hear back:
Columbia, Cornell
congratulations on your acceptances. you must not be terrible like your username states.
- 22 / F / US
- B.S. Architectural Studies / Norwich University / 2016
- 3.7 GPA / GRE 164 V 155 Q 4 W
- Letter of recommendations - current employer, professor & university president
- Results (M.Arch I)
IN: Syracuse U (3-year, $8k annual, 12 credit reduction)
PENDING: UPenn & Princeton
OUT: GSD & UT Austin
- 24/F/Taiwan
- B.S Architecture/ 2017
- GPA 3.75/4.0 - GRE Q166 V153 AW3.5 - TOEFL105
- Letter of recommendations - from my current employer, university studio teacher, a German professor form my exchange program
- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, UC Berkeley, Cornell, UofT, University of Washington (All M.Arch I)
- In: UPenn(Waiting for fin-aid)
-Out: GSD
Still waiting to hear from other schools.
I'm still waiting to hear from UW as well. I was wait listed last year, and I received that email on 3/14. It looks like acceptances normally go out around this time, so hopefully we'll hear back soon. Best of luck.
@anxiouslywaiting looks like UW sent out emails about an hour ago
Yes! I received it! They're giving me an offer!! Really nice.
@frigidstars I hope you got an offer too
@anxiouslywaiting I did! UW is my top choice, so I'm ecstatic. Congratulations!
- 25/M/USA
- BS Architecture
- Letters of Rec: Professors/Studio Crit
-Program: MArch I
- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, MIT, UMichigan, Pratt, Syracuse, UMD
- IN: Syracuse (2-year, 16k for 1st year), Pratt (2-year, 15k/year), University of MD (2 -year)
- Out: GSD (rats...)
23/F/India
- B.Arch ( 5 years) 2017
- Letters of Rec: Professors / Employer
-Program: MAUD / MCP ( 2 year programs)
- Applied to schools: GSD, UPenn, GSAPP, MIT, Pratt, Cornell AAP, Berkeley
- IN: Upenn, GSD,Cornell AAP ,Pratt (2-year, 10k/year),
- Out: None yet
Did you apply to Cornell for the M. Arch I or M. Arch II course? I'm still waiting to hear from them!
Hi all.
Can anyone tell me about the program at WashU St.Louis ?
I’m looking for a program that is theoretical and research oriented. Any idea on the kind of research being conducted at the school ?
- 24/M/Asian-American
- B.S. in Architecture/2017
- GPA: 3.3/4.00
- GRE: V157/Q155/A4.5
- Currently: Working under one of my professors, funded design research on the side. Took a year off after graduation to improve my portfolio, study for the GRE, and anything else to mitigate my average GPA. It was also to make money for school as well as gain experience before I go back.
- Letter of recommendations: One from current principal/professor, three from former professors.
- Personal Essay/Statement: Requirements depended on the school. Some wanted close up to 1000 words while others wanted less than 500.
- Portfolio: School projects, one work project that I actually had a design role in, and graphics from a personal research project. It’s under construction (again) because I’m just never satisfied with it. Updates coming soon…
- Schools & Results:
In: University of Michigan (2 years, $15k/year); Cornell (3.5 years, $14k/year); UVA (2 years, $14k/year) All came with TA opportunities, but I'm not sure how common that is.
Out: UT Austin
Waitlist: None
Decision: Currently debating between Taubman and Cornell…
- Open house impressions: I haven’t gone to any yet. I’ll probably visit Cornell again since I’ve already visited Michigan and seen their student work.
- Financial aid: TBD...
- Tips:
First, Research all of the schools you want to go to or even THINK you’d like to go to. Start from the location and delve into curriculum, faculty, facilities, student work, etc.. As you start to narrow down your choices a bit, get a clear understanding of what the schools are all about and how it aligns with your interests. For example, if you’re interested in environmental sustainability, look for schools that place an emphasis on it in their curriculum. I have seen schools that don’t care for it and belittle it in some instances. This will help in preparing your application materials, such as the personal statement and portfolio. If it's possible, take a visit. Being there in person definitely beats looking through a computer screen. You may even be able to schedule an appointment with a director or someone in graduate programming and have them talk about the school and answer any questions you might have.
Second, a lot of people underestimate the process of choosing people for your letters of recommendation. First, think about how many schools you’ve narrowed down to. I don’t recommend asking a person for more than 3 letters because quality recommendations do take time and you’d prefer not to take too much of theirs. With that in mind, start listing people and how many letters to write to fulfill the required number per school. The more schools you have, the more people you need to seek out, which can often be difficult.
When seeking recommendors, make sure they know you personally. They’re the ones that can talk highly of you and refer many good qualities about you. If you feel the need to ask someone specific (maybe an alumni from your interested school, visiting professor, or your program director), but haven’t gotten to know them all that well, set up an appointment to talk about your interests and which schools you’re applying for. It’ll give them a better idea of where to go with the recommendation.
Another thing to keep in mind is WHEN to ask. Give them at least 3 months to write it. More thought can be put into it when they aren’t under a deadline pressure. AND MAKE SURE THEY DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Sending one in 2 -3 weeks late not only looks bad, but it slows down the application process because they have to go back and review yours again. Stay on their ass until you know they sent one. You might seem like you’re being annoying, but it’s your future we’re talking about.
Third, start your statement/essay EARLY. Get it done and have it revised multiple times. This is debatably just as important to your application as the portfolio. It personalizes your application and can potentially set you apart from other applicants. Each school had different aspects that interested me so I simply wrote separate ones for them explaining what I’m looking forward to, what I could gain from the experience, and what I can give back to the school as a student and as a professional in the future. DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE SCHOOLS. Committees can easily pick out generic bullshit and it shows that you aren’t that interested in them enough to write a custom statement.
Lastly, the portfolio…The portfolio is subjective so it’s going to be difficult to give generic tips for it in terms of design.
My #1 tip: START IT EARLY (duh). I had a previous version of my portfolio from the year before, but it wasn’t anywhere near presentable to graduate programs. I started mid-summer and told myself to stop a little before deadlines, but I still felt that it wasn’t enough. Getting different eyes to see it is beneficial too. I was still able to redo some drawings, renderings, and models. But again, not enough time for me personally...
In terms of content, five projects seem to be the average I’ve seen among my peers. One thing a graduate program director told me is that a personal project that isn’t architectural can put applicants at an advantage. It could include drawing (painting/sketching), photography, woodworking, graphic design, fashion, or any other personal design project. All in all, this should get you under 40 pages. Keep in mind the school’s requirements because they vary greatly. I’ve seen some places where they REQUIRE a minimum number of projects and others completely ignore page limits. My suggestion would be to have multiple digital versions of your portfolio to cater to each program. It’s not all that much more work. It’s simply a matter of putting in/taking out content.
InDesign is your best friend. It is specifically made for these kinds of things. A grid layout makes organizing ridiculously easy to do and is also easy on the eyes in terms of reading a page. Start with a 4-square and try a 9-square if you feel up for the task.
Hope this helps! I’m open to answer any questions so feel free to ask!
Did you just take the tips that I wrote and just reword some of it?
I had written this a little more than a week ago, but never had the chance to post it because I was so busy at work. I just ready your post and it does sound very similar to what I had posted.
This may be the funniest thing I've personally seen on this forum. Like, why?
I agree with all of your advice and I didn't realize it would sound so similar. I sincerely apologize if it seemed like I was piggybacking on top of your post.
Maybe you should take Renzo's Pianos advice (or your own as you claim) and 'DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE...' original poster.
I mean I really don't give a shit, it's just hilarious to me how you wrote it "a little more than a week ago" yet the tips are in the exact same order, and each one gives the exact same examples. The first, research, you talk about researching the exact same things in the same order as I did, and give an example of choosing schools based on environmental sustainability, as I did. The second, letters of rec, you talk about choosing professors you know personally and making sure they don't submit two weeks late, just like my post. The third, the essay, talks about submitting different letters to different schools, as I suggested, but then you literally all-caps the same exact sentence as I did in my post. And the fourth, the portfolio tip, talks about how it's too subject to give tips, as I did, among a number of other things like five projects is enough, using InDesign, using a grid, multiple versions to cater to each program, etc. Now these tips are actually useful, and I don't expect others to have never thought about them before my post, but come on man. You're not fooling anyone about how you wrote it over a week ago and it's essentially my post just reworded. It's laughably sad.
kinda makes you wonder where ke.bin.prk's portfolio content came from
Someone who has posted here before perhaps? Also, glad to have you back splines
love you call me mean it
but also: DO NOT WRITE A GENERIC ESSAY AND SWITCH OUT SCHOOL NAMES
I think you mean: DON’T JUST WRITE ONE ESSAY AND REPLACE THE NAMES OF THE SCHOOLS
also research all the schools!
...so that whoever you're paying to make your portfolio knows their audience
Renzo's Piano... it's not like your post was particularly nuanced either...
Exactly. Which is why it's funny because there was no reason to basically copy my post.
Renzo’s Piano, you are such a bully. Read your post above in the thread and thought, oh thanks for the tips. Saw you do this, and now I can’t take your tips seriously. You said you “didn’t care” then continued to spend time on this. Smh.
Does anyone know if Columbia GSAPP sends out letters in waves?
I see on gradcafe everyone is listed as accepted meanwhile my application status remains submitted. Does that mean chances are thin for acceptance or simply they haven't gotten to everyone yet?
Thanks
...nobody on gradcafe posted results from GSAPP's M.Arch program yet. You probably got confused from people getting into GSAPP's other programs.
Don't trip chocolate chip.
Im waiting for GSAPP as well. Seems they havent started sending M.Arch admission out yet. Some of my friends got into MAUD though.
one person posted an m.arch acceptance! getting extra nervous now, still waiting.
Sorry to clarify, I applied for the Advanced Architecture Design program...
really not sure what the chances are...
slim to nil, I’m afraid
I received an email yesterday that stated the status of my application had changed
- 25/F/Mexican- American
- B.S. in Architecture/2016
- MS Construction Management
- GPA: 3.06
- GRE: V148/Q147/A3.0
- Letter of recommendations: 3 Professors
-Experience - international firm in China and construction management.
- Personal Essay/Statement: Requirements depended on the school. Some wanted close up to 1000 words while others wanted less than 500.
- Portfolio: School projects, one work project that I actually had a design role in, and graphics from a personal research project. It’s under construction (again) because I’m just never satisfied with it. Updates coming soon…
- Schools & Results:
In:
UC Berkeley ( 10K fellowship year)
2 year University of Washington at St.Louis (25k/ Year)
Pratt (10K per semester)
Waiting on:
U Michigan
Sci-Arc
Out:
Yale
Amazing grades were not necessary, Portfolio! is all about that...
that must have been a hell of a portfolio. well done, congratulations.
got in to Columbia, no aid.... estimated cost of attendance 133k tho?????!!!
same boat lol
did you not know the cost of attendance before applying?
Obviously dude that’s where the aid part would come in you genius
so then you just wildly overestimated your chances of getting merit-based funding, got it
Didn’t overestimate shit, got funding from all the othe
r schools I applied, I was really trying to get the fellowship. What program did you apply for again?...
hahahaha,
“really trying” and “too busy to take the GRE” from the same applicant, priceless.
Hey Ill put an application together for you instead of you trying to live vicariously through us... that are actually doing something with our lives. Just send me your email ok, I love charity work
Btw did anyone get aid for the M.S.AAD program at Columbia?
I haven’t heard or seen anyone that did, I do have a friend that got into the MS AUD and he got a
id didn’t ask how much tho, what are your choices at the moment?
- 22/F/USA
- Bachelor's of Environmental Design 2017
- GPA - 3.8
- GRE - 162Q/156V/4.0W
- Letter of recommendations - 2 past studio professors, 1 past employer, (+ for GSAPP - 1 past prof who attended gsapp)
- Portfolio - 5 projects from undergrad studios
- Results
In:
- Columbia GSAPP (no aid)
- Pratt (2 year, $20k/year)
- UT Austin (2.5 year, funding TBA)
Still waiting on: Princeton
Ok, I figured I would post to give some hope to people without arch backgrounds haha.
- 24/F/NZ
- BA in Computer Science (US college), 2016
- GPA: 3.67, GRE: 166V / 170Q / 4.5A
- Letter of recommendations: 1 from college CS professor, 1 from college English professor, 1 from Berkeley [IN]Arch instructor
- Personal Essay/Statement - Portfolio: My portfolio was 1/2 stuff I did during the Berkeley [IN]Arch program, and half visual arts stuff that I do in my spare time (photography, painting, prints, and sculpture)
- Schools: University of Tokyo (in), UCLA AUD (in, in-state tuition grant), UC Berkeley (in, 30k fellowship), Columbia GSAPP (in, 18k fellowship), MIT (waiting)
- Tips: I think attending a summer program like [IN]Arch helped me a lot as someone without an architecture background, but also don't lose hope if you are someone with nontraditional background even though you can't find many examples online of what applications look like from these sorts of applicants, just share your story and maybe the schools will find you interesting enough to accept you :)
Honestly, your post gave me some hope for this track. I'm coming from a history, languages and cultures degree (a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies... I'm not out of undergrad long enough for me to regret my decision but I'm slowly starting to now) and I've wanted to do architecture for a long time, but because of family I was not allowed to do anything that was considered 'artsy' or something that 'wouldn't give me a stable job' (the irony is not lost on me) and architecture was not something I was allowed to do for the longest time until now, so I'm essentially starting from scratch. Thanks for posting this, and good luck in the rest of your endeavors!
LHi friends!
Everybody here that are in GSAPP (by the way, congrats!), anyone is MS AAD?? I applied for MS AAD and still my application status remain submitted... so anxious. And now wait until Monday
Hey ! I received my acceptance letter yesterday, if that helps. Same program, MS AAD. But, as far as I can see from what people say, such a delay for your letter is not necessarily negative! Keep your hopes up and good luck!
Thanks for your reply and honestly congratulations! When you tell letter, you mean post letter? Or just email?
thank you! no, just email. But I guess I received an email notification because I am from Europe so I wouldn't receive a post letter (?) - I have read about US applicants who received post letters or even direct phone calls.
Got into M.S.AAD too! Try to figure out how to pay for it lol
Congratulations ! Argh, I know the struggle - I am going through this phase now as well. But you are lucky, most of the forums here appear to be about GSAPP and its tuition so there is tons of information about it. Still, congratulations!!
Yea this no aid thing is really a bummer but I’m going to NYC to try to figure this out in person
This is by far the best thing you can do. Are you going to bargain for a financial aid?
They said that financial aid went out with our letters, but they have assistanships which I wanna know more about, it’s about 10k per semester minimum working 10hrs, that’s easy, a
nd then see if there’s something we are missing, like a late scholarship or something, anything helps
Europe? Me too! Spain. So for this I asked, I was wondering if they send until here (in fact I live in Japan), then I will be waiting the email. And where are you from?
So you will study there?
Thanks for the info friend
In any case, you will receive an email so don't think too much about it - my personal advice is to not wait for anything because it will drive you nuts, the whole anxiety and anticipation. Japan? Where, if I may ask? I used to work in Tokyo aaand I am from Greece. As for whether I am going to be studying there, I seriously don't know - haven't made up my mind yet, still examining my options. And don't even mention it, glad I had some info to share with you!
Age/Sex/Citizenship
24/M/USA
- B.S. Arch 2016
- GPA: 3.8
- GRE: 159v / 152m / 4.5 writing
- Letter of recommendations - 1 principal, 2 professors
- Personal Essay/Statement
Generally wrote about gentrification, tailored the situation to each school
- Portfolio
3-4 school projects, photography, sketches. 30 pages in total
- Schools
IN:
UT Austin - 40k/year
USC - 28k/year
UVA - 25k/year
Oregon - no funding info yet, anyone know when to expect?
These were the only schools I applied to so pretty happy with that.
- Results (the school you plan to attend, waitlist, rejection.)
I am hoping for a good amount of funding from Oregon, and would actually like to try USC if they offered a little more funding (LA is expensive lol). UT is definitely looking attractive though
- Tips
I think honesty and being genuine in applications can actually be beneficial. In my statement of purpose I wrote why I felt this way about my topic, and why it matters in the long run. I steered clear of typical architectural buzzwords which can come across as pretentiuos and made sure not to write about how I love architecture because I played with legos as a kid.
You were offered $40k/year to a school that costs $19k/year? Sure you did.
http://finaid.utexas.edu/financialaid/costs.html
it covers most of tuition, living stipend, and health care
Are you really doubling down on this? UTSOA literally never gives out that much money. You are lying.
Remember guys, "honesty and being genuine" is beneficial... lol
holy shit, $8,230 - $9,509 for a year of UT-Austin?? and to think someone else on this board wants to spend 100k per year for GSAAP
That is also inaccurate; GSAPP tuition is $50k/year (http://sfs.columbia.edu/content/cost-attendance-architecture). They're very different schools operating at different levels with regard to faculty, resources, pedagogical approach, and urban environment, so there's an argument to be made that a GSAPP education has greater value that should be reflected in the tuition. Whether it should be 5x as much is another question entirely.
my 2c: cost/quality is basically your only metric if you have to take out massive loans b.c. you weren't good enough to get merit based aid. and personally i'd take UTSOA over GSAAP even if the funding was equal
I guess if you want a far weaker faculty, far less talented peers, a far crappier city, and a program that has barely been updated since the 1970s, UTSOA would be the way to go. It's not that it's bad, it's just incredibly behind the times and proud of it.
No id just prefer not to pay 5x for an M.Arch 1 at an institution that hasn’t done much since tschumi left, with garbage, overcrowded facilities, comparable faculty...and let’s be real, Austin>NYC as a place to live by virtually every metric.
you would rather go to UTA over GSAAP even if funding was equal........ what world do we live in. Im sure you could make that comparison ifyou were extremely interested in the work being produced by UTA, but their not producing any work thats new or beyond interesting..... or if one program was soooooo avant garde that they might deter someone from going.......and GSAAP is far from that.....so in those regards im rather concerned for you.
I'm from Austin and I'd much rather live in NYC. It's almost like people can have different opinions and priorities. And you're moving goalposts; one minute you say you'd choose UTSOA even if the funding were equal, and the next you say you wouldn't pay 5x the tuition.
And if you think GSAPP's facilities are overcrowded, you clearly haven't visited UTSOA recently. They're doing their best, but they just don't have the resources to keep up with the top schools in terms of fabrication...or anything else.
As for "comparable faculty," that's a joke (who at UTSOA is on the level of Frampton, Tschumi, Holl, Prince-Ramus, Benjamin, Ishigami, Jaque, Tsurumaki, etc.?). And what new ground has UTSOA broken in the era since Tschumi left Columbia? Or since the 1950s for that matter?
yes, i would chose UTSOA over GSAAP for the m.arch one then swing back and get an m.arch II/M.E.D/MDes at the ivy of my choice, because then i'd actually have the flexibility to tailor my research agenda to a specific faculty member or agenda present at the school.
Moving goalposts? No. Neither of my positions are mutually exclusive. I personally would not pay 5x for GSAAP or even the same, over UTSOA. As this has clearly always been about my personal preference and not a manifesto, I like UTSOA's focus on material tectonics and history. I don't give a shit about new and novel techniques in and of themselves.
But thanks for being good forum police and drawing out the choice structure for a hypothetical set of circumstances I will never find myself in (I go to the GSD).
Cool. We were all waiting with baited breath to find out what your personal preferences on
graduate school would be.
jamesherm is proof cyber bullying is still alive and well.....smh reading these posts.
.
Acceptance from Princeton and Columbia (M.Arch I)
Update: Princeton - Full Scholarship
Is your portfolio online?
Why, so you and others can copy it?
Fascinating question coming from you, splinesbetweentheplace
I would love to see this portfolio!
So Kash, after all those portfolio posts, did you get in?
he posted an update yesterday here
https://archinect.com/forum/thread/150034970/last-portfolio-critique
Did anyone get into GSD and what's the deal with financial aid or grants?
Financial aid should already be posted. As for grants (I could be wrong) but I'm pretty sure you would know by now if you received one.
is it possible to apply for it now? would it be too late
I'm not 100% sure, but I recall the deadline was sometime in February.... you should have gotten an email about applying for it in January.
yikes
- Age/Sex/Citizenship
22/M/Vietnam
Urban Studies/University of California, Irvine/ 2018
- GPA: 3.44
- GRE : V: 146, Q: 150, A: 3.5
- Letter of recommendations - 3 professors from the current undergrad school.
- Personal Essay/Statement : ~700 words. Though some schools have different requirements about the length, I kept the essay consistently in one page.
- Portfolio: 2 academic works, some sketches, paintings, photography, and one big model of an Asian town made out of matches. Total 22 pages.
- Schools:
IN: Wash U (14K/Year), USC (5.5K/Year), UC Denver. All M. Arch +3
Out: None
- Open house impressions: Planning to attend Wash U's on Mar. 22.
- Tips: For M. Arch +3 future applicants: Try your best. Keep your portfolio and essay consistent with your interests. Try to create a theme. Mine was about an image of a corncob and how that drew me to the topics of sustainability, ambience design, urbanism, and affordable housing issues. Try to make your essay and portfolio unique with a certain theme, but don't get too far away from the main discussion, which should be about you and your interests. And "don't stress over creating an 'architecture' portfolio" (Thanks SpatialSojourner for that!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honestly though, I wasn't expecting I would be admitted, so those 3 schools are the only schools I applied. Still don't know which school to accept between Wash U and USC, though. Any advice would be nice!
has anyone received any news from MIT SMarchS ?
I think the admissions committee got buried in snow.
Lol I guess
is there anyone still waiting GSAPP MArch results?
or they've already sent all out?
All sent out. Same with waitlist. You didn't get in. Deal with it. Move on.
Same here waiting. Are you sure they ve been all sent out? I thought there would be another round.
Anyone knows if being waitlist, will the schools send a letter to inform? Or just nothing? Still haven't heard from Cornell and GSAPP. Not sure if im being rejected or waitlist.
And when is the waitlist deadline?
When the school officially rejects you, you will see a change in your status on the application portal. Usually they will email you once that happens. If the school has already sent out acceptances and waitlist notifications the chances of you being accepted are slim to nil. You should start preparing your mind for a rejection from those schools.
It is worth saying that there is still a chance to be waitlisted. I did not hear from UWash when they sent acceptances, but received a spot on the wait list a week after they sent acceptances. So there is still a chance if you didn't hear during their first round.
Thank you guys for ur info.Just got a rejection from GSAPP. :( Guess the same thing from Cornell.
- Age/Sex/Citizenship
22/F/Canadian
BA in Architectural Studies at University of Toronto
- GPA: 2.94
- GRE : V: 150, Q: 165, A: 3.5
- Letter of recommendations - 2 studio professors, 1 professor from business school and 1 employer.
- Personal Essay/Statement : 500 words
- Portfolio: 1 revised academic work, 3 competition, and 1 AAVS work
- Schools:
IN: Penndesign (10k/yr), Wash U (18k/yr)
Rejected:
GSD, GSAPP
Nothing from Cornell but I guess will be a rejection
Decision: Penndesign
congrats!
__
Hey has anyone been waitlisted for UC Berkeley? How likely is it to get admitted if you are on waitlist?
are you talking about MArch I or Studio One?
The master of urban design (MUD) course actually.
I see. Of course this is just my personal opinion but, since the MUD is a pretty common choice for applicants who, as I have seen in multiple forums, are usually applying for other prestigious programs as well and therefore often decline offers, being on waitlist is not the end of the world, you still have chances of getting in! It all depends on where exactly you are in the waitlist - something that, again by reading what people say about it, unfortunately you will not know.
Yess, exactly, no information makes is worse contemplating! But nevertheless, hoping for the best!
still waiting on Michigan and Berkeley.. has anyone heard back yet? I know Michigan set out their decisions already... ?
I think Michigan has sent out all their decisions already :/ heard back from them at beginning of March
----
you should receive an email with your status + check if you have any financial aid documentation. If not, I'd say your not in luck
delete
delet this
delet this
24 / M / UK
BArch / University of Dundee / 2015
3.84 / 163V 163Q 4.5W
2 academic references (from my tutor and year 3 head) and two professional references.
Statement was on the shorter side; kept it neat and precise as to my targets. 30 page landscape format portfolio; mix of academic work, own work, and professional work.
Applied to GSD and MIT - this is the second time I've applied to MIT
Rejected from GSD, accepted to MIT (half-tuition fellowship).
I'm very wary of accruing any sort of debt from this - especially coming from Scotland where our tuition is free for your first degree. So although I'm overjoyed at getting into MIT, I'm not allowing myself to get too excited until my finances have been sorted out. To that end I've contacted MIT to ask about what sort of extra routes are available (TA-ship / research assistant-ship etc) to offset the rest of the costs, so we shall see in due course!
I'm currently working in Mumbai, so I can't really afford the trip to the open house, but c'est la vie! Perhaps I'll see some of you in the 'fall' if all goes well? :)
May I ask, to which MIT program did you apply?
Ah, forgot to mention! To both GSD and MIT it was the MArch 1.
Congrats!
fwiw, mit likes you now, they'll probably still like you if you come back in a few years for a post professional program, where you generally have greater freedom to tailor your curriculum; often times you can get more aid/research awards in this setting vs. an MArch 1.
Thanks mikiji, and fair point Dangermouse, though I don't see myself aiming towards any sort of extra degree after my post-grad. At least not for the foreseeable future.