Please if anyone knows answer. Do any Ivy league MArch program will reject me if i already have masters degree in architecture restoration?
Gloominati
Jul 31, 19 9:51 am
No, no program is going to reject you because you already have a master degree. There are often a number of people in each class who already have graduate degrees - sometimes in related fields and sometimes in other professions.
You keep posting these threads about things that might get you rejected from an Ivy League M.Arch program (GPA, having another graduate degree, having an undergrad degree from a foreign university, etc.) - and none of the things you've posted are likely to pose problems. I don't intend this to be mean or snarky, but what is going to be the real and biggest obstacle to your admission to any of these programs is your lack of fluency in English. Some of your posts are nearly incoherent (and no university is going to admit you if you can't spell its name correctly.) Even assuming you score well enough on whatever language test(s) each program requires, it would be apparent in your application materials that you aren't strong enough in the language to fare well. If attending an Ivy M.Arch program is really that critically important to you, you're going to need to improve your language skills dramatically before you apply. I'd suggest holding off for a year or two, and in the meantime enrolling in some sort of language intensive, and finding situations in which you can practice speaking and writing. You should also find someone fluent in English to proofread all your application materials.
TJ 1995
Jul 31, 19 9:56 am
Thank you very much for honest answer. I really appreciate it.
Non Sequitur
Jul 31, 19 3:38 pm
TJ, I got your DM but I'll choose to reply here for the benefit of everyone.
First, everyone wants to apply to the top schools so even though, as other already noted, your GPA might get you consideration, it's not enough to get you accepted as their is healthy competition for a finite amount of spots. What matters are your portfolio and reference letters. You claim to already have a master degree in architecture preservation... why bother with an expensive US degree?
TJ 1995
Aug 1, 19 6:45 am
In my country, if i do not have Regular MArch I can,t work as an architect.(I got MS with honors at architectural preservation for personal reasons) And i can,t get !!!good!!! job without US diploma. This is my reality. The questions I am aking and bothering people is because i am not a dreamer and want realistic opinion. That is why i want to specify every detail. If i have chance at least a 30%. If second degree isan obstacle and so on. BTW Thank you for your response.
TJ 1995
Aug 1, 19 7:07 am
Both my BA and MS was founded by goverment for high academic achievements in National exams. I hope that They will fund US education to.(Its is common practice)
kjdt
Jul 31, 19 3:46 pm
From the persistence and repetition of this person's topics, it seems like he wants someone to tell him that one of these factors he's raising is indeed the make-or-break thing that's going to keep him from being admitted. I don't know how many threads besides his own have all the same advice and personal anecdotes about how GPA isn't usually a major factor and that lots of people, including some forum regulars, have gotten into top-ranked programs with 3.2 GPAs because they had good portfolios and good references - but it's like he doesn't want to believe it and wants somebody to crush his dreams by telling him no: any GPA below 3.875 is too low; having another masters degree is an automatic disqualification; and nobody gets in without an undergraduate degree from a Top 10 US college. There, does that help?
TJ 1995
Aug 1, 19 6:53 am
I apologize if i bothered you. Just i am not a dreamer and wanted a realistic opinion. I have read a lots fo stories about people who said they got into e.g. Harvard with 3.0 GPA, whereas other people says it is imposibble unless you have 5 or 6 years of experience, or just imposible and etc. That is why i searched if there was actually someone who actually gone through all this. And if they did i has some questions how they did and etc.
TJ 1995
Aug 1, 19 6:56 am
It is like if I have REAL chance i will try and if i do not i won'
t.
Non Sequitur
Aug 1, 19 7:38 am
TJ, post a link to your portifolio and you’ll get a better critique of your chances.
Fivescore
Aug 1, 19 10:08 am
The people who say they got into Harvard with a 3.0 GPA are most likely telling you the truth. I got accepted to Harvard (didn't choose them) and two other highly-ranked M.Arch programs, with a GPA barely above that - and I was by far not the only one in my class who did. I was rejected by Princeton - maybe it was because of my GPA, but I'll never know for sure - maybe they just didn't like my portfolio cover. The people who are telling you it's impossible come from three categories: 1) those who were rejected, and decided their less-than-4.0 GPA was the reason; and 2) those with high GPAs who were accepted and assumed everybody else in their class pretty much had exactly the same stats; and 3) those who have no idea what they're talking about because they neither applied to nor attended any of the universities in question, but like to frequent forums and pontificate on any and all subjects. This forum has at least a few regulars from each of these categories. As for needing 5 or 6 years of experience: for the most part the schools you've been mentioning don't weigh professional experience as mandatory, and many people get in with little to no professional experience. If the experience was with a firm with strong connections to that architecture school and someone with name-recognition there can provide a strong reference letter then that could definitely help an application. But 5 or 6 years of experience at a firm they haven't heard of doesn't usually make you any more attractive of a candidate than someone with no experience at all.
TJ 1995
Aug 1, 19 10:17 am
Thank you very much. So it is possible without any connections too? So you are saying that Portfolio is the main?
Fivescore
Aug 1, 19 11:17 am
Your portfolio matters a lot. I would estimate it to be about 50% of the equation (in other words, if your portfolio isn't strong then absolutely every one of your other application parts would have to be well above average). Your reference letters and your statement of purpose are also very important - they're probably worth about 40% combined. GPA and GRE scores (and test of English as a 2nd language, if applicable) make up the other 10%. It will be noticed if those scores are especially low, but it tends not to matter much what they are if they're above the minimum. I'm not counting your CV/resume separately in this math - I'm considering it to be part of your portfolio. It can definitely help if any of your reference letters are from people with ties to or familiar to the university - but it's not an absolute deal killer if you don't have those kinds of connections. Particularly with international students it's not as if everybody can be expected to have letters from an alum or professor from that university, or from a well-known architect. It's most important that the letters be from people who know you well enough to write specifically about your creative work and about how you'll be a good choice for that program. Usually former teachers/professors are strongest, and it looks strange if none of your letters at all are from them, but recent employers, people from places at which you've volunteered, people who are on boards or committees with you, etc. can also be helpful.
TJ 1995
Aug 1, 19 11:39 am
Thank you again. I will upload my Portfolio for comments. Also, I appreciate your assistance l because you are telling from your personal experience and with all due respect I hope it is real.
Please if anyone knows answer. Do any Ivy league MArch program will reject me if i already have masters degree in architecture restoration?
No, no program is going to reject you because you already have a master degree. There are often a number of people in each class who already have graduate degrees - sometimes in related fields and sometimes in other professions.
You keep posting these threads about things that might get you rejected from an Ivy League M.Arch program (GPA, having another graduate degree, having an undergrad degree from a foreign university, etc.) - and none of the things you've posted are likely to pose problems. I don't intend this to be mean or snarky, but what is going to be the real and biggest obstacle to your admission to any of these programs is your lack of fluency in English. Some of your posts are nearly incoherent (and no university is going to admit you if you can't spell its name correctly.) Even assuming you score well enough on whatever language test(s) each program requires, it would be apparent in your application materials that you aren't strong enough in the language to fare well. If attending an Ivy M.Arch program is really that critically important to you, you're going to need to improve your language skills dramatically before you apply. I'd suggest holding off for a year or two, and in the meantime enrolling in some sort of language intensive, and finding situations in which you can practice speaking and writing. You should also find someone fluent in English to proofread all your application materials.
Thank you very much for honest answer. I really appreciate it.
TJ, I got your DM but I'll choose to reply here for the benefit of everyone.
First, everyone wants to apply to the top schools so even though, as other already noted, your GPA might get you consideration, it's not enough to get you accepted as their is healthy competition for a finite amount of spots. What matters are your portfolio and reference letters. You claim to already have a master degree in architecture preservation... why bother with an expensive US degree?
In my country, if i do not have Regular MArch I can,t work as an architect.(I got MS with honors at architectural preservation for personal reasons) And i can,t get !!!good!!! job without US diploma. This is my reality. The questions I am aking and bothering people is because i am not a dreamer and want realistic opinion. That is why i want to specify every detail. If i have chance at least a 30%. If second degree isan obstacle and so on. BTW Thank you for your response.
Both my BA and MS was founded by goverment for high academic achievements in National exams. I hope that They will fund US education to.(Its is common practice)
From the persistence and repetition of this person's topics, it seems like he wants someone to tell him that one of these factors he's raising is indeed the make-or-break thing that's going to keep him from being admitted. I don't know how many threads besides his own have all the same advice and personal anecdotes about how GPA isn't usually a major factor and that lots of people, including some forum regulars, have gotten into top-ranked programs with 3.2 GPAs because they had good portfolios and good references - but it's like he doesn't want to believe it and wants somebody to crush his dreams by telling him no: any GPA below 3.875 is too low; having another masters degree is an automatic disqualification; and nobody gets in without an undergraduate degree from a Top 10 US college. There, does that help?
I apologize if i bothered you. Just i am not a dreamer and wanted a realistic opinion. I have read a lots fo stories about people who said they got into e.g. Harvard with 3.0 GPA, whereas other people says it is imposibble unless you have 5 or 6 years of experience, or just imposible and etc. That is why i searched if there was actually someone who actually gone through all this. And if they did i has some questions how they did and etc.
It is like if I have REAL chance i will try and if i do not i won' t.
TJ, post a link to your portifolio and you’ll get a better critique of your chances.
The people who say they got into Harvard with a 3.0 GPA are most likely telling you the truth. I got accepted to Harvard (didn't choose them) and two other highly-ranked M.Arch programs, with a GPA barely above that - and I was by far not the only one in my class who did. I was rejected by Princeton - maybe it was because of my GPA, but I'll never know for sure - maybe they just didn't like my portfolio cover.
The people who are telling you it's impossible come from three categories: 1) those who were rejected, and decided their less-than-4.0 GPA was the reason; and 2) those with high GPAs who were accepted and assumed everybody else in their class pretty much had exactly the same stats; and 3) those who have no idea what they're talking about because they neither applied to nor attended any of the universities in question, but like to frequent forums and pontificate on any and all subjects. This forum has at least a few regulars from each of these categories.
As for needing 5 or 6 years of experience: for the most part the schools you've been mentioning don't weigh professional experience as mandatory, and many people get in with little to no professional experience. If the experience was with a firm with strong connections to that architecture school and someone with name-recognition there can provide a strong reference letter then that could definitely help an application. But 5 or 6 years of experience at a firm they haven't heard of doesn't usually make you any more attractive of a candidate than someone with no experience at all.
Thank you very much. So it is possible without any connections too? So you are saying that Portfolio is the main?
Your portfolio matters a lot. I would estimate it to be about 50% of the equation (in other words, if your portfolio isn't strong then absolutely every one of your other application parts would have to be well above average). Your reference letters and your statement of purpose are also very important - they're probably worth about 40% combined. GPA and GRE scores (and test of English as a 2nd language, if applicable) make up the other 10%. It will be noticed if those scores are especially low, but it tends not to matter much what they are if they're above the minimum. I'm not counting your CV/resume separately in this math - I'm considering it to be part of your portfolio.
It can definitely help if any of your reference letters are from people with ties to or familiar to the university - but it's not an absolute deal killer if you don't have those kinds of connections. Particularly with international students it's not as if everybody can be expected to have letters from an alum or professor from that university, or from a well-known architect. It's most important that the letters be from people who know you well enough to write specifically about your creative work and about how you'll be a good choice for that program. Usually former teachers/professors are strongest, and it looks strange if none of your letters at all are from them, but recent employers, people from places at which you've volunteered, people who are on boards or committees with you, etc. can also be helpful.
Thank you again. I will upload my Portfolio for comments. Also, I appreciate your assistance l because you are telling from your personal experience and with all due respect I hope it is real.