So just as a discussion point here, I find it quite interesting the discrepancies between funding of international students at my new grad school versus local domestic students. So I am a US undergrad and I received only a limited amount of aid. I am the minority in my grad school with almost 70-80% being foreign students coming from mostly Indian and asian countries. In discussing with my classmates it seems that many of them are on full scholarships with living expenses included. The work we have done is fairly comparable in design and many of the foreign students do not have knowledge of rhino or adobe.
**I'm only partially disgruntled here as I went through undergrad in a similar fashion and am a firm believer that financial scholarships for many cases should not only be classified by your parents income but most primarily merit earned awards. I don't think I deserve anything. But obviously that gets into a lot of politics which is besides that point.
In all this talk with parents paying top dollars to get their kids into schools, I feel like this type of scheming is already happening here when you think about the college admissions and funding that goes on behind the scenes. Just a thought.
SpontaneousCombustion
Aug 27, 19 8:49 pm
It depends a lot of the type of university. What you're describing is typical of grad programs at a lot of middle-of-the-pack public universities - whereas the model of who gets more aid is flipped at many private universities, and sometimes at the most top-tier public ones as well. It has to do with what categories of students those middle of the pack schools are trying to attract, and what categories are applying in droves. Basically if you think of students as inventory, they're overstocked on your type of applicant, so they don't need to throw as much aid at you to make sure enough of you enroll. Meanwhile the Ivies are inundated by applications from international students, because those are the programs with international name-brand recognition - so those programs don't tend to fund as many international students as well, because they don't need to. This is one of the reasons that some US students find that they get a much more affordable deal at a private university with a higher sticker price, than at a public university that they initially assume will be less expensive.
Regardless of what type of school one attends, Rhino and Adobe skills factor into virtually no financial aid or merit grant decisions anywhere.
bluearchitect1
Aug 28, 19 1:10 pm
right these are all good points. It just seems like if demographics don't matter than they shouldn't play such a huge role in college admissions/aid across all disciplines but definitely not in architecture. What I meant by the lack of technology skills was merely saying this in relation to representation of design. Many of the foreign students do not know how to represent their work. Some have never built 3d models, nor have the ability to draw physically with paper and pen. And while i don't believe that knowledge of software leads to good designers, a prominent aspect of architecture requires you to be able to communicate ideas effectively. And while my own skills are lacking in many areas, I was surprised that so many of the foreign students did not know how to show these in their portfolios. Many simply had a collection of auto cad drawn floorpans and sections.
sameolddoctor
Aug 28, 19 6:29 pm
Really? I think you must be looking at the portfolios of the worst students in your class. I was in a similar category and from one of the countries you mentioned, but I had a very good portfolio that didnt consist of just CAD drawings, lol.
That said, I did not receive any assistance whatsoever (I went to UCLA), but students that had more relevant experience and better portfolios did. So I think Spontaneous is right, your school is looking to attract more out-of-country students, so once their names gets solidified, then can start withholding the assistance years from now and milk them way more...
joseffischer
Aug 28, 19 6:59 am
Forget about aid from your point of view (the recipient) and start thinking of aid like a bunch of piggy banks. There are funds that exist that require certain specifications and require certain positions/organizations to tap into the funds. I found that many groups exist at the "here's $1000" level that wish to give directly to students and require that students apply (typically with a 500-1000 word brief). I could spend an hour looking up the people who wanted to give money (typically to a certain type of student), way less time if it was obvious that I didn't fit their type, and then spend about 15 minutes writing patronizing language that supported their belief system about how the world worked. About a month later, presto, I'm $1k richer. Separately, there are funds to be spent post-acceptance at the graduate level, typically for niche positions like "structures TA" that also can't be given to the initial crop of students as they typically don't have the background to warrant the position. These are what I would consider "hail-mary" passes and directly involve your relationship with the instructor. Finally, there's always side-hustle work, usually also for instructors. Fair warning, many instructors have no qualms on taking full credit and not paying you, so get everything in writing before hand.
Good luck!
SunnyWes
Dec 25, 20 4:21 pm
As for me, it's related to a type of university very much. You just need to find a qualitative and reliable bunch in this field, nothing more. To be honest, I am not very savvy in this question, sorry, please. I have one intriguing question for you. I need some money before New Yea. My friend suggested me to visit a few resources in order to do it. Can you tell me https://yourmoneygeek.com/earn...how to get free gift cards here? I am browsing such sites for the first time ever, maybe you are more experienced in it...
So just as a discussion point here, I find it quite interesting the discrepancies between funding of international students at my new grad school versus local domestic students. So I am a US undergrad and I received only a limited amount of aid. I am the minority in my grad school with almost 70-80% being foreign students coming from mostly Indian and asian countries. In discussing with my classmates it seems that many of them are on full scholarships with living expenses included. The work we have done is fairly comparable in design and many of the foreign students do not have knowledge of rhino or adobe.
**I'm only partially disgruntled here as I went through undergrad in a similar fashion and am a firm believer that financial scholarships for many cases should not only be classified by your parents income but most primarily merit earned awards. I don't think I deserve anything. But obviously that gets into a lot of politics which is besides that point.
In all this talk with parents paying top dollars to get their kids into schools, I feel like this type of scheming is already happening here when you think about the college admissions and funding that goes on behind the scenes. Just a thought.
It depends a lot of the type of university. What you're describing is typical of grad programs at a lot of middle-of-the-pack public universities - whereas the model of who gets more aid is flipped at many private universities, and sometimes at the most top-tier public ones as well. It has to do with what categories of students those middle of the pack schools are trying to attract, and what categories are applying in droves. Basically if you think of students as inventory, they're overstocked on your type of applicant, so they don't need to throw as much aid at you to make sure enough of you enroll. Meanwhile the Ivies are inundated by applications from international students, because those are the programs with international name-brand recognition - so those programs don't tend to fund as many international students as well, because they don't need to. This is one of the reasons that some US students find that they get a much more affordable deal at a private university with a higher sticker price, than at a public university that they initially assume will be less expensive.
Regardless of what type of school one attends, Rhino and Adobe skills factor into virtually no financial aid or merit grant decisions anywhere.
right these are all good points. It just seems like if demographics don't matter than they shouldn't play such a huge role in college admissions/aid across all disciplines but definitely not in architecture. What I meant by the lack of technology skills was merely saying this in relation to representation of design. Many of the foreign students do not know how to represent their work. Some have never built 3d models, nor have the ability to draw physically with paper and pen. And while i don't believe that knowledge of software leads to good designers, a prominent aspect of architecture requires you to be able to communicate ideas effectively. And while my own skills are lacking in many areas, I was surprised that so many of the foreign students did not know how to show these in their portfolios. Many simply had a collection of auto cad drawn floorpans and sections.
Really? I think you must be looking at the portfolios of the worst students in your class. I was in a similar category and from one of the countries you mentioned, but I had a very good portfolio that didnt consist of just CAD drawings, lol.
That said, I did not receive any assistance whatsoever (I went to UCLA), but students that had more relevant experience and better portfolios did. So I think Spontaneous is right, your school is looking to attract more out-of-country students, so once their names gets solidified, then can start withholding the assistance years from now and milk them way more...
Forget about aid from your point of view (the recipient) and start thinking of aid like a bunch of piggy banks. There are funds that exist that require certain specifications and require certain positions/organizations to tap into the funds. I found that many groups exist at the "here's $1000" level that wish to give directly to students and require that students apply (typically with a 500-1000 word brief). I could spend an hour looking up the people who wanted to give money (typically to a certain type of student), way less time if it was obvious that I didn't fit their type, and then spend about 15 minutes writing patronizing language that supported their belief system about how the world worked. About a month later, presto, I'm $1k richer. Separately, there are funds to be spent post-acceptance at the graduate level, typically for niche positions like "structures TA" that also can't be given to the initial crop of students as they typically don't have the background to warrant the position. These are what I would consider "hail-mary" passes and directly involve your relationship with the instructor. Finally, there's always side-hustle work, usually also for instructors. Fair warning, many instructors have no qualms on taking full credit and not paying you, so get everything in writing before hand.
Good luck!
As for me, it's related to a type of university very much. You just need to find a qualitative and reliable bunch in this field, nothing more. To be honest, I am not very savvy in this question, sorry, please. I have one intriguing question for you. I need some money before New Yea. My friend suggested me to visit a few resources in order to do it. Can you tell me https://yourmoneygeek.com/earn...how to get free gift cards here? I am browsing such sites for the first time ever, maybe you are more experienced in it...