Hi everyone, I've been browsing the posts here but still haven't really gotten a definite answer to my question.
I applied to Ryerson, McGill and Waterloo for architecture. I have yet to hear from any of them, but barring that fact, which school do you think is the best?
As of right now, I'm looking mainly at McGill or Waterloo, and I have likes and dislikes for both of them.
McGill is first of all a very reputable university and is in Montreal, where I would love to live. However I really don't want that factor to define my education choice, and I have yet to visit McGill so I don't know all too much about their program.
Waterloo on the other hand has co-op, a term in Rome, and overall a great rep too. On the downside, it's in Cambridge lol, and I would also like to be a part of the nordic skiing team which I wouldn't be able to do with Waterloo because Cambridge is a good hour away from the main campus.
I mean, I guess when it comes down to it there are only so many universities in the area that offer this program, so unlike a program such as engineering its hard to say this one is the best or that one is the best. How much of a difference would you say going to either McGill or Waterloo would make? I was initially looking at US schools but unfortunately money is a major factor there. However I will most likely leave the country for my Masters degree.
Any input and comments are appreciated!
Thanks!
HiHellogoodbye
May 2, 08 4:30 pm
Good luck and hope you the best. I kind of want to meet you, so get into Carleton!
Preston890
May 2, 08 4:32 pm
haha thanks! If not architecture i hope to get into law, my best friend is up there for criminology and loves ottawa so ive got my fingers crossed.
rarch16
May 2, 08 5:54 pm
does anyone know if carleton is uping their enrollment 100 now, or just bits at a time over the five years?
rarch16
May 2, 08 6:07 pm
wow i feel like sick to my stomach waiting, this sucks...
i have a feeling that if we haven't heard yet we aren't getting in
oh well, i guess its Ryerson arch for me.. =(
Preston890
May 2, 08 6:15 pm
Hey I haven't even gotten any arch possitives, if I don't get into carleton for arch its law or honours math for me :S
Preston890
May 2, 08 6:55 pm
Rarch: someone on here said that carleton was sending out monday so maybe they're still sending em, either way I'm calling in on monday to ask if its not yet up on carleton central
rarch16
May 2, 08 7:00 pm
yeah i was the one that said monday
because that is what the guy told me, because he said the official date was may 3... so he said it'd probably be monday since thats a saturday...so i hope your right.
Preston890
May 2, 08 7:01 pm
Me too, if I'm not in I need to know asap before all the law spots get filled
rarch16
May 2, 08 7:04 pm
i just am so unsure about the ryerson program/the school in general..i really don't know what to think about that....
Preston890
May 2, 08 7:07 pm
Yeah personally carleton rates above ryerson for me. Actually my order was carleton arch, waterloo arch, carleon law, waterloo math and then ryerson lol
rarch16
May 2, 08 7:10 pm
yeah
basically.
my situation was that last year i applied for architecture schools and didn't get in to any.
so i took a year at a different university doing other things... random classes, the odd art class.
then reapplied. because i figured that i still have my mind set on architecture, but i think i need to do it in order to see if its actually what i want to do...which is good about the bachelors, allows you too see what you really want to go to school for.
Preston890
May 2, 08 7:14 pm
Yeah, I graduated last year too, did an extra semester and now I'm working for my fathers construction company doing random stuff in the office, but wat I really want to do is design buildings, but at least I get to work around them while making good money before uni... But the moneys pointless if I don't get in
rarch16
May 2, 08 7:21 pm
yeah see now i'm in the opposite thing...
its a lot of money to go for a shitty program if you know what i mean.
AHHH the stresses of university...
Preston890
May 2, 08 7:24 pm
Hey try having a father with his own general contracting company, who works across canada and the states, and who hates architects! Plus the only school he liked for his baby daughter was waterloo and I didn't get in.. Can you say disappointment?
HiHellogoodbye
May 2, 08 7:34 pm
lol, your pretty harsh on yourself. Take it easy, get in somewhere for something there are multiple paths to becoming an architect.
Preston890
May 2, 08 7:36 pm
Yeah I got into math at waterloo but REALLY don't wann go that route, I'd rather take another year off and then reapply.
erjonsn
May 2, 08 9:30 pm
I have to choose between Carleton (still waiting) and an American school that offered my a large scholarship. However, the choice will come down to whether I want a Bachelors (and reapply for masters) or go to the American school that offers a combined masters program (5-years).
rarch16
May 2, 08 9:33 pm
if you wanted opinions...i would go for the american school, depending how large the scholarship, because its hella expensive.. but with a good scholarships, and 5 years and your done, you can't beat that
bRink
May 2, 08 9:44 pm
vintagepeoples,
what engineering program are you considering over waterloo architecture? (not that it's a bad choice, but it's true that like many people here have said, waterloo is probably the hardest school to get into for undergrad, its small and quite competitive, has some prestige to it... i think it really depends on what you want to do, how sure you are that you want to do architecture...)
thomprov,
what american school are you considering over carlton?
vintagepeoples
May 2, 08 11:39 pm
bRink, I recived offers from McGill, Waterloo, U of T and Queens, and have narrowed those four down to U of T and McGill. Queens program cant compare to any of them (IMO), and I just flat out don't like Waterloo.
And do be honest, I don't know if I'm ready to put myself into a studio for five years. As amazing as it would be to travel and do co-op and stuff, I'm afraid that by putting myself into it so early I'm going to end up hating it. I mean, to be quite honest, I'm a math and science geek at heart...as much as I enjoy art, I really don't want to lose that so soon..(if that makes ANY sense at all).
bRink
May 3, 08 2:40 am
U of T, McGill, and Queens are of course all very good schools...
Having only been to U of T- I wasn't in engineering, but I did know a number of people who were- it is definitely a world class school for engineering. All of the divisions of the engineering school are very good. One of my roommates in college, who I am still very good friends with graduated from the division of "engineering science"... Eng Sci, as it its called, is probably one of the most elite programs in engineering in Canada and the States... It is very tough to get into, probably tougher than Waterloo architecture I think, at least from a grad point standpoint, and I think there is an emphasis on a very high level kind of creative problem solving... Architects often look down on engineers, and typecast them as overly technical and lacking in creativity, but the reality is quite different, from what I've seen of engineering... There are all kinds of inter-univeristy creative design competitions that you can get involved in as an engineering student - thing like I believe a regular combat robot competition within the engineering school, maybe between departments... or design competitions to for example design and build a glider (which I recall my roommate who was in Engineer Science with an aerospace specialty was participating in)... which glider could fly the longest distance... Or solar car competitions, etc... Although somewhat more nerdy in nature, there seemed to be alot of interesting and creative activities happening in the engineering buildings... Engineers at U of T did tend to hang around together (in their geeky pubs which were the usual hangout around campus...) They were the nerds, walking around campus with their yellow hard hats that we, in our other arts and sciences colleges would try to steal as trophies during frosh week. The engineering programs were I believe very tough, the engineers were very studious... U of T engineering does have a kind of co-op program... PEY, "professional experience year" which is really more like a year to take away from studying and work in an internship in the industry for example, but it is not quite the kind of alternating work term requirement that you would find at waterloo... The engineering student body, I might add however, is disproportionately male and nerdy... Which makes the rare hot female engineering student the center of attention in the village of nerds (basically she'd have her pick of all these genius men in her program)... I'm kidding sort of, but that's the rest of us lesser arts and science people would observe on campus... I wouldn't say all the engineers were nerds, but they were definitely of the smarter gene pool... I know it's a tough program, basically everyobdy who goes there is like one of the top science students in their highschool... I know you'll have at least a couple more philosophical courses during the engineering program at U of T, things that relate to ethics, etc. but I'd guess that going to Waterloo architecture, you will get alot more courses in history and theory and cultural aspects than in U of T engineering... Although you can always take diverse and intersting subjects as electives, and there is alot to choose from at the downtown campus... And, if you end up following up with an architecture masters later, you'd definitely get enough history theory type stuff later...
Hope this helps, I'd definitely go and visit the different campuses to get a feel for the schools... I'm totally biased, but I think U of T is the best... hehe... Well, I like the campus, in the heart of downtown Toronto, and I just have fond memories of going there...
vintagepeoples
May 3, 08 10:00 am
bRink, I was definitely quite impressed with the U of T campus and the welcome that I received when I visited :) And I definitely just got a good laugh over the comment on the large number of male nerdy engineers.
I still have yet to visit McGill, but hopefully I will do that sometime next week, and I also intend on phoning Waterloo and speaking to someone to try and get some further opinions (hopefully unbiased haha).
And thanks, its good to hear from someone who actually attended U of T.
rarch16
May 3, 08 7:51 pm
has anyone else heard any news from carleton?
Preston890
May 3, 08 7:52 pm
Not yet, have you?
rarch16
May 3, 08 8:21 pm
no
Preston890
May 3, 08 8:22 pm
Hopefully we'll hear EARLY monday as I want to enjoy my 19th birthday
lawrence chow
May 4, 08 2:34 am
bah... i got rejected from mcgill and waterloo... now if i get AAA for my A levels i will go to Bath in the UK... or if i do fail to get AAA, then I'll have to settle for U of T..
the price in UK is quadruple the price in Canada, do you guys think its worth it?
francesc
May 4, 08 11:35 am
***lawrence chow***
did you get the email notification of rej? or you phoned them or something? coz i got no news yet....so depressed...
Preston890
May 4, 08 12:19 pm
Anyone who hassent heard anything get: email donna woolcott and she'll tell you if u got in or not
francesc
May 4, 08 12:39 pm
why they just don't send any email notifications....it doesnt take long come on!!!! i emailed donna but she'll gimme a reply on Monday i think.
Preston890
May 4, 08 12:42 pm
Yeah problý tomorrow, she'll look into ur personal response and can also tell u if it was due to portfolio or precis is u didn't get inm
Anyone else heard from Carleton?
lawrence chow
May 4, 08 6:35 pm
Just log onto that quest program, and it would say whether you have been denied or not.
Preston890
May 5, 08 10:49 am
Anyone else's dreams just shatter?
All of carleton's acceptances went out on friday.
Looks like I'm becoming a lawyer...
Sanjeevan
May 5, 08 10:54 am
Are you sure? I applied to several programs there and two are saying 'late decision required', the last one says 'complete ready to review'. My dreams aren't quite shattered till around July, when U of T accepts people into programs (Architectural Studies for me) for 2nd year. The waiting will be hell though!
Sanjeevan
May 5, 08 11:00 am
Also, won't there be a few spots available if people who got into other arch programs reject their Carleton offers?
Preston890
May 5, 08 11:07 am
i guess so but i dont know if im on a waiting list or not. all i know right now is that im eligable for admission into carletons law program and waterloo's honours mathematics, though those were both backups.
Mind me asking, anyone who has recieved an acceptance to any school for architecture what was your average applying? and what kinds of art projects did you show to the different schools
rarch16
May 5, 08 1:07 pm
yeah still nothing.
so i definitely didn't get in.
which sucks.
rarch16
May 5, 08 2:05 pm
for ryerson
i only have an average of like..82 in highschool
and maybe 70 in university
Sanjeevan
May 5, 08 3:31 pm
I'm surprised at how many of us graduated back in 2007.
rarch16
May 5, 08 3:55 pm
haha back in...more like..less than a year ago
haha
yeah i didn't get accepted to aRchitecture school the first time.
so i'm really hoping this ryerson program works out nicely because i don't really want to be in school forever.
haha
its funny how you can look forward to university SO much. then once your in it...different story.
haha
HiHellogoodbye
May 5, 08 4:02 pm
I got into Carleton with an 87% average and what I thought was my best portfolio. It had several pieces in different mediums like pastel, acrylic, pencil, color pencil etc. but most were pencil. I definitely put more effort into it than any other portfolio but I had more stuff to show Waterloo like a couple large paintings and a scupture I had made of paper mache. They liked the portfolio but I didn't do well enough on the Precis.
vintagepeoples
May 5, 08 5:25 pm
I got into Ryerson and Waterloo with a 94 average. My portfolio consisted of a few acrylic paintings, clay sculptures, two of my sketchbooks, 2 life studies, 2 still lifes, a guache painting, and one or two random pieces.
Preston890
May 9, 08 7:06 am
Who else got into the alternate offer of Planning at Waterloo(clearly not those who were accepted for arch, but anyone else?) How do you like that program and are you concidering it?
HiHellogoodbye
May 9, 08 3:33 pm
was it sent out already?
Preston890
May 9, 08 5:08 pm
It showed up on my OUAC today and also recieved the email from UW about it. Seems like an alright program, deffinatly closer related to architecture then law, and might be easier to transfer later on.
Weiyi
May 10, 08 9:47 am
Hey, I just wanted to clarify some things about Carleton arch to the people who were accepted. Did you get an email from Carleton or a letter, or did it just show up in your Carleton Central? On CC, it still says "decision pending" so I take that to mean I probably didn't get in.
Basically, I just want to know when I can go pick up my portfolio.
HiHellogoodbye
May 10, 08 1:35 pm
From Carleton, it showed up on Carleton Central first, Then OUAC, then you got a phone call from a professor telling you you got in, an email and then in a letter.
ThomasK
May 10, 08 3:01 pm
Well I got into McGill civil engineering and am on the Arch waiting list
Preston890
May 10, 08 3:19 pm
For what school are u on the waitlist? And how did they inform u about it? Carleton said I had to wait til mail out to see if I was on a wait list... I think I'm going to accept planning(urban design) at waterloo
Weiyi
May 10, 08 4:30 pm
Wow. That is some intense acceptance process at Carleton. I like how Waterloo just sent me an email, although I'm still waiting on that official letter.
Hi everyone, I've been browsing the posts here but still haven't really gotten a definite answer to my question.
I applied to Ryerson, McGill and Waterloo for architecture. I have yet to hear from any of them, but barring that fact, which school do you think is the best?
As of right now, I'm looking mainly at McGill or Waterloo, and I have likes and dislikes for both of them.
McGill is first of all a very reputable university and is in Montreal, where I would love to live. However I really don't want that factor to define my education choice, and I have yet to visit McGill so I don't know all too much about their program.
Waterloo on the other hand has co-op, a term in Rome, and overall a great rep too. On the downside, it's in Cambridge lol, and I would also like to be a part of the nordic skiing team which I wouldn't be able to do with Waterloo because Cambridge is a good hour away from the main campus.
I mean, I guess when it comes down to it there are only so many universities in the area that offer this program, so unlike a program such as engineering its hard to say this one is the best or that one is the best. How much of a difference would you say going to either McGill or Waterloo would make? I was initially looking at US schools but unfortunately money is a major factor there. However I will most likely leave the country for my Masters degree.
Any input and comments are appreciated!
Thanks!
Good luck and hope you the best. I kind of want to meet you, so get into Carleton!
haha thanks! If not architecture i hope to get into law, my best friend is up there for criminology and loves ottawa so ive got my fingers crossed.
does anyone know if carleton is uping their enrollment 100 now, or just bits at a time over the five years?
wow i feel like sick to my stomach waiting, this sucks...
i have a feeling that if we haven't heard yet we aren't getting in
oh well, i guess its Ryerson arch for me.. =(
Hey I haven't even gotten any arch possitives, if I don't get into carleton for arch its law or honours math for me :S
Rarch: someone on here said that carleton was sending out monday so maybe they're still sending em, either way I'm calling in on monday to ask if its not yet up on carleton central
yeah i was the one that said monday
because that is what the guy told me, because he said the official date was may 3... so he said it'd probably be monday since thats a saturday...so i hope your right.
Me too, if I'm not in I need to know asap before all the law spots get filled
i just am so unsure about the ryerson program/the school in general..i really don't know what to think about that....
Yeah personally carleton rates above ryerson for me. Actually my order was carleton arch, waterloo arch, carleon law, waterloo math and then ryerson lol
yeah
basically.
my situation was that last year i applied for architecture schools and didn't get in to any.
so i took a year at a different university doing other things... random classes, the odd art class.
then reapplied. because i figured that i still have my mind set on architecture, but i think i need to do it in order to see if its actually what i want to do...which is good about the bachelors, allows you too see what you really want to go to school for.
Yeah, I graduated last year too, did an extra semester and now I'm working for my fathers construction company doing random stuff in the office, but wat I really want to do is design buildings, but at least I get to work around them while making good money before uni... But the moneys pointless if I don't get in
yeah see now i'm in the opposite thing...
its a lot of money to go for a shitty program if you know what i mean.
AHHH the stresses of university...
Hey try having a father with his own general contracting company, who works across canada and the states, and who hates architects! Plus the only school he liked for his baby daughter was waterloo and I didn't get in.. Can you say disappointment?
lol, your pretty harsh on yourself. Take it easy, get in somewhere for something there are multiple paths to becoming an architect.
Yeah I got into math at waterloo but REALLY don't wann go that route, I'd rather take another year off and then reapply.
I have to choose between Carleton (still waiting) and an American school that offered my a large scholarship. However, the choice will come down to whether I want a Bachelors (and reapply for masters) or go to the American school that offers a combined masters program (5-years).
if you wanted opinions...i would go for the american school, depending how large the scholarship, because its hella expensive.. but with a good scholarships, and 5 years and your done, you can't beat that
vintagepeoples,
what engineering program are you considering over waterloo architecture? (not that it's a bad choice, but it's true that like many people here have said, waterloo is probably the hardest school to get into for undergrad, its small and quite competitive, has some prestige to it... i think it really depends on what you want to do, how sure you are that you want to do architecture...)
thomprov,
what american school are you considering over carlton?
bRink, I recived offers from McGill, Waterloo, U of T and Queens, and have narrowed those four down to U of T and McGill. Queens program cant compare to any of them (IMO), and I just flat out don't like Waterloo.
And do be honest, I don't know if I'm ready to put myself into a studio for five years. As amazing as it would be to travel and do co-op and stuff, I'm afraid that by putting myself into it so early I'm going to end up hating it. I mean, to be quite honest, I'm a math and science geek at heart...as much as I enjoy art, I really don't want to lose that so soon..(if that makes ANY sense at all).
U of T, McGill, and Queens are of course all very good schools...
Having only been to U of T- I wasn't in engineering, but I did know a number of people who were- it is definitely a world class school for engineering. All of the divisions of the engineering school are very good. One of my roommates in college, who I am still very good friends with graduated from the division of "engineering science"... Eng Sci, as it its called, is probably one of the most elite programs in engineering in Canada and the States... It is very tough to get into, probably tougher than Waterloo architecture I think, at least from a grad point standpoint, and I think there is an emphasis on a very high level kind of creative problem solving... Architects often look down on engineers, and typecast them as overly technical and lacking in creativity, but the reality is quite different, from what I've seen of engineering... There are all kinds of inter-univeristy creative design competitions that you can get involved in as an engineering student - thing like I believe a regular combat robot competition within the engineering school, maybe between departments... or design competitions to for example design and build a glider (which I recall my roommate who was in Engineer Science with an aerospace specialty was participating in)... which glider could fly the longest distance... Or solar car competitions, etc... Although somewhat more nerdy in nature, there seemed to be alot of interesting and creative activities happening in the engineering buildings... Engineers at U of T did tend to hang around together (in their geeky pubs which were the usual hangout around campus...) They were the nerds, walking around campus with their yellow hard hats that we, in our other arts and sciences colleges would try to steal as trophies during frosh week. The engineering programs were I believe very tough, the engineers were very studious... U of T engineering does have a kind of co-op program... PEY, "professional experience year" which is really more like a year to take away from studying and work in an internship in the industry for example, but it is not quite the kind of alternating work term requirement that you would find at waterloo... The engineering student body, I might add however, is disproportionately male and nerdy... Which makes the rare hot female engineering student the center of attention in the village of nerds (basically she'd have her pick of all these genius men in her program)... I'm kidding sort of, but that's the rest of us lesser arts and science people would observe on campus... I wouldn't say all the engineers were nerds, but they were definitely of the smarter gene pool... I know it's a tough program, basically everyobdy who goes there is like one of the top science students in their highschool... I know you'll have at least a couple more philosophical courses during the engineering program at U of T, things that relate to ethics, etc. but I'd guess that going to Waterloo architecture, you will get alot more courses in history and theory and cultural aspects than in U of T engineering... Although you can always take diverse and intersting subjects as electives, and there is alot to choose from at the downtown campus... And, if you end up following up with an architecture masters later, you'd definitely get enough history theory type stuff later...
Hope this helps, I'd definitely go and visit the different campuses to get a feel for the schools... I'm totally biased, but I think U of T is the best... hehe... Well, I like the campus, in the heart of downtown Toronto, and I just have fond memories of going there...
bRink, I was definitely quite impressed with the U of T campus and the welcome that I received when I visited :) And I definitely just got a good laugh over the comment on the large number of male nerdy engineers.
I still have yet to visit McGill, but hopefully I will do that sometime next week, and I also intend on phoning Waterloo and speaking to someone to try and get some further opinions (hopefully unbiased haha).
And thanks, its good to hear from someone who actually attended U of T.
has anyone else heard any news from carleton?
Not yet, have you?
no
Hopefully we'll hear EARLY monday as I want to enjoy my 19th birthday
bah... i got rejected from mcgill and waterloo... now if i get AAA for my A levels i will go to Bath in the UK... or if i do fail to get AAA, then I'll have to settle for U of T..
the price in UK is quadruple the price in Canada, do you guys think its worth it?
***lawrence chow***
did you get the email notification of rej? or you phoned them or something? coz i got no news yet....so depressed...
Anyone who hassent heard anything get: email donna woolcott and she'll tell you if u got in or not
why they just don't send any email notifications....it doesnt take long come on!!!! i emailed donna but she'll gimme a reply on Monday i think.
Yeah problý tomorrow, she'll look into ur personal response and can also tell u if it was due to portfolio or precis is u didn't get inm
Anyone else heard from Carleton?
Just log onto that quest program, and it would say whether you have been denied or not.
Anyone else's dreams just shatter?
All of carleton's acceptances went out on friday.
Looks like I'm becoming a lawyer...
Are you sure? I applied to several programs there and two are saying 'late decision required', the last one says 'complete ready to review'. My dreams aren't quite shattered till around July, when U of T accepts people into programs (Architectural Studies for me) for 2nd year. The waiting will be hell though!
Also, won't there be a few spots available if people who got into other arch programs reject their Carleton offers?
i guess so but i dont know if im on a waiting list or not. all i know right now is that im eligable for admission into carletons law program and waterloo's honours mathematics, though those were both backups.
Mind me asking, anyone who has recieved an acceptance to any school for architecture what was your average applying? and what kinds of art projects did you show to the different schools
yeah still nothing.
so i definitely didn't get in.
which sucks.
for ryerson
i only have an average of like..82 in highschool
and maybe 70 in university
I'm surprised at how many of us graduated back in 2007.
haha back in...more like..less than a year ago
haha
yeah i didn't get accepted to aRchitecture school the first time.
so i'm really hoping this ryerson program works out nicely because i don't really want to be in school forever.
haha
its funny how you can look forward to university SO much. then once your in it...different story.
haha
I got into Carleton with an 87% average and what I thought was my best portfolio. It had several pieces in different mediums like pastel, acrylic, pencil, color pencil etc. but most were pencil. I definitely put more effort into it than any other portfolio but I had more stuff to show Waterloo like a couple large paintings and a scupture I had made of paper mache. They liked the portfolio but I didn't do well enough on the Precis.
I got into Ryerson and Waterloo with a 94 average. My portfolio consisted of a few acrylic paintings, clay sculptures, two of my sketchbooks, 2 life studies, 2 still lifes, a guache painting, and one or two random pieces.
Who else got into the alternate offer of Planning at Waterloo(clearly not those who were accepted for arch, but anyone else?) How do you like that program and are you concidering it?
was it sent out already?
It showed up on my OUAC today and also recieved the email from UW about it. Seems like an alright program, deffinatly closer related to architecture then law, and might be easier to transfer later on.
Hey, I just wanted to clarify some things about Carleton arch to the people who were accepted. Did you get an email from Carleton or a letter, or did it just show up in your Carleton Central? On CC, it still says "decision pending" so I take that to mean I probably didn't get in.
Basically, I just want to know when I can go pick up my portfolio.
From Carleton, it showed up on Carleton Central first, Then OUAC, then you got a phone call from a professor telling you you got in, an email and then in a letter.
Well I got into McGill civil engineering and am on the Arch waiting list
For what school are u on the waitlist? And how did they inform u about it? Carleton said I had to wait til mail out to see if I was on a wait list... I think I'm going to accept planning(urban design) at waterloo
Wow. That is some intense acceptance process at Carleton. I like how Waterloo just sent me an email, although I'm still waiting on that official letter.