I despise Baton Rouge myself. If I do end up going there, I have a teeny tiny hope that maybe classes will only be three times a week and I would still live in NOLA and commute. I actually think it would be worth it. Also, having gone to Tulane, I have a snob-bias against LSU, but I'm trying to get over that in case they offer some decent financial aid.

I know quite a few people at Mathes Brierre - they're probably one of the biggest firms in town now. Actually, one of the people I know is a serious tennis player - she played for Tulane.

I had a BSci Arch from Knowlton, did a M.LA/M.Arch at penn - still haven't figured out what my profession is other then cad monkey...

I'd rather think of myself as an eco planner or some variant of sustainable designer. we'll see what happens in the next few years.

if i haven't heard from Penn yet do you think there is any chance of good news....?(I'd take a spot on the waitlist pretty gladly at this point). I'm in Wisconsin...and am feeling so anxious about not hearing anything yet.

Nolasara, when did you graduate from Tulane? I have a few friends that did their Barchs there, began at Mathes as well. Commuting for school might be a bit much, I would think, but living in BR is not ideal. Especially being form NOLA, we hate BR with a passion. Even my father , who went to both LSU undergrad and grad, dreads the place. Where are you living in the city now?

dci...
the mail takes a while. i was pissed about the GSD because i didn't hear anything 3 days after everyone else did (even those in LA)...turns out the postal service in the south is quite slow. i'm expecting to hear from Penn soon as well, but still nothing...

jwillefo - graduated 2003. But it's a small school so I know a few people around my year.

ah, the people i know graduated between 96 and 99.

anyone hear from Ohio State yet? Their not at the top of my list but I'm still curious.

jwillefo - sorry, never answered the second part of your question - I live in the Upper Garden District. Rarefied existence, I realize, but at least I escaped flooding (still needed a new roof, though). Where's your family at?

"Where's your family at?" hah hah, you've definitely been there for a while. yeah ya right!

my parents live in the garden district (upper i guess). they're on Third b/w Camp and Magazine. the term upper or lower garden district was never used while i grew up there. i think they came about in the last 5 to 10 years.

so where is everyone comming from now? just curious, i am in north carolina

i have been lurking but haven't yet posted on this thread - congrats to all on acceptances!

treekiller - you were M.LA/M.Arch at Penn? was just accepted (yay!) for the dual degree there as well - and at a few other schools. i'm curious - what programs were you deciding between? and did you favor one discipline over the other at Penn?

L-

Congrats (and welcome)!!!! did you get advanced standing or are you on the 4+ year track? it makes a difference.

As part of the first post-september 11th application group, I was in a wave of wanna be students that was twice as large as normal. So of the usual suspects applied for, I was only accepted at penn. Since that was my top choice, it made life simpler. Since my undergrad degree was a BSci arch from Knowlton (OSU), I got advanced standing and didn't have to run through the 500-level of architecture. LARP is a stronger and more cohesive experience then the ARCH program is. Detlef is still searching for his direction and the arch faculty are more diverse/divisive.

Professionally, I've been spending more time playing in architecture, but that has been my strategy of completing IDP while taking the LARE. Just took section A and will find out in a few more weeks if I passed. Got about one more year for IDP, then I hope to gain some time in an LA firm. I was hoping to get a job in a multi-disciplinary practice, but they are more rigidly defined then expected. My goals are to be playing around in planning eco-cities and landscape urbanism. Sustainable design is my game, and I'm currently one of the leaders of the environmental task team in my office.

outside- i'm coming from new york. grew up in new orleans. have also lived in amherst, boston and los angeles. i know some people from nc who will also be at the risd open house. y'all should meet.

So, I got waitlisted at Penn. I guess I'm relieved to not have been rejected outright, but am pretty dissapointed.

I'm not going to go the open house, but am planning on writing a letter to Jim Corner to plead my case and try and convince him that I'm a great match for Penn - being constrained to 500 words to the application essay made it difficult to focus on that part of things.

I have one friend who got in off the waitlist at Penn last year, but he totally schmoozed Jim at the open house, which is not my style in any way.

Any advice for my next steps...best way to make my case? Should I also call and talk to the admissions office?

If I don't pull of getting in this year (which I'm assuming if fairly likely), I guess I'll take some art classes in the fall in Philly and maybe try and intern a bit at an LA firm while doing some ecological restoration work and hope that works. Might expand my applications a bit although that will require living apart from my girlfriend for at least a year (she is starting nursing school in Philly in the fall). Or I could embrace the BSLA program at Temple Ambler.

Congrats to all that were accepted to programs!

dci, I sympathize, I was waitlisted from GSD today.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can better my chances. I'm pretty outgoing but I also don't want to over step my bounds. Any experience or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

lenny,
did you get in anywhere else?
what is your current thinking for what to do next?

I got into Cornell, Michigan and UMass. Not really sure what my next move is, maybe I should go to the open house, but I don't even have an invite let alone know when it is.

Congrats on those! Which one of the three are you leaning towards (if you don't pull off GSD)? I think the program at Cornell seems great, but wasn't as into Michigan or Umass when I checked them out. Were those the only 4 schools you applied to?

I don't know if this helps dci, but I'll probably take my name off the Penn wait-list soon. Maybe that'll give you better odds.

If either of you know anyone with Penn or GSD connections, talk to them about possibly getting another recommendation or even making a call to the school for you. A friend of mine got into NYU law, after being wait-listed, because our boss wrote the school a letter on his behalf. And yes I would go to the open house and speak Jim or any other faculty. Basically they want to know how serious you are. If you don't have the confidence to approach them at the open house, then how are you going to handle them in a crit?

jwillefo- are your friends from nc comming out of NCstate from arch or larch? Im grom nc state but not the school of design.

lenny- the cornell program is top notch in my opinion, i got in there and the only reason i am thinking i might not go there is because risd is heavy in the art sector which sort of interests me more. also, if your into the environmental design side of things, michigan is producing some great grads from there.

dci- go the the open house man, the worst they can do is say sorry but no. and if they say no and are all rude about it, acting like your not supposed to be at the open house simply because you have not been accepted yet, then do you really want to be studying under those people?

outside, my friends live in nc. they've been out of school for a while. are you still in undergrad there?

Hi everyone...

I'm going to the RISD open house on April 5th. I was really excited to get accepted there. My background is in journalism. What about some of you? What have you been spending your time doing?

I was also wondering if anyone applied to UGA... and have you heard back from them? Mail service really sucks where I live in Chicago and I'm afraid a letter might have gotten lost!

d-
call the school in question. you have nothing to loose. congrats on RISD

Thanks for the advice. I simply can't swing the open house - a trip to the east coast on the off chance that it might help me get in just isn't feasible right now. Waitlisted students have been invited so it isn't a matter of them being rude about my being there.

I do disagree with this sentiment:
" And yes I would go to the open house and speak Jim or any other faculty. Basically they want to know how serious you are. If you don't have the confidence to approach them at the open house, then how are you going to handle them in a crit? "

I don't think being able to schmooze someone and play a certain game is any sort of signifier of how you will be able to handle crits from them. Some people shine in the cocktail party sort of way and others don't. I'm hoping I can get across how serious I am through a letter sent directly to Jim.

dci- go for it man, i wish you luck

I wasn't necessarily saying you go there and schmooze Jim, although that could help too. What I was suggesting is that you go there and talk to him face to face. That's always the best thing to do. Give him the impression that you want to be there and that you should be there. Of course if flying to Philly in a week is too much, try other methods of influencing him. Writing a letter is definitely a good idea, even if you do end up visiting. Try giving him a call as well. Maybe even call the admissions office to let them know you want to be there. If you feel Penn is definitely the school for you, then do whatever you can to have them let you in. Just be creative and confident about it. I wish you all the luck and hope you get.

remember confidence is sexy.

Okay - has anyone heard from Berkeley MLA yet?!? I'm about at wit's end because I see all the M. Arch. people are hearing back from them, and I got my notice of acceptance in the second week of March last year. Really starting to feel like maybe I blew a good chance last year by putting off school altogether.

Well, I heard back from Penn and got accepted. Unfourtunately, they didn't give me nearly as much $$ as Harvard so I'm definitely leaning towards the GSD, although I haven't made a final decision yet. So for all the Penn waitlisters, at least one spot will probably be opening up.

I did like how Penn's acceptance letter wasn't a form letter, though...James Corner (or his secretary) was nice enough to cite specific things from my portfolio and letter of intent which they thought made me a good match.

outside, I'm from Atlanta, btw...

nolasara- i have heard from people were not accepted to the school, but that was two weeks ago. you should probably call them.

kakacabeza- you going to the GSD open house? too bad Penn didn't match, especially since they're more expensive.

jwillefo- i don't think i'll make the open house coming up from atlanta. i've been watching fares, but nothing in my price range yet. i did get to visit the school about a year ago, so i know a little of what to expect.

in a way i'm glad Penn didn't give me too good of an offer because I would have had a much harder decision. The merit portion of the awards was actually about the same, but GSD gave a lot more "need based" grant. that big harvard endowment helps, i guess...

has anyone heard back from RISD about financial packets yet? Im starting to kick myself for not applying to the GSD, i thought there was no way i was going to afford 50K a year but i had no idea they gave such good aid packets!

Are there any GSD applicants who have not heard back?

I am curiuos about the decision process:
do they send out the big envelops first and left the rejected people until the end?

Hey kakacabeza,

congrats on your acceptances and for getting $$ from schools. i was wondering if you could share (paraphrase) what Penn said what made you a good fit. I'm trying to formulate a letter to them and am curious about what they are looking for. I know that they are looking for a lot of different things, and since you are a different candidate it won't alter what I say, it is more for curiousity - especially if I have to work to make myself a better candidate for next year....

thanks!

nolasara - i was accepted to berkeley's MLA program via USPS - letter postmarked 3.19, i think, or 3.20.

treekiller - thanks for giving me your story! :) i think i would have 4 years at Penn - i also placed out of the first year of M.Arch. (which must have been a mistake, as i had literally no digital work in my portfolio aside from photoshop, illustrator, etc.)

what have you heard about other dual-degree programs in comparison to Penn? i'm also considering UVA, Berkeley, and the GSD. definitely didn't think i would get into any of them, so i don't even know how to begin deciding! i'd love to hear your perspective as someone who's been through it!

dci...i have an architecture background and am very interested in landscape urbanism and urban ecology. A good book published last year is the Landscape Urbanism Reader. James Corner, along with several other Penn professors published essays in this book. I read their essays to get a sense of what some of their interests were. Another book to look at is "Recovering Landscapes" edited by James Corner. Several Penn professors are published in there, and they actually sent me a copy of this book with my acceptance letter (I already had a copy). Read the Penn essays to see what the professors interests are.

lucia- that means 3 years for m.la/m.arch. not having any architectural digital masterbation in your folio places you at an advantage over your potential classmates in that you know how to think and draw.

oh, look for a new prof joining LARP next year.

I actually just heard from Berkeley today, and I'm in! I gave in yesterday and emailed the coordinator, and she said that they were asking the Cal's graduate division to allow them to admit more people than usual, due to the high quality of the applications. Apparently they got that clearance today.

However, I was officially waitlisted for all of 18 hours, and if I had just been patient enough not to contact them yesterday, I would have done without the blow to my ego. Not that I expected a free and clear admission again, but I did spend a lot of time updating and overhauling my portfolio this year. It's all good now, though. The waitlist bad news was also offset by an acceptance and some money from Oregon, so that was nice.

Excellent news nolasara. Congrats on both schools. I guess this means no Baton Rouge for you?

If it helps with deciding on GSD, I'm a third-year student, about to graduate, and ‘hyper competitive’ is an accurate description. First year was indeed brutal but was worth toughing out. It's also my impression that the program is improving - current first-years seem happier than in years past.

Core studios were tough and varied from inspiring to excruciating, but options studios are excellent. Niall makes a concerted effort to seek out a range of studio options, from the 'practical' studio (Hargreaves, brownfield, waterfront) to the 'artistic' studio (Adriaan Geuze, garden/wall in Israel), to the 'cultural' studio (a Native American leadership academy). Options studios in other departments are open to MLAs – I took an urban design studio in Vienna and others have taken architecture and planning studios. And yes, we have an impressive number of funded travel studios, but don't choose GSD just for that because you never know where the studio lottery will place you. Some (though few) students end up never leaving Cambridge.

It's hard to say whether the networking/job placement benefits of GSD matter in the long term, but in the short term, they've certainly benefited me. I've interned for Martha Schwartz for the past two summers and have promising leads in the job search. In Boston/Cambridge at least, those who are particularly successful/recognized in the profession 10+ yrs out of school tend to be GSD alums.

At GSD open house, I walked around the studios and sought out students to talk to because they will offer you a different story than those who are hand-picked by the department to talk to prospectives. I received mixed/negative feedback from students, ranging from ‘I still wonder about UVA’ to ‘it’s really not as fun as it looks.’ Despite the negativity, choosing GSD was an informed decision based on pros/cons and I have no regrets. I’ve seen people struggle and others thrive at the GSD – it’s really not for everyone, so consider what matters to you most and go with your instincts.

jwillefo - not necessarily. I'm going to Baton Rouge the week after next to visit, and I haven't heard about a financial aid package yet. If the program looks good, it would be hard to pass up an (almost) free ride. Then again, ugh. Baton Rouge. LSU.

One of my old profs at Tulane also put me in touch with an adjunct professor from the program that lives here in N.O. She said he would give me a "realistic" view of what it's like there, which doesn't sound promising. Then again, she's a Berkeley person (and pushed me to apply there) so she's probably a little biased.

Because I think I would like to teach and do research, it seems like Berkeley would be better choice career-wise. I've been reading faculty bios at lots of different schools and it seems Berkeley turns out more professors. Obviously, Harvard turns out the most, but I looked at it last year and as spiltINK just said, it's not for everyone, one of them being me.

nolasar- I got an email from LSU recently saying my financial stuff is in, but that I have to send them a bunch more information before I can get it, or something like that. I'm not going there, so I didn't really bother with reading it in detail. From what I've heard from a few people, the state schools make you jump through a lot more hoops to get funding. Not surprising. The lack of information has really turned me off a bit from LSU's program. It's unfortunate because I think them might have an interesting program. I know several of the faculty there are GSD alumns as well.

Outside- I haven't received RISD's aid package yet either. It's kinda messed up b/c in the letter they sent a few weeks ago, they mention you'll find out by the 15 of April. Most of the other schools need to hear your decision by the 15. Hopefully by the open house they'll figure it out and notify us.

congrats nolasara...i guess you'll be sanfransara in a couple of months here. Berkeley definitely sounds like the way to go if you are itching to get out of the south and for your career goals. I think you can apply for in-state residency in California after one year and get it even though you are going to school, unlike most states. There's just a lot of hoops to go through. You'd have to verify that with the school, though. Could definitely help with tuition bills.

My RISD financial package came in today. OUCH! It's like 1/5 of what the GSD is giving me. Looks like I'm gonna have to give a call to the finance office on Monday to broker a deal. Outside, any news for you?

Jwillefo,
no news from RISD yet, ill look for it today in the mail. I am acctually leaving monday to make my way up to RISD for thursday, making some stops in Philly and NYC along the way.

Just wondering, but isnt RISD like $20K less a year than GSD even at full price? Plus, I imagine providence will be a wee bit cheaper to live in than cambridge, I was comapring apartment prices and it looks that way.

I just looked it up and RISD $29,775, GSD is $33,438. But you're right, it is a bit cheaper to live in Providence. To get a 1 bd in Cambridge is about the same price as one in Brooklyn. Not economical at all for a student. It's boing to be expensive no matter what.

just got my financial package from RISD, not overly impressed but satistifed still. However, I also got word from Ball State University in Indiana, and they want to pay my whole way. Admittedly, BSU has been doing much better in the rankings recently, and cost of living is a joke compared to providence. But there is still the allure of going to RISD, hard to pass up. What is your take on the cost versus value of education at RISD, as compared to a state school?

I guess it really depends on what you're looking for from the program and what you want to do after. RISD might be more expensive, but if it fits more with your plans and can provide a better career, then RISD would be a wiser investment.

see the kipnis thread about conjecture... ball state lacks conjecture, risd has it. if you never want to work outside of muncie, go to ball state and live debt free. if you have bigger dreams, follow them and figure out how to pay for them later (that's the american way)