HOW TO CREATE AN ARCHITECTURAL PORTFOLIO
The purpose of Architectural Portfolios The primary purpose of your architectural portfolio is to demonstrate how you have grown as a designer within a certain period of time. An architectural portfolio is supposed to be a narrative collection of your best design works, including sketches, diagrams, architectural models, art-work, drawings, and photos. Portfolio for Applications […]
PREPARING A WINNING PORTFOLIO FOR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
by EVANGELOS P. LIMPANTOUDIS, M.Arch. MIT, class of 2006 So you are sitting home, looking over the Harvard GSD admissions brochure, starring and the samples of work they included supposedly from current students, and wondering how you will ever be able to make it there. “These people must be the most talented designers in the […]
HOW TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF ALL THE COMPONENTS OF AN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICATION
by ASR Staff In the process of assemblying your B.Arch. or M.Arch. applications, try thinking of each component as a chance to tell your story to the Architecture School admissions committee. This means that you should try not to simply reproduce a list of points from your CV into your application forms. Try offering new […]
THE CORRECT WAY TO PUT TOGETHER AN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICATION PORTFOLIO
by Aaron Larkin Based on our latest survey of admissions reviewers, the portfolio carries over 65% of the value of an M.Arch or an MSArch application. In undergraduate programs, portfolios carry over 50% of the overall value. This means that your college gpa, your GRE, your essay, your reference letters and your entire profile, carry […]
HOW TO SPEND THE LAST 6 MONTHS BEFORE YOUR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE
Allocating time to build a portfolio is tricky to begin with, and much more so when you consider what else you have on your plate. An average architecture school applicant will need to build a competitive strategy, develop a charming profile, approach recommenders, write an essay of purpose and (the big one) build a portfolio, […]
Architecture School ReviewHOW TO GUIDE YOUR RECOMMENDERS WHEN APPLYING TO ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL
by ASR Staff As the deadlines are approaching, you need to start thinking about reaching out to your recommenders, to make sure that they are slowly getting used to the idea that they have to write a recommendation letter for you. As you do this, keep in mind that none of your recommenders is in […]
HOW STRATEGIC SHOULD YOU BE ABOUT YOUR ARCHITECTURAL CAREER GOALS?
by ASR Staff As you are accumulating your application materials for architecture school admissions, you are very likely to find yourself confused about how to describe your architectural career goals. Don’t worry, the architecture school admissions committees will not check with you later in life to make sure you have accomplished them, however they do […]
IT’S TIME TO ADMIT THAT YOUR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL PORTFOLIO IS NOT PERFECT!
by Fernando Rey, ASR Staff In the forty years of my life, and the 20 years I have been involved with architecture, design education and the building industry I have come to very few definite conclusions. One of them is that perfection is an enemy, not a friend. There are many things to think of […]
HOW AN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICANT TRANSFORMED HER APPLICATION, STARTING WITH HER ESSAY
By Marko Boudreaux, ASR Portfolio Strategist A Conversation With a Former Architecture School Applicant I recently had a very interesting and pleasant conversation with Ariel, a former architecture school applicant and student of ours, with whom we worked 6 years ago. The conversation began with cheerful greetings, which eventually developed into excited laughing over the […]
USING DIFFERENTIATION TO BUILD COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN YOUR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICATION
by Architecture School Review Staff One of the most common misconceptions out there is that an applicant has to be “what these architecture schools expect her to be“. It is as if there is a secret template of the perfect applicant, and one has to fit in there perfectly, or else her application will get […]
WRITING THANK YOU NOTES TO YOUR RECOMMENDERS / ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT
By Architecture School Review Staff One of our students’ most frequently asked questions is whether they should write thank-you notes to their interviewers, and if yes, what would be the correct approach. Many of them are used to the handwritten approach, which to them shows a personal touch, and care. Others are pretty adamant about […]
5 TIPS ON HOW TO DEVELOP THE BEST ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL PORTFOLIO
By Architecture School Review Staff If you are planning to apply to Masters of Architecture programs this fall, you have about 9 months left until you reach the dreadful month of December. When you hit December 10, your architecture school portfolios should be 100% ready, your architecture school essays should be triple checked, and your […]
WHAT MAKES A GOOD RECOMMENDATION LETTER FOR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICANTS
by Evangelos Limpantoudis A good recommendation letter should consist of there segments: 1. Introduction of the recommender, discussion of how his background and opinion matter, and discussion of the relationship with the candidate. 2. Discussion of the experience that the recommender had with the candidate. Sharing specific experiences, anecdotes, etc. This is a key segment, […]
CONVERSATIONS WITH ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL APPLICANTS: NOTES TO OUR STUDENTS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THEIR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL PORTFOLIOS
The process of developing a portfolio for architecture school admissions to top schools of architecture, is a tough and relatively long one. It requires patience and persistence, and commitment to the development and re-development of design projects so that they fit perfectly with well-designed architecture school admission strategies. As part of our process, we engage […]
2020 ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL RANKINGS (BOTH B.ARCH. & M.ARCH.)
The 2020 rankings, by Architectural RecordL Undergraduate: Cornell RISD Rice Cooper Union Syracuse Virginia Tech Pratt Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo UT Austin SCI-Arch Graduate Harvard GSD Columbia GSAPP MIT SAP Yale Cornell AAP Princeton Rice RISD UPenn UCBerkeley
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER WHEN DESIGNING A PORTFOLIO FOR ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL
The biggest deal when dealing with graduate architecture school applications is YOU and not your work. In essence, even if you have a B.Arch., your focus should not be on your most perfect renderings, but on those drawings and sketches that bring up your own personality and way of thinking. Through these sketches you will […]
ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL PORTFOLIO AS A NARRATIVE MANIFESTATION OF AN ADMISSIONS STRATEGY
by Evangelos Limpantoudis The truth is that there are several schools of thought as far as how to approach a design school application. One approach is to make sure that every single part of your application is perfect, or sounds perfect to the admissions officers. The fact is that this would be fantastic in any […]
ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL ADMISSIONS STRATEGY: THE THING THAT MATTERS THE MOST
Your strategy is perhaps THE number ONE most important thing in the process of developing an architecture/ design portfolio. Think of it as the initiation phase of any project. Be it in architecture or any other field, the initiation process of the project carries more risk than any other phase. The reason for that is […]