Student Tips: Picking the right school

After submitting all applications and fulfilling the application requirements, then came the time for waiting.... Finally when I've heard back from all the schools I had to make a decision. I'm sharing a few things about that process.

• Always apply to more than one college. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. I know a few people who applied to only one school and they got turned down/ rejected and then they have to wait a whole year to apply again.

• Even if you apply to just one school and get accepted, having a few options to choose from works better because you may get more scholarships or financial aid from different schools.

• You should visit the schools you are applying to. You have to see if you like the place. Also speak to an academic adviser to see if there are any classes you can or should take before you transfer into the upper division school.

• Get your parents and family involved in making the decision.
  

• Needless to say, financial aid & scholarship money play a big role in the decision.

• You should research the living expenses in the city your school is at. Consider rent, food expenses, distance to school that affects the gas money, etc.
  

• Placement: most private schools evaluate to see which studio class they are going to place you in. You should make a case to them that you don't want to repeat a class you've taken already. This will save you time and money.
  

• Before you make definitive plans, check to see if your scholarships and financial aid from school/ federal government fills the tuition, fees, books & materials, room & board & other expenses. If it doesn't, then you may have to get private loans. Check to see if you qualify for a loan and if you would get approved.
  

• Research the city you are moving to. It should be safe and you should like living there. Being in a new city, without family and friends, starting at 3rd yr can be really tough. So you have to be mentally prepared to handle all of these.
  

Last 3 yrs of the Bachelors of Architecture program can be very challenging. So make the decision carefully. After all, you are chasing your dream and you should be able to enjoy the ride...

College Review: A student perspective - University of Miami

University of Miami (UM)

**Please note this review is mainly from a transfer student's perspective.

Location: Coral Gables, Miami

Degrees offered: B. Arch & M. Arch

# of Faculty: 75 full-time and part-time faculty and 7 associated faculty, collaborative associations among faculty and students are the norm. Of the 33 full-time faculty, 72% are involved in professional practice, 75% have terminal degrees in the discipline and the remaining 25% have terminal degrees in related fields, including fine art, art history or planning.

# of Students: nearly 400 students

Class size: small class sizes - around 10 students per studio

Cost: undergrad 2010/2011 Academic year

• Tuition - $ 38440 / yr
  
• Fees - $ 1214 / yr
  
• Books & Material - $ 4000 a semester ( from my experience this is actually like $ 6000 a yr but could be more)

Click here for all price details

Financial Aid & Scholarships: Available. Click here

Application Requirements: Application to UM (Common Application), Application to School of Architecture, Application fee, 3 academic recommendation letters, Letter of intent, resume, Portfolio, Letter from the dean of student services, transcripts. Click here for detailed description of transfer applicant requirements

Deadlines: Undergrad transfer Click here , Undergrad freshman click here.

Pros: Small class sizes, professional degree, aimed at professional practicing. Very convenient and beautiful location, the real college experience, experienced professional faculty

Cons: I loved the school setting so I am going to be bias. The biggest drawback would be the high cost.

Notes: Set in beautiful Coral Gables, a wonderful and a convenient location, UM is a school that offers small class sizes and probably the best Architecture undergraduate experience in Miami. A good place to study if you are planning to become a practitioner. Make sure to meet the dean of student affairs and find out what classes they will accept and what classes you can take before you transfer there. Their staff is very, very helpful.

Thought of the day

It is important to be informed so you can make up your own mind and form an opinion. Not just any opinion, an educated opinion that YOU made and not an opinion made FOR you by someone else. It is also important to be open to new possibilities. All around us we see there are infinite possibilities in life. So your opinions could change over time. It is OK. We are all evolving all the time.

College Review: A student perspective - SCI-Arc

I'm in California right now with a group from my school. We visited SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) yesterday. After the visit, I got an idea to review a bunch of schools I've visited. So let me start with SciARC

SCI-Arc

Location: Downtown Los Angeles, California
Degrees offered: B. Arch & M. Arch
# of Faculty: 85
# of Students: 500 (50% B. Arch 50% M. Arch)
Class size: 15 - 18 students undergrad
Cost: undergrad 2010/2011 Academic year

• Tuition - $ 15,125 per semester ($ 3o,250 / yr)
• Fees - $ 200 ($ 400 / yr)
• Books & Material - $ 4000 a semester ( from my experience this is actually like $ 6000 a yr but could be more)

Click here for all price details

Financial Aid & Scholarships: Available
Application Requirements: Application, Application fee, 3 recommendation letters, Letter of intent, resume, Portfolio, transcripts
Deadlines: Click here

Pros: Small & close knit architecture community, latest technology - equipment and software, lots of visiting lectures, All the professors are practitioners so you can land on internships and actual projects easily. Did I mention latest technology? You can bring your pets to school. They bring in the big guns to do the final thesis reviews like Thom Mayne.

Cons: Hmm... this is a tough one because I loved it there. But not everyone may like the warehouse-look of the building. It's a quarter mile long old warehouse building, nothing fancy on the outside. I would say looks definitely are deceiving - its like a nerd's dream school :) One more thing is that it's located in the warehouse district so not your fancy-neighborhood school. But most architecture students care less about stuff like these - I didn't find this a reason why I wouldn't go there. It's a private university. So it is a bit expensive. This is a bit of a draw back considering the high cost of living in LA. But it would be an investment in your future.

Notes: Like I said, I loved it. Los Angeles is full of architecture and SCI-Arc is definitely the place to be. I was there at SCI-Arc when the finals were going on, so it was intense. You can feel the intellectual intensity in the air. They have a bunch of installations inside the school and in the parking lot - made by students with faculty's help. They have a gallery with exhibits. They have their own library, supply store, print shop, workshop with industrial grade wood and metal tools, many 3D printers, etc. (Read more about the full list of resources here). They are bringing in 6 or 7 robotic arms that will be installed in May 2011. So latest technology ! You get to work with software like Rhino, Maya, 3D Max, Grasshopper and more. Very computer intensive environment. Students work hard - almost every single one I met and I like that about SCI-Arc. If you are serious about architecture, you want an experimental design experience, and a non conventional educational institute then you should check them out.

Student Tips - How to write a letter of intent

Blogger has a very useful tool that shows me what keywords people are searching for and other useful statistics. So I saw someone searched how to write a letter of intent and I thought what a great idea, let me write about that !!

Writing doesn't come naturally to me but I am somewhat articulate in my verbal communication. So I'm using that strong trait and I'm writing as if I'm speaking. Writing this blog definitely helped me get comfortable with the whole idea of writing. I sometimes have my husband or my friends read over and give me feedback so I'm becoming more and more confident on my style. I suggest everyone take up at least writing a journal so you get used to expressing yourself well.

Getting back to the point, a letter of intent (or a statement of purpose) is something most schools require you to do as a part of the application documentation. They want to hear what you have to say, why are you studying what you are studying, what makes you unique and what should they take you.

When SciARC visited our school in February, they said don't be afraid to show who you really are; it's better to go on the bragging side. Show why and how you are unique. One of the most common "cheesy" reasons student give as what got them into architecture was playing with Lego as a kid and SciARC said, stay away from that.

I had trouble writing down all the accomplishments without sounding like bragging. I like to be modest and that totally felt wrong. So one day I got an inspiration to write it from the third person's perspective - meaning referring to myself as she and her. In the end, I produced a pretty cool letter of intent. Some people felt it was a bit flamboyant - some loved it. Most importantly, I found a way to express everything i wanted to say and who I am in a single piece of paper and I love how it came out.

The thing about writing is, from the little bit I know, you have to find your own voice. I guess this is true about many things. We, as architecture students, constantly look to find our own unique style. Creativity has a lot to do with the unique language / voice / style.

Take time to write the letter of intent. Don't try to wing it or come out with it in 2 hours. Some people naturally have this ability - but I think most architects do not. So ponder on what you want to say (you can't tell your entire life story in it) and how you want to say it.

Here's a link on some general tips: http://www.ehow.com/about_5068239_letter-intent-college.html

Good luck..!!!

Student tips - What is a good resume & why is it important to have a good resume?

A resume shows who you are at a glance to a potential school or an employer. A resume is useful not only when you are applying to schools or for a job but also you need a resume when you apply for scholarships, awards, when you want to submit an article to a journal, if you want to have a book published, if you want to get an interview with the media or simply to impress an important contact.

A resume should capture your qualifications, your strengths and your character. It should display your skills, your abilities and should give an idea of the person who you are. I have realized over the years that resume formats differ from country to country. So you may want to do a search on the web or buy a resume writing book to pick the best format you like.

At the top of your resume, basic information such as your name and your contact information should be listed. When you put your email, make sure to put a formal or a professional email address. I have seen some people have email addresses like lovebug@email.com**, etc. While this may seem funny, it doesn't reflect professionalism. In my opinion its always better to give an impression of professionalism and maturity and then expose the fun / funky side of you at the interview, etc.

If you are applying to a school, for a scholarship, award or anything academic:

• Make sure to include your educational qualifications, starting from the most recent at the very top.
• List your work experience, even the part time jobs - mention the post / title, duration you were employed there, duties performed (short and sweet), and how many hours you put in a week, if part time.
  
• List all your awards, recognitions, honors you have received in and out of school.
• If you have done any community work, make sure to list them too
  
• List your skills, interests
• Since you are an architecture student, add some graphic work to it to impress the reader. Don't over crowd it, don't make the graphic standout more than content itself. But make it "you".
  

Good luck on putting together a fantastic resume !!

** Fictional email address. Did not intend to make fun of anyone and used just as an example.

Student tips - College applications & Design Portfolio

I spoke about selecting the right college in a previous post. Find out which schools are the best architecture schools in the USA in 2011 here.

The next step I went through was to apply for colleges. Some things to bare in mind:

1) Submitting the application well ahead without waiting till the last minute. Some schools require an essay. Make sure you have someone else proof read it and revise before submitting.

2) Ask for recommendation letters wayyyy ahead. I would say, at least 2 - 3 months before the deadline. When asking for a recommendation letter:

• first politely mention to the professor that you are thinking about asking for a recommendation letter from him / her and if they can write one? Most of the time, almost of them will say yes.
  
• Then make sure to print out the recommendation letter format from the school, fill in your information
• Make sure to waive your rights to access the letter of recommendation. This will give the professor more confidence in saying the truthful academic and other assessments about you. Also this shows you trust them.
• Give the signed & filled format, along with an addressed envelope (or a label) and a stamp to the professor you are requesting the letter of recommendation.
• These should be with the professor at least 1 - 1.5 months ahead of the deadline.
  

3) Submit transcript requests at least 3 weeks before the deadline. Some schools do overnight electronic transcript transmission but some schools only do it the old fashioned way.

4) Make a nice resume. Sometimes you can submit it with the application. If not, submit it along with your supporting documents.

5) Most important part of an Architecture student's application is the portfolio. Portfolio requirements from school to school differs. However, there are certain guidelines one should follow. Here are some the general guidelines + some tips to create an excellent portfolio.

• Take a portfolio making / presentations class if you must. Polish up your graphic design skills much ahead of time.
• Start working on the portfolio months ahead
• Document your work - take photographs of your models, scan your drawings. make a database of your work. From experience I found out, no matter how many photos you think you may have, you will find yourself wishing for that specific shot from a specific angle. So take many, many photos from different angles, different light settings, different distances. Keep your models as safe as possible at least until you have a great portfolio. Take high resolution photos.
• When scanning drawings, make sure to scan them at a 300dpi or higher resolution.
  
• Make it personal. Add a lot of your personal work. Add sketches and anything that will make you stand out - in a positive way - among the other applicants.
• Show process of how you arrived at a final design. The best way to do this is to show progression using a combination of sketches, drawings, process models, graphics, etc.
  
• One of the comments I got when a professor from SciARC reviewed my portfolio is that they want to see details. So put photos of different scales of your models, photos that show details.
  
• Most schools don't want you to spend a lot of time/money on fancy covers and packaging. Keep it simple, professional and original.
• Have a strong letter of intent or a statement of purpose. One of my professors always say that we architects are no great readers or writers. So always have someone else proof read.
  
• Depending on your choice, you could also include your resume in the portfolio.
  
• Personal work - you can add photography, travel, artwork, poetry and anything that shows that you have additional skills you bring in to help succeed in your career.
• Some schools give a limit of how many pages they want you to submit in your portfolio. When they don't, its ok to call them up or better yet go and visit the school and ask how many pages they think is OK to have in the portfolio. Most schools will say, bring everything you have and more the merrier. So include all your work - as much as possible.
• Make sure you leave enough time to get it from the printer and have it checked. You will see small details that need to be adjusted. Show the portfolio to your design and or presentations professor before printing. Show the portfolio to at least 3 professors / professionals before turning the final version into the school. The portfolio - most of the time - decided if you get into the school and if you get any scholarship money. Put your best effort into it.
  

6) Supplemental documents - Some schools require extra paperwork other than the above list. For example, University of Miami won't even open the file until they have received the form from the dean of student services. Make sure to check with the schools you are applying to. Ask them for a checklist.

7) Financial Aid - again, different schools have different requirements but all schools will require you to fill the FAFSA. Ask your schools for their FAFSA Codes, take your Tax documents and file the FAFSA as soon as possible.

8) Scholarships - Most schools have some scholarship opportunities for both 1st year (Freshman) students and transfer students. Be sure to check with the respective financial aid offices / scholarship offices in the schools you are applying to. Put your name down for scholarships. Don't be shy to ask for the money that is available out there. Every year so much money in scholarships go unused.

I'm still in the process of applying to schools myself. So I will keep you posted about the many exciting opportunities and challenges up ahead.