<p>Could anyone give me an idea of some schools that offer Architecture that do not require a portfolio? I have always been artistic, but never spent much time on it, therefore I am portfolio-less. Is it a bad idea to go to school for Architecture, if I don't seem to love art? I love the idea of Architecture, but I have never really been much of an artist.</p>
<p>most arch schools don't require a portfolio</p>
<p>schools like cooper union require a home test. i would recommend trying that out..cooper is a great school</p>
<p>you will realize when you go into architecture that it is quite different from art. there are things that are quite similar but a lot of it is very different. i'd recommend trying out a summer architecture program at some college</p>
<p>Let's see. You SAY you are artistic, but you have nothing to show for it? </p>
<p>Not going to be good enough. If you can produce art, then you should invest a bit of time into a few pieces to prove that you have the ability.</p>
<p>I would really suggest applying to Cooper Union, in that case.- amazing program with a outrageous student to faculty ratio. The artistic part comes in the form of a home test- which everyone has 3 weeks-4 weeks to complete. There is no portfolio. Cooper is easily one the the best programs in the US for undergrad- apply - it can't hurt. BTW there are all levels of "artists" in my class- it is more about the ideas and there manifestation than the fluidity of lines.</p>
<p>What are my chances of getting into Cooper Union?</p>
<p>I am a white male from New York, attended a small public school.
I have a 92.9 unweighted GPA, 95.6 weighted (sorry, only have it in % form)
My SAT scores are: 570 CR, 690 M, 640 W.
My ACT comp. is a 26 (I believe my SAT scores are better).
My rank is 11 out of 91.
My list of extra-curriculars includes: Vice President of my school's community service organization, head of a few programs in it, Founder and president of a Habitat for Humanity chapter in my school (not yet, still finalizing that), Member of National Honor Society, Yearbook club, a few others.</p>
<p>Seems like it may be quite a reach....great school, though....</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know how Northeastern University's Architecture program is?</p>
<p>Your grades and EC's look fine (not so much on the SATs...but I dont know how much weight a lot of these arch schools put on them)....but I believe Cooper bases a lot of their decision on your responses to the home-test questions.</p>
<p>well- not a great chance- but you haven't really said anything about the way in which you think/conceptualize or create (draw,design, ect.) Your numbers will probably hurt you a little- but about 75% or more of the admissions process is in the form of the home test. What you write/draw/make for the home test is most of the criteria. That said: only 4-6% get in per year. because you are from NY you have a slightly higher chance, about 10%. Cooper is probably your best shot into one of the "elite" architecture schools due to the fact that so much of it is based on the home test. Don't give up yet.</p>
<p>Mike,
In general, schools that offer a Barch (5 yr licensed program) require a portfolio when you apply as a freshman, while 4-yr non-licensed programs that offer a BA or BS in arch often do not require a portfolio at all or not until you apply to the program at the end of sophomore year. With these 4 yr degrees, you have to go on for a March (2 - 2 1/2 yrs) to get licensed. While it takes longer, with the BA route you have the benefit of taking some arch classes in your first two years to decided if it's the right path for you.</p>
<p>Here are some possibilites to consider for a BA/BS: UW-Milw, U Cinn, Northeastern, UIUC, U Michigan, UCLA, Tulane, UCB, Tufts. Also, Cal Poly SLO and CMU have Barch programs that do not require a portfolio; and U Ariz has a Barch w/portfolio required at the end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>FWIW, U Cinn has a very highly rated program. Both UCinn and Northeastern have strong coop programs.</p>
<p>mike--snap out of it! The portfolio does not have to be museum quality. Really. Produce some artwork, photograph it, come here for help in selecting the best ones and submit a portfolio.</p>
<p>Your inability to face this task is NOT a good sign. Successful architects can create 'art' in a hurry if they have to. They can pull the trigger. Stop looking for escape hatches and get on with it, man.</p>
<p>Your stats are probably too low for the top programs. The CR score especially. Can you retake and boost that over 700? that plus a few rockin' pieces in your PORTFOLIO could lift you to the entry path.</p>
<p>
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I love the idea of Architecture, but I have never really been much of an artist.
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<p>Mike, Maybe you should think about art history or architectural studies. There are plenty of careers to be made thinking, talking and writing about architecture that don't involve actually being an architect.</p>
<p>mike--if you don't LIKE to draw or create under pressure, you should probably visit an architecture studio and sit in on a critique of student projects.</p>
<p>mike-
i feel the same way that you do. although i've always taken art in school it's never really appealed to me much and i DO NOT consider myself to be an artist. Over the summer, i did cornell's pre architecture program and it was <strong><em>ing amazing!!!!!!!1 yes it was intense as hell but it was exactly what i am looking for. don't listen to what these other people are saying because the one ting that i learned this summer was that you DO NOT need to throughly nejoy art or be some crazy good artist to be good at architecture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as for some schools, i would highly recommend the university of oregon. it's one of the top 15 best architecture schools in the country and it doesn't require a portfolio. and as for your SAT scores, well mine were very similar to yours and i've stressed over them a lot but in the long run WHO *</em></strong>ING CARES ABOUT A STUPID ***ING TEST????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's note testing your intellligence and for architecture, it's one of the less important factors for admission....so i say take the risk and apply to cooper union because what if you don't and you spend the rest of your life thinking, "what if i had gotten in?" and it's not the end of the world if you don't get. don't let your life be determined by your SAT score..... if you have good grades adn have a particular strength in some ec's than that's important too!!!!!! i wish you the best of luck and i hope that you are able to further persue your interest in architecture!!!!</p>
<p>shorty08 I wouldn't go so far as to tell the op "dont listen to what these other people are saying" because although you may have done a summer program...theres a lot of experienced architects and current students posting here who have some great insight. So I think they can give him a pretty good picture of what kind of skill sets he'll need. </p>
<p>But I dont think anyone is advocating an extreme interest in "fine arts", I think the architects here are just referring to your ability and willingness to express yourself visually. I look at it as like a writer doesn't immediately write a final copy, there are drafts and editing and thought processes that ultimately yield the final finished product. They are only advocating a students willingness to quickly get down ideas coherently, test concepts, and think visually.</p>
<p>UT (University of Texas at Austin) does not require a portfolio... but if you're OOS, tough luck.. :(</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for all the responses. Just to clear things up, I do consider myself "artistic." My issue is, I haven't really saved any peices of art I deem worthy of putting in a portfolio. I got into this Architecture thing pretty late in the game, and I don't feel that any portfolio I can put together in a month or two will reflect my abilities and creativity. This is why I am looking into schools that don't require a portfolio. So far, my list is: Northeastern University, SUNY Buffalo, Lehigh and Cooper Union. CU is obviously a stretch, but the home test takes away my disadvantage. Any opinions on these schools and their programs? I am especially interested in Northeastern.</p>
<p>I don't know about how good the program is at NU, but I do know you get to work in a cool little studio that's inside the T (subway) station and in a nice part of campus. Architecture students are known to live in the studio... it's definitely a demanding schedule. That's really all I know though!</p>
<p>look up Virginia Tech! great architecture program (on top ranking too as you may know), and does not require a portfolio. I'm applying there as well, even though i am still building a portfolio for some other colleges that require one. And I heard VT does not want an essay as well but i'm not sure. If so, it will mean they will weight numbers heavily. ok i'm not sure about all the ones I said later, but for sure VT is a good choice if you'r looking for one that does not require a portfolio :)</p>
<p>hey! and reading more of ur post, i think we are in similar case. I think i'm artistic alright just that i usually give my pieces away now i can't keep track of them so,, i'm having trouble building a portfolio that can reflect my ability. but anyways, and i'm so an Northeasterner (well i dont live there but i like there), so maybe we can share some of the application process?? so i see u did these posts a while ago, hows going with applying?</p>
<p>I was going to go into arch a few years ago, and I can say that the only schools that I remember asking for a portfolio were private art colleges, and those programs leaned more on industrial design anyways.</p>