<p>ur portfolio should include 10 pieces of ur best work</p>
<p>There should be some guidelines on the CMU Arch website. This past year portfolio was optional.</p>
<p>Is CMU like Cornell? Do they weight your portfolio a lot more than your academic report? I've heard that students with not so great GPA, low SAT score, no EC, but with amazing portfolio get into Cornell arch school. Is that the same with CMU?</p>
<p>I am guaranteed to end up with 3.3-3.5 GPA (till November of Sr yr because I plan on applying for early Decision) and my SAT is around 2180, but I plan on retaking it again and hope to get a 2300 or above.</p>
<p>my portfolio looks impressive according to my art teacher...</p>
<p>is my academic still a major issue? or should i not worry about it?
oh and do they care about extracurriculars?</p>
<p>CMU Architecture looks for reasons to admit you, not reasons to reject you. They read and look at everything you submit, so every strength you can offer is a plus for you. Portfolio is optional, so can't hurt you if it's not so good, but the better it is the more they will like you. My (accepted, no portfolio) son's gpa was 3.36, but he took a heavy course load, did very well in some subjects, explored a wide range of classes and stuck with stuff for the long run (example, had mandatory Latin I, took elective Latin II, III and IV, only B's but demonstrated the willingness to stick with something). It's important to show your tenacity. A BArch is a long program, they need students that will stick with it. Better still if you excel, or at least an upward trend. An advantage to RD is if your fall senior grades are an upward trend they will see that. Don't forget, RD Arch has an earlier deadline than CMU general RD. Also they really like to see a good performance in hs physics. Son was told more than once they consider physics the best indicator that a student will graduate from CMU. Don't forget your essays, very important. Get them off the website and work on them this summer. Re-write them next fall and polish them up. Last thought, show interest. Write or e-mail the Arch dept admissions, get their printed material, (and staff member names), go over it and develop some good questions, write them back. Develop a relationship so they remember you. They do keep a record of your contacts....</p>
<p>Oh, one more, make sure you have close to $300K.</p>