<p>Could you possibly list your high school stats? (gpa, sat I & II, activities, etc)
And if you have your portfolio online that would be great too...
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Note: I'm currently a junior. Do you guys have any tips that I could use to get started on hopefully becoming an architect? Such as in school or in the summer etc.</p>
<p>You don't need to take architecture/drafting classes in school, but make sure you take physics and calculus and maybe an art class. In the summer, you could try to do something more architecture related, like one of the summer programs (ex - Cornell, Syracuse - they're bringing the program back this year, CMU), trying to spend some time in an architect's office, or help someone in construction and most of all work on your portfolio and sketch.</p>
<p>I could-- but I really don't feel like it--- I can say that if you have an SAT at about 2000+ and are in the upper levels of your class (at least top 10%)-- and have taken the most rigorous classes---- you have a shot to get into the school---- however-- past this point you must have an outstanding portfolio that shows them something- otherwise you won't get in.</p>
<p>Tzar, are you currently at cornell? And would you mind telling us at least the avg. stats for ppl in your class. Thanks.</p>
<p>no- I am currently at Cooper Union, but I got into Cornell and I know people who also got into Cornell. If you want specifics you might try calling the Cornell architecture admissions office, but a lot of weight is placed on the portfolio</p>
<p>stats vary but most people here are in the top 5% range. it's all about the portfolio though</p>
<p>advice: taking a drafting class isnt necessary and a waste. take art instead</p>
<p>Oh Tzar, how do you like Cooper? I'm applying, but I've never heard first hand what their arch students think about their program.</p>
<p>Well, for starters, it is very different than what the Summer program at Cornell was and from what I hear, is very different from most architectural schools, for better or worse. But Cooper it has its good points-- incredible guests come for crits depending on the year, the guest lectures are amazing and frequent, and the professors in general are pretty high quality. One of my classes, Descriptive Geometry, is only really taught at Cooper- yet is probably one of my favorite classes. Our drawing class is very theoretical- not too basic, but it is taught by Michael Webb (archigram) so what can you expect. So far Studio has only been only analysis --meaning no design first semester- Right now we are finishing up projects on central park. Overall I wish we were doing more design --but it is all second semester so it is approaching quickly.</p>
<p>i have a friend at cooper and he says they analyze a lot over there. he's a second year and they didn't design at all either</p>
<p>i believe cooper and cornell used to be quite similar in that they were both more on the formal side of architecture and had similar reputations. i don't know about cooper but cornell is definitely changing. a large portion of the faculty are being replaced by a lot of professors elsewhere (especially AA) so the things we produce now differ so much than the things produced even 3 years ago. we don't even learn about space anymore.</p>
<p>That's interesting. I want to visit Cooper to see what they do there, I've been over there way too much to never have visited it for real.
It amazes me how different all the schools are. I did summer programs at Syracuse and Cornell, and even though the design problems were fairly similar, everything else was pretty different.</p>
<p>we haven't done anything with space as well---- I mean-- I am not sure if we are headed in that direction or not, but generally speaking I think there is something being lost when these ideas of "conceptual space" and "behavioral space" ect. are not being discussed--- I, for one, think that schools like- Columbia which are focusing on surfaces are headed in the wrong direction. Architecture, after all, is the thoughtful creation of space and therefore the ideas behind "space" should be fundamental in an education.</p>
<p>whats a drafting class?</p>
<p>Something you don't need to be taking. Drafting class basically teaches you how to draft, usually by way of CAD or sometimes by hand. Schools don't care to see this work in portfolios, as it really shows them nothing by itself and this can hurt you. When these are done correctly and combined with design projects, they in turn become helpful.
But on a sidenote, I got into MIT today. Thank you arch portfolio.</p>
<p>I don't think drafting is a waste. I would say that drafting shade and shadow greatly increases your ability to freehand shade and shadow. I'm purely speaking manual drafting. But yes, I know people who were very smart and were the top 5% of the class in Calc and Physics. But they couldn't draw worth a crap so they didn't get in to KU. That's really what it's all about. Design, innovation, and aesthetic appeal.</p>
<p>i don't think people should learn how to draft but they should learn how to free-hand sketch prior to architecture school. knowing how to draft on AutoCAD however will definitely open you up to more internship opportunities early on. </p>
<p>hand drafting is become quickly outdated. no firm today uses hand drafting to produce drawings and architecture schools are quickly shifting towards digital production. I am a second year and no one hand drafts their projects (my prof doesn't even know what a mayline is!). everything is being produced on autocad and rhino. </p>
<p>free-hand drawing though i think will always be important since it allow us to communicate and express and record ideas..</p>
<p>When I was at Cornell over the summer, I noticed that about the profs too. Everyone I met was pretty uneducated about maylines.</p>
<p>Beware of the "summer professor." Very few of the academic-year professors tend to teach these courses. In fact, when I was taking summer colleges courses at Cornell last summer, two of my professors didn't even teach at Cornell (one taught at Wells College, and the other someplace else). Try and visit the college during the academic year.</p>
<p>No, we had profs that did teach there during the school-year. Even the real Cornell students didn't use them all that much. Personally, I didn't like Cornell as much as I liked Syracuse, which I spent the summer before (which was also taught by year-round Syracuse faculty). And anyways, I like MIT more than both of these schools, and I'm going there next year.</p>
<p>hey noopsgnitaenam, I went to summer college too and we had to draft one of the project. I wouldn't say drafting's completely out dated because remember the professor said some of our TAs has machine like drawings.</p>
<p>I just got into cornell, I was wondering if I should upgrade my macbook to a macbook pro, to run CAD drawings (install windows on it) or something?</p>