Starting Late on a Portfolio + College Suggestions?

College Majors Architecture Major
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@momrath Thank you :slight_smile:

How important is it to have a portfolio for schools that have “recommended” portfolios (specifically Rice and WUSTL are the ones I have in mind right now, and I know they are both far reaches for me anyway)? Would submitting a bad portfolio hurt my chances more than not submitting a portfolio?

My SAT is 2040/2400 or 1320/1600, but it should go up by a decent amount (I’d guess/hope for around 50-80) when I take it again next saturday. My GPA by the end of this school year should be around 3.9 UW, 4.10-4.15 W, and 4.25-4.3 UC/CSU (UC/CSU is a lot higher because I didn’t take weighted classes until Junior year, which was my first opportunity to take them without making an appeal to get into AP Chem (a subject I hate) or something like that). I rank very close to the 10th percentile I think (class size somewhere around 650-700), but my school only ranks by deciles so I could end up in 10% or 20%. I asked my mom what our AGI was, and according to http://www.stratagee.com/resources/efc_quick_reference/1213_efc_quick_reference.html our EFC is around $41,000. When I asked my mom if we could really pay that much, she gave me the same answer she’s given me every time I ask about it: “if you get in and decide that that’s your top choice, we can find a way to pay for it”. Also, that EFC should go down to about $20,000-$25,000 when my dad retires. He plans to retire at some point in either this year or the next, so if we do have to pay that $41,000, it should only be for one year, if that. Need-based aid is based on full cost, not just tuition, right? How difficult is it to get merit aid at good colleges? Would I have to be in/near the top XX percentile of applicants (if so, approximately what numbers would the XX be)? Would I have to write a good essay? Would I have to have “hooks” as well (I don’t, I’m white, male, from a mid-to-high-income, non-disadvantaged family and I’ve never received any significant rewards nor am I a good enough athlete to be recruited)? All of the above?

According to http://admissions.calpoly.edu/prospective/profile.html
Cal Poly’s acceptance rate in the category of “Architecture & Env. Design” is 882/1,845, or about 47.8% (compared to 37% overall, which is odd). The average GPA (CSU GPA, most likely) is 3.90. The average ACT is 28 and the average SAT I CR+M is 1280. That’s why I thought it was a safety. Now I realize that these values may be skewed downwards by Env. Design, but I’m not sure.

I’m going to submit an application to Tulane’s program today. I’ll try to get an application in to WUSTL’s program some time next week, maybe later. I still need to ask a teacher about a letter of recommendation for that program. Would asking an english teacher be good? My english teacher likes me and she’s a fantastic teacher. I would submit an application to ND as well, but I don’t want the $250 cancellation fee if I decide I won’t go there, I think my priority choices would be WUSTL>Tulane>ND>nothing, mostly because I’m already visiting Tulane in spring break, and the timing of ND conflicts with some things I already do over the summer (either a music camp or an exchange trip to Korea, depending on weather or not the culture exchange club at my school needs more boys).

Thank you for all of your help :smiley:

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I don’t know the answer to the question about how important is it to submit a portfolio in portfolio-optional situations. I would think that if a school says it’s optional, then it’s really optional. You and your counselor could explain the reason that you don’t have an art foundation is that you were drawn to architecture late in the process, too late to switch your senior year schedule.

Your grades are excellent, your scores will be fine, you appear to be taking a very rigorous curriculum, hopefully you’ll edge into the top 10%. Choir/music is a solid EC. If you have another, that would be even better. I assume you’ll have strong essays and recommendations. So you’re good to go.

An EFC of $41K is a heavy burden, but as long as your parents are comfortable with it go ahead an apply to a few need-only schools. Right now you’re looking at a wide range of types – BArch, BS/BA architecture, BA @ LAC, UC/CSUs. Ideally you should have reach/match/safety and financial safeties within each category, but doing that would result in a very long list. I think you’ll have a better idea about architecture after your summer experience and after you visit a few LACs.

I don’t know too much about merit aid at large colleges, and everything I know nothing about merit aid for architecture school comes from posters on this board. You might post a separate question asking about others’ experiences.

I’m surprised that CalPoly’s architecture acceptance rate is that high considering its ranking. My understanding is that it’s a somewhat different environment than schools like Tulane, WUSTL or Cornell but who knows? That may end up being a plus for you.

Some academically rigorous LACs that offer good merit include Kenyon, Grinnell, Macalester, Davidson, Rhodes, Colby. Carleton to a lesser extent. I’d also look at Pitzer, where you’d have access to the other colleges in the consortium.

The more selective schools in the northeast like Brown, Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Vassar etc. offer generous need-based aid. Run a few net price calculators and see how you do. You may be pleasantly surprised.

My impression is that summer architecture discovery programs are not terribly competitive (though they may be selective with scholarship money) so don’t worry too much about your references and application. Both Tulane and WUSTL are good choices. They’ll probably let you know early enough so that if you’re not accepted you can still apply to others.

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Since momrath kindly provided so many helpful infos and advices, I don’ t have much to tell you but I found this statstics for cal poly slo architecture from their website.

Acceptance into Architecture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo is highly competitive due to its reputation for excellence. The program receives many more applications than it can admit students. For your information, we are including the following statistics from Fall 2009:

We received 1,539 freshman applications, out of which 96 were selected (6.23% selected and enrolled), and were enrolled as freshman that fall.
We received 405 applicants wishing to transfer from a community college, out of which 34 were selected (11.9% selection rate) and were enrolled in either second or third year.
The Average High School GPA was 4.08.
The Average SAT Reading score was 664.
The Average SAT Math score was 699.
The Average ACT Composite score was 31.

You can try some schools that don’t require portfolio (cal poly slo, georgia tech,…) or start at LAC and seek to transfer.
Good luck!

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@momrath @Bkred15 Thank you both very much :slight_smile:

Momrath,
I do have another long-time EC. I’ve played soccer since third grade. As another, non-continuous EC, I’ve been to Korea on a student exchange. My participation in choir has been going on both inside and (whenever I could) outside of school since seventh grade.

I think I’ll apply to 2-4 B.Arch schools, 2-4 BS/BA Arch schools, and 2-4 LACs, depending on how many of each I find that I like I guess. The only UC I’ve really considered is Berkeley, which falls under the BS/BA Arch category I’m pretty sure. I know UCLA also has a good architecture program, it’s just not really appealing to me I guess.

Pitzer seems nice. It’s in California, so that’s a plus. Those 5 colleges do seem great. Just out of curiosity, would I be able to take classes at Scripps while going to Pitzer, even though it’s an all women’s school? I’ll look into those other LACs you mentioned too.

If an aunt went to a certain college, would that qualify as legacy? My aunt went to Vassar (I find it funny that she studied German Literature and now she’s a middle/high school math teacher).

Tulane and ND don’t seem very competitive, since all they require is personal information for you to apply (Tulane also requires a short bio, but I don’t think it’s for the purpose of evaluating your writing skills). WUSTL, however, requires a transcript, essay, etc. I think it would be odd if they asked for all those and then weren’t very selective with their admissions.

Bkred15,
Thank you for pointing that out to me. However, I think those numbers may have changed since 2009. If 96 of 1539 applicants were accepted to architecture, but this year 882 of 1845 were accepted to Architecture or Environmental design, then I think either the number of applicants to architecture or the acceptance rate has changed significantly. That SAT score for architecture from 2009 is 83 higher than their recent reported statistics for architecture and environmental design. Maybe it’s dragged down by a non-selective environmental design program, but the drastically different numbers are interesting. Maybe they have a low yield after acceptance, it seems like the 882 of 1845 is acceptance and 96 of 1539 is enrollment, but I don’t think the yield would be low enough for that alone to make the difference.

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To clarify, when I said Tulane and ND don’t seem very competitive, I was referring to their summer programs. Sorry if that confused anyone!

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If you’re on the West Coast I would look into University of Oregon also.

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Soccer – even on a club level – is a good EC for schools that like the balance of arts (music in your case), athletics and academics. Williams falls into this category and I believe it would be a good fit for you, but it’s still highly selective.

If in December you’re still open to all three options make sure you have a safety in each.

BArch at Oregon is a good suggestion. Probably a safety, but I’m not sure about OOS tuition.

I’d also look at Auburn. Excellent BArch program and no portfolio required. Also probably a safety. I believe they offer merit aid.

For BS Architecture, Virginia is very good, in a similar cohort with Tulane and WUSTL. Again, not sure about OOS tuition.

Among LACs, I’d like to mention Connecticut College which has a good BA architectural studies program and would be a match/safety for you. Need-based aid only.
http://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/academic-programs/architectural-studies/

Berkeley does have a BA Architecture which I’m sure is a great program. It may be a financial safety for you, but not an academic safety. I’m not that familiar with undergraduate architecture BAs at the other UC/CSUs.

I believe males can take courses at Scripps if they’re at Pitzer or other consortium schools. You might double check, though.

Aunts don’t count for legacy advantage.

I spent some time on the CalPoly website but didn’t get the answer I was looking for. I understand that you have to choose a major when you apply, but is the architecture (specifically the BArch) a separate choice from Environmental Design? Or is it a combined choice? If the admissions rate for the BArch program is really nearly 50% it’s a wonderful opportunity, but it just doesn’t sound right to me.

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@‌turbo93 Thank you for the suggestion, I’ll look at U of Oregon :slight_smile:

@momrath Thank you :smile:

I think I’ll know more about which type/s of program/s I’m interested in pursuing once I go to a summer architecture program.

I’ll consider Auburn, Connecticut, and Virginia as well, thank you for the suggestion.

I think UCLA and maybe one other UC have a BA/BS Arch/Arch Studies.

The 2009 statistics are from only the BArch program while the more recent statistics are from all Architecture/Environmental Design majors. However, if that 96/1539 is acceptances and not enrolls, the statistics have to have changed significantly in the past few years. Either that or there is a very small yield for accepted students, or both.

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@SomeChoirGuy, Let us know how things go as the process progresses. And good luck!

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@momrath Okay! Thank you for all of your help!

I have applied to Tulane’s program and all I need to do for WUSTL’s program is write the essay and get my materials together. My physics and English teachers both said they would write letters of recommendation for me. I guess the decisions I have to make are how to write a “500-word essay expressing your interest in the program” well without sounding verbose or repetitive as well as weather it’s better to apply earlier to show interest, or wait until I get my (hopefully better) scores from my SAT this saturday (the 14th, I’m convinced I’ll be lucky because it’s pi day) and hopefully have a better chance at merit aid. I like ND’s program, but I don’t want to pay the $250 cancellation fee, and I think I like the other 2 a little better.

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I finished my application to WUSTL’s program, and I had some fun on the SAT on Saturday. I think I did better than last time. I’ll update again when I hear back from either program!

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I got accepted for Tulane’s program! :slight_smile:

I’m glad I got in to a program. Now I just have to focus on which to choose on the off chance that I do get in to WashU’s.

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I woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning when I got my SAT scores back!

I went from a 2040 to a 2260!!! (740CR 760M/W)

I don’t really know if WUSTL’s program is selective enough for it to matter if I send them these scores, and I haven’t heard from them yet because of an error with getting an email to one of my references. I just thought I’d post this because it made me really happy!!! :smiley:

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Well done. Send your scores to WUSTL. I doubt that it would make a difference, but see no down side to sending them.

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@momrath I did, thank you :slight_smile:

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I just found out that I got accepted to the program at WashU/WUSTL :smiley:

In case this information could be helpful to anyone, I’m fairly certain they didn’t consider my SAT scores much if at all, they didn’t wait for my second letter of recommendation (I don’t think my second recommender has even gotten the email asking for it yet), and I did not apply for financial aid.

I’m looking forward to going to this program!!

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To update:
The first week is ending, and and so far I love the program. The campus is great (despite the lack of variety in food available over the summer), the program is teaching the other students and me a lot, and everyone’s having a great time. That said, it is a lot of work; from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM I’m either eating or in studio, and I’m still a bit “behind” (behind our schedule, same as 90% of the people). I’ve learned a lot about architecture, gotten one/some thing/s for my portfolio, and learned a bit (though notably less) about drawing too. I’d highly recommend this program to anyone on the fence about it. I’m looking forward to next week and I’ll update again by the end of it!

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I’m done with the program, and I highly recommend it to anyone considering it. I learned a lot about architecture and about WashU over the course of the two weeks. I got 2 portfolio pieces (3 if I finished everything) from arch studio and some possible (although mediocre because I’m bad at art) portfolio pieces from drawing studio. If I really, really, really wanted to stretch it I’d have 6-9 pieces from the entire program, but that would be really spacing out the pieces that go together. I had a great time while I was there, and I devoted pretty much ALL of my time to architecture, except on the weekend when we toured places, only about half of my time on those days lol. Every rising senior had an interview opportunity, and the rising juniors had a group interview in the interest of time.

If I left out anything you want to know or if you have any questions about the program, feel free to ask!

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@SomeChoirGuy - In post #20, you said:


[QUOTE=""]
According to http://admissions.calpoly.edu/prospective/profile.html Cal Poly's acceptance rate in the category of "Architecture & Env. Design" is 882/1,845, or about 47.8% (compared to 37% overall, which is odd).

[/QUOTE]

You have to isolate the architecture school from the other majors (see one way below).

In 2014, Cal Poly SLO’s architecture school acceptance rate was about 31%.

Not crazy selective (about 1 in 3), but not 47.8% either.

If you see any errors, please correct.

How Estimated

Cal Poly SLO’s College of Architecture & Environmental Design
Source: http://calpolynews.calpoly.edu/quickfacts.html
If you follow the links, you’ll find “fact books” that give information by year.

In 2014, Cal Poly’s overall College of Architecture & Environmental Design received 1,841 applications and accepted 880 students, an overall acceptance rate of 47.8%.

From the accepted number 880, 454 enrolled, for an overall yield of 51.6%.

The fact book indicates that the College of Architecture & Environmental Design includes five different majors:

  1. Architecture
  2. Architectural Engineering
  3. City and Regional Planning
  4. Construction Management
  5. Landscape Architecture

Of the enrolled number of 454, 186 of them were architecture students:
• Architectural 186

The other 268 enrollees were spread across the other four majors:
• Architectural Engineering 98
• City and Regional Planning 32
• Construction Management 101
• Landscape Architecture 37

The Architecture School’s own “about us” page indicate that in 2014 it received 996 freshman applications, out of which 186 were enrolled as freshman:

http://www.architecture.calpoly.edu/about

196 enrolled from 996 that applied produces a combined “selected and enrolled” rate of 18.67%.

They don’t give a separate acceptance rate (but it must be larger than overall selected and enrolled rate of 18.67%).

They also don’t give a yield, but the yield is surely higher than the college’s overall yield of 51.6%.

Let’s guess that the architecture yield is 60%.

If 60%, the architecture school would have needed to accept 310 students to yield 186 enrollees.

If the number accepted was 310, and the number that applied was 996, then the school of architecture’s isolated acceptance rate is 310/996, or about 31%.

If the yield is higher, say 70%, than the school would have needed to accept only 268 students, and the acceptance rate would drop to about 27%.

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@eetrojan Thanks for that, I couldn’t find the statistics for just architecture on my own :slight_smile: