What do I need to transfer to architecture at a different school?

College Majors Architecture Major
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<p>How high is the GPA requirement? I spent 3 semesters doing chemical engineering, which I came to regret (still on my sophomore yr, thankfully). No surprise I didn’t do well there, my gpa took a real hit down to about 2.7. I’m thinking of transferring to either Architecture or Architecture engineering, still can’t really decide which (but I still have enough time since I have to take some more math and arts classes). I'm planning to transfer to another school soon, I figured if I do well this 1 semester or 2 (I technically became a freshman again) I'll get about 3.0-3.1 gpa. </p>

<p>Problem is, is it enough to get accepted at high end schools? I'm really hoping on UT Austin or others including: UW, UMich-Ann Arbor, U of Maryland, Penn State, Ohio State or Virginia Tech. I tried calling and emailing some, but they all gave vague answers. </p>

<p>I did consider U of Ill- Urbana Champaign, but I crossed it off the list after the admission rep who received my call said I have absolutely no chance of getting there w/ a 3.0 no matter what. I also assume I'll have no chance on far reach schools like Rice, U Penn or Wash.U</p>

<p>Maybe I’m aiming too high, but an advisor told me to apply even to the flagships anyway, saying that many good schools count on portfolio more than gpa for architecture transfers. Does a good portfolio really give a good 2nd chance for such low gpa? If so, what should I include in my portfolio?</p>

<p>What else do I need? </p>

<p>Please help, all advices are welcomed. Thanks</p>

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<p>Forgot to mention it,
As an international student I didn’t have to submit a portfolio to get admitted to WA State, hence my complete ignorance. In some cases gpa isn’t my strong suit also. I admit I’m not exactly a “grade minded” student, more of a balance of life and academics type.
My English skills probably have some effect as well. I have no trouble understanding what most professors or TAs said, but there are some w/ really weird foreign accent (Russian, Chinese and Pakistani to name a few), and this guy w/ an odd accent from Mississippi whose English I can’t understand at all.</p>

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<p>guys, anyone???</p>