panantha1

Anyone out there that has received the brochure for the 3 scholarships????

ARCHcornell

Hey guys, I'm also applying to Cornell AAP this year. What did you guys put into your portfolios?

bneg

panantha, have you seen this?

does cornell give out merit aid?

panantha1

bneg: thanks for the information. The brochure that the college sent was brief and I pretty much got the information from the web site. I was told that this brochure is mailed to the students that have been nominated by the colleges they have applied to. However, the final selection is based on the commitee. I do not know when this is done. My son has applied for ED - his first hope is that he gets into Cornell. After that, I do not know if the college will let you know right away if you are selected for the scholarship or if you have to wait until April or so.

My son also received the course catalogue - thick maroon book - half the thickness of the phone book. Did anyone else get this yet?

bneg

wow that's nice...i applied RD, and so i haven't received stuff yet.

panantha1

ARCHcornell: The school suggests 15-20 pieces in the portfolio. They will definetely want to see some free hand drawing. Since my son has been taking stuio art since 9th grade - he had a few from these classes that he really liked and wanted them in the portfolio. Basically, there was a variety in his portfolio - some acryllic paintings/some sketches/some charcoal drawings/some conti crayons/photography etc... He submitted close to 20 but not 20 items. I hear some people also include other items such as any woodwork etc... that they have done.
When we visited cornell during spring break, we got to see some sample portfolio of others that were admitted to the college. This really helped us to get an idea of what to submit.
Hope this helps.

Justin_hui

the important thing is to express who you are. professors may look at how well you draw, but what they really want to see is how your thinking process is and who you really are, as expressed by your creative works. when professors choose their applicants, they tend to look for those that stand out, and usually diversify their choices so they have a diverse selection. don't try to create works that you think they will enjoy, but create works that mean a lot to you. .it deosn't need to be professional. you can even include very premature sketches of concepts or ideas so professors can see how you came about an idea. there are just too many people with the same art skills and too many people creating self portraits, etc. they want to see who you are. the projects that you include can be as creative as you want them to be, or can be any situation...like how you came to approach a problem creatively.

because arch admissions are so subjective, my suggestion is to diversify. but that may not be the case. if you're really good at one medium, then focus on that one medium. basically a portfolio is a manifestation of who you are.

so be yourself.

anotherann

yeah really.

i have no idea how parents help with portfolio. art + architecture... i can never create anything worthwhile or good if i am working for anything other than myself... i figure i put forward my best and if that's not what they want, it's not the school for me

regardless
eugh. how frightening. 2 weeks. justin-- do you know a girl named Kim who did the arch program at cornell this summer??

Justin_hui

yeah i know kim. i didn't know her well. we didn't talk much but she was in the section next to mine's. she had some pretty good work. she currently resides in LA i believe?

panantha1

"i have no idea how parents help with portfolio. art + architecture... "

Anotherann: what do you mean by this? I am a parent too - Although I am on this forum for discussion, let me tell you that all the effort is 100% my son's - atleast in my case. I believe that if the effort is not your own, it will show sooner or later!!! Getting admission is one thing and dropping out is another!!!! I have also heard that people pay money to get professional help for essay writing. I trust that the colleges can identify student's work from professional help. After all, they go through thousands of applications every year.

anotherann

justin-- no, she goes to my school in san francisco, she's earlying too good luck to all of us, hopefully in two weeks everything will go well

panantha-- i wasn't speaking specifically to you, i'm sure your son's work is his own, i'm not accusing you. you said something about choosing what work with your son to put in his portfolio, and personally, i can't imagine my parents doing that with me. however, i'm as egoistic as any wannabe architect will be, so maybe my situation doesn't apply to yours

take it easy. we're all nervous for decisions, and the arch program is tough. i have another first choice, so things aren't as serious for me, maybe.

panantha1

Anotherann: I do understand that you are not accusing me of anything. I welcome your comments. I am a parent who wants the best for my child(I'm sure every parent has the same hopes). When my son submitted his portfolio work to Cornell, he did ask my opinion when selecting certain pieces of work to submit and I gave him my honest opinion. When he had a choice of two and wanted to submit one of them, I told him which one I would have picked of the two. Having said this, the decision was ultimately his.

I know that all of you are anxiously waiting and I wish the best to all of you.

Dos

Besides architecture, is it important that you agree with your declared major junior year? Anyone knows if students begin taking classes freshman year for urban students?

panantha1

Anotherann: who is 44. l1ne9 - AAP (arch) on the Official ED roster? Just curios?

anotherann

it's me, you could check who had posted it... but to save you the trouble :-) i listed my AIM