<p>Okay, thought I’d bring up two subjects in one topic to prevent this forum being cluttered by my amateurish questions. Both relate to MArch I graduate application, and both also relate to the fact that I’ve currently only taken one semester of official college-level art.</p>
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<p>LORs (letters of recommendation)</p>
<p>As I understand it, LORs are fairly important for architecture grad school admissions. I’m guessing that they should ideally come from art professors or professors who at least have the capability to write a compelling LOR that highlight your potential for success in architecture after taking a gander at your portfolio.</p>
<p>The problem is, in college I only took one art history class (fortunately, I got an A in it, and the art class had a lot of architecture-related discussion).</p>
<p>So I will probably get a letter of recommendation from this teacher, assuming that an LOR from an art professor would hold more weight (due to the perceived greater likelihood that an art professor would be able to sufficiently analyze one’s potential for success in architecture) than non-art professors in the face of architecture grad school admissions.</p>
<p>Other than that, what else could I do? How many LORs do I need to have a good chance in architecture grad school admissions? (Meanwhile, am I right in what I said before about art professors - that LORs from them would typically carry more weight than from non-art professors?)</p>
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<p>IB</p>
<p>A lot of art grad schools say they require x semesters of college-level art. I’ve only taken 1 semester of an “official” college-level art class, but I have 2 years of IB Higher Level art. A lot of universities accept IB (and especially IB Higher Level) courses for college-level credit, so do you think that 2 years of an IB Higher Level art class can be counted as an equivalent to “official” college-level art classes, given that you make a case for it if they don’t initially accept it?</p>
<p>It’s fine to have letters from non-art and design teachers.</p>
<p>Regarding studio art classes, there’s usually a place in the application for anything else you want to say, explain that you took a college level art class in high school. However this will only work if the official college class you took is not the equivalent of your IB class - ie. not Intro to Studio Art. You could call the college admissions committees if you don’t want to waste application money, I’m sure some schools will cut you some leeway here, but not all. </p>
<p>But of course it begs the question a little bit, if you are a design oriented person, why weren’t you tempted to take more art or design courses in college?</p>
<p>I also just applied to M.Arch I (3-Yr)… I met with the graduate programs coordinator at Arizona State, and she told me that (at least at ASU) the biggest factor in determining acceptance into the M.Arch program was the portfolio. She said it was roughly 85% of the decision. Of course, they look at your GPA, GREs, and Recommendations, but in them they’re only looking for consistency and a reasonable level of intelligence. Most of the programs I applied to say right on the websites that they’re looking for GREs around 500+ Verbal and 600+ Analytical… GPA above 3.2 or so. </p>
<p>So here’s the thing… yes, you need 3 letters of recommendation, but they wont count nearly as much as your portfolio. I’m assuming you’re thinking of applying next year, since most of the MArch applications are long since past due… so use the year you have to work on design projects and your portfolio primarily! Take some art classes at community college (not for credit, just for experience & portfolio)… that type of thing… dont worry too much about your letters of rec, just get a few professors to vouch for your intelligence and work ethic… if you got straight A’s i’m sure a few of them would be happy to help you out! </p>
<p>Also, start early. Most schools want the portfolio, Letters, Intent, and Recs sent to them in one package, which involves getting all these pieces of information compiled well before your first application is due… </p>