Architecture School : Things I wish I'd known Before (AKA why I left Cornell/The Ivy League) 

Smoll models are the best!

It is quite a bit- if you're a masters student, you can apply for some scholarships. The Nordea Fond one says that if you're a foreign student, you can apply if you're studying in Denmark. But you'll need to apply with a Danish essay.

@@KathrynLarsen Thanks for the recommendation, unfortunately I don't know Danish and probably will have time only to focus on my portfolio! As far as my research goes (correct me if I'm mistaking), universities like KADK or Aarhus don't offer any financial support, unlike their counterparts in Sweden or some others. So I need to look for other resources...

@@kimianoorinejad4139 that is correct. arts funding has been almost completely defunded for scholarships for foreigners in Denmark- in general, almost all scholarship options have been. I would definitely say you'll get better quality for price elsewhere as well! Right now I'm studying at TU Delft and they also have some decent scholarship options, so maybe consider it?

@@KathrynLarsen Sure! I'll look that up. I'm especially interested in computational design and I've heard that TU Delft has better courses compared to Denmark in general. By the way, I'm really interested in your work and to be honest you're an inspiration! Keep up the good work! I guess I might come to you with more questions, if thats alright 😄

@@kimianoorinejad4139 I can aaaabsolutely confirm all of this! stay in touch :)

Ups : cool professors and famous visiting architects giving lectures from time to time. Learned a lot in a really short time about how to see the world in a different light and what a design concept could be. Downs: probably the school that has the best studio fit for me is TU Delft. I don't do all nighters and at the TU, the studio closes at 7pm. When I attended cornell it was the all-nighter atmosphere and because I prioritized my sleep I occasionally was told I didn't deserve a good crit because I didn't work hard enough. Sometimes professors or TAs would check the studio at 1 or 2 am to see who was working. I have a better relationship with my Cornell classmates now long after their graduation because the atmosphere inside of the school sometimes led to people lashing out at each other or bullying to cope with the stress. Felt like we were being pitted against each other a lot. But I attended a long time ago. It's been over 8 years since I attended Cornell. So maybe this studio culture has changed.

Also are you open to looking over my portfolio? I'm not sure if it is going in the right direction (in terms of what AAP would want to see).

Hi Angela- no I loved the winter especially because it snows a lot! But I know the dark days affected a lot of people. I would be happy to look at your portfolio but since I haven't attended in a decade I would try to reach out to more recent graduates. You can send it to my mail at kathrynelizabethlarsen@gmail.com.

Exciting to know that another "Xu' like me is applying to Cornell architecture, but instead of choosing the RD route, I went ED instead and I am hearing back in a few days ;3

I would have stayed for sure, but I am not sure if that would have been the best decision for me in hindsight. I am not sure how my mental health would have fared for 5 years in that environment, because even though the education was amazing and I learned so much, I was always tired and burnt out. To this date- however, I always draw inspiration from my time studying there, because it was such an impact on my life. Leaving that atmosphere allowed me to figure out my own pacing while studying, and the freedom to explore my own interests!

Actually not for me- if you see some of my school videos you see I get a lot of inspiration from nature and ithaca is gorge-ous ! I spent a lot of my free time in and around lake cayuga, hiking, and really enjoyed how beautiful the campus was.

Good question. It completely comes down to your parents finances. Based on that, the school will determine how much aid you are eligible. If you are below poverty line and manage to claw your way into the school and beat all the odds against you, then you rightfully qualify for big scholarships like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation scholarships.

I can imagine! It's not very intuitive at first!

hi! I would be happy to. Please reach out to my email : kathrynelizabethlarsen@gmail.com

It really depends on whether you get aid etc. It has changed a lot since I went there almost a decade ago. Maybe you can ask admissions!

It could be the case, but this was well over 8 years ago that I attended, so I'm not sure. Mostly everyone I knew in architecture was loaned up to the max, few students had full rides and many had some form of financial aid which included work study.