My Architecture Portfolio / Non-Background / Yale, MIT, Rice, Tulane Accepted

[@johnnytest3230]

If you don’t mind me asking, what was your personal statement about

[@mirandakclark]

Hi! Great question! Here's a quick summary of my answers, but to preface-- these responses should come from you, your unique experiences, and passions. No idea is too small or irrelevant. Take your time to write and work through as many drafts as you can. These essays became the starting point of my research during grad school and something I returned to when I felt low. Boiler plate essays are easy to spot, so make them STAND OUT. Yes, I touched on hardship in my essays, but focused more on how I overcame them and found success. Schools are looking for students who won't waste the opportunities at the university and students who will make the most out of their three years (even when things get hard). YSoA had two essays with separate prompts when I applied. Prompt 1: Please describe a significant experience, idea, passion, or pursuit that has led you to apply to the Yale School of Architecture. This essay focused on my WHY for pursuing public art and how those opportunities eventually limited what I felt I was capable as a designer and how now needed the skills acquired in architecture school to grow in my field. I summarized a couple of opportunities that led me to this decision. I concluded with noting several courses that aligned with my interests and how I could contribute to the overall quality and collaborative nature within the cohort-- essentially what I had to offer as a candidate. Prompt 2: What excites you about the future of architecture and what would you like your role to be in that future? I used this prompt to really focus on hopes for my career and hinged this on comparing and contrasting relevant events that shaped the way I viewed public space and accessibility-- Hurricane Katrina (which I lived through in 2005) and Covid. I essentially summed up how architecture could either be for or against the public and how a new generation of designers (me included) need to practice grass roots, community engaged methods of development in order to keep our communities whole. I hope this helps and I would really love to make a video on this topic! EDIT: I focus on my YSoA essays because that's where I attended. My essays to each school slightly varied in terms of arrangement, but the topics stayed consistent.

[@jasurjahongirov8456]

As an architecture student, I’m really amazed by your work. Congratulations 🎉

[@mirandakclark]

@jasurjahongirov8456 thank you so much! The portfolio really makes it alllll come together!

[@sheenw6097]

Hi! I’m going to be in my 4th year of undergrad architecture next semester and am looking to apply for grad school soon, so your videos are super helpful for me!! It’s honestly just super comforting to hear that someone struggled with similar things that I am, and I really appreciate your thoroughness and detailed tips (: thank you again!

[@mirandakclark]

Hi! That's so great to hear! Thank you! I knew that if this video could just encourage one person, figuring out how to make it would be worth it. Do you know where you want to apply yet? Let me know if there's anything specific I can help with!

[@universtar-me]

thank you SO much for this. You are for real a goddess right now. Im in the process of applying and its so overwhelming especially coming from a non arch background. Most portfolio videos are from people with arch backgrounds. This video is helping me so much and I especially love the section where you talked about what you would have done differently. It is so so insightful. This video made my day and Im really grateful. Cant wait for your next vids

[@mirandakclark]

Ahhh thank you so much! I totally understand, but know your strength will always come from having a non-background! I'm currently working through a video about resumes/ cv's that will tie into overall formatting! Let me know if there is anything else I can make a video on that would be helpful! Best of luck on your applications and take time to rest (while enjoying the season)!

[@brigittecarlos1766]

your video was my best help. Thanks for it!

[@mirandakclark]

@@brigittecarlos1766 I'm so glad! 💥

[@jessicako9532]

Thank you for this video! I'm applying this fall and I feel so lost about everything so thank you so so much for putting this together!

[@mirandakclark]

Absolutely! I'm so happy you found this encouraging! Best of luck on your applications! I'm prepping two new videos on my resume and personal statement if those would also be helpful!

[@jessicako9532]

@@mirandakclark Yes! excited to watch those as well! Thank uu

[@universtar-me]

same!! applying this fall and good luck to you

[@universtar-me]

@@mirandakclark yes pleasee

[@shamanpemberton1145]

Good evening Miranda, Yes you need to keep all your architectural profolio since college. I have myself an architecture and areospace engineering degree at a technical college.

[@oliverclarkstudio]

Great Job! Making this!

[@08HA28]

Nice very detailed video, I enjoyed it very much, do you mind sharing what website you used to create or build the portfolio or make these designs?

[@mirandakclark]

@@08HA28 hi there! Thanks so much! I used Adobe InDesign to create my portfolio!

[@shamanpemberton1145]

As for all architectural cad drafters bring calculations to the stress loads of all bearing, unbearing walls, area of the roof, ceiling joist. The stress load is base on 70 square feet per pound. Bring Isaac Newton in this calculation prelimary.

[@hastiamaniii]

Hiiii , Can I ask If yale also have interior design major and if it does can U plz show us an accepted portfolio there

[@phongquachhoai5177]

Hi there! Great video on architecture portfolios! I was hoping to ask you a question: I’m applying for a master’s program in Sweden, and they require the portfolio to be a PDF file under 10 MB. Do you have any tips on how to keep the image quality high while ensuring the file stays under 10 MB? Thanks so much in advance!

[@mirandakclark]

oof that's a tough one but here are a few ways to tackle this: 1. Make sure all images in your portfolio are jpegs...pdf's greatly increase file size and ability to be compressed - This can be quickly checked in the "Links" dialog box 2. Under Edit > Export > Compression begin down sampling to a lower DPI...the default is 300 but try nudging the numbers closer to 200-225 - In special cases, I will re-export drawings from Illustrator at a lower resolution at medium quality 3. Take comfort in knowing that portfolios are viewed on screens and are often times vetted by students in the first round of review--they have hundreds to flip through so small details are never read for sake of efficiency. What I mean is that it's okay to have lower resolution images because our brains are remarkable at filling in missing information-- so the site photographs (or similar) can be a lower resolution. Let me know if this helps!

[@phongquachhoai5177]

@@mirandakclark Thank you so much for your excellent tips on compressing a portfolio to under 10 MB! I was really struggling with keeping the image quality intact, and your advice has been incredibly helpful. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share such useful insights-it’s made all the difference. Thanks again for your help!

[@mirandakclark]

@phongquachhoai5177 you're welcome! I'm happy to help in any way I can....including new videos soon, but post-graduation life has been a wild ride. Keep the questions coming if you have any more!

[@Vitwoes]

Btw, adobe pdf compress does a really god job.. I mean, after all if your doc couldn’t fit the 10Mb cap.

[@rspystudio]

Great Video!! Were you required to take the GRE? Asking from overseas :)

[@mirandakclark]

@rspystudio hi and thank you! Great question! I applied to grad school in 2020 right when many programs stopped requiring the GRE due to Covid restrictions and testing center closures. That being said, no I was not required to take the GRE but I opted to take it for two reasons: 1. I hadn't been in school for many years and had a low undergrad GPA. I thought the GRE would show that I was serious and that I've continued to learn and grow outside the classroom. I also hoped my GRE scores would help me skirt prerequisites for MIT. 2. Studying for the GRE - practice essays, vocabulary, and basic math-- was a great way to get myself ready for grad school regardless of my final scores. Even if you don't take it...the free study tools are a great resource! I submitted my GRE scores to Rice, MIT, and YSoA.

[@maibellar]

Hi I see that you submitted more than 30 pages do you know if they have a max limit of pages and if you followed the max limit ? Thank you

[@mirandakclark]

Hi! the max page limit depends on the school and you ALWAYS want to follow the page limit (and file size) for your upload. I believe in my year of application, Tulane had the shortest portfolio requirement (and the first deadline) so that is what I submitted to each school with minor edits here and there. If there is no max limit, I would not exceed 60 pages or 30 spreads. The portfolio must be extremely curated and is only as strong as your weakest image. Best of luck!

[@samiwolfgreystorm9604]

Can you get a better mic? It sounds like we are hearing you for an old corrupted video.

[@mirandakclark]

Sheeesh not so much a mic problem, but a "me editing problem". I'm hoping to get better with each video! Producing a 30 minute video for my first full edit was definitely more than I could handle.