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Photo: Zach Klein

As I wrote before, I found myself to be a “C” caliber student in studio throughout my academic career. This was a trend that I just could not seem to escape, no matter how hard I tried to address it. Was it just me or did it have to do with architecture programs in general?

My Situation

I was always the straight A student. I considered an A- to be a poor grade and I held myself to that standard. When it came time to go to college, I applied everywhere and received scholarships at most schools. In the end, I went to school on a full-ride halfway across the country.

The conditions of my scholarship were simple: keep a 3.0 and I don’t have to pay for a thing. Seeing as I had never really received a B before in my life, I figured this to be an easy condition to meet. I was wrong.

During my first fall semester, I found that my studio classes were a great outlet to channel my nervous energy and meet new people.  I spent a lot of my otherwise spare time in studio working late into the night. Even while people went to their small hometowns to visit boyfriends and girlfriends back on the farm, I would spend most of my weekends up in studio with the select few who chose to stick around. Despite all of this effort, I received my first C ever…in studio.

Who Do I Need To Talk To?

How did this happen? My parents were stunned and they figured I was smoking pot all day at school. I found it hard to explain myself. I consistently finished complete projects as they were assigned and I felt I met all of the requirements for each case. I did the work, so why was I not being rewarded/recognized for it in return? Obviously worried, I questioned whether or not architecture was really my calling. It was already a little too late however as I found myself enthralled in the study and investigation that an architecture degree entailed. I chose to continue on.

When I returned to school, I learned what many other students received. I found there were many C’s given out and a few surprising A’s. I say they were surprising because I knew very well that these people often found it difficult to complete just about every project. Even though they would put in the late nights that I had, they just never seemed to get a damn thing done! So what was so different about them? Why do they deserve an A?

I reached out to the student advisor and the studio teachers to help me understand what it would take to receive better grades in the future. What could I do differently!?! Due to the subjective nature of architecture school, no one could give me any concrete explanations or solutions. I made it clear that this wasn’t an issue that I could just brush off; that a scholarship was at stake worth tens of thousands of dollars.  In the end, it became clear to me that grades weren’t as important as it was to merely pass or fail…and some people had already failed. Upon this realization, I took a big gulp and carried on.

The next semester was better. I got out, met more people and engaged in more activities. I received straight A’s in all of my classes except for Studio: a B-. With my GPA substantially above my minimum 3.0 mark, I was doing okay. Still, the lackluster grade in my most important, and heavily weighted, class was not up to par. Again, I communicated my frustrations to the student advisers and my professors during my summer break. I did not understand what needed to be done in order to receive those higher grades.

Furthering my frustration, I found that the same people received high marks once more. While I do not think these people deserved much acclaim for their incomplete work (as this would not fly in a professional environment) I did realize that these people never finished because they were constantly searching for a “breakthrough” moment. They would rack their brain to try and come up with solutions that were unique and presented a different take on the design problems. Sometimes they would show sparks of inspiration and I feel that it is that “spark” that professors would reward.

Seriously…Just Tell Me What To Do!

Photo:aphasiafilms

The next year, my sophomore year, was the year in which students that wouldn’t make it further to our Professional Program were weeded out. The fall semester was filled with heavy charettes and a new design project every week. I managed to turn in complete works for each and every project, while only a handful of students could say the same. I thought I had developed a good working relationship with my professor and I felt good about my improvement during the semester. So I was surprised when my grades came in and I read a big fat “C” next to “Studio.”

Knowing that I had put in work far above and beyond most other students, I was furious. My first day back for the spring semester, I went to my professor and demanded an explanation. I even made it known my intent to challenge the grades. Then I spoke with some other classmates and realized they had voiced similar sentiments to their teachers. The verdict was the same; we could hope for no better than what we were given and only extraordinary conditions would change the grades. “We were lucky to just have made it to the professional program.”

This is the moment that I realized that grades simply did not matter to the professors. They were the sole reason why us students stayed late into the nights and lost sleep, but they were of no consequence to the professors. It all sounds very depressing like a doomsday scenario, but there would be no sympathy from the instructors, this was clear. This fact even drove some of the students that made it through to the prestigious professional program to other majors, like Interior Design or History. Actually, most of them did extremely well in these new degree programs after they abandoned their C’s and D’s from studio.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I really must highlight the “A” students one more time. During this semester, one of our projects was to redesign the entry to our campus library. We were given a week to do so and were required to come up with a plan, elevation and axon of our proposal. One student, who actually received an Aat the end of this semester, presented an immaculate, well crafted, realistic rendering of…(drum-roll)…two pipes. Yep. She got two of ‘em rendered. No plan. No elevation. Just two pipes and a kinda/sorta idea of where the door was going to be, lightly framed out in pencil. She stayed up all night to do this.

When she presented, she spoke about her “process” and the issues that she was trying to sort out in her head. Where did the two pipes come in? I really don’t know or care. Maybe one was a door handle…? Anyways, the professors actually ate it up! (what the..?) Yeah, they said it was unfortunate that she couldn’t get her proposal rendered in time to show her ideas fully. Basically, the professors filled the white space of her page up using their imagination. Of course they liked what they saw in their own egotistical heads!

The Inevitable Fall Out

Over the course of the next few semesters, our technology classes were incorporated into our studio classes and became one large grade accounting for more of my overall GPA (over 2/3 of my credits)! Eventually I lost my scholarship after my third year and had to figure out what I was going to do.

I tried transfer to a program in my hometown…at least then I wouldn’t have to pay out of state tuition. Sadly, only a few credits would carry over and I would have to go back to second year. It was a lose-lose situation as I realized that the apathy I was experiencing translated to other universities as well.  I went back to finish my degree, and rack up some serious student-loan debt.

FREEDOM!

Photo: ????L

Once I was stripped of my scholarship, I realized that there was some liberation that came with not having to worry about grades. I moved out of campus housing into a house with friends. We threw parties, my football viewing increased and I took my work home more. I was actually enjoying life and felt better about myself. Also, without having to fear how my professors would perceive my work, I opened up to doing more work that I wanted to do and less of what I thought was expected of me. The result was a B+ after my next semester.

Through the rest of my academic career, I did more of what I wanted to do. I found that I was producing better work and I was excited to present the projects at the end of the semester to show offmy my own “breakthrough moments.” I spent two semesters traveling abroad and I was able to enjoy these semesters even more because I didn’t feel a constant need to be in studio while in these amazing places.

By the time I finished my graduate thesis project, I had established myself as a competent and creative student, by both my peers and professors. I am not going to say I was the best, or that I even received those coveted A’s in studio. But I did manage to overcome that latent apathy I had experienced throughout most of my collegiate career.

Lesson To Be Learned

Ah yes…as with every “tragic” story comes the lesson that we are supposed to get out of it all. Plain and simple, architecture programs do not care about you or your problems. It’s a good real world primer actually. It is impossible to know what they are looking for when it comes to receiving great grades. You would be much better off trying to enjoy yourself in college while still getting your assignments done.

If you are still worried about trying to get the better grades, then be yourself and work doing the things that you personally like. If you can keep excited and engaged in every project that you do, you should be able to establish yourself in your degree program. Strive to find a unique way to solve each design problem and you may find yourself in the company of the A students….just don’t bring two pipes to the table, please.