To be an Architect
Donation protected
My name is Garrett Jones, and someday in the not-so-distant future I will be an architect...But I need some help getting there!
From the tender age of 8 years old I was hooked on architecture. Fast forward to 2014...still hooked. Indeed it is my passion, and a bit of a love affair, really. I have spent a lifetime in design, and it truly means everything to me.
So it was the best day of my life when I was accepted into Syracuse University's School of Architecture--the nation's fourth oldest program, and a program that consistently ranks in the top ten architecture programs in the country (ranked third in the nation in 2013! Source: http://archrecord.construction.com/features/Americas_Best_Architecture_Schools/2012/Architecture-Education-Now/Americas-Top-Architecture-Schools-2013-2.asp). I got in!
But before the breakthrough to Syracuse was disappointment and frustration. Following high school, I had an opportunity to attend architecture school in London--at The Bartlett School of Architecture (University College London). It was a wonderful opportunity that, unfortunately, I was never able to attend: As I would have been an international student, financial aid was minimal. And so, for the first time, my ability to attend a great university was entirely derailed by money (or lack thereof). But I was not discouraged. Certainly this opportunity would not be wasted by my efforts. Earnestly, I applied for student loans--private loans to pay for my education, to pay for architecture school which I had dreamed of attending since I was 8.
Denied. Denied. Denied. Even with a cosigner (my dad, who had made every effort to help me get there, but whose credit was less-than-sterling)--denied, again. I would be unable to attend architecture school that year. It was out of my hands. But I was not discouraged. I deferred my entry for one year, vowing to raise my credit score to near-perfect numbers so as to get that loan!
The next year was spent frugally. I worked full time to save every penny I could to finally attend architecture school. And by the time I was ready to apply for the loans again the following summer, my credit score was ten points shy of 800 through all credit bureaus--pretty darn good, I thought. But it was not to be. I was, predictably, awarded a minimal aid package to attend UCL, and, again, I was denied all loans (with the banks citing my short credit history as the source of denial). And so, for the second time, my ability to attend was entirely derailed by money.
But I was not discouraged.
I kept my eyes forward, locked onto architecture school in the US--to the school I had wanted to attend for as long as I can remember: Syracuse University. And so I dilligently plucked away at community college, earning the credits necessary to advance to the Syracuse University School of Architecture, building a portfolio in the process. In community college, I was an honor's scholar, a Phi Theta Kappa member, and maintained a position at the top of my class--I would get to Syracuse! And so I did.
God is good! My dream came true--I would get to study architecture at Syracuse University! And I am so very close to doing so. But here is the part where I need help...YOUR help.
Because of my stellar performance in community college I was awarded a very generous aid package to attend. But, I am still short. $9,000 short, in fact. My cost of attendance is $60,000, but I am so very close. I pray that my ability to attend a wonderful school of architecture will not be derailed a third time.
I ask, in humility, for your help in collecting the $9,000 so that I can become an architect. I realize this is no small sum. Anything you are willing to contribute is sincerely, gratefully, wholeheartedly, and overwhelmingly appreciated.
Thank you for reading this and for caring about my future. I truly hope we can make my dream of becoming an architect come to fruition.
Here is a link to my portfolio (and the portfolio with which I applied to Syracuse): http://www.blurb.com/books/5105752-portfolio
From the tender age of 8 years old I was hooked on architecture. Fast forward to 2014...still hooked. Indeed it is my passion, and a bit of a love affair, really. I have spent a lifetime in design, and it truly means everything to me.
So it was the best day of my life when I was accepted into Syracuse University's School of Architecture--the nation's fourth oldest program, and a program that consistently ranks in the top ten architecture programs in the country (ranked third in the nation in 2013! Source: http://archrecord.construction.com/features/Americas_Best_Architecture_Schools/2012/Architecture-Education-Now/Americas-Top-Architecture-Schools-2013-2.asp). I got in!
But before the breakthrough to Syracuse was disappointment and frustration. Following high school, I had an opportunity to attend architecture school in London--at The Bartlett School of Architecture (University College London). It was a wonderful opportunity that, unfortunately, I was never able to attend: As I would have been an international student, financial aid was minimal. And so, for the first time, my ability to attend a great university was entirely derailed by money (or lack thereof). But I was not discouraged. Certainly this opportunity would not be wasted by my efforts. Earnestly, I applied for student loans--private loans to pay for my education, to pay for architecture school which I had dreamed of attending since I was 8.
Denied. Denied. Denied. Even with a cosigner (my dad, who had made every effort to help me get there, but whose credit was less-than-sterling)--denied, again. I would be unable to attend architecture school that year. It was out of my hands. But I was not discouraged. I deferred my entry for one year, vowing to raise my credit score to near-perfect numbers so as to get that loan!
The next year was spent frugally. I worked full time to save every penny I could to finally attend architecture school. And by the time I was ready to apply for the loans again the following summer, my credit score was ten points shy of 800 through all credit bureaus--pretty darn good, I thought. But it was not to be. I was, predictably, awarded a minimal aid package to attend UCL, and, again, I was denied all loans (with the banks citing my short credit history as the source of denial). And so, for the second time, my ability to attend was entirely derailed by money.
But I was not discouraged.
I kept my eyes forward, locked onto architecture school in the US--to the school I had wanted to attend for as long as I can remember: Syracuse University. And so I dilligently plucked away at community college, earning the credits necessary to advance to the Syracuse University School of Architecture, building a portfolio in the process. In community college, I was an honor's scholar, a Phi Theta Kappa member, and maintained a position at the top of my class--I would get to Syracuse! And so I did.
God is good! My dream came true--I would get to study architecture at Syracuse University! And I am so very close to doing so. But here is the part where I need help...YOUR help.
Because of my stellar performance in community college I was awarded a very generous aid package to attend. But, I am still short. $9,000 short, in fact. My cost of attendance is $60,000, but I am so very close. I pray that my ability to attend a wonderful school of architecture will not be derailed a third time.
I ask, in humility, for your help in collecting the $9,000 so that I can become an architect. I realize this is no small sum. Anything you are willing to contribute is sincerely, gratefully, wholeheartedly, and overwhelmingly appreciated.
Thank you for reading this and for caring about my future. I truly hope we can make my dream of becoming an architect come to fruition.
Here is a link to my portfolio (and the portfolio with which I applied to Syracuse): http://www.blurb.com/books/5105752-portfolio
Organizer
Garrett Jones
Organizer
Vista, CA
