A Brief Interview with Everyone Else
As the last article in the “Portfolio Agency” series, this one, in an interview format, depicts the most complete picture of the history, culture, and prevalence of portfolio agencies. Students who have been admitted through portfolio agencies, students who have not used portfolio agencies, portfolio tutors who teach at portfolio agencies, owners of portfolio agencies, and professors in the architecture schools are all invited to talk about their opinions on this issue.
(Many of them chose to remain anonymous. The views presented in this article are meant to be read as personal opinions of the interviewees. All interviewees were invited to read the two past columns on portfolio agencies prior to the conversation/submitting their answers. The bold was added by the author.)
With a Portfolio Agency Owner
GSAPP Graduate, has a small-size portfolio agency in Nanjing, China.
（Interview conducted as a phone call. Translated by the author from Chinese to English.）
Q: Did you use a portfolio agency when you entered school? Why did you want to start a portfolio agency at the beginning? How did you start your business? How long has your company been established? (and how much do you charge? (if you feel comfortable disclosing.)
A: Nope. I didn't know about portfolio agencies when I was applying (the respondent had an undergrad architecture education in the US). And at that time I was also overconfident; even if I knew there were portfolio agencies at that time, I would not have used them. After I entered GSAPP, portfolio agencies came to me to ask if I would like to teach there, and that’s how I became familiar with them (although I didn’t work for them at that time). When I came back to China, I faced many things that were very different from what I expected. There was a gap between what I imagined and reality. I found out that many things I wanted to do at that time in China were actually not so easy to achieve, but I also didn’t want to just find a traditional job in an architecture firm, as it was not what I went back to China for. I had a period of leisure and didn't know what to do, and then by chance, I joined a portfolio agency. Of course, I also like teaching myself. I had a teacher in my undergrad, Alan Tse, who had a great influence on me at that time. I still talk to him a lot about architecture education.
After working, I realized that the portfolio industry is not what I had imagined. I thought it was a fair requirement for portfolio tutors to at least reach my level, but I didn't expect I could be the “benchmark” in the portfolio business. I found that there is quite a big gap: On the one hand, many students in China really have this need for good design education, but the teaching provided by portfolio agencies nowadays is also hard to really meet what they need, (and they actually pay a lot of money for it). That's when the idea of starting my own portfolio agency was born. After six months I began to partner up with a friend and started our own business, and then some time ago we split up. So far it has been three years since I entered the portfolio business.
Our service fees vary. $60,000 (around 10,000 USD) is the price for the most basic portfolio service. We sometimes charge less than that, particularly if the student only wishes to do one project (instead of doing four in the basic portfolio plan), or if they just want advice to polish their portfolio. We have VIP services that charge more, and the most expensive service we sell is $200,000 (31,000 USD).Q: Do you have classmates around you who used a portfolio agency during their application process? What do you think of those students?
A: When I was at GSAPP, I didn't really know anyone who was working as a portfolio tutor. I did not talk with my classmates about this issue. At that time, the portfolio agency I knew was the one that asked me to tutor there.
But coincidentally, after I returned to China and started my own portfolio agency, there is an agency in Shanghai called Canopy Institute of Design. They published a book of former students' portfolios a while ago, and then one of my students bought it. I went through it the other day and saw one of my GSAPP friend’s work was in the book. That’s how I found out that he used a portfolio agency to get in.
When you go to school, you do feel like there’s a difference between Chinese students who get their undergrad education in the US and Chinese students who come from China. For example, students who get their undergrad degree in China, it feels like they have their own small group, and it will make you feel a little bit different, but you won't necessarily think about whether they come in through a portfolio agency or not.Q: How do you recruit students? Who was your first student? What kinds of students are coming to your portfolio agency now? Why do you think they want a portfolio agency to help them, and why do you think they come to you, but not other agencies?
A: The way we recruit students can be divided into several areas. We do online promotions, for example on DianPing (Chinese Yelp). We mainly rely on what we call “channels.” They are generally some of the agencies or institutes we collaborate with, such as overseas education consultants agencies, or teachers from various schools. They recommend us to their students. In addition, there is a relatively high percentage of referrals from past students in my case, ie. word of mouth. If students think you are good at teaching, they will refer their juniors to come.
Talking about my first student, I was still working at another portfolio agency at that time, and that student saw the advertisement of that portfolio agency and came. At that time I was already planning to leave. That student talked with the place I was working for and was quite approving of me, but the salesperson of that portfolio agency, who knew I was about to leave, planned to cheat that student by signing the contract first and then recommending him to another teacher after I left. I didn't think it was a good idea, and I was planning to open my own portfolio agency, so I secretly contacted the student, and he became my first student.
Most of the students nowadays choose us because they recognize our “academic background” (degree and school name). We also host audition classes here. I usually teach students “double negatives” (a very classic spatial and formal exercise in UC Berkeley undergrad studio). For us, that class was quite basic when we were in undergrad, but to them, it feels like they are learning something completely new. Typically what a portfolio agency teaches them is just bragging about random sh**, talking about how each school is, and some of the tricks to polish portfolios. Maybe it's just that students feel like they are listening to something substantial at my place, and they've never heard other teachers talking about such things before. Of course, not all students will accept this, but most students who are willing to learn will believe in it and choose us.
And we are a small agency; our advocacy efforts are certainly not as strong as those in larger portfolio agencies. Students who find, meet, and communicate with us have generally been to a number of large agencies. In our portfolio agency, there won’t be students like you might find in other large portfolio agencies, they just found applying to schools and making portfolios too much trouble. We rarely have such students. Our students here have basically shopped around. In the end, they choose us because they think they can learn something from me.
I have both high school students and undergraduate students in my place. The high school students are generally from international high schools in China. Nowadays, most of the kids who want to go abroad choose international high schools. Some of them are good, others are not as good. The majority, however, remain undergraduate students. Few of the students I've taught are from well-known universities. Many of them are students from third-tier schools (China ranks its universities into first, second, and third-tiers. In the first tier, there are rankings like 985 and 211 list of schools. The third-tier schools have the lowest recognition). Occasionally, there are one or two students from those good schools. For example, one of the best schools in Nanjing is Southeast University. Students from Southeast University prefer to go to Shanghai to find a portfolio tutor than finding one in Nanjing. Since they have many fellow classmates there, they tend to go there. And students from good universities tend to be quite confident and feel good about themselves, so they are less willing to spend money. Our price here is still a little higher than larger portfolio agencies. After all, larger ones have their own ways to reduce costs. So that's why many good students don't choose us. We are still in our early stage and we had to take on all kinds of students, mostly those with less recognized undergraduate backgrounds.Q: Do you teach the students yourself or have other tutors teaching them? How many portfolio tutors do you have in your portfolio agency (other than you), and who do you usually tend to recruit? Where do they usually attend/graduate from? How do you judge how well they teach or whether they are good enough to teach?
A: Teaching is mostly on my own, especially now that I'm completely independent. Our student body isn't that big. We've also been using part-time portfolio tutors. The purpose of finding them is to supplement the teaching. For example, one of the tutors I found before was a UCL graduate. From a teaching point of view, I don't really need another teacher, but some students want to go to the UK. They don’t care if the schools in the US are better or not, they just want to go to the UK. At this point, it would be useful to have such a portfolio tutor to supplement our practice. It's not easy to judge the level of portfolio tutors when recruiting them. We will look at their portfolios. For example, the UCL tutor has taught in portfolio agencies elsewhere, and I have seen both his own portfolio and the portfolios of his students. But it is still not so easy to find portfolio tutors, especially the ones who teach in-person (not online). That UCL graduate, after I tried to let him teach some students, I found that he was just not good, so I stopped hiring him.
Q: What is the acceptance rate of students from your portfolio agency? Which schools do they usually go to? What’s your students’ best result so far?
A: First of all, all my students are accepted to the school they are satisfied with. Of course, we don't have a lot of students, and that might also be the reason that we haven't had any problematic students, those who don’t want to make an effort themselves. Then most of the students, as I just said, are from third-tier colleges. But when they applied to the UK schools, they were all accepted to UCL and AA. The best admission so far is UPenn. But still, the student who got into UPenn was not from a third-tier school either.
Q: Let’s discuss a bit deeper how you teach. How do you generally evaluate the quality of a portfolio? What are the ways you use to help students improve their portfolios? Do you have a specific pedagogy?
A: First of all, the projects in the portfolio have to be qualified projects. The thinking that comes out from the projects has to be at least clear. On this basis, if your idea is good, then it can definitely help you to achieve another level. But if the concept is not clear, then the project is not qualified in my eyes. On the basis of a qualified project, the graphic representation or whatever will also add to the portfolio.
And then some of the more intuitive ones, I think a good portfolio will definitely have physical models inside. It’s definitely not making models for the sake of models, but the models are reflections of thinking. I think that since they are all almost graduate students, they should have all the basic skills and know-how, so the difference between the portfolios should be the difference of thinking. Let’s say, many students from Chinese universities tend to focus on how to arrange the column grid, or how to arrange the function. These things are too basic, and I think these are not what those western schools want to see. It should still be the thinking that’s most important.
Then, the things that I like to do with my students is to have them do line drawings, those complicated, subjective ones, to express their understanding of their design. For example, an axonometric, explosive axon, or analytical diagram. I put a lot of emphasis on line drawings. Once the line drawing is clear, it can contain a lot of information, and if you can draw the line drawing clearly and express all kinds of information in a hierarchical way, in turn, it means that the thinking of your whole project should be complete, and the project won’t be in a confusing situation. On the other hand, as I just said, I prefer students to make models. Using different materials and choosing different things to show their understanding of their projects. And in turn, having something to express also shows that you have these thoughts on the project.Q: What others do you teach? Which kinds of projects do you ask your students to do? Are you teaching your students the same things you learned from your professors in school? Or do you try to invent your own project and ways of teaching? Do you feel that your students' design skills have improved through the classes?
A: I think I mainly teach my students how to think, like how to approach a problem. For example, how architecture can have an impact on society, or how architecture can influence human behavior. These are the types of things I explore with my students. I also teach them how to design space. Besides, I also teach basic drawing skills, like adjusting line widths and line types, and what’s the meaning behind all these. I teach them how to make models too.
A lot of what I teach certainly comes from my school experience; after all, what we learned back then determines what kind of designer we are today. But like I just said, I had an interest in teaching early on. For example, when I was in school, I would think about why core 1 teaches this and core 2 teaches that and what kind of ideas I want students to master when the professors set up each studio. So teaching students also become a review of my past education.
I teach my students the core ideas that I think students should know. I will definitely add something new besides what my teacher taught me. Because in the architecture field, there are some basic things that you always have to learn, but there are also a lot of new things coming out every year, and the needs of students are always changing. I didn't like parametric design, which was influenced by my teacher Alan. But now, and I've talked to you about this, I've started looking into parametric design because my students are asking me about that. Sometimes I encourage students to do parametric designs if they really need them for their projects.
I do think the quality of their design has improved after my classes.Q: In terms of the students you have taught, what kind of students can get into top schools? What kind of portfolio would be favored by the schools in general? Do you think each school has its own unique taste?
A: From my perspective, it's really quite simple, the students who work harder, have better results. From a teaching perspective, I feel that I’ve taught them enough to apply to any school. The challenge is not on my side, it is with the students. I can clearly feel that some of the students work really hard and they think about how to solve the problem I give them. These students, by contrast, will have better results than those who don't like to actively solve problems. In addition to effort, there is the mindset when facing something new. Everyone is learning something they haven't learned before, but some will take the initiative to find a solution, and some will wait for the teacher to tell them. Those who take the initiative to find solutions will always achieve better results.
And then, in the portfolio business, although we would say that there are some differences between UK and US schools, or each US school has its own preference, I think those factors exist, but for those students, they don’t have that big an impact. These students aren't at that level either. These students are just trying to “be the tallest among the dwarfs” (a Chinese slang). And the fact is, if they do better than their classmates, they will get admitted. Of course, some schools seem to have some special programs, for example, CED (UC Berkeley) recently recruited a new teacher, specializing in VR, AR. As long as the student's portfolio has a project that’s related to VR or AR, they will basically get admitted. It's true that there are cases like this. But most students don't have a clear idea of which school they want to go to or what they want to study when they come to us. So they won't make a portfolio to cater to the school.Q: Would you check if your student copied other people’s work? What would you do if you found out if your student committed plagiarism? Have you ever felt like you sent the wrong person into school？
A: I don't specifically check it. Because the students have been discussing their projects with me, I know where each of the ideas came from. Of course, they will certainly find references when they design. I don't think it's a big deal to look at references, but I do ask them what really appeals to them in these references. If students bring in a case study, I certainly won't tell them to copy it, but I will ask them to be a little more creative. And when students find references, I don't recommend they look for student projects, especially competition projects. So I don’t think my students will copy projects.
Q: Do you know other people who also run portfolio agencies? What do you think of your peers? Do you think there is any difference in your portfolio agency compared to other agencies?
A: There are certainly peers that I know. I don’t usually communicate with them, because it's just useless. They can’t help me with my business. Some of them asked me if I wanted to collaborate with them. I feel that most of the portfolio agency owners definitely want to make more money, but that’s not a problem. Teaching portfolio is also a job, and a job should bring you some money.
But I feel that some peers in the portfolio business are not professional enough (good at design and teaching). I think if you want to earn this money, you should at least reach a professional level. There are certainly good portfolio tutors in the field. However, on the one hand, the number of good tutors are still relatively small compared to the need, and on the other hand, those tutors in bigger portfolio agencies are subject to various constraints, and what they can offer students may not necessarily be in line with their own ideas.
Of course, many portfolio tutors choose to teach in portfolio agencies because they feel too tired in the architecture industry. Now they just want to have a normal life.Q: What do you think is the attitude of western architecture schools towards portfolio agencies? Do you think they understand why you exist, or totally prohibit your existence, or they just turn a blind eye to you?
A: It depends because the level of schools also varies quite a bit, and different students choose schools differently. I think most schools are at least not against it. Some schools, like Australian schools, even come to us in China for collaboration. But I believe the good architecture schools are still strict in selecting their students.
Most of the portfolios coming out of portfolio agencies in China are very easy to recognize. You can distinguish the pattern very easily. I think that western architecture schools must know that these students use agencies when they see those kinds of portfolios. But I don't think they are against the portfolio agency itself, I think it’s because this kind of portfolio usually indicates that the student has no thinking behind it. And perhaps the competition to get admitted has gotten fierce in the past few years, and many of the old ways of how portfolio agencies used to do things don’t work anymore.Q: Why do you think portfolio business has become a thing in Asia but not elsewhere (as far as from what we know)?
A: Because we are very “juǎn” lol. (“juǎn”, a Chinese new word created these years, means “involution”, implying a prevalent sense of being stuck in an ever so draining rat race where everyone loses) There are so many people, and we all have the tradition of studying hard. And maybe, the Chinese are flexible and smart in this way and think there is money to be made (laugh).
Q: Do you think that portfolio agencies can replace the education from architecture schools? Or are they more like a pre-school to get students more prepared for the architecture schools?
A: I don't think portfolio agencies can ever replace schools. For example, it would be shameful to compare us with GSAPP, right?
A lot of our students say: I don't think I’ve learned anything at my university, but I feel I’ve learned a lot here. But I would tell them that what they learn in their colleges will be useful to them to some degree. There are some aspects that the Chinese architecture schools are lacking and they do have to make up for it, but you can't say that the domestic schools are useless. After all, portfolio agencies are different from the schools in terms of management and all sorts of things. We are private entities and unofficial. It is definitely not possible for us to replace formal education. Let’s say, I might teach my students with a little more care, but I am not like a school that would have a more complete evaluation matrix or curriculum, not to mention that the portfolio business is composed of people with very mixed levels.
But on the other hand, portfolio agencies will always exist because there is a demand for overseas higher education, and if there was no demand for higher education, we wouldn't have this industry.
Q: Do you agree with the statement that architecture schools have largely spawned portfolio agencies? As an education practitioner, do you think there is anything that needs to be improved in Western architecture schools? Do you have any reflections on the education you received in architecture schools?
A: The reason why portfolio agencies exist in China is more a result of differences in the education system. Ideally, students would just apply with their projects done in schools. But it is true that there is this difference now. Domestic schools are also improving, but this takes time. During this time, portfolio agencies will still exist.
Western architecture education is not better or worse than Chinese architecture education. There are definitely advanced parts of western architecture schools compared to the Chinese schools, if not, we don't need to go abroad. But western’s architectural education is also related to their own building industry and market. The U.S. market is relatively stagnant, so the architecture schools become more research and theory-oriented, maybe a bit out of practice.
In terms of reflection, In the U.S., if you become an architect, there is little prospect for the future (very difficult to do the kind of architecture you learned in school and have your own practice), while it is also extremely tiring in school. That's my reflection of my education.
Q: Do you feel that you have gained anything from opening this portfolio agency?
A: First of all, teaching itself is an enjoyable thing to do. After graduation, away from the academic environment, facing real life, it’s good that there is such an opportunity to teach or put myself in an academic setting to think about some questions. Although I wouldn’t say I have gotten anything novel or substantial from it, it helps me keep my ideas alive all the time.
Money-wise, I haven't earned big money yet, but now I'm relying on the portfolio business to maintain my small architecture office. In the future, the operation of the office will also be based on the income I earned from the portfolio agency.
Q: What do you think about the future of the portfolio agency business? Would you want to shift to other things？
A: My plan is that I will do three more years of teaching myself. During this time I will try to develop the other business of my small architecture office. After that, I want to hand over the teaching to a new person, maybe one of my students. I think the portfolio industry will still grow. But after studying architecture for so long, for sure I have some other pursuits beyond just teaching portfolios.
As for this industry, I am quite worried that there will be some kind of conflict between China and the US (or other countries). Recently, international politics have been rather tense. Although I feel that the policy will not really affect international students, in case something really happens, the whole industry will just disappear.
Before, I was making videos that try to explain architecture to the general public and upload them to Bilibili (Chinese Vimeo) (basically being an architecture YouTuber). After signing up with an entertainment agency, now I mainly upload my videos to Tiktok and Xiaohongshu.
I will definitely still do architecture. I also have some ongoing projects. I also hope I can get some new projects. Being a YouTuber, I hope to expand my influence and hope it can bring me some benefits when I try to get new projects. You can not expect to make a lot of money just by doing architecture. Earning money through architecture design is very very difficult. But after studying architecture for so long, I still hope to accomplish my unfulfilled architecture will. I definitely still love the pursuit of design.
With Brandon Clifford, M.Arch Program Director
（Interview conducted via email）
Q: As the school's director/admission committee, have you heard of portfolio agencies (before reading this column), and are you aware of how they operate?
Brandon: Yes, we are aware of portfolio agencies and the range of support they offer their clients, from peripheral advice to explicit creation.
2. Q: What is the school's admission process for students in the M.Arch programs? What type of students does the school look for? How does the school evaluate students’ portfolios? Is there a certain evaluation matrix?
Brandon: Our goal in admissions is to constitute a class of contributors to the school, who range in background and perspective. We are invested in seeking potential for achievement and potential to contribute to the school as a whole. So, the admissions process is designed in a way to place equal weight in two parts: the student’s capacity to think and make.
3. Q: Does the school have different admission criteria for different students in consideration of different education backgrounds, or does the school use the same standard for everyone?
Brandon: Yes and No. We do not have different criteria, but we do evaluate candidates relative to their peers. We are seeking the outstanding candidates with backgrounds in architecture as well as those without. For example, we do not measure portfolios across the entire spectrum, rather they are measured relative to comparable submissions. Our measure is relative to the pool of applicants and the structure of the admissions process is tiered in order to maintain that relative scoring.
4. Can the school tell which student has used a portfolio agency during the application process? Are these portfolios immediately disqualified? Once students are admitted, does there seem to be a difference in the quality of work between students who get in on their own, and students who use portfolio agencies?
Brandon: We do not see ourselves as policing the possibility of portfolio agencies' involvement in the application process. Just as we are aware that some privileges emerge from mentorship and guidance in various prior degree programs. Because our mission is to see through that varnish, we restructure the focus of the applications to identify individual and holistic personalities of applications, which tends to pierce through the support networks that applicants employ. MIT is looking for the mis-fits, the outlaws, and the outstanding candidates. Portfolio agencies tend to obscure the potential behind a veneer of polish, and our mission is to pull that veneer back and evaluate a portfolio relative to the rest of the application. This is the primary purpose of the new admissions statement prompt.
5. What is the school's attitude towards their students working as tutors inside portfolio agencies? Do you consider this a valuable teaching experience should the student want to go into teaching (compared to teaching a studio in university or being a TA)? Do you think there might be concerns about their quality of tutoring?
Brandon: I think a much more valuable experience would be for our students to engage in the AMP (Applicant Mentorship Program) and admissions process. We now include students in the admissions process, precisely to build ownership amongst the community at large about how the school is formed.
6. What do you think about the phenomenon that more and more students are now using portfolio agencies (not only from Asia, but also those with a western education background)? An increasing number of high school students are using portfolio agencies as well. What do you think about this shift and how might you relate it to differences in education and cultural background, especially for a competitive job market?
Brandon: There has been undue pressure on portfolios as the primary document reviewed in admissions in the past. By balancing the admissions process to ensure thinking and making align with each other, the ability for external support to slip through an admissions process is neutralized. Our mission in the admissions process is to ensure applicants' individual pursuits are the primary objective of the review process. And in placing the focus there, we are able to peel back the polish.
7. Do you see the potential of the school being more transparent to the general public about what types of portfolios they accept, the types of students they admit, mentoring for prospective students (and other things in general), to take away the edge that the portfolio agency offers with their databases?
Brandon: Last year, we reformed the admissions process at MIT. I would say that we reformed an already very strong process with the current intelligence and culture that surround admissions. This reform involved a few key aspects: from the AMP mentorship process, to including students in the review structure, to clarifying the relative scoring, to prioritizing the statement and its new prompt. Beyond those key shifts, we also removed a number of barriers to entry, such as loosening the requirements of 3 recommendations, GRE submissions, etc. Those barriers increased the equity gap and we did not find that the barriers were essential to constituting the best possible class. On the other hand, we found this new set of priorities in the admissions process clarified an applicant’s individual purpose. Our goal now is to further strengthen the process and continue to evolve the review so we can maintain our purpose… To form a diverse school that contributes to society in meaningful ways.
With Portfolio Tutors
H is a Harvard Graduate School of Design M.Arch 1 Graduate, who completed his undergraduate studies in the US, M is an MIT M.Arch Graduate, with an undergraduate degree from a Chinese university. They choose to remain anonymous.
（Interview conducted via questionnaire. H’s interview was in English. M’s interview was translated by the author from Chinese to English.）
Q: Do you teach in a portfolio agency or teach on your own, or both? How long have you taught?
H:
I taught some students in my spare time. I’ve been teaching on and off since 2018.
M:
I taught in a portfolio agency, unconsciously 4 years already.
2. Q: Did you use a portfolio agency when you entered the school yourself? Why or why not? Did you have students around you who used a portfolio agency during their application? What do you think of those students?
H:
No, I didn’t. Because I thought I was good enough and I didn’t feel like getting help from someone inexperienced.
Yes, many students around me use portfolio agencies. I think it’s kind of sad (that they did it).
M:
No.
First of all, because of "poverty". My parents were concerned about my situation during the application, so they approached a mainstream agency without asking for my consent. They were not a portfolio agency, but more of an overseas education agency, only responsible for assisting with online applications and documents, but the price quoted was 40,000-60,000 RMB (8000-10,000 USD). I felt that they were almost the kind of scam organization that targets the elderly, so I was very angry. Besides, I already had a clear idea about my portfolio, so I didn't really need a portfolio agency.
Yes. After I finished my application, I found out that all my classmates who applied in the same year had used a portfolio agency.
I don't really care if they go to an agency or not. What I find more interesting is that even though they all went to agencies, everyone avoided talking about it, thinking that they were the only ones who went to agencies.
3. Q: What do you think of the portfolio agency business? Do you think this is fair business?
H:
I think it’s highly profitable.
M:
I think any over-generalization of the industry as a whole is probably too arbitrary and subjective. I have come across some of the more conscientious agencies that maintain long-term relationships with their students and discuss architecture with them in a very serious and academic way, but I also know people who peddle entire portfolios for 100,000 RMB.
I think, to talk about whether portfolio business is a fair business, there are probably two ways to understand this question.
One, "Is this business fair to the student/agency". This is probably a question for the specific agency and the student who chooses the service because it is essentially a deal that is made on the premise that both parties are satisfied. However, from my personal observation, the portfolio market is often a sellers' market: on the one hand, with several rounds of rapid competition of business, the portfolio business is now divided by a few major portfolio agencies who enjoy the pricing rights; on the other hand, students who choose the service often don’t have the way to prosecute the agencies, because even in cases where individual ability is set, it’s hard to say whether he/she can get admitted or not. So the contract usually only provides for a "refund if all the applications got rejected" clause, but as we all know, some schools are quite easy to get in, and it is rare to see a no-gain situation for the agencies.
The second understanding is "is this business fair to students who don't choose a portfolio agency". My personal understanding is that academic integrity is the most important thing, and on the basis of academic integrity, the question becomes “are students coming from richer families entitled to a better education (or at least tutoring)" or "is it fair to get into a top school with a large donation? "
4. Q: What do you think of other tutors who teach portfolio agencies? Do you think some of these people are unqualified to teach?
H:
I understand them. Low-paid and long-hour jobs cannot stop people from shifting their attention to other related profitable businesses. Of course, they are unqualified compared to me and my other friends.
M:
I know a lot of people who tutor portfolios, and many of them are GSD and MIT students. However, individual differences exist and it's not that proper for me to make too much of an assessment here.
And of course (I know those who are completely unqualified)! I knew a friend who was new to the portfolio business and she was going to teach a student the next day and asked another friend of mine what she should talk about before her first meeting with her student. I think if she didn't know what she was doing, she should have at least communicated with the student to find out what they needed, rather than seeking some quick fix routine. Also, there are tutors who will delineate goals for students that are far beyond their ability and lie to them that it is possible in order to trick them into buying class time accordingly; there are tutors who only speak to students in class and don't respond to their questions at all after class. I consider any of the above to be irresponsible.
5. Q: How many students have you taught? What type of students are they?
H:
Three.
Two high school students studying in US/Chinese high school, and an undergrad from China.
M:
I’ve taught 9. They are all quite different, mostly from non-"Elite Eight Architecture Schools" in China, but I also had students from the top 4 architecture schools (Tsinghua, Tongji, SouthEast, and Tianjin Universities) in China and top 10 American undergraduate programs.
6. Q: Why do you think they need a portfolio tutor? Why do they choose you?
H:
The information/resources they get are not enough for them to get into a good school.
They came to me because of referrals.
M:
In my opinion, despite the rapid dissemination of information in recent years, the pedagogy of many Chinese architecture schools is still seriously behind compared to their international peers. The professors in many colleges have not received Western architecture education at all, and they are conservative and rigid in their thinking. To them, being a good architect is the same as being proficient in architectural codes. In such a context, many students, especially those who don't come from top schools, simply cannot get a good education. They know what’s good from the internet, but don’t know how to achieve that level, so the portfolio agencies come and try to close the gap.
My students come to me usually because of previous students' references. I think maybe I treat this teaching job seriously?
7. Q: How do you teach them? What do you teach them? Do you have any pedagogy?
H:
(I teach them) Online through Zoom and WeChat.
I teach them theory, history, general aesthetics, and I give them design critiques.
Yes.
M:
Having my class is very much like being in a studio. Although my abilities are nowhere near the level of my professor at MIT, there's no denying that a good teaching assistant/tutor can also inspire fellow students.
There are two major components to my teaching. The first part is the overall structure of the portfolio. I usually discuss with students which project to choose, how to make an overall narrative, how to arrange the order of the works, the design of the layout, the choice of fonts, and other refinements. The second part is to refine the projects themselves. Usually, after we have selected the projects to be included in the portfolio, I will listen to the student's original narrative about the project from the very beginning. I will then challenge the student from the initial concept, which often results in major changes to the proposal, and in turn, opens up some new possibilities and usually makes the proposal better than it was before. Generally speaking, I rarely tell students what to do, but rather talk through the possibilities, give them some directions to choose from when they are having trouble moving forward, and recommend some case studies. (Also, many teachers will teach students some representation skills step by step, which I hardly ever do because I don't like drawing and I'm not very good at it)
I wonder if the above "dialogue method" of teaching is considered as my pedagogy?
8. Q: What do you think is the difference between the way you teach your students and the way your professors taught you?
H:
I don’t think there is too much of a difference between my teaching and a studio setting in US schools. My class is very much like a school studio.
M:
It's actually very similar. The only difference may be that my ability and knowledge are far less than the professors in the school, but it is enough to give some help and inspiration to the undergraduates. As we know, MIT has a teaching fellow system. If these fellows can teach graduate students who are just a little bit younger than them, then I think it is more than enough to teach undergraduates. The only difference here is that the teaching fellows are selected by professors at MIT, while the teachers at the portfolio agencies are of mixed quality.
9. Q: How much do you charge? If it is convenient to disclose.
H:
RMB 80k/person at least. (around 12,000 USD)
M:
The money I was paid by the agency ranged from ¥250-500 an hour （40 - 80 USD）. However, since usually the portfolio agencies take more than 50% of the profit, the students actually pay much more than what I got. As far as I know, students usually spend ¥1200 (185 USD) or more for an hour.
10. Q: Do you ever feel like you're sending the wrong person into school？
H:
No. They deserve to get into a good school if they work hard.
M:
Never. On the contrary, because my teaching is more on the core of architecture and less on representation, I often feel that my students are less competitive over other students who have been trained in polishing their drawings.
11. Q: What would you do if you found out that your student copied other people’s work?
H:
I would explain to him the difference between copying and referencing.
M:
This hasn't happened yet, because I usually select students and state that no plagiarism is allowed before we decide to work together. Students who would plagiarize and copy others' work are usually not that dumb to choose a tutor like me, because I only know how to discuss projects with people in a straightforward manner, which is certainly not a good choice for someone who wants to take a shortcut. If I found that a student was plagiarizing in the process and I can't stop it, I think I would stop teaching him and draw a line in the sand.
12. Q: Will you continue tutoring after you graduate? How do you see the future of the portfolio business?
H:
I might. Depends on the students and the pay.
The (potential) failure of the current business model relies on the political relationship between the US and China. As long as Chinese universities across the country keep on refusing to take Master of Architecture degree architects into their faculty, this portfolio agency thing will go on.
Chinese architecture schools (except art colleges) require all instructors to have a Ph.D. Compared to that, most of the faculty teaching studios in the US architecture schools are Master's degree holders.
M:
In fact, I'm doing that, but it won't last long.
Perhaps, the portfolio business will soon decline. The enthusiasm of Chinese students for portfolio tutoring should remain high, but it's really just another form of "juan" (as explained above). The "decline" that I'm talking about depends largely on the future relationship between China and the rest of the world and the attitude of the schools towards portfolio agencies. It's for sure very difficult for the schools to tell if students use portfolio agencies or not, but they may just choose to admit fewer or no Chinese students, in which case the portfolio business will soon die.
13. Q: What do you think about these portfolio agencies? Do you think they bring more benefits or drawbacks for architecture students in general? Do you see their potential as a supplement to the school system? What do you think should be done about them (at the government level, the university level, the student level)?
H:
I think it is a self-growing industry trying its best to make up for the bad architecture education in both China and the US. If our education system is so great already, nobody wants to spend such a large amount of money to access educational resources outside of schools. Of course, it should not be banned, nor should it be encouraged.
M:
As mentioned above, it is difficult to generalize. Ethical standards vary greatly within the industry.
I think, at least for myself, I helped some students who needed help. But as far as the portfolio business as a whole, I don't think it has helped architectural education much, but I can't say it has hurt the discipline either.
First, let's think about this from the perspective of a Chinese student. I agree that all tutoring outside the formal education system tends to be "anti-education". For example, there is an English training institution called "New Oriental" in China (It's one of the biggest tutoring companies, and it's listed on the New York Stock Exchange), and one of their slogans used to be "We want to raise your TOEFL and GRE scores significantly without improving your English skills". Portfolio agencies follow this model, just replace the skill to solve TOEFL problems into skills to make portfolios look nice. But is this shift in learning goals really enough to cause a decline in student ability? A portfolio is a short-term activity, and for those students who are looking for a surface-level polishing, they are losing out on academics because they are not learning anything, and they are probably choosing an easy path because they are not learning anything in the first place.
Second, from the standpoint of other students who do not use portfolio agencies, just as when American athletes stand on the playing field against Soviet or Chinese athletes, they are facing the assembly line products of a sports factory under the national system, students without the help of portfolio agencies competing for applications are also facing students who have undergone rigorous training - a similar system of competition in all fields. Similar institutional competition has long existed in all fields. Have sports factories lowered the overall level of athletic performance? No. Does portfolio tutoring bring down the standard of architectural education? No. All we can say is that just as we believe that the American system of athlete development and selection is healthier and more sustainable, students who are not tainted by the formula tend to be more curious and creative than their counterparts. That in itself is a balance.
I think the more practical questions for the schools are how to ban it, and how to establish an effective review mechanism. That's very difficult.
14. Do you agree with the statement that architecture schools have largely spawned portfolio agencies? What do you think architecture schools could do better?
H:
I agree. But the problems of architecture schools and the architecture profession are even worse. Architecture schools should really think about how they can fix the problems they already have. Otherwise, portfolio agencies or things of the same sort will not stop thriving no matter what the schools do.
M:
I don't think so. Architecture schools’ preferences can cause iterations of the service provided by portfolio agencies, but they don't affect the existence of the agencies themselves.
In terms of what architecture schools could do better: If people can't figure out which part of Huawei's electronic components and built-in programs violate users' privacy and to what extent, they can at least choose another brand of phone.
With Students Who used a Portfolio Agency
MIT S.MarchS, who chooses to remain anonymous
（Interview conducted via questionnaire in English.）
Q: Did you use a portfolio agency during the application process? Why did you think you needed help from one and how did you choose the one you used from the many others on the market?
A: Yes, I did. There was a huge information gap between undergraduate colleges in mainland China and design schools in the states. It's hard to distinguish all the differences by individual efforts alone. I selected my agency based on friend recommendations.
2. Q: Do you think the portfolio agency you chose was helpful? （ How much did you pay if it’s convenient to disclose？） How did your portfolio tutor teach you when you were applying？ What do you think you learned from your tutor?
A: Yes. less than 4,000 USD. My tutor was a Ph.D. student and she gave me advice on both theoretical structure and aesthetic choices.
3. Q: What do you think make your application successful? How much credit do you think the agency has in this?
A: Maybe some of my topics are interesting and the overall production was decent. Hard to say how much credit I owe to the agency.
4. Q: Do you feel the training you get from the portfolio agency prepares you better for the school?
A: I'd say yes. At least in the right direction. By consulting with my tutor, I got a sense of how grad students in the states do their work. And I'm glad my tutor was not a big bullsh**err.
5. Q: What do you think of the phenomenon that more and more students are using portfolio agencies to get into architecture schools? Why do you think portfolio business has become a thing in Asia but not elsewhere (as far as from what we know)?
A: It's kind of unavoidable. Like when you are in a theater and all the audience in the front row stands up and everyone else kind of has to stand up as well.
In terms of the reason, I speculate that, on average, Asian families are willing to invest in education more than other cultures.
6. Q: What do you think of the portfolio agency business? Do you think these portfolio agencies bring more benefits or drawbacks to architecture students in general? Do you think this is fair business? Do you think portfolio agencies should be explicitly banned or accepted by schools as viable help?
A: I don't think they should be canceled for good. But probably more regulations are needed. Hard to say if they bring more benefits or drawbacks. Some tutors are nice and responsible but some are not. I don't think they should be banned. This type of clean-cut policy isn't able to deal with the complexities of this issue.
7. Q: Do you agree with the statement that architecture schools have largely spawned the portfolio agencies?
A: For sure.
8. Q: Do you have any reflection on the architecture education you received, both from China and from the US?
A: Yes, a lot. But I have passed the phase that I am so angry that I need to write them down. Thank you for the questions though.
With Students Who Didn’t Use a Portfolio Agency
Danny, Y, and J are M.Arch students from MIT. X is an M.Arch student from UCLA.
（Interview conducted via questionnaire in English.）
Q: Have you heard about portfolio agencies before reading this column? When and how did you hear about them? Did you pay a portfolio agency to help you when you apply to school? Why did you use the portfolio agency (or not)?
Danny:
I first heard of them in Fall 2019 when a group discussed them in a dossier for precedents class (4.210 Precedents in Critical Practice). I did not use a portfolio agency to apply to school.
Y:
I started to hear about portfolio agencies around 2017 when it was still quite obscure and embryonic. At that time I had already finished my Bachelor’s degree and was practicing professionally with a plan to come back to school for my Master’s degree in a year or two. I found the idea of paying someone to spice up and tailor your application according to specific institutions absolutely appalling and unfair - not only did I refuse to use it, but also looked down on those who did. Over the years I have started to have mixed feelings, as I realize it is so much more entangled and complicated, as my own observation continues and understanding deepens.
X:
I did hear about portfolio agencies. I came across portfolio agencies in my third year in architecture school. I became very aware of these portfolio agencies as a lot of classmates around me were mentioning them. I haven't used their service. My impression of these agencies is that they will provide a very safe formula for you to get you into the school, but I really want my portfolio to speak my personality, even though the result might be a little unorthodox and "unsafe". Also, they’re just super expensive. I really don’t think it’s worth it in my case.
J:
Yes. I heard about them when I was an undergrad. There were rumors going on about how some Chinese students relied on portfolio agencies to get into the graduate department of my college’s architecture school. I didn’t use any agency when I applied, because I felt like using portfolio agencies would devalue my own work. I also felt like relying on others to polish my portfolio is a sign of failure. Why did my parents spend almost 60,000 USD a year on my education, if I can’t even polish my own portfolio? It just didn’t feel right.
2. Q: Where did you get your undergrad education (US/Europe/China/elsewhere)? Do you have students around you who use a portfolio agency during application? What do you think of those students? Do you think it’s considered reasonable, or it’s application fraud?
Danny:
US.
No one I knew from undergrad used a portfolio agency publicly during applications. I don't really find those students contributing to the academic program, compared to those who got in on their own. I would prefer to go to school with people who make their portfolios independently. However, I do not consider it fraud. It's similar to students from established US schools who have access to alumni network connections in the top schools - they can ask their older peers for advice on portfolios and essays to try to get in. I think portfolio agencies are just a more formal version of this practice.
Y:
I was educated in Australia. By the time I graduated I did not know anyone in my school who used a portfolio agency, but I did hear stories of people using them in China and even in the US, through friends, social media, and advertisements. In the beginning, I thought it was application fraud because it is not fair to enter the competition with foreign aid, but later I realized that competition has never been fair. Being born with a certain type of background, having the ability to afford a certain type of education in certain countries, with the privilege to access networks and resources that feed you customized feedback over years, perhaps over coffee or family dinner, have already provided someone the best service of the kind. If anything, perhaps a portfolio agency is just a shoddy, coarse, compressed version of this. It’s not decent, but it’s pure business, a business that exploits some loopholes in the education system of architecture institutions.
X:
I obtained my undergraduate degree in the US. I did have several classmates that used portfolio agencies for graduate school applications. Personally, I don't think my friends necessarily needed them. First of all, they had all been producing very decent works in class. Furthermore, since they had been studying in US colleges for a long time, it's not like they were unfamiliar with the application processes. I reckon the population that is actually in need of agencies are students who don't have a background in art or architecture or the international students that need help with overseas applications. But I wouldn't say my classmates are doing application fraud. Even though we students have the skills and ideas to produce amazing projects, we don't necessarily know how to compose an impressive portfolio. In this case, portfolio agencies' experience and information could help applicants bring out the best of their works.
J:
I went to a US college. One of my undergrad friends used an agency. I don’t like the idea of relying on agencies, but I know my friend’s work very well. That person has quite impressive undergrad works, so I didn’t mind that much.
3. Q: Do you regret not using a portfolio agency now (or at any certain moment during the application)? Do you feel that those who used a portfolio agency had the advantage, preventing you from getting into your dream school (or a better school)?
Danny:
I do not regret not using an agency. Developing my portfolio was an important part of my education. I believe that doing the work of iterating the portfolio on my own helped me create a more unique profile and made my application more successful at the top schools. Since I was aiming to make a unique portfolio rather than a typical architecture portfolio, I do not feel like those portfolio agency students were in my way.
Y:
I never regret not using a portfolio agency because I believe in genuineness and unicity. Portfolio agencies might help one to put makeup all over but cannot disguise who you are. I believe that being a good candidate is not about producing the most beautiful drawings in the trendiest way, but about being a good person, who genuinely cares for the world, asks questions, and never stops exploring, all of which are tangible in one’s work. Everyone’s unicity contributes to shaping the cohort and later the profession, and my stories can only be told by myself.
X:
I have definitely questioned my initial confidence in rejecting any paid services in portfolio-making. When I found out many of my friends had tutors/agencies to guide them through every step, it made me feel very helpless. I felt especially powerless when I encountered difficulties in the process and didn't have anyone to consult with. Whether I consider people using agencies is hurting me, odds are - yes, but only to a certain degree. Though objectively speaking their behaviors do lower my chances, I know there are many other factors influencing admission decisions. I personally don't consider them to be too big a threat.
J:
No, I don’t regret not using an agency, nor do I think that someone else might have taken my spot. However, I had at times thought that, if it were not for those helped by agencies, perhaps I would have gotten a better scholarship package.
4. Q: Do you know people around you who work as portfolio tutors (or own a portfolio agency)? What do you think of those people?
Danny:
I do not know any personally. I understand that the business of academic mentorship can be more lucrative than practicing architecture itself, so it makes sense why people get into it. However, I hope that designers can find more socially beneficial ways to sell their services.
Y:
To be completely honest I do know some, and I have mixed feelings towards them. I understand how lucrative therefore seducing it is, especially under the premise that our education is time-consuming, horrendously expensive, and leading to a job market where most people burn passion for poor pay. As someone has described to me before, it’s exactly like a TA-ship but pays so much more than a TA-ship. Who am I to stand on moral high ground to criticize others’ choices of life? However, I do think it is devaluing our own education as well as our profession in the long run. We are selling it cheap, which is doomed to backfire. What bothers me the most is a “pedagogy inflation”: the portfolio agency system is so result-orientated that everyone who made it through the gate of a good graduate program can be a “teacher” and “teach architecture”, which is almost a satire.
X:
I don't know any tutor. One of my professors did make a joke about wanting to start a portfolio service herself since it's a very lucrative business.
J:
Yes, I know some. Most of them are very bright-minded people. Their motivation for tutoring is purely financial.
5. Q: What do you think about these portfolio agencies? Do you think they bring more benefits or drawbacks for architecture students in general? Do you see their potential as a supplement to the school system? What do you think should be done about them (at the gov level, the university level, the student level)?
Danny:
As more students use agencies, the agencies will have to make portfolios better and better to maintain their admissions rate. Maybe in the future, all students, even the less experienced, will have higher skill levels when they enter the degree. On the other hand, I think that this optimization of the application process might eliminate the range of creativity in portfolios. Many students become successful because of what they lack in technical skills, and they make up for it with radical ideas or thoughtful narratives. Will portfolio agencies homogenize the architecture students, making them all have similar skills and ideas? Overall, maybe they help students, but I think they hurt the discipline. I would prefer them to be banned, but acceptance by the schools seems more possible. If the use of the portfolio agency were disclosed rather than secret, the work could still be judged fairly.
Y:
I think there are two major drawbacks to the school. First of all, it is a cunning but effective trick for portfolio agencies to take advantage of the power of visuals, as well as the existing symptoms of the profession, i.e. obsession with the beautiful presentation with oversight to the actual depth of design. Architecture cannot be taught within a few months but graphics might be. Therefore, students might spend an excessive amount of time polishing the graphic in order to grab the attention of the jury at first sight during an extremely limited amount of time. An admission letter then becomes a positive motivation to such an ideology that gets carried on into their studies which is poisonous to the cohort, the school, and the profession. Architecture is not graphic design.
Moreover, I always believe that the biggest asset of a school is its people. My biggest fear of portfolio agency is that its insanely high success rate is disrupting the competition and causing a theatre effect (when someone stands up in a theatre, everyone ends up having to stand up in order to see the show, while everyone could have remained seated otherwise) It ends up aggregating more and more result-oriented, overly competitive, even ivy-fetish people while cutting back the possibility of an admission for those who do not morally identify with such service or are underprivileged to afford such competition.
I think there should be a clarification for people to make in the application system if portfolio service is used.
X:
My major criticism of these portfolio agencies is that they're creating a level of competition that wouldn't have existed otherwise. One might defend the agencies by arguing how we can all ask for "heads up" from professors/former students/families to get ahead of others, and thus concluding students getting help from paid tutors aren't really so different. Yet from what I've observed, the help offered by portfolio agencies in the application is next level, and they have completely changed the nature of the game. As far as I know, the portfolio agencies will directly participate in portfolio making: they arrange for students to do extra projects; they design and decide the flow of the portfolio; they might even ask students to do drawings step by step in the way they see fit. Hence, portfolios coming out of these agencies are not just "works receiving extra tips" but really "group works" in disguise. Different from group works done with classmates, these are group works with people far more experienced than average students. Therefore, the competition is not only unfair but also fundamentally false. Other applicants are in reality competing for their "personal work" against "group works done with highly trained professionals".
J:
I have a more neutral attitude because I think it is rash to come to a definitive conclusion about those agencies when the whole phenomenon has only begun for a few years. It is also very impractical to discuss banning them. Explicitly allowing them would also create unforeseeable consequences.
6. Q: Why do you think more and more students are using portfolio agencies nowadays? Do you think there's any way to get fewer people to use portfolio agencies?
Danny:
The success rates are remarkable. Thinking of the portfolio agency as an investment, the high cost is nothing compared to the long-term career opportunities you get at a top school. I completely understand why people would use them - the odds are favorable. It is difficult to imagine any type of change in the application process which could dissuade them. If applications tried to incorporate live-testing such as design charrette interviews, then the portfolio agencies would simply adapt and coach the students to get through those. Maybe the only way to actually get people to stop using them would be to remove the portfolio requirement from school admissions. But even then, maybe they just become essay-coaching agencies? It's hard to imagine architecture school admissions without portfolios, but the medium of the portfolio already favors the more privileged applicants. Maybe no portfolio required or portfolio being optional?
Y:
A degree from a top-tier university is alluring not just intellectually but also pragmatically. Although it might not guarantee someone a smooth sailing afterward, it will at least grant them higher chances. Let’s be honest with peer pressure. Application to grad school is like a black box - when no one knows the rules, it’s the double insurance to pay for guidance. After all, the expenses are almost negligible compared to the tuition. Unfortunately, I don’t see a way to get fewer people to use it, just like SAT tutoring never diminishes. However, I do think setting up interviews as part of the admission process will be helpful to assess the applicant more multidimensionally.
X:
1. As I explained, portfolio agencies fostered false competition, and they are definitely hurting other innocent applicants. Also, I don't think they're doing their own students’ favors in the long run. I've heard stories about inadequate students who successfully got into highly competitive schools and ended up failing the classes because they couldn’t catch up. This is a true phenomenon in all practices.
2. I don't think portfolio services need to be banned completely since there are people that actually need them. I do, however, believe portfolio agencies should be highly regulated. For starters, maybe the students need to disclose the involvement of tutors in their application. As I formerly described, student portfolios done with tutors are just group work. It's unfair to put personal work against them in the admission process.
3. More and more students are using portfolio services because the vicious cycle is already in place: the best chance to win in such an unfair game is to join the cheating side. The sad reality is, if you don't want to pay, you're just losing to those who do. I think making students disclose the use of agencies would help, but bigger changes can only come from schools' total rejection of them.
J:
Yes. Unfortunately, I can’t think of any circumstances that would decrease its popularity. As long as the relentless competition for education and prestige continues in China, I don’t see why anyone would not utilize any extra resources to gain advantages over others.
7. Q: Do you agree with the statement that architecture schools have largely spawned the portfolio agencies? What do you think architecture schools could do better?
Danny:
Yes, I agree. Architecture schools could focus more on education rather than relying on admitting the most skilled students. Is the education actually better at these top schools, or did we just learn many skills before coming here, and now our work makes the school look good? Educators in architecture seem too obsessed with building a brand for themselves rather than supporting students. Maybe the bar to enter is artificially high, and we could celebrate ordinary students making progress rather than privileged students making shiny portfolios.
Y:
I agree, it’s time for us to reflect on our recruitment. Are we too obsessed with being successful and therefore blindly attracted to beautiful presentations that help effortlessly make us look good? Are we further gentrifying our own profession by imposing the same standard for everyone? After all, it is not about how high one is standing but how much one has overcome. It’s not about producing the most beautiful work but about making the most of what one has access to. Rawness should be appreciated, and unicity is the most invaluable asset. As the joke says, everyone in Cambridge is the same. I hope that’s not our destiny.
X:
I mostly agree with that statement. I don't think schools love the agencies, but I also don't see them hating the agencies either. Schools want more and better applicants, and the portfolio agencies are feeding them exactly that. My concern for their development is that since portfolio agencies do not necessarily endorse originality and diversity, the schools are less likely to see those unique applications. The most secure, most beautiful portfolio content that could get one into programs might not be what that student wants to convey. The jury might just be looking at very beautiful yet increasingly generic portfolios. I wish for their own good and for the benefit of all applicants, architecture schools can formally address these problems with portfolio agencies and devise a more comprehensive reviewing process to discern and discover great students.
J:
In a way, yes. It has to do with the admission process. Portfolio is a predominantly visual medium. A well-made Photoshopped image can send visual stimuli so powerful that it overwhelms words and reasoning. Whereas in most other disciplines, admission materials are usually the result of years of accumulated academic efforts. I am not sure how it can be improved. For instance, in China and Japan, admission to top architecture schools is determined by standardized tests. Is this model better than the visual-centric one? Both have their pros and cons.
With Students Outside of Architecture/Design Field
Whale is a M.L.(Master of Laws) Graduate from Peking University. Luo is a Bachelor of Science in Statistics graduate from UCLA.
（Interview conducted via questionnaire in English.）
Q: As a student not majoring in art, architecture or design, have you ever heard of such a thing as a portfolio agency before? If so, how did you hear about it?
Whale:
I’ve heard about it, because my best friend studies architecture.
Luo:
Yes. I have heard of portfolio agencies. Because every major has its own application agencies, that’s not just a thing in design majors. As overseas higher education gets more popular, more and more students choose to use the services of such agencies. And I know some of my architecture friends used that during application.
2. Q: What do you think about students paying portfolio agencies to help them apply to schools? Do you think agents are fraudulent? Do you support it, or are you against it?
Whale:
I think the existence of the portfolio business is a very natural thing because overseas studies consulting is a very large market. Portfolio agencies meet a variety of needs to a certain extent, so they will naturally be popular.
I think using a portfolio agency is fraudulent in some cases because portfolio agencies tend to falsely package these students to increase the success rate. The recurring plagiarism also worsens the situation.
From my perspective as a bystander, I feel that even without portfolio agencies, the students themselves might also practice fraud, so the biggest problem of these portfolio agencies is that they have become a “petri dish” for such fraud behavior (and many others as we all know) to a certain extent. In order to reduce the unjust harm of this counterfeiting behavior to honest students, universities need to improve their ability to identify the application frauds, give restrictions to these portfolio agencies, and punish the ones who are involved. In fact, I think being an (educational) platform itself is not wrong. These platforms are just to help lazy people. But how to use these platforms, how to build them, how to regulate and identify them are the core problems.
Luo:
At first, when students made their portfolios, they just went to the portfolio agencies for some advice on their own projects. But now, as this industry becomes more professional, these students are going to the agencies to ask them to make up a project, or design a portfolio for them. From my perspective, if students do that, whether they copied someone else's work or just being “taught” by tutors on what they need to do, they are not acceptable. Building a portfolio should be a cumulative process, and the process should be very personal. It’s something to showcase your own creativity and ability, not something that’s made up with the help of someone else.
From the perspective of schools, I think they are frauds because schools cannot identify the students who really match their educational goals. I definitely don’t support these agencies. If a designer can’t use his/her own thoughts to approach their goal, why do they want to study in a professional school and continue in this field?
3. Are there something like portfolio agencies happening in your field? Why do you think that’s the case?
Whale:
Yes, we also have application agencies in law schools, and there are also people who do “polishing”. The students will say that they are involved in some kind of project research, or they have certain titling, or they did some kinds of internships, while they actually don’t. It's a lot easier to fake a law school application than to make a portfolio.
Luo:
I majored in Statistics. There are many overseas education agencies serving non-design majors like us. The important application materials for us are the transcripts and personal statements. For me, if students’ personal statements are not written by themselves, I thought it’s the same as building a portfolio without their own thoughts.
4. Has what was described in this column altered some of your previous conceptions of the architecture design field?
Whale:
Hmmm... What these two previous articles have changed my conception towards architecture is a false impression that architecture is a lucrative profession. I also didn't expect there to be so many architecture students going into portfolio business after their graduation.
Luo:
No. But I strongly disagree that the students who come from non-architecture backgrounds are innocent of using a portfolio agency (written by the author in the first article). Living in the information age, it’s ridiculous to not know that studying architecture in college is a long and hard process, especially if you claim you love architecture and want to step into this field for your graduate education. If finding a portfolio agency to help you make a portfolio in a short period of time is the only thing you prepared for architecture, how dare you claim you really have passion for it? I thought architecture should be a rigorous profession, a portfolio polished by others isn't equivalent to several years of studying.
Also, to prevent plagiarism, the easiest way is to have architecture schools publish portfolios of every admitted student. I believe this transparent environment will push these portfolio agencies to focus more on how to improve their clients’ design ability rather than help them cheat for the application's sake. And reference should not be an excuse for plagiarism. Even things as boring as coding classes emphasize plagiarism, and no one can use the excuse that “I just referenced other’s codes.”
Concluding Remark
This article took a lot longer than I expected. Ever since undergrad, I've begun to know more and more people related to portfolio agencies- this made me all the more curious to learn about how portfolio agencies work and what would they have to say. As a three-part series, this interview hopes to bring the whole story to a close. If you've read this far, then thank you for your interest and patience.
In addition, I would like to thank every participant for their willingness to speak openly about their opinions（I can't list them all because many of them prefer to remain anonymous.) I would also like to thank my friends around me, with whom I have often discussed this topic together. They have provided a lot of valuable input and added a lot of depth and breadth of perspective to my article. I am particularly thankful to the (former) out-of-frame editor Ana McIntosh, who supported this column from the beginning to the end and helped me edit the articles extensively and thoroughly.
Although the articles in this series do not offer any solutions to the issues around portfolio agencies, I believe that talking frankly and openly about these issues will definitely have a positive impact. Because ultimately, when we talk about portfolio agencies, we're talking about some fundamental questions surrounding architectural education: Who can have access to good architecture education? What should architecture schools teach? What kind of people do we want the students to become?
