I get a crazy amount of questions on Tumblr about FIT (the
application process, the environment, my major, etc) so I thought it would be a
good idea to make just one giant master Q&A to refer people back to! Hope
y'all find this helpful :)
Q: What is the application process for FIT?
A: It depends on your major. My major is
Fashion Business Management (more commonly known as Fashion Merchandising) and
all I had to do besides fill out basic application information was submit a
final high school transcript and write a 750 (maximum) word essay on why I
would be a good fit for FIT and my specific major. Those are pretty much the
only requirements for my major and the marketing major. For other majors like
Fashion Design and Illustration, you have to submit a portfolio of some sort so
the application process for some majors is much more intense. They do not
require you to submit standardized test scores for any major. However, you can
submit you standardized test scores and they could potentially help you place
out of some classes if they are high enough.
Q: How hard is it to get in?
A: It's actually hard to say. The acceptance
rate went down this year but before I applied last year, it was somewhere
around 45%. The acceptance rate within different majors varies so much because
some programs, like fashion design, are much more selective on who they let in.
For Fashion Business Management (FBM), they look at your grades much more than
they would for a Fashion Design major. If you don't have great grades, don't be
discouraged! The essay is a huge portion of your application and can definitely
make or break you so be sure to spend tons of time writing and revising it. I
read once on the FIT website that the majority of accepted students made mostly
B's in high school so clearly they don't determine your acceptance entirely on
grades. Taking advanced classes in high school is good, though, because it
demonstrates how you are a hard worker (FIT loves people who are driven).
Personally, I had a 3.9 weighted GPA and was in the International Baccalaureate
Diploma program in high school (which pretty much involved taking all advanced
classes my junior and senior year). My academic success definitely helped make
me a strong candidate but I also worked really hard on my essay and talked
about fashion blogging a lot to show that I was serious and passionate about
fashion.
Q: What do I need to do in high school to get
into FIT?
For students hoping to go into the business and
marketing majors, mainly just focus on making the best grades possible. If you
have a solid overall high school GPA, you don't have to worry quite as much
while you're waiting to hear back about your acceptance. In terms of
extracurriculars, the only way FIT will know about your extracurriculars is
through what you mention in your essay. They could care less that you were on
the varsity soccer team for 4 years, but if you were the president of lots of
clubs, talk about that because it shows you're a strong leader that takes
initiative. Obviously, it helps if you were involved with some sort of fashion
related activity in high school so if your school has a fashion club, it
wouldn't hurt to join that and talk about it in your essay. Most of my
extracurriculars were things that FIT wouldn't care about so I wrote a lot
about having a fashion blog, the companies I've worked with and my experience
with social media.
Q: How much does it cost? Is it easy to get
financial aid/scholarships?
I am an out of state student living in the dorms on campus. It
is about $30,000 per year for me to attend FIT. That may seem like a steep
price but it is so cheap compared to other schools in NYC (NYU is $70,000 per
year). To get any sort of financial aid, you have to come from a very low
income household so I did not qualify to receive financial aid. What sucks
about FIT is they don't give out any merit scholarships to incoming freshmen.
However, if you maintain a high GPA while at FIT, you do have a chance of
getting at least some scholarship money. If scholarships are really important
to you, you can always apply for outside scholarships. There are thousands of
them out there that you can find on the internet!
Q: Why did you choose FIT?
Pretty much all the other schools I applied to are liberal arts
colleges in the south. FIT was kind of an afterthought for me. My plan was to
major in business and minor in fashion merchandising. The reason I wanted to do
this is because so many people told me that it was the safe route. If I didn't
end up wanting a career in the fashion industry, I could always just fall back
into some other type of business. The more I thought about it, though, the more
I realized I didn't want any sort of career that didn't involve fashion. I
couldn't see myself waking up and being excited to go to a job that didn't
involve fashion. To have a good chance of being successful in the fashion
industry, going to a well known school is important as well as making a lot of
connections in the industry. FIT can provide you with both of those things.
It's the #2 fashion school in the country and they provide you with so many
opportunities to make connections with professionals and companies and to get
great internships. Also, just living in NYC alone can potentially help you to
make connections and meet the right people. LA is another great place for
fashion but I knew I didn't want to be on the west coast because it isn't
really my culture. Also, it's twice as far away from my home (Atlanta, GA) as
New York is. The other school I looked into a bit was Parsons (it's supposedly
the #1 school for fashion but personally I think FIT is better for fashion
business/marketing). However, Parsons is about $60,000 per year which was way
too expensive for me. So ultimately, FIT was the best school for the best price
and that's why I chose it.
What's the social environment like?
FIT definitely has a social environment like no other college.
For one, it's right in the middle of New York City so you're bound to get
people from all walks of life. Yes, FIT is an artsy school. There are some very
interesting people here that you would not see at the majority of colleges.
It's an arts school in the middle of a very urban area so many people embrace
the grungy/punk/street looks. Although I
don't share the style of many people at FIT, I've liked almost every single
person I've come into contact with here. Everyone is extremely nice and down to
earth! Probably one of the reasons we get along so well despite our differences
is because we all share a common passion for pursuing a career in the fashion
industry. That's the main thing that makes FIT's social environment the way it
is. People don't come here for the "normal college experience,"
they come here ready to work hard and pursue a career in what they're passionate
about. With that being said, FIT is not the type of school where people party
and get drunk five days out of the week. Don't get me wrong, people at FIT like
to have fun (we live in the most fun city on earth) but we find a good balance
between work and play.
