i’m a senior in high school, and will be applying to a couple schools to study fashion design
in all honesty, im not an extraordinary artist. that’s not to say i can’t draw, but i have about average drawing skills. i don’t have an established style, and everytime i watch one of those accepted parsons portfolio videos i go into a fit of panic and the crushing weight of realization that i probably won’t get in. i have great ideas, i’m very creative and easily inspired. i can take good photos, sew and write very well. i’m going to start taking lessons but the deadline is creeping up and i don’t have any previous artworks i can include. do i even have a shot at getting into parsons, or any of the other schools i’m applying to (calarts, pratt institute, moore school of design)?
hi, i’m applying to parsons too. i’ve been wanting to go there for a while, so I’ve done pretty extensive research on the new school’s admissions over the past few years. I’ve also gone to admissions events and panels with the parsons admissions team. one of the more important things i’ve learned is that parsons heavily values experimentation and breadth, rather than technical skill. sure, technical skill is still a plus, but they primarily want to see students who think outside of the box. i remember hearing an admissions counselor say something like “don’t worry too much about technical skill, because that can always be taught later.” if you experiment with different mediums/formats or really explore certain themes in your portfolio, i’d say you’d have a shot.
a couple people also mentioned that parsons also puts emphasis on writing. writing a good application essay would also probably boost your chances.
i’m not too sure about calarts or moore, but pratt is a bit different from parsons. they want to see more observational work, so technical drawings skills are likely more important to them than parsons.