Hello everyone! I am a New Yorker and I am a senior. I just got accepted into FIDM and I am so stressed. I applied for the Merchandise Product Development program and for FIT I applied for marketing. I have not heard anything from FIT because they haven’t sent out their letters (I believe they will in 3-4 weeks). I don’t want to come off as cocky but I believe I will get into FIT. My grades are good, my essay was good, i took a precollege class there, and even my admissions counselor at FIDM said I will most likely get in. That being said, I don’t know what to choose! FIDM’s program is more geared to what I like but it was waaaay to expensive. I have been dreaming of studying in California for as long as I can remember. My brother is graduating next year from a college in southern California so that makes it harder to let me go away because we barely have money left. On the contrary, I love New York City with all my heart. It’s my favorite city and I feel I could have more opportunities here. The tuition would be dirt cheap compared to FIDM especially since I wont be dorming. HELP A GIRL OUT PLEASE!! Lol it would really mean alot for some advice haha.
If your parents can’t afford to send you to FIDM i’d say go to FIT. FIT is an amazing school set in your favorite city. I really do not think that FIDM is worth the extra tuition when FIT can offer you can excellent education.
@nycoria, Although I think it’s a positive to experience a different part of the country, especially if you’ve been California dreaming for some time, you need to weigh the costs carefully. The Merchandise Product Development program at FIDM usually takes 15 months, so your total debt may be workable for you. On the other hand, you might want to save the money in order to be able to accept a low-paid internship with a brand you admire.
Have you applied for financial aid? Do you have an inexpensive place to stay in Los Angeles? Have you thought about how to handle transportation in Los Angeles?
Is the FIT program you applied to Advertising and Marketing Communications? This seems to be a different channel from the MPD program at FIDM. Not that one is better than the other, just different. Product Development is kind of the middle ground between design and merchandising. If you’re not looking at design per se, I would think the closest major at FIT would be Fashion Business Management.
Both schools offer excellent internship and summer job opportunities and interaction with industry professionals. I’d give FIT the edge for industry name recognition (outside of the west coast) especially if you see yourself eventually living and working in New York.
@momrath i did apply for financial aid its still expensive for me 
and I did apply for Advertising and Marketing. I really enjoy designing but I also like business related things. I looked into merchandising at first and I wasn’t too interested. Being a buyer doesnt sound or look fun to me so that’s why I picked advertising. Do you know more about that program?
“Merchandising” is a wide area of responsibility. In a retail (store, catalog or on-line) business the merchant could be the buyer or part of the creative team – designer or product developer. In a wholesale business (one that sells to retailers) the merchant could be the person who coordinates the creative and sales teams. There’s a lot of overlap and every company is structured differently.
Advertising and marketing is a different aspect: you promote and market the product but don’t have direct input into what the product is. It’s a good career path, but if you want to be involved in product decisions you should think about business management or merchandising.