<p>I'm a high school senior, and want to study fashion next year.
Just got acceptance letters from Otis, Parsons, and Pratt.
I think I want to go to Pratt more, but i'm still unsure.
Got $10,000 merit for pratt, haven't gotten anything or letter from parsons yet... i know parsons has more famous fashion designers, but style wise i like pratt designers more (jeremy scott, betsey johnson, i liked them before i knew they were pratt alumni)
they're both really good schools, but i kinda have the (false?) feeling parsons is kinda overrated after project runway and even more hyped up recently with growing fame.
but i'm wondering. current/past/parents of students, could you give me some ideas? i've heard pratt campus at brooklyn is beautiful. what about other areas though, like schoolwork, faculty, social life, student body, etc? oh and Dorms too. kinda nervous about that...
thanks in advance for all your help!</p>
<p>Well, I went to Pratt and received my B.Arch there 20 years ago. I took a walk through the campus last year - first time I was there in years. And boy, has it improved! Lots of art all over the place. Some of the infrastructure has been improved upon, too. Some new buildings as well as expansions of some of the older buildings. Even the surrounding area has gone through a transformation. I was really surprised at how safer it felt on Myrtle Avenue. I remember it really wasn’t the kind of place to hang around, but there’s a lot of new trendy shops and restaurants there. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind going back to school there if I needed to.</p>
<p>As for social life, I remember it not being a “party” school at all - although they did have social events of course. </p>
<p>As for schoolwork, I was always overloaded with work, but always having a blast doing it. It was ARCHITECTURE, of course. </p>
<p>But…in Arch, there wasn’t much interaction with the other majors, and I can’t say much about the Fashion Department, other than it did have a good reputation then…and I’m sure it’s probably even better now.</p>
<p>Pratt also built some new dorms over the last few years. But I hear that cannoneer court (built while I was there) isn’t so good, so try and avoid that building if you could.</p>
<p>Good luck…both are fine schools. But go check out the campus at Pratt. Parsons doesn’t have a campus like Pratt…it’s buildings on Fifth Avenue and a couple of other places in Manhattan.</p>
<p>I am in the same situation! I got a $12,000 a year scholarship to Pratt and no money to Parsons. I recently went to visit both schools and liked each of them a lot. Pratt had a more laid back feel with friendly people. The campus is beautiful and Brooklyn is really cool. The whole fashion program seemed welcoming and creative and is only a 15 minute subway ride to Manhattan. Parsons has a completely different feel. Parsons felt more intense and competitive. The buildings are very modern and everything seems very new. The Parsons program seemed harder then Pratt. I really liked both schools. Pratt I felt comfortable and Parsons I felt more intimidated. But I cant help but feel like Parsons may be able to prepare me more for “the fashion world”. However I cant be too sure about that. But at Parsons you don’t start studying your major till your second year, which I am not too sure about. Pratts dorms are not too bad. They let you draw and paint on the walls which I liked a lot. I didn’t look at Parsons dorms because it was poring when I went to visit and I didn’t want to walk there, but I looked at them online and they look nicer then Pratts, but that is because Parsons is much newer. After all of that I am still very confused! I can not decided which is better for me and I have less then a month left to choose. I hope this helped and I would love to talk to you more about this. Oh and Parsons is more expensive. I don’t know what to do!</p>
<p>Look up who the designers are that graduated from each school.
I don’t know about Pratt but Parson graduates includes
Donna Karan, notable Parsons-trained designers include design legends Adrian, Claire McCardell and Norman Norell; industry leaders Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, Narciso Rodriguez and Anna Sui; and rising talents Chris Benz, Doo-Ri Chung, Derek Lam, Proenza Schouler, Peter Som, Vena Cava, Ohne Titel, Alexander Wang and Jason Wu.</p>
<p>But of course these are the “stars” and any program is what you make of it. There are, as with any school, quite a few graduates who are toiling in the back rooms and never becomes stars.</p>
<p>Apologies for the typos.</p>
<p>(daughter of the account holder) I studied at Pratt at their pre-college program and I have to say that it’s really a better school. Parsons has a reputation, sure, but their focus seems to be churning out NUMBERS of designers, not quality ones. That way, they have more success stories. I mean, I’m not a fashion student, but I think they care more about Project Runway and the way they’re perceived. I tried to tour there, and I felt completely ignored.
Pratt’s campus is beautiful. I spent the summer there, so I know first hand that the dorms are spacious (well…for college) and there are plenty of common rooms, some for rec, some for work space. The cafeteria could be better, but the buildings are well maintained and beautiful. Plus, if there’s any sort of black out, or power loss, Pratt has its own power source (one being a shoe factory, I believe) and so you’re set in the cold New York winter! </p>
<p>Also, Brooklyn is awesome, and the neighborhood is way safe. I mean, it’s urban, so there are bad areas around it, but Clinton Hill is mostly filled with pseudo-hiptser latte-drinking parents pushing strollers and kids in skinny jeans. I don’t think the school itself is much of a party school, based on what my Resident Advisers over the summer told me, but, I mean, it’s in new york. So…plenty of clubs, plenty of music, plenty of culture. </p>
<p>Pratt all the way! I got accepted there too, and if I don’t get into RISD, that’s where I’ll be headed.</p>