Hi everyone - My daughter got accepted in all the 3 colleges above with some financial aid. She has her heart set on NYC, so we are veering towards NYC. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to visit the colleges or talk to students / faculty etc. as we are not from US. Looking for some advice from parents / students / alumni on which fashion design program makes sense. She will be opting for housing on campus so safety / social life etc also matter. Also, she will be going for a hefty loan so a school with a solid employment records helps. Looking for some tips and advice from this amazing community! Thanks in advance…
JMHO but I think Marist is a fabulous choice for fashion design. The city is “right there” so you get all the benefits of NYC while being at a wonderful residential campus. When I toured with my son two years ago one thing that struck me about all the schools we visited was that some had survived the recession, some were still struggling from it, but Marist thrived in spite of the recession. At that time the president of 40 years was retiring. I could see that his leadership had brought Marist well ahead of other colleges and keep the money flowing. Marist had the most beautiful dining hall and library! The campus was extremely well maintained and many buildings were beautiful stone. When we toured I got the sense that one would get an excellent education at Marist. They also had affordable bus trips going into the city with lots of things for students to do on the weekend.
Good luck in your decision!
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Congratulations on the acceptances.
I can’t help compare schools, but would encourage your D to go to the least expensive choice…which one is that? Have you/your D compared the fashion design internship opportunities and job placement of the schools? If this info is not readily available on websites, call the career placement centers.
I would hesitate to take out greater than the $27K in total Federal Direct Student Loans allowed during the undergrad years. Anything over that $27K ($5.5K the first year, then $6.5K/$7.5K/$7.5K) will have to be taken out, or co-signed, by the parent.
Good luck.
Thanks a lot for your replies. We were waiting for the final decision that was FIT. She got accepted at FIT.
So, now it’s between FIT, Pratt and Marist because we think NYC and surrounding areas are the best for fashion design.
FIT is the least expensive and has a superb reputation but it’s not like a campus and (maybe that’s why) the social life is not great. Lot of incumbent students wrote that the environment was not friendly. Pratt and Marist both have campuses and Marist looks beautiful.
I like the thought of Marist as it’s just the right size and it has a beautiful campus and is close to NYC.
Now, under the current economic situation, the cost of attendance would be a strong deciding factor. These are the numbers we have but I am sure the actual costs will be at least 6-8K higher (or maybe more).
Pratt - Around 55-57K / year (after aid)
FIT - 42K / year (No aid)
Marist - 53-55K / year (after aid)
Your thoughts please. Thanks so much!
Hi! I have a daughter interested in fashion (my oldest daughter is at college for Musical Theater and CC was so helpful!) We are looking at the same three schools your daughter was: Pratt, FIT and Marist - in addition to Parsons. We were just reading this thread and wondering where you guys decided to go! Thanks!
The original poster has not been online since March 2020. If they return and want to answer the question, they can PM me to reopen. Closing.