<p>Hello, </p>
<p>Your opinion would be greatly appreciated. </p>
<p>My D wants to pursue fashion design, and she got accepted by both Parsons and RISD. RISD granted $6000 more scholarship. Other majors of RISD seem to be much better than Parsons so if she ever changes her mind after first year, she may be better off going to RISD. Which one should she go? Is Parsons really worthy $10k/year more?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I would pick RISD.</p>
<p>victor, both are excellent schools, but the atmosphere in Providence is quite different from New York. She should visit both if she hasn't already done so and see where she feels more comfortable.</p>
<p>For fashion, and the apparel industry in general, her best bet IS NYC where she will be exposed to so many opportunities for internships, summer jobs, shopping retail, seeing what fashionable and trendy people are wearing 24/7.The whole city is the classroom. </p>
<p>Having said that, I know quite a few clothing and fabric designers who attended RISD. The emphasis on pure design is about as good as it gets, but I would give Parsons the edge for fashion per se.</p>
<p>momrath, thanks a lot for such a great analysis and suggestion.</p>
<p>I'm a student right now at RISD, and will be a senior this fall. I'm actually a film major who has ties with the textiles, apparel and illustration department. Not to boast, but RISD provides a broad sense in not only design but the fine arts. The simmer issue of the fashion magazine V had an article on design schools, with RISD as their center spread... Parsons is in the same article too, but if you read it you'll know what I mean. All students at RISD begin foundation year full of more intense fine art media and then start their sophomore year in their "major." I originally thought about apparel, but eventually went into film. Another great deal with RISD is the connection with Brown Univeristy, students from both colleges can cross schedule their classes, which is such a plus. Providence is a nice beginner city too, being from New Jersey I know NYC well and just felt the city would be better after college.</p>
<p>Victor, in the case of fashion design the location matters a lot. Both schools can be very good, but beign in NYC has much more opportunities than studding in a province. In this career the diplomas doesnt realy matter, what matters the most is the talent, contacts, and edcution recived. Therefore I suggest your daughter that the most important thing when choosing colleges is feeling comftable and identified, and also that a city like NY will offer more opportunities than a province. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Do you know where I might find the magazine kernthomp mentions, V? Also, do you know any interior architecture students at RISD? My d. is accepted for the fall in that department and I'm wondering what is happening with their curriculum review.</p>
<p>Thanks Kernthimp & fsanchez.</p>
<p>We live in NJ too and also figured that she would get better all-around training in fine arts at RISD. The tie between RISD & Brown is certainly a plus too. </p>
<p>Parsons' location and its long list of famous alumni have also been key factors for us to consider. But she plans to focus on studio work at school first and do some summer intern at NYC (less than one hour by train from our home). She will visit RISD in a few days and will make a final decision.</p>
<p>Thanks for mentioning the V magazine. I found its link below:</p>
<p>Very interesting reading.</p>
<p>I personaly like New York better, specialy if you want to study fashion. So I would choose Parsons.</p>
<p>I would agree that Parsons is the better choice, and a lot of it has to do with location more than anything. Not that I'm saying that RISD is better than Parsons in terms of education or vise versa, but being a fashion major myself in a school in Los Angeles, I feel as though not being in NY works against me. </p>
<p>A lot of the big opportunities and big designers are in NYC, and if you find yourself wanting an internship with a big name designer a lot of the time it's easier to just already be in NYC because they may want to interview you on the spot, or even keep you around during the school year. EXPERIENCE is key when you want to get into the fashion industry, and I think a lot of it comes with taking every opportunity that may present itself while in school or out of school.</p>
<p>liek0806 & MariaCamila17: thanks for sharing your thoughts.</p>
<p>liek0806: are you in Otis? my daughter got accepted by Otis too. </p>
<p>She just visited RISD and have almost decided to go there. Partly because she is not very sure yet she would be in FD, and figured it would be easier for her to try out other things at RISD.</p>
<p>I am at Otis. I was also accepted to Parsons when deciding what school to go to, and I chose Otis because it would have been more convenient to attend(because of money, and because I already live at home in Los Angeles).</p>
<p>But approaching my summer break, I found that a lot of the internships I had applied for in NYC had already been taken up or required you to interview immediately, and I was unfortunately out of luck because I am still in school session. </p>
<p>I currently feel as though, had I chose Parsons, life would have been more easier in terms of getting work experience or interning for major companies, since after all LA fashion predominantly consist of active wear, denim clothing lines, and the like.</p>
<p>I also know that Parsons does have internship fairs, and major designers come to recruit for the summer, while at Otis fashion connections are not as strong regardless of what they make you believe.</p>
<p>If your D is not sure she wants fashion, then I would say RISD is the better choice. If fashion is definitely what she wants, then I'd go Parsons.</p>
<p>If your serious about fashion design, then it's Parson. Parson boasts of all the famous designers, so it will be easier to get internships</p>
<p>Marc Jacobs
Proenza Schouler</p>
<p>and the designers from Saks 5th Av go there to recruite members. RISD is more for studio art, and NYC is the best place to study fashion, as it is the fashion capital of the world :]</p>