<p>trying to decide where to pursue a fashion degree. SUNY Oneonta is affordable however Im concerned the fashion "world" won't view it as highly as a degree from FIT or Marist. I love Marist but it is very expensive and I'm not sure how much money I will make when I graduate in this field. FIT is amazing however I want the campus life. I'm not sure how top notch the fashion program at Oneonta is and how engaged in the fashion vibe an upstate, rural NY college will be - any input is appreciated!!</p>
<p>Much will depend on how much your family will pay. If they won’t pay for Marist, then the question is moot…you can’t go there.</p>
<p>Newish fashion grads rarely earn much money and you have to start at the bottom. You won’t want to spend too much on your undergrad education. You can only borrow $5500 for frosh year, and really you shouldn’t even borrow that much for that career. Too many grads start at very low salaries with no extra money to make loan payments.</p>
<p>thank you for your advice! I would love to go to Marist and my family can help some and if we knew the degree from Marist would help me get a better fashion job then we might try to make it work; however, if the SUNY O degree in fashion (with the FIT one year experience - they have a 3+1 program with FIT) is just as respected, we would probably go this path and save the money.</p>
<p>^^
How is the one year at FIT paid for? </p>
<p>I believe it is part of the SUNY Oneonta tuition cost since FIT is also a SUNY school. It might cost a little more to live there, but FIT is $20000 per year and Oneonta is $18500 per year so its close in cost</p>
<p>Ok…so how much will your family pay?</p>
<p>Have them run the SUNY NPC.</p>
<p>Why can’t you go to FIT for all four years?</p>
<p>No need to decide yet. I’d apply to all the programs and see how the final combination of financial aid and merit aid numbers come out and then you can decide. </p>
<p>I could go to FIT for all 4 years but I really want to have a traditional college campus experience in my first couple years and then move to NYC. I visited FIT and it is a great education in fashion but its 90% female and there isnt much of a campus. I know myself and know a traditional campus is best for me for a few years. What is the SUNY NPC?? Marist is $47000 a year compared to FIT $20,0000 and SUNY On $18,500 - my family would pay $15000 a year and I would take loans for the rest. If I do SUNY On I just hope the fashion degree with the last year spent at FIT is as recognized as the Marist degree. Thanks for all of input - I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Use this to figure out SUNY NPC: <a href=“http://www.suny.edu/howmuch/?id=14”>http://www.suny.edu/howmuch/?id=14</a></p>
<p>Marist is a great school for fashion. We have great relationships with big name companies and the companies who own those companies, we are all about hands on experience (we have a student run shop where students can sell things they make, as well as Marist Brand which is a student designed college brand line, we have a student run fashion show, classes in event planning, and we partner up with fashion week designers and have our students go to the fashion week shows and do the production side), we have a great study aboard program (ranked top ten and top three), and the teachers are all format he industry in higher up jobs. Here at Marist you also get the campus feel and experience. You can go to sports games, meet people in other majors, there are cute boys on campus, housing is great, security is top 10 in the country, the campus is beautiful and you are only about an hour and a half from NYC. Here at Marist you get a small school with all the big school experiences!</p>
<p>Marist is a very nice school that comes with many things, including a hefty price tag. If your family can “only” give you $15k/year, you can’t afford to go there unless Marist ponies up a lot of grant aid because the most YOU can borrow is ~$5500. That still leaves you ~$25k/year short. Have you run the NPC to see if they offer that much in grant money? GRANTS, not loans. No undergrad school is worth $100k of debt.</p>
<p>Hi! You should definitely attend Oneonta. I am a current student at FIT so I’ll give you some input:</p>
<p>-LOTS of students who I have met from Oneonta who are now enjoying their senior year at FIT. If you are fretting over losing friends, do not, so many people travel to FIT together after their three years at Oneonta.</p>
<p>-Since both FIT and Oneonta are SUNY schools, credits will easily transfer over. Senior year, you will not have to take any liberals. It will be all fashion classes, but credits from a private institution may not transfer, so you may have to repeat classes, which can become overwhelming.</p>
<p>-You will graduate with a bachelor’s degree from FIT. </p>
<p>-CHEAPER, CHEAPER, CHEAPER!!</p>
<p>The only perk of attending Marist will be the ability to commute into the city for work and volunteer opportunities. I know they have a good relationship with Betsey Johnson (my favorite person!!) since she recruits MBFW volunteers! I don’t know who strong their career services are, but the other benefit of going to Oneonta is that with the 3-1 FIT program, you’ll be able to access their alumni career bank at FIT and have the opportunity to work with the career center… fantastic counseling!! </p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>Marist has an absolutely incredible fashion program. My roommate is a Fashioning Merchandising major with concentrations in Business and Product Development (you can also choose Fashion promotion). Although I am not a fashion major myself, I have seen firsthand the amazing opportunities the fashion program here at Marist has provided for my roommate, Bekkah. She has already had one internship at PONO in New York City and will be interning at BCBG this summer in the city as well. Although she is very dedicated to the fashion program, Bekkah is also involved in many other campus activities. Among these are: Theatre, Dance Ensemble and Campus Ministry. I think that is one of the best features of the Marist Fashion program is that you still have plenty of opportunities to get involved elsewhere on campus. I hope this helped! </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t think OP can afford Marist unless they have lots of merit aid. Her parents can cover $15k, so even if she gets full Pell (~$5k) and borrows the $5500 GSL, she still has a gap of over $20k/year. Does Marist award merit anywhere near that amount?</p>
<p>I am a current Fashion Merchandise with a concentration on Fashion Promotions student here at Marist College. I came to Marist not planning on staying here for the entire 4 years. Before coming here I did not know that the Fashion program was as good as it is; I was even planning on transferring for my sophomore year because I just wanted to go to my “dream school” which was FIT. The amazing thing about the fashion program here at Marist is that although it is not as big as others schools, we do as much (or more) than what they do. As a sophomore, so far I have participated at NYFW with the program with incredible designers such as Betsey Johnson & Nanette Lepore. I was also the model coordinator for the Fashion Show Production class. As a model coordinator I got to experience NYFW, model castings, photoshoots, etc. Also, here at Marist they got a person who is in-charge of internships, she works with you personally and does the very best to help you get the internship of your dreams. As a freshmen I got to intern over the summer in New York City at an amazing company called Modellounge.</p>
<p>I am also currently planning on going abroad to Paris with the fashion program. Mod’Spe is a unique, fashion-themed study abroad program, with coursework in English, available to Marist and non-Marist participants alike, designed specifically for students interested in international fashion. The program offers:
An outstanding opportunity for students interested in a career in the fashion industry,
Study in Paris with leading fashion industry professionals,
Explore fashion merchandising, product development, trend forecasting, and more,
Examine French culture, fashion history, and a mandatory French language course,
Enjoy classes conducted in English (excluding the required French language course)</p>
<p>Never in my life I imagined myself being as happy as I am here at Marist!</p>
<p>Well, Marist is great, but that still doesn’t solve the central problem of affordability.</p>
<p>I agree that you should apply to all, OP, and see what shakes out in April. Marist has a great program and is relatively close to NYC, but it’s also expensive. If they give you some merit aid, that might be a good bet.</p>
<p>SUNY-Oneonta is good, too, though, especially that 3+1 program. I have a friend who went to SUNY O and she had a great time (she was a music industry major, and now she’s actually involved in fashion - she’s launched her own shoe line). And of course it is more affordable.</p>
<p>To answer @austinmshauri’s question about the extra 20k of merit based aid that the OP would need if she got full Pell, GSL and aid from her parents: Marist has a Presidential Scholarship of $15,000 available for very high achievers as well as other merit based scholarships that range from $8,000 to $10,000. There are endowed scholarships ($500-$5500) and work study opportunities as well.
<a href=“Scholarships - Marist College”>https://www.marist.edu/financialaid/freshman/merit.html</a>
<a href=“http://www.marist.edu/financialaid/endow.html”>http://www.marist.edu/financialaid/endow.html</a></p>
<p>I have nothing against Marist. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have attended. Marist does “consider” students for Presidential and other scholarships that range from $8k-$15k/year, however, they’re very clear that “no more than one merit scholarship will be awarded” per student. They don’t allow stacking, so it doesn’t matter how many other scholarships are available. Even if OP got one of the top scholarships (the website doesn’t list how many they award or state specific criteria for earning them), she’s still nearly $12k short (after the scholarship, family contribution, and student loan). IF OP gets full Pell, she’ll still be about $7k short (and that’s not including books or transportation). I’m not saying she shouldn’t apply. She can certainly see what kind of financial aid they offer, but Marist is a financial reach for this family.</p>
<p>DD applied to Marist a couple of years ago. She had strong stats, 3.5 uw gpa and 2000 SAT. She was awarded the Alumni Scholarship of $6,000 per year which was lower than we expected. She decided to go elsewhere. Originally she was interested in studying fashion and we were impressed with Marist’s program. She looked at Oneonta too and although she never applied, the program was impressive. She actually changed her direction and decided that she did not want to specialize in fashion - too limiting. Oneonta was definitely not as beautiful as Marist but the price, even OOS was competitive and the FIT 3-1 program was very intriguing. Also, keep in mind, not everyone who gets a fabulous internship ends up with a great job as outlined in this NY Times article on May 5, 2012: </p>
<p>Melissa Reyes, who graduated from Marist College with a degree in fashion merchandising last May, applied for a dozen jobs to no avail. She was thrilled, however, to land an internship with the Diane von Furstenberg fashion house in Manhattan. “They talked about what an excellent, educational internship program this would be,” she said.</p>
<p>But Ms. Reyes soon soured on the experience. She often worked 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., five days a week. “They had me running out to buy them lunch,” she said. “They had me cleaning out the closets, emptying out the past season’s items.” Asked about her complaints, the fashion firm said, “We are very proud of our internship program, and we take all concerns of this kind very seriously.”</p>
<p>Right. A BMW is a great car. But if you can only afford a Honda then buy a Honda. </p>