I don't know about all of you, but growing up watching shows on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, I always fancied the idea of studying at an American school. What started off as cheerleader drama and finding the perfect homecoming date, turned in to red cups and frat parties, and it all looked so much fun! Of course the academic side appealed to me too. In the UK we pick a single subject for our degree and study that for three years, whereas in the US you get to pick from a variety of specialised classes, designing your perfect curriculum. Or maybe I just wanted to try a kegstand?
Flash forward a few years and here I am, sat in my dorm in New York City, writing this blog post to you as a student of the Fashion Institute of Technology. While FIT does not fit the stereotype of an American college experience, I've dreamed about studying here since I was in high school, spending endless nights scouring the website to view the classes they had available, only to eventually close off those tabs upon discovering the cost of studying in America. Seriously guys, you think we have it bad, talk to an American student.
As far as I'm aware, you can't find a fraternity or sorority at FIT, and sport certainly doesn't hold the same value as it appears to elsewhere. Many people probably think of FIT as a super prestigious fashion school filled with daddy's girls and too-cool-for-school fine art types, and a highly vigorous program of study. At least that's what I thought. What I, in fact, entered in to was a very small university, filled with friendly students and faculty, classes where attendance alone counted to 50% of your grade, and holding some of the cheapest tuition rates in the country!
Don't get me wrong, I feel beyond privileged to study at the famous Fashion Institute of Technology, and 14 year old me would be astounded, but it certainly isn't what I anticipated. I haven't encountered one single snooty tutor, which I would have expected given some of the positions these people have held in the fashion industry. And so far, the classes haven't been too hard. Admittedly, I have had one year of studying for my degree on my fellow students, and all my classes were entry level with no prerequisites (a class that is required in order to do the more advanced version of the class). I was terrified that I would enter in to a room full of bold (ok, this might be true), feisty and far more advanced peers, but so far everyone seems just like your typical students back home.
There is certainly much less pressure on students here. Typically students in the UK may have two large projects over a year, or a large project and an exam, both of which are 50% of your final grade. Here, they chop it up in to much smaller chunks, some of which may come from attendance or contribution in class, as well as grades based on homework or a few smaller exams. I did one test last week which consisted of about six multiple choice questions, all based on facts from that weeks reading, and we were told that this counted towards our grade. It wasn't like our exams at home where we are escorted in to an exam hall and drop off all our bags and phones at the door; we just filed in to class, popped our bags under our chairs, and it was over and done with in about ten minutes. One way I actually found the American university to be tougher than at home was the rule that stated if you missed more than three classes in a single semester, you would automatically fail that class. This is something I wouldn't mind seeing at my home university, as the people who rarely turn up to uni are just wasting the time of those who care about being there.
At FIT, I am majoring in Advertising Marketing Communications, which is quite similar to the Fashion Communication and Promotion course I study at Nottingham Trent. I chose to take six classes, three of which are under my major, and the other three are from a slightly different area. The classes are typically around three hours long, and I have them once a week.
My Multimedia Computing for Marketing Communications class teaches me basic computer skills that I would need in the industry, from simple things like Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, to areas I need to brush up on like Excel and Access. Advertising and Promotion looks at the essential qualities a good advertisement must have, and encourages us to think about how to reach our target consumer. The other class in my major is Mass Communications which looks over how communication techniques have evolved over the years, from the days of word-of-mouth, through to print, and where we are today. These classes are similar to the topics I study at home, but slightly more academic and terminology based, as they are not just centred around the fashion industry.
The three classes that aren't in my major definitely make up the more fun part of my week. Faces and Places of Fashion is a class where a guest speaker from the industry comes in every week to talk about their career and answer any questions we have. I'm really looking forward to some of the amazing speakers we have coming in, in particular Alexander Vreeland, grandson of fashion editor and style icon Diana Vreeland. I also take two styling classes; Photographic Styling which focuses on props and tabletop styling such as food and beauty, and Styling for Visual Communication which is more fashion based, and will incorporate the use of models as the semester goes on.
Sorry for the particularly wordy post, I hope you didn't mind! I just find it particularly interesting looking at the differences in international educations systems. and I thought I should give you all a little more of an insight in to what I'm studying during my exchange to New York City. I'm volunteering at Capsule trade show at the moment, so keep your eyes peeled on my blog for the highlights of my weekend!
Aderyn x
There is certainly much less pressure on students here. Typically students in the UK may have two large projects over a year, or a large project and an exam, both of which are 50% of your final grade. Here, they chop it up in to much smaller chunks, some of which may come from attendance or contribution in class, as well as grades based on homework or a few smaller exams. I did one test last week which consisted of about six multiple choice questions, all based on facts from that weeks reading, and we were told that this counted towards our grade. It wasn't like our exams at home where we are escorted in to an exam hall and drop off all our bags and phones at the door; we just filed in to class, popped our bags under our chairs, and it was over and done with in about ten minutes. One way I actually found the American university to be tougher than at home was the rule that stated if you missed more than three classes in a single semester, you would automatically fail that class. This is something I wouldn't mind seeing at my home university, as the people who rarely turn up to uni are just wasting the time of those who care about being there.
At FIT, I am majoring in Advertising Marketing Communications, which is quite similar to the Fashion Communication and Promotion course I study at Nottingham Trent. I chose to take six classes, three of which are under my major, and the other three are from a slightly different area. The classes are typically around three hours long, and I have them once a week.
My Multimedia Computing for Marketing Communications class teaches me basic computer skills that I would need in the industry, from simple things like Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, to areas I need to brush up on like Excel and Access. Advertising and Promotion looks at the essential qualities a good advertisement must have, and encourages us to think about how to reach our target consumer. The other class in my major is Mass Communications which looks over how communication techniques have evolved over the years, from the days of word-of-mouth, through to print, and where we are today. These classes are similar to the topics I study at home, but slightly more academic and terminology based, as they are not just centred around the fashion industry.
The three classes that aren't in my major definitely make up the more fun part of my week. Faces and Places of Fashion is a class where a guest speaker from the industry comes in every week to talk about their career and answer any questions we have. I'm really looking forward to some of the amazing speakers we have coming in, in particular Alexander Vreeland, grandson of fashion editor and style icon Diana Vreeland. I also take two styling classes; Photographic Styling which focuses on props and tabletop styling such as food and beauty, and Styling for Visual Communication which is more fashion based, and will incorporate the use of models as the semester goes on.
Sorry for the particularly wordy post, I hope you didn't mind! I just find it particularly interesting looking at the differences in international educations systems. and I thought I should give you all a little more of an insight in to what I'm studying during my exchange to New York City. I'm volunteering at Capsule trade show at the moment, so keep your eyes peeled on my blog for the highlights of my weekend!
Aderyn x
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