Fashion Institute of Technology Q&A: Regrets, Courses, How I Got In, Social Life & More!

In April 2021, it will officially be a year since I got accepted into my top choice for colleges, The Fashion Institute of Technology! Back in October I made a blog post called “Student Life at FIT: Career Prep, Clubs, & Remote Learning” which you can read right here. Since my first semester just ended and it was online, I asked on the @glamourandguide Instagram to submit questions for this Q&A to answer anything anyone wanted to know about what college at FIT has been like. Make sure to follow as well so you don’t miss when any new posts are made, chances to participate in blog posts like this, requests for any posts you want, and more! Feel free to message our account, or comment under this one if you want any other questions or answered, or a more in depth detailed one from this post!

1. What’s Your Major?

My major is Fashion Business Management! It’s actually one of the most popular and competitive majors at FIT since it’s the one majority of people apply to.

2. Do you like FIT?

Although it’s been online, I really like it! I would have loved to be in the city and make friends but after doing my first semester of college online, I definitely like the organization of the classes and the professors. It also isn’t too difficult and I only had one class which I did struggle a bit with but was able to make up for it by talking to my professor after class and such.

3. What drew you to this school?

I absolutely love fashion and I really wanted to pursue the business field as well, so finding a major that combined both was the perfect opportunity for me. I also love New York and live about a 30-40 min train ride away so even though we haven’t been able to commute for in-person classes as of right now, I can’t wait to finally be able to next school year.

4. What Courses Do You Take?

The courses which I took this year included the basic ones such as Math, and English. My other classes were:

Advertising and Marketing (Communications)
Fashion Business Practices
Intro To Fashion Industry
Excel for Business

5. 3 Essay Tips To Get In?

Don’t make it all about you. In the essay prompt, even though they ask why do you want to go there, make sure that you do compliment the school obviously and pick at the things that FIT offers which go hand in hand with what you have done or want to do in the future and why that will benefit you.
A lot of people usually make the basic college story about something in their childhood which shaped them into the person they are today. Unfortunately, that falls under the category of an average college essay that majority of students do. You can definitely use a story from your childhood if you really can’t think of something from your current experience, but try to make it very unique and why that fits you as a perfect candidate to attend FIT.
1. It’s also really important to throw in the clubs that FIT provides and how it goes with your experience from high school and any clubs you participated in there. How do these clubs help to benefit your career after you graduate from FIT?
AND work on your essay as soon as possible and get 2-3 teachers at your school to look them over. I started writing in November – December and applied in January but if you procrastinate a bit, then definitely start in October and just take your time writing it piece by piece. I had English teacher from senior year and junior year, and my college prep writing teacher look it over and they all gave me all sorts comments which is good because you’re getting different perspectives of your essay and what to fix. I had a essay which I thought was going to be my final one, and then I ended up hating it and rewrote a whole new one. So you might have more than one versions of it or having different versions can allow you to see what errors you want to fix, or new points to add.

At the end of the day, just make sure your essay reflects you.

6. How Do You Manage School, Work, Life, and Making Friends Online?

Since COVID rules began back in March, it’s been a lot easier to not have to manage going out, hanging out with people, or really trying to balance a social life. I typically would just go out for lunch, content for social media such as outfit pics, and coffee runs a lot before COVID but now I keep it way more limited. Making friends is something that was definitely a LOT harder because everything is online now. I only have one friend from FIT and she actually reached out to me around April/May of this year and we’ve been friends ever since and actually got to meet up in the city! Definitely one of my highlights from this year but if she hadn’t reached out to, I definitely would have not made any other friends from school because I did try to reach out to a couple of girls from the FIT Facebook group from the class of 2024 and it just didn’t happen.

As for my job, over the summer I didn’t work a job but in November I got my first retail job and it’s at Michael Kors as a sales associate. I am still currently working this job and I love it! My co-workers are super sweet, the store is organized, and I learned pretty quickly how to get the hang of things. Working and having school wasn’t a huge deal but it’s all about time management and how well you can schedule yourself to make time for everything you want to accomplish.

7. What is your favorite part about FIT?

Although I haven’t been able to attend in person, one of my favorite things about FIT has to be the clubs. Currently I am a part of the W27 Newspaper and the Entrepreneurship club. I love how organized they are and the newspaper came together in such a nice way. The Entrepreneurship club is great because you get to learn a lot of things about starting your own business and business tips!

8. What Is Your Hardest/Easiest Class Right Now?

My hardest class right now is 100% my Excel For Business. I didn’t like the program which we used for learning because you only get a limited amount of tries on how you can complete an Excel task and then you move onto the next question. It was very frustrating. I didn’t necessarily have an easy class because every class had something about them which made it their own, but I did really enjoy my Fashion Business Practices classes. She was a great professor, and she also was very educated on things happening in fashion right now which allows us to talk to her about our opinion on certain things going on within the industry.

9. Something You Don’t Like?

One thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of is that FIT requires you to do internships after you have your first year completed. Although I do believe they’re doing this since we’re just starting college and they don’t want students to be completely overwhelmed, I still believe that having the opportunity to do an internship even in the second semester of your first year would be a great thing to have. As of right now I have just been doing internships on the side with anybody who needs extra help through Indeed or LinkedIn! I have a post right here all about What I Learned From Remote Interning.

10. Does This School Help Finding A Job When You Graduate?

Once again, I am only a freshman so I have no idea how well FIT helps when it comes to this topic, but I have heard from Youtube videos I’ve watched about FIT that they are very helpful.

11. Have You Done Internships and How Do They Work?

Yes! I have done about 5 remote internships since my senior year of high school, and then going into my Freshman year at FIT. My internship experience includes:

Content Media Intern
Social Media Marketing Intern
Social Media Marketing Specialist Intern
PR Editorial Intern
SEO Intern
Community Member – College Fashionista (NOT an internship but if you go to FIT or love fashion, I highly encourage applying to become a member of College Fashionista because you get to apply for brand campaigns (free & paid ones), and be apart of a fashion community with people from all over!)

12. How Do You Get Your Photo ID?

I am not sure if this information is on the actual FIT website so there is a certain building where you pick it up. Originally they were going to be sent out to students’ houses, but then they changed this to picking up on the actual campus.

13. Do You Regret Going To FIT?

I 100% do not! In the beginning, it was such a tough decision because the fashion Industry is such a competitive field and it can make or break you with anything you choose to venture off in for your career. But this was a challenge I really was willing to take and still want to take! Having the chance to network, meet people, go to fashion shows, hopefully start your own business, or many other exciting things is what made me even more excited to want to go.

14. Are Teachers Easier On Students Since Everything Is Online?

Teachers are definitely easier on students because of the circumstances that we are in. And this is definitely a positive because sometimes professors give you extra time to finish assignments or if you are having trouble understanding something, they aren’t harsh about it. Just make sure you email professors ahead of time before your next with a question you have instead of waiting until the night before or join the class earlier than most students to get those questions answered as well.

15. Do You Commute or Are You Dorming?

If we were attending campus in person, then I was going to be commuting not dorming. Unfortunately, dorming is a lot more expensive and I also didn’t see a point in it since I live a 30-40 minute train ride away. It’s easier to simply just wake up earlier and get ready to go, plus I get to be in the comfort of my own bed every night and be with my family.