Parsons School of Fashion, New York

[Bengt]

Who's applying for Fall 2010?

 

[lleux]

Can I ask if anyone completed a summer program with Parsons? Did you like it?
I'm considering going next summer for one of the programs in Paris...

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^I've met with several people around school and quite a number of them have taken the summer programs and all have said how much they enjoyed it. I've only heard from students who took the fashion program, and they mentioned that they basically took two classes: design and illustration.

 

[CrisGalaxy]

Hello, I'm a 15 year old student in high school and im currently in my junior year. I don't get good grades at school but what do I need to do to maybe get into Parson's or into any other good fashion school? Should I take the fashion class that they have at my high school or the art II class to develop my art and design skills? because i'm currently taking frenchII and that would be the only class i'd have to switch to take either fashion or art II. Also, should I look for a job in retail to be on a good start? I was looking at the H&M site and you gotta be 18 and older to work there so yeah...

 

[theprettycat]

^HI! Although good grades help, if the portfolio you send to Parsons is great, they will accept you. However they base their portfolio on more life drawings rather than fashion drawings. My advice is to keep a sketch book and just draw from life people, still life, etc. and keep working on your drawing skills.

 

[dior_couture1245]

Hello, I'm a 15 year old student in high school and im currently in my junior year. I don't get good grades at school but what do I need to do to maybe get into Parson's or into any other good fashion school? Should I take the fashion class that they have at my high school or the art II class to develop my art and design skills? because i'm currently taking frenchII and that would be the only class i'd have to switch to take either fashion or art II. Also, should I look for a job in retail to be on a good start? I was looking at the H&M site and you gotta be 18 and older to work there so yeah...

I would focus mainly on life drawing and other such foundational drawing/painting skills. You see, Parson's wants to see that you have technical skills in observing and translating what you see in life onto paper in a competent way. Of course they want to see creativity and good ideas in your work, too. So, for example what I put in my portfolio was sort of like this - a handful of figure drawing examples, some illustrations, a piece or two that I have sewn, some water color paintings, and in addition to that I included scans of my sketchbook, which is where I do all my fashion drawings. And I think that it turned out to be a well rounded portfolio.

They don't really want to see a complete fashion portfolio...sure it's a good idea to include some fashion oriented pieces (sewn garments, nice sketches, illustrations, etc.), but on the whole, I would advise against making that the focus of your application. If you're intended major is fashion design, I think Parson's is expecting to teach you a lot about fashion design, so instead of wanting to see your fashion skills, per say, in your portfolio, I think they'd rather see that you have basic, albeit impressive, "art" skills.

Does that make any sense?

Also, in regards to getting retail experience...don't bother. Parsons' will not take that into consideration at all...it's all the portfolio. And grades...which leads me to my other point. More than anything, I would advise against getting a retail job so that you have more time to focus on your grades. You don't have to be a star, A+ student, but you can't get by with all C's and D's, and especially F's.

I mean, after I graduated high school, I took a year off, and in that time, I did work in retail, among other things, and while it was a fantastic and really positive experience, it's wasn't a crucial part of me getting into Parsons.

 

[theprettycat]

^Thank you so much for more in sight advice on the application process, I will definitely be taking it

 

[CrisGalaxy]

Ahhh ok so I should focus more on developing my art skills like still drawing and getting good grades which is going to be very hard.... ;( hehe.

So this means that I must change my french class to freakin art II to do my portfolio this year and not wait until my snior year or it'll be too late.

Thanks for the info dior_couture1245 and theprettycat it really helped

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^You're very welcome.

And yes, it's a good idea to have at least 2 years of art work (from an art class or something like that). It will be very helpful when you're putting together your portfolio. You'll have a lot to choose from and you'll have the liberty to choose only you're best work, as opposed to putting in things you don't necessarily love simply because you have to fill up the minimum number of required pieces (8-12, is the exact requirement).

 

[Rohma]

Parson's AAS Fashion Studies Program

Hi guys!

I am a Marketing major at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I have always loved art and have decided to apply to Parson's AAS program in Fashion Studies. I would really appreciate it if anyone could provide me additional information on the program, such as:

- Will they accept me if my GPA is low? I am definetly not a management student and have struggled in the program - my gpa is around 2.5
- What are the career opportunities like for graduates from the program?
- For people who have been to Parsons - especially for the AAS Fashion Studies program - what is the experience like?

Any information would be highly appreciated because it is my dream to go there and hopefully become a successful designer.

Thanks!!

 

[BetteT]

Welcome to the Fashion Spot, Rohma!

Merging this thread with the ongoing Parson's thread. Please do a search before starting new threads ... most likely we already have a conversaion going about almost anything.

 

[jeffandtheworld]

ohmygod, I did a lot of Fashion sketches for my port.. do they care about fashion sketches? :?

 

[Rohma]

thanks bettet...sorry about that

 

[BetteT]

No problem!

I'm copying this to the new page ... hopefully someone might see it soon.

Hi guys!

I am a Marketing major at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. I have always loved art and have decided to apply to Parson's AAS program in Fashion Studies. I would really appreciate it if anyone could provide me additional information on the program, such as:

- Will they accept me if my GPA is low? I am definetly not a management student and have struggled in the program - my gpa is around 2.5
- What are the career opportunities like for graduates from the program?
- For people who have been to Parsons - especially for the AAS Fashion Studies program - what is the experience like?

Any information would be highly appreciated because it is my dream to go there and hopefully become a successful designer.

Thanks!!

 

[babes99]

I graduated from Parsons with an AAS in fashion marketing degree is 2007. I already had a BA in Communications from another university in 2004. At that time Parsons was gaining lots of attention (project runway) and admissions were fairly easy. I made okay grades during my undergrad program. I'm not sure how competitive it has gotten, but at that time I didn't know anyone that didn't get in. The program is typically 2 years, however if you already have a BA most of your credits can transfer. I took 9 classes per semester and was able to be done in 1 school year. I'm not going to lie. It was pretty intense. I also interned both semesters and got those positions with the help of the Parsons Intern Fair. After you graduated I don't really feel like they helped me find a job. Their job fair is pretty abysmal, but also no one was really hiring or were looking for retail positions so I can't blame them for that. I would say most of my friends found jobs 3-6 months of out school. They usually got them by the connections they made in school and interning. I had many friends go on to WWD, Harpers Bazaar, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, DKNY etc. I definitely believe that classmates and networking is the best way to get a job in the fashion industry in new york.

 

[_Andrea_]

babes99 thank you very much for sharing your experience. I know i will never be able to get in there 'cause i don't have that amount of money, but every night i dream i study there...well, every night i dream i'm a fashion star lol.

 

[GWOD]

I'm in the middle of applying for Parsons (and FIT) for Fall 2010.
This whole application process is such a roller coaster; some days I feel like I totally have a shot at getting in and get all excited about moving to NYC whereas others I wake up in a panic about my school marks or whether of not my portfolio will stand out, and then begin obsessing about how useless my life will be if I can't pursue this path!
There's so much damn paperwork involved too (being an international student), and I really wanna get it all done ASAP.

I'm thinking of travelling to New York to interview at Parsons as i've been hearing from a lot of people that this is one of the best things you can do for your application.
Any thoughts?

 

[turnofflights]

hey Gwod! i saw your other comment in the FIT thread... I went to speak with a counselor 2 weeks ago at Parsons before I applied. Also with the help of many other lovely members here on this board they gave me some insight into the application procedure. Any questions PM me! I applied for Fall 2010 too

 

[goldlion]

does anyone know if fashion marketing is open to freshman?

 

[gian-franco]

I'm in the middle of applying for Parsons (and FIT) for Fall 2010.
This whole application process is such a roller coaster; some days I feel like I totally have a shot at getting in and get all excited about moving to NYC whereas others I wake up in a panic about my school marks or whether of not my portfolio will stand out, and then begin obsessing about how useless my life will be if I can't pursue this path!
There's so much damn paperwork involved too (being an international student), and I really wanna get it all done ASAP.

I'm thinking of travelling to New York to interview at Parsons as i've been hearing from a lot of people that this is one of the best things you can do for your application.
Any thoughts?

Oh it was nice to read your post! I'm feeling ABSOLUTELY the same!
Just I wanted to study AAS in fashion marketing and now I'm really dissapointed to have found out that there are no scholarships for AAS. So, no Parsons for me Instead of that, I will apply to public relations at NYU. So, if I will get in and you will get in we will definately need to meet at our dream city. Cause I will need friends from Parsons )