Tag Archives: New Student

Welcome New Students!

FIT sent out their decision letters as of April 1st. Let me be the first to congratulate all of you who have been admitted to FIT. This is a very special moment and you should take a second to appreciate it. Attending college is a very rewarding experience that not everyone is lucky enough to be a part of. Your hard work and effort have gotten you here. Continue on with that and there is no telling where your life will take you.

Make sure that you confirm your spot within your intended major at FIT with the tuition deposit. You don’t want to be late with that, or else your spot might be taken by somebody else. Also, snap a photo of you with your acceptance letter and post it with the hashtag #FITwelcome to show off your pride. I remember receiving my admittance packet and being so full of happiness. I knew where I was finally going to go to college, and I was going to finally be living in New York City. This is definitely a moment that you should share with your family and friends.

Whether you’re staying close to home or heading across the country, FIT is excited to have you. You will make many new friends while here and will learn more than you could have imagined. This is what you have been dreaming about.

How do I fit in and make as an International Student?!

Hello my fellow international students!

As an international students myself, I found it quite hard to make friends and feel integrated when I started studying at FIT. American students intimidated me, they spoke so fast and I was afraid that I wouldn’t understand them or they wouldn’t understand me. Every time I met a student from abroad or someone that spoke the same language, it felt like such a relief, like I wasn’t the only one facing these crazy fears. But as an introvert I found it quite hard to go up to people or force myself to start a conversation. Here are some tips that helped me throughout the semesters.

Interacting with students in your major. I know what most of you think… But don’t let it intimidate you, most students (even American) feel exactly the same way. Don’t be afraid to talk to them, at least you have something in common that you can talk about, which won’t make you feel going in completely blind. Group projects too are a great way to make friends and start becoming more social, I know they can be annoying, but they give you more time to talk with them. That’s how I met my best friend at FIT.

Become part a group. Clubs are a great way to make friends, feeling integrated and part of a team. You see the same people every week at the meetings, but also outside during events, fundraising etc. What’s great about clubs, is that you are with people who have the same interests you do, so it will make it so much easier to find similar interests and things to talk about.  What I found really helped me was being accepted in the presidential scholars program, it was a much smaller group of people, which made it less intimidating to go up to people. Also most of us were there for the same reasons. Something I really liked about the honors program was that I didn’t only have one class with them, but I would see them on a regular basis at the colloquiums and various event throughout the semesters, which made us get closer without even trying.

Attend events. FIT has so many social events throughout the semesters, just go to one and see how you feel. It won’t hurt trying. That’s how I met my two first American friends at FIT, was during one of the orientation parties.

Community Service. Sign up for community service. You won’t be around only FIT students, but other people from different schools etc. It’s a nice way to meet people, not just from FIT.

Internships. They not only look great on your resume, but they’re a great way to make friends. Most of the friends I made through my internships are older, but I in a way enjoy it much more, because we have more adult conversations and I feel challenged (in a good way).

Campus Jobs. It’s a cool way to make extra money, but also friends! I loved working as a tutor, because without knowing, there are a lot of international students that worked there, so it felt like a very mixed and diverse group of people, not making it so intimidating.

But remember to be yourself, don’t ever try to be someone you are not!

xoxo

-Z

Design in a business major

Some might think that you don’t get to work outside your major while at FIT, however, they would be wrong. As a Production Management student in FIT’s business school, I will say a majority of my classes are either liberal arts or business courses, but not all. There is a mix of design classes as well. This semester, I am taking Object Oriented Database Management (fancy wording for Adobe Illustrator), and it is a welcomed break from my normal classes.

In the class, we get to create a Tech. Pack from scratch using a garment of our own. My favorite part about the project is that we are building our portfolio with necessary skills based on something that we come into contact with in our daily lives. It is nice being able to use a tool that a lot of the design students use because it gives you a glimpse at what they are doing and what their thought process is, rather than being kept in the dark about it all.

FIT gives students a mix of both sides of the fashion industry, both business and design. So weather you are in business or design, you’ll always get the big picture. I think that’s such a great part of FIT. Don’t you?

Prepare for National Portfolio Day

If you are applying to FIT in the Art & Design school and your application requires a portfolio, I HIGHLY recommend attending a National Portfolio Day.  For those who may not be familiar, National Portfolio Day (NPD) is a day in which you have the opportunity to meet with representatives/admissions counselors from the schools you wish to apply/attend (FIT, of course!) and review and discuss your portfolio, talk about the program and university, and also answer any questions that you may have!

It is a golden opportunity to go straight to the source to receive advice and put your worries to rest.  The great thing about NPD is that representatives are traveling to different cities and states, so you don’t have to make the trip out to New York City if you aren’t local!  The NPD season has just begun, so you’re likely to still make it to a NPD near you!  For a full list of the 2016-2017 schedule and the participating schools, you can click here.  To anyone that cannot attend a NPD, do not stress, as attending a NPD is not required, however it is very helpful!  When I attended NPD in 2012, it was very productive and useful to hear what the representatives had to say about my work.

Best of luck to all applicants!

Ashley

Open House

Hello there!

Just a quick reminder that Open House is coming up soon. It’s happening next week from the 10/08-10/09/16. If you’re planning on coming, I would suggest you start writing down questions you have and want answered. Open House is a great way to interact and talk to current students and ask them about their experiences at FIT, and if they have any tips for new students. It’s also great, because you get to meet future students  and  start creating new friendships.

If you’re unable to make it, feel free to ask me any questions you have about FIT down in the comments below!

xoxo

-Z