Easy Design

FIDM vs OTIS fashion colleges.?

So i want to go into fashion design after highschool and i don’t know which college i should go to. I live in san diego currently &I don’t want to go far like new york, even though they have parsons and FIT. The two best i’ve heard in l.a are fidm and otis. Which is better? I heard FIDM is kind of a joke, but idk haha. &Also what steps can i take now to start preparing for college? Im looking up sewing classes and internships but i can’t seem to find anything. And is it hard to get into those colleges?

Hi,

I actually looked into fashion colleges in state and out of state but I found it easier to stick close to home plus the school I chose REALLY had everything I was looking for with design! I actually live in L.A so Otis and FIDM were my top choices. FIDM won out for me in that the class sizes were perfect, it offered the classes I wanted, the job placement after graduating was super awesome and the instructors were people directly in and from the fashion and business industry! I have heard mostly awesome stuff about FIDM especially right now with Project Runway chosing it as its West Coast location!!! I have been glued to my T.V screen every Thursday night! LOL But seriously all I had to do was check out their website, their graduates and talk to an advisor to make a decision to visit the campus last fall and I I was hooked! They had great housing nearby, their own shuttle system, public transportation that can take you anywhere in L.A like Hollywood,the beach, Melrose, museums, art galleries and every second Thursday of the month is this awesome event in Downtown L.A with their ART WALK! I guess to start preparing now for a college like FIDM definitely start collecting all your fashion sketches, patterns, fabrics or anything that inspires you to design into your own personal portfolio! I had friends do that and when they had their first interview with an advisor at FIDM it totally helped them show how much passion they had for fashion design. Like at any college you definitely have to show any school that you are really into following your dream and that you will work hard and if fashion is something your love to design than FIDM is totally the place! I am glad that I chose FIDM and it really was the best decision I made so I would first suggest exploring their website and talking to an advisor about the Fashion Design program. If you need financial aid they have that and if you need housing they have some awesome places for students right near campus! If you want information on getting into the Fashion world or about workshops ask an advisor at FIDM and I am sure they would be happy to answer ANY of your questions. They totally helped me out! I hope all this helps and of course the decision is up to you BUT NEVER count out a school because of what you hear until you really look into it and ask students about it! Remember that any college can be hard to get into if you don’t work for it and FIDM I am sure would love to have any student who has worked hard in high school and will keep up that good work in the future! Good luck!

The SALT Center