Last Updated on 2021-09-09
Hi! I am an international student from Taiwan, and fortunately, I applied to two master’s degree programs this year, and was accepted by both of them!
One is the MPS degree in Fashion Management at Parsons School of Design, and the other is the MPS degree in Fashion Marketing at LIM College.
Before I forget the details, let’s see how I prepared for my application!
內容目錄
Why I chose to study abroad
Since I was a sophomore, I’ve known that I’m interested in marketing, and would like to enter the fashion industry.
However, in Taiwan, the environment of fashion education isn’t mature. There are few opportunities to intern in fashion businesses, and we don’t have much choice of fashion master’s degree. In contrast, fashion cities such as New York, Paris, London, and Milan own more resources.
My family also supported me in my decision to study abroad, so I started to work on the application.
Why I chose to study in New York
The main reason is, although I want to work in the fashion industry, I am interested in the business field.
When it comes to business thinkings and connections, United States is the best choice.
Moreover, I hope to cultivate my English ability to a native level, so English-speaking countries are also my first choice.
You may ask, why don’t I choose London?
After I refer to people’s feedback, I found that the fashion industry in London emphasizes more on culture. As I have more interest in the business side, I didn’t choose it as my target country.
What’s more, I was an exchange student at the University of Leeds this spring, and I found that it considered academics and studies so important. Nevertheless, I value more on practical experiences.
If you have difficulty choosing between the two countries, there are many videos on Youtube, which I think would be a good resource for you.
Someone asked me, did I ever take Milan and Paris as an option?
First, I can’t speak Italian, so I didn’t consider Milan.
As for Paris, I’ve been to Paris for the summer program of fashion business at IESEG in 2018. Although I had a great time, the fashion education there emphasizes luxury, which is the field I’m relatively not fascinated in.
In conclusion, I chose New York as the target city for application!
Fashion Design or Fashion Management?
I considered applying to the fashion design program in the beginning.
Do you ever have a question like me: if we want to enter the fashion industry, is it a better choice to know how to design clothes?
I worried about the question at first. However, after studying more about fashion design, I found that the two fields differ a lot. Please think twice before you chose your major!
I studied fashion design at a design cram school in Taipei, and discussed my major with the teacher.
The followings are the considerations of choosing fashion design.
- Possesses a 4-year study of business field: I majored in international business in my undergraduate years, so I knew a lot about the basics of marketing, strategies, financials, and so on. Is it necessary to study business for my master’s degree?
- Worried about the repeated contents: fashion management program may attract lots of people who previously studied fashion design. This means that we may learn the knowledge from the beginning.
- Hoped to be versatile: if I cultivate my specialty in fashion design in a master’s degree, my experience in both business and design may increase my competitiveness.
You may also ask, would we be competitive enough to apply to fashion design programs? After all, design isn’t our major, and do we have the opportunity to get admitted?
According to my teacher at the cram school of design, of course, yes! To those fashion schools, they value your creative ideas and logical thinking more than skillful techniques. If you’ve cultivated your ability to design at the cram school, you just need to spend more time on your portfolio, and discuss more frequently with your teachers.
As long as your inspiration is creative enough, and relates highly to your final collection, although your work isn’t exquisite, you still get the opportunity.
Nevertheless, I chose fashion management programs eventually.
First, my passion in the field of business is way higher than that of design.
Due to the experience at the cram school, I knew that though I am willing to learn about fashion design and sewing, I wouldn’t look forward to diving into them. In contrast, whenever I saw a report of fashion business latest news, I can’t wait to spend the whole day reading it and studying more about the topic.
Next, if I spend thousands of dollars to study fashion design abroad, does it help to think up better business strategies? I consider that if I want to know more about the design process, the courses in Taiwan are enough for me.
Let me tell you an excellent way to choose between different majors. I recommend you to look up the courses of the programs. You may quickly find out which are the topics that you are more fascinated with.
As for the three considerations I mentioned before, these are my conclusions after I’ve done more research.
- Possesses a 4-year study of business field -> during the graduate year, I could focus on the fashion industry, and conduct deeper studies.
- Worried about the repeated contents -> though that means I need to study something I learned before once again, it also means that I could meet a lot of fashion design talents in class!
- Hoped to be versatile -> I still like the business side more, so I think what I learned about design in Taiwan is enough. If I would like to start up a business in the future, I could meet a lot of experts in fashion design at Parsons, and make up for my lack in the field.
MPS or AAS?
If you’ve already looked up a little information about fashion schools, you may have also seen many AAS degrees. For instance, Fashion Marketing and Communication at Parsons and Fashion Merchandising and Management at LIM College.
In general, they are easier to apply, and also provide more options the major.
Since my goal to study in New York is to get hands-on experience in the fashion industry and gain intern experiences, should I see an AAS degree as a good choice?
This question had been solved by one thought immediately. My teacher at the cram school said that since you’ve spent so much money studying abroad, why don’t you get a master’s degree instead of an associate degree?
Don’t you think that it is so reasonable? Therefore, I devoted myself entirely to applying to the master’s degree.
However, because both choices enable me to get practical experience in New York, I could make a quick decision. If your goal differs a lot from mine, it may be better to compare the two more.
To Sum up…
After pondering deeply, I finally decided to work on applying to the MPS of fashion management programs.
Next, I would continue sharing the application process and how I get admitted to Parsons and LIM College.
I also share my New York Life on Instagram @diane.style.tw. Follow me if interested!
Read More on LIM and Parsons Application:
- Ep.1 | The Reason I Chose to Study Fashion Management in New York
- Ep.2 | Master’s in Fashion Management and Fashion Business Portfolios
- Ep.3 | SOP Preparation for International Students
- Ep.4 | 5 FAQs about Writing a Request for Recommendation Letters
- Ep.5 | Submit IELTS Score Online
- Ep.6 | LIM College Interview Questions
- Ep.7 | Admissions Decision Dates
