Pasadena City College

The admissions people will give you a tour of the school and they are basically a salesperson- they get paid a commision every time they enroll a student, regardless if you finish or not. You can count on recieving a call from them pressuring you to hurry up and apply to FIDM.

COURSELOAD: the 1st year at FIDM there are certain classes you must take, regardless of your major. 2nd year you take classes more relevant to your major. I had a couple of excellent teachers but others were self-absorbed and very critical to the point of being nasty. Most of the work is simply "busywork"- as an artist, I didn't learn anything I didn't already know and I know had about 10+ hours per week worth of homework that taught me nothing. Teachers don't grade easy, but I did fine nontheless. I did learn alot however from the required marketing classes- it gave me insight on how business is operated and how the average joe is marketed to, and duped into buying things they really don't need. Their graphic design program is relatively new- started back in 1997 or so. Some of the people I knew back then who completed the graphic design track said that while they did learn some things (Adobe Photoshop, the usual graphic programs, etc.) they felt they were guinea pigs that FIDM was testing their graphic design program on.

**INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BEWARE:

FIDM will try to make you stay longer than the average 2 years it takes to complete the A.A. degree. How they do this is that they will measure your ability to speak, read, and write in English. Then they will make you take ESL (English Second Language courses.) You will then have to pay additional tuition fees on top what you're paying for your A.A. or certificate!

But in reality, you can take ESL classes at other centers for free or for a nominal fee. FIDM tends to recruit a high number of Korean and Chinese students. Perhaps an American degree of any sort goes along way in Asia, not sure.

ABOUT THE STUDENTS:

Most of the students are either fresh out of high school or are 25 years+. Majority of the students are women. Most of the fashion major students simply wear their favorite designer's clothing, and not necessarily their own creations; I just didn't see much originality while I was there. Their is definitely that snooty, aren't-I-hot attitude amongst alot of the students, regardless of age or major. But part of this has to with the vibe of Los Angeles anyway. Nonetheless there were a handful of nice people that I had the pleasure of knowing.

MY ADVICE:
I recommend you look elsewhere but if you do decide to go to FIDM, do it only if you're receiving grant (free) money or scholarship. But even then, your grant money would be better spent elsewhere.

CURRENT DISSATISFIED STUDENTS: Best to leave as soon as possible, especially before the 3 or 4 quarters (or whatever the full year at FIDM is, can't remember now) is over. Know that if you try to leave (like I did) your advisor will give you a hard time for it, as it reflects poorly on the school, & they lose money of course. If you leave after you have completed one year, you will get billed as if you attended almost half an additional year beyond the first. You will then have to pay Sallie Mae, and also FIDM directly. You will pay interest to both, and if you don't pay on time to FIDM, you will get a nasty call and eventually a letter from FIDM's lawyers. Just pay the whatever you can afford to get them off your back.

To All Majors:

*If you're interested in being a Fashion designer/Costume designer, drive down another 15 minutes and go to Trade Tech Community college- they have an excellent fashion program. I believe L.A. Valley college offers traditional dressmaking classes as well; but in reality you do NOT need a degree to do fashion- you just need the right connections.

*If you want to major in Merchandise, just get an A.A. in business management from any community college or a B.A. at a state school.

*Visual arts or graphic design majors? Go to Santa Monica College- they have phenomenal art and graphic art classes.

For the kinda money FIDM charges, you might as well go to a reputable school like Art Center, Otis, or CalArts. Better yet, just go to either a state school or just do your thing- be it fashion, art, creating a webiste- and people will take notice. You just got to put yourself out there, and ultimately it's about having connections in these fields.