Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising

What a joke of a college! I went here in 06′ and basically I felt there was no structure, no formal education along with your major, extremely expensive even for an associates degree, etc! Glad I transferred out and got a 4 yr degree!

I attened FIDM from 2004 – 2006. Lots of promises but after they get your money they dont care. Teachers are definetly not qualified to teach anything. They may have been in the industry but that doesnt mean i want to learn about how Macys runs their store (i had a teach who talked about her time at macys the entire class). Dont waste your time or money coming to this «school».

It’s really hard to decide what to say about this school to be honest. Some teachers are super personal and really care about you, while others are just about controlling you while they can. To be completely honest it was a learning experience, it helped me choose the path I want to go to now. One thing that upset me is that it’s over 30,000 dollars to go there and most of the classes I was attending their would be videos posted on YouTube… It was kind of disappointing that I’m paying for it and it was just being thrown out there to the public. Sure it was to help other kids in the class that missed to catch up, but maybe for a public school, not a private school that’s extremely pricy. Another one of my issues was that I was treated like a child and spoken to as a child and it was very frustrating.
WORD OF ADVICE, you cannot slack when going to this school. you must be on top of everything at all times, do not procrastinate. I can tell you if something happens there are a hand full of teachers there that will understand and will be more than happy to help you.
Let me also tell you this campus is VERY SMALL. The library is amazing! The library staff is fantastic and so helpful, FIDM does have a lot of connections and resources that are lovely. Keep in mind THEY DO NOT guarantee jobs, they’re convincing about getting them for you but they’re not guaranteed.
I can tell you my personal best experiences were with
Robert Opliger — amazing teacher
JoAnn Jack — very motivational and great
Rosemary Tyrrell — she was a very kind and upfront straight to the point person
Just know that THIS IS what you want to do, I know quite a few people that are disappointed with how it was represented and how it actually is. Also financially make sure of you want to drop out you pay attention to the policy and how weeks equal percentages…
I think overall I rate this a two mainly from how disappointed I was, from how they told me the school was going to be and how it really was, I went into it wanting to work hard wanting to push myself, wanting to do whatever I could and not let anyone stop me…
But after being in the program I was disappointed and felt disrespected by many teachers .
I hope that things change and they’re able to better themselves and continue to improve everything as time comes, as everything is a learning experience.
Most people I know including myself just found it disappointing but didn’t want to drop out because they didn’t want their parents infuriated with them with wasting the money…
I guess the top things I didn’t like
— how they treat their students
–they do have favorites
–some teachers are just controlling at a ridiculous level
— the amount of stress and the color and design theory class
–some things they taught seemed completely irrelevant
— people with completely different majors have pretty much the exact same classes
–some classes are posted on YouTube
things I did like
— they gave you the supplies you needed (tuition is so expensive I would hope they did lol)
–their resources
–library
–view to petco park

My first semester here was ok mostly due to the fact that I had one amazing teacher. After that I completely regretted my decision to attend this school. It was money wasted. I didn’t learn anything while attending. I had one class that literally would be just to give us dozens and dozens of xerox copies of fashion articles and you would read them during class. If you are interested in fashion it would only make sense to do this naturally in your own and not have to pay for a class to do this for two hours. I only attended a year and shortly after I was in a position that bachelors graduates were working for me. So the degree is pretty much useless. I would say it is definitely not worth the money.

I went to FIDM for a few months and I honestly felt so uncomfortable there and did not learn anything! I don’t feel its worth the money and they don’t stand up to what they say they will do.
If you are thinking about doing the professional designation program, think again! All the first year students took the same classes together and all know each other and are NOT looking for new friends. I couldn’t believe my first day of class no one talked to me because they all already knew each other.
Don’t even get me started about the exit fees and the percentage they take even after a week or two. Lets just say for the time I was there I could have paid to start up my business instead of making the mistake to go there!
These girls are all rich and snobby… Not nice!
I could go on and on…

I attended FIDM from 2010 – 2011 although, I agree with some of the things the previous poster wrote I will share my experiences:
Pros:
–Real life experience of what it is like to be in the industry
–Amazing connections upon graudation
–The key to this school is not burning any bridges, partaking in as many internships and activities as possible, the sky is the limit
Cons:
–Cost approx $ 46K for an Associate’s Degree in Merchandise Marketing
–School values «industry experience» over teachers that have MBA’s
As with any school you will have your pros/​cons but, overall I wouldn’t change going to FIDM for anything. It allowed me to grow as a person both in my personal and professional aspects of my life. If fashion is where you want to be this is the school to be at.

This school actually taught me more than people would think. My major was merchandise marketing and my classes were basically business management and marketing classes that were related to running a store or business. It was nice because everyone shared a common dream of either becoming a buyer or opening a retail store… let’s just say that I am now (well, my parent’s) head over heels in debt. so much, that my dream of opening a store may only be a dream…
The classes were great, the projects really brought out your creative a leadership side (at least 1 – 2 presentations per class)…
–But it cost 40,000 for an associate’s! I graduated, but now am stuck in a rut, because I want my bachelors, but am not sure if i can afford to continue with school.
another con is that the credits do not transfer to some college’s (it really just depends on the adviser and how well you describe the course to them)