The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) seemed like a dream come true to my 16-year-old self. In the brochure, they promise insights into the industry, a well-rounded curriculum, the bypass of typical general education classes and a set career. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems perfect.
They’re really great at marketing the school and this is one of the reasons why so many people look forward to attending. Unfortunately, everything that the school says they offer is completely false and should not be taken seriously. I am warning you now, if you’re a high school junior or senior thinking about going to FIDM, don’t. There are multiple reasons for this and I’m here to speak about them all. I attended the school from October 2015 to March 2017 and I am a member of the first social media marketing graduating class. This post is based off of my personal opinions, some of my fellow classmates' opinions, Internet research and an inside opinion from a former employee.
FIDM is a FOR PROFIT school. This means that their main goal is not to educate, but to make money. It is a corporation that turns a blind eye to the lack of qualified teachers and less than satisfactory classes. The only thing that they care about is the money they’re receiving from the students.
The administration at FIDM is known to discuss students behind their backs. They believe that FIDM students are unintelligent and should be given a break when it comes to learning. They don’t want poor grades to make the students feel bad, so the inflation of grades is off the charts. Most classes are ridiculously easy and don’t provide a foundation for the necessary skill of problem solving – something that is used in almost every aspect of life. In fact, I feel as if my work ethic has been slowed down in the time that I’ve attended the school. Because it’s so easy to receive an A, I’ve become somewhat lazy when it comes to homework. This is something that I’m working on and I’m trying to get back to the work ethic I had prior to attending FIDM.
In my very first quarter, I had a teacher who was 87-years-old. After having a fifteen-minute discussion with her during the break, I went to give a presentation in class. This happened less than ten minutes after that discussion. I stood up and the old woman had the audacity to look at me and ask, “Is English your second language?” I was speechless, the class was speechless and you could have heard a pin drop.
There are barely any full-time employees at FIDM. Why? The school doesn’t want to give them benefits. Hiring part-time employees exempts them from that expense. In addition, teachers at FIDM make $15/hour. The administration doesn’t care about the teachers’ credentials. Based on the school’s requirements for employment, I could teach a class about photography because I have a camera and I could teach a health class because I shop at Whole Foods and buy organic produce. A lot of the teachers are thrown into teaching classes at the last minute and aren’t even well-versed in the department that they’re in. This lack of caring is a direct reflection of the corporation’s ideals. M-O-N-E-Y. That is all that matters to them.
There have been many lawsuits against FIDM on the grounds of discrimination or unfair termination. This says something about the character of the school. In 2013, a former teacher filed a lawsuit on the premise that she and others had worked over 40 hours each week and were not rightfully paid. The school fired her without paying the wages owed. You can read more about that here. In 2015, an executive was fired after she exposed the racism that was displayed by the upper management. She claimed that the administration refused to include images of stereotypically gay or lesbian students, of students with tattoos or piercings, or overweight students in the FIDM publications. Her supervisor also told her to keep all images of black, gay or non-white students off of the website. You can read more about that lawsuit here. These are just two of the lawsuits that I found after a quick Google search. I’m sure there are more out there so feel free to find them.
In my time at FIDM, there were only a few teachers that I actually learned from. I’m thankful for them because they seemed like a glimmer of hope in a pit of despair. After we were told to speak with the head of the social media department to discuss the replacement of a specific teacher less than a week before finals, they told us that they could not give us any information. However, we know why the teacher did not return. The school was not going to admit to us that it was because of a disagreement over their unethical policies. Keep in mind, this teacher was the ONLY ONE out of 45 teachers who was honest with us. We sat down with two members of the college board and they acted like robots. It didn't feel like we were having a discussion with human beings and they spoke to us in a condescending tone from their raised chairs. In an effort to save themselves and the school, they offered us a free class in any department. Yes, because we all want to come back after we've graduated to take a random class that really has no meaning. Solid idea.
After my horrible experience at FIDM, I wanted to transfer to a different school to receive my BA. I spoke with the person in charge of transferring students out in September 2016. With UCLA in mind, he told me that I'd have to take 42 additional units at a community college since only 18 from FIDM would transfer. He told me I wouldn't be able to attend UCLA in the fall of 2017 because it was "impossible" to take that many classes. I disagreed. In less than six months, I took 42 units at LAVC while also attending FIDM full-time. I had at least twelve classes each quarter and still maintained almost all As in every class. UCLA decisions were released at the end of April. After finding out I wasn't accepted, I called them. They told me that I was two units short of being accepted. After asking them how many units from FIDM transferred, they told me that only 16 did. The false information that FIDM provided me completely altered my future. If I had known that only 16 units would transfer, I could have taken one extra class and I would be attending UCLA this fall. It's really quite unfortunate that after all my hard work and determination to get away from FIDM, the school still managed to somehow mess up my life. That mistake was extremely detrimental to my future. I emailed the school to inform them of what happened. Did I get an apology? No. I didn't even get a response. FIDM is lucky that I'm a quick thinker who was able to come up with a solution on the same day that I found out. That solution was attending Penn State's World Campus which you can read about here: "Life Update: School, Summer and More."
If you want to make connections, don’t rely on the school. They advertise that they know everyone in the industry, but they don’t provide that help. Be persistent, send cold emails, get on LinkedIn and ask others around you if they know of people hiring. You will be able to make it without the help, or lack thereof, from the school. You don’t need their $70,000, two-year degree to be successful.
FIDM is a complete joke and it’s about time that people begin to realize it. The education provided is worth about 95% less than the actual price of tuition each year. Choosing to attend is a terrible decision and there are much better options out there. For anyone who is even thinking of going to the school, save your money and find a better education elsewhere.
I hope this helped! If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me through my email (yulan@yulansophia.com) or the contact form on my website. I am more than happy to discuss the school and give advice based on my own experience.