The New School Top Questions

Overall Parsons is amazing, the New School in general. It is full of talented and competitive students and a great faculty. The school is very sustainability friendly and is the top fashion school in the world. I would change the fact that we don't have homecoming week, and somehow come up with a way we can have one without sports. I would change is how much financial aid Parsons can offer to minor students due to their expensive tuition. That is all. The school size is just right and it isn't really the "normal college experience" with homecoming and sports games. Most of the time I spend my time in the lounge of my dorm hall its really nice, but because the New School is in the city and does not have a campus I hang around Union Square and Madison Square. The biggest recent controversy on campus was parsons students protesting for Occupy Wall Street, the president of the school was very supportive of the students. There is a lot of school pride not in the sense of a normal college but many students boast about attending Parsons since it a fashion school. One experience I will always remember is my first semester of Parsons it was so intense but so worth it. I pulled so many all nighters. The most frequent student complaints is of the lack of sleep they get haha. No big deal though.

I honestly love Parsons! It's very challenging, and a lot of your free-time is taken up because you are constantly busy, but at the same time you're at the best Fashion Design School in the Country, one of the top in the World, and you get to meet some of the greatest people from all over the world, and bond, explore new york city, and work together to rise to the top. The best thing about Parsons I have to say is the way the School constantly pushes you to think more creatively, more outside of the box. Parsons thinks for the future, so they push their students to design for the future. Given that Parsons is a Private School, the class sizes are very small! In the Fashion Design Curriculum there is no more than 17 students per class, which is very good, because this gives you individualized attention that you will need with your professor, and this also allows you to interact and explore with your peers, to help each other, and inspire each other in a cozy atmosphere. Another great thing about Parsons is that the name is recognized anywhere. People take Parsons very seriously, it's like the Harvard of Fashion Schools, so when Parsons is on your Resume, it's highly favored. For those students who like college campuses, well Parsons doesn't have a "Real" college campus, because it's spread out amongst new york city. The main headquarters for Fashion Design Students is in times square, but you will also have other classes that you would have to take that are at other buildings around new york city so you will have to commute, but don't worry! It's not hard and it's not scary. A lot of the buildings are in walking distance from each other. As a Freshman you have to go through foundation year which means that it's not direct entry into your major if you want to go into Fashion Design. If you plan on majoring in Photography for instance you would go directly to your major and skip foundation year. Foundation year is your first year in School, you will not be doing anything related to your major. Instead you will be doing the fundamentals to art like drawing, painting, lab class (which is a class thats based off of working in groups), 3-d class, and 2-d class. If you do have complaints about the school or a teacher the school is very supportive in trying to help you solve your problem. This past semester I actually had a problem with an professor and the administration responded to me quickly with emails offering to meet with them to get the situation solved. One of the biggest things that I've noticed is that Parsons is not the typical school. you will not live the normal college life, with frats, sororities, school pride, sports, none of that exists at parsons. We do have sports teams but because we don't have our own facilities for these sports the school pride practically doesn't exists. I feel as if I'm living the life of a young professional. I go to school everyday, I come home do work, cook, intern, shop at the collest places in soho, travel to different boroughs, and explore nyc.

The New School is just right, I'm a Parsons student, so I get the best of both worlds. I'm going to an art school, getting a business degree, and learning everything that I want to learn without having to compromise anything like I would at a normal art school or a normal liberal arts university. The New School is a smaller school, my biggest class was around 20 kids, and it makes it so that everyone receives they individual attention that they need, our discussions are so different than any other college I've seen. We all get a chance to talk and to flourish. And when the classes seem too small, we're integrated right into the city. There is nothing better than being able to walk outside and see the bustling city continue on around you. When people outside of New York City find out where I go to school they usually say they haven't heard of it unless they're well versed in the arts world. But, whenever someone in the city asks me where I go to school I get a "Really? WOW! That's great. You must be really talented." I have never met anyone at the New School that didn't love and feel pride for the school. Since the moment I first visited I felt a part of the New School community and I'm sure I'll feel that for the rest of my life.

I really like being here at TNS (my division is Lang College). The people are friendly, there is departmental and academic support, and our teachers are always willing to go the extra mile to connect with their students to ensure that the material they are being taught will impact them in daily life. One thing I think the New School does well is unite it's students. Though many come from different backgrounds, programs at TNS (from organizations like Musical Theater and TNS Outdoors to frequent lectures from guest speakers) aim to bring together people with simliar views and opinions for a chance to learn from each other. Since this school doesn't have any sports teams, "school pride" is routed through to award winning professors and alumni who are out in the field, working towards changing the world. In the same way that TNS is not a typical college, it also does not have a typical campus. To have New York City at your finger tips is the dream of many of the students coming in from around the world. The city's vast wealth of resources and opportunities enable even the wildest of ideas to take form.

I really like being here at TNS. The people are friendly, there is departmental and academic support, and our teachers are always willing to go the extra mile to connect with their students to ensure that the material they are being taught will impact them in daily life. One thing I think the New School does well is unite it's students. Though many come from different backgrounds, programs at TNS (from organizations like Musical Theater and TNS Outdoors to frequent lectures from guest speakers) aim to bring together people with simliar views and opinions for a chance to learn from each other. Since this school doesn't have any sports teams, "school pride" is routed through to award winning professors and alumni who are out in the field, working towards changing the world. In the same way that TNS is not a typical college, it also does not have a typical campus. To have New York City at your finger tips is the dream of many of the students coming in from around the world. The city's vast wealth of resources and opportunities enable even the wildest of ideas to take form.

Eugene Lang gives pretty much the standard New York City liberal arts education--that is, it's a small, progressive institution that is very strong in philosophy and culture studies, but you have to be prepared to live in New York. There's no "campus" in the traditional sense of the word (there are a few dorms, a study space, and a community courtyard scattered across the better part of Chelsea) and it's pricey to live there. Since space is an issue, places like the computer labs become crowded during finals week, but they are trying to combat this and in doing so recently established a large new study space on 5th Ave., which was more than welcome. Class size is about 15-20 people per seminar course, generally more on the 15 side, and all of the professors I've had are really good at their jobs. The only complaint I have with courses is that they're a bit easy when it comes to grading and I found myself doing quite well on papers I didn't put a whole lot of effort into. A good example of this is the option to do an independent senior project, which has been reduced in requisite size by more than half since I entered the college (now under twenty pages in the Culture & Media department). The administration are all friendly and well-meaning, but they can be bureaucratic more often than not, and visits to the 11th St. student services building were always frustrating when I had to straighten out course schedules or graduation requirements. The aesthetics of the school are what made it so rewarding for me; the mechanics of the classes and the school system definitely have their flaws, but the professors, friends, and course materials more than made up for any faults with the school. Plus, if you're someone who loves living in the city, you couldn't pick a better location. The school is about ten blocks away from NYU and the Village, which is close enough for walking even in winter, but far enough away so that it's plausible to have a little reprieve from the insanity of the city.