Waitlisted to FIT
Today I want to show you guys what I did after getting waitlisted to FIT. I’ll start from the beginning because my story was an interesting one. The Fashion Institute of Technology has been my dream school… forever. Yet, getting accepted didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked it too, but that only makes it more interesting. Allow me to set the scene for you.
It was April of 2019. Decision letters are supposed to arrive this week and I’m freaking out, to say the least. My entire future was riding on this one letter. I must have checked the mailbox 10 times a day. Well, the day finally came and my letter arrived. This time when I opened the mailbox I wasn’t crushed because it was empty, I was crushed because of what I saw inside.
In the mailbox was a tiny little letter. I thought that was it, my chances were over. I didn’t even want to open it but eventually, I did.
When I did though, to my surprise, I hadn’t been denied. I also hadn’t been accepted either. I had been waitlisted and if anyone else here has ever been waitlisted to a college, I feel your pain. You can imagine my disappointment in knowing that I would have to wait even longer to find out if I would get accepted.
So, I got to work on making sure that I would. The main point of this is that I want to reiterate what I did after I got waitlisted because I promise you, I did not get that letter and just be like, yeah okay now I’m gonna wait three more months and hopefully they want me. I went straight online and looked up what to do when you get waitlisted.
I ended up making a fashion Instagram account with a couple of posts and I printed those posts out to send to FIT. I literally printed them out and mailed them to FIT with another essay basically restating why I wanted to go to FIT so badly and why it was my dream school. I soon received an email back which said “Thank you, we will add this to your application.”
And you guys obviously know what happened next. So if you do get waitlisted, take advantage of that, and do something different than all the other people that get waitlisted. Make yourself stand out. For some extra help, here’s what I sent them.
April 6th, 2019
Dear FIT,
I would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself, my name is Ciara Gibaldi and I have recently been placed on the waitlist for the Fall 2019 FBM Two-Year Associate in Applied Science program. Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity, and I assure you that I wait with high hopes. I was able to confirm my interest in regards to remaining on the waitlist online, but would also like to express my love and desire to attend FIT in writing.
Fashion has inspired me to get out of my comfort zone in so many instances. On what I wear, and so many more aspects of my life. Something that I have recently created is a personal fashion account called, “Ciarajewelstyle.” This is where I share street-style-inspired outfits, runway couture, seasonal trends, and my own personal fashion tips. I like to introduce a “designer of the week” every Monday, as well as fun facts regarding the designer’s inspiration for certain pieces or collections. Current and upcoming fashion trends are the main focus of this account.
Also, I am currently working towards transforming this account into a blog so I can reach different audiences, and improve my creative writing skills. The Fashion Institute of Technology has been my top college choice since I was a freshman in high school. I have worked so hard over the past 4 years, and I am still continuing to grow and improve, always driven by my dream….ending up at FIT.
I have participated in 2 of FIT’s pre-college courses during my sophomore and junior year of high school. I have so many career goals I wish to achieve, and I know FIT is the only school that will make these dreams a reality. I am so strongly interested in my major FBM for so many reasons. I would have opportunities to take field trips to stores and corporate offices and meet with industry executives. I have been ready to step up to the challenge and always put forth my best effort in every opportunity I am given to be successful in the fashion industry.
And while FBM provides foundations in fashion marketing and fashion merchandising, I will provide the energy, persistence, and creativity to succeed. Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Ciara Jewel Gibaldi