The Importance of DAA College Visits

DAA has been hosting college visits in our high school throughout this entire year, but it has come to our attention that most students don’t know the importance of going to talk to these colleges or don’t even know about it.
I interviewed one student and one college advisor about this topic, to see different points of view and to further explain the importance of going and talking to the colleges that come and visit.

The college being interviewed was Istituto Marangoni,
This college has multiple locations such as Milano, Firenze, Paris, London, Dubai, and Miami.
The Istituto Marangoni was the first private university in Europe to train fashion industry leaders after its founding in 1935. The institution offers dozens of creative and business specialties, varying from clothing design, and product and interior design to brand management and curatorial work, and is currently ranked among the top 5 fashion schools in the world.

Why do you think students should come to visit you?
“Firstly, although we want people who are interested in us already to come and talk to us, what we mainly want to see is kids who come and visit us with no idea who we are and leave with a better understanding which could get them interested in our field of studies.”

On average how many students come to visit you in one visit?
“I guess around 20 kids who come and have conversations with us or take our flyers that we have sitting on the table but we also have around another couple who walk past and make comments on how interesting it looks, but we want more. As my advisor, I hope people can use this opportunity to increase their knowledge of what’s out there instead of not checking or thinking about the classics. I have a long time.”

For your college, what type of things do the admission boards look for?
“Of course like any other we do have to look at your grades, but for us, it’s also definitely about the creative side as well. In order to apply we ask students to also have a portfolio of either their artwork, fashion, or designs, but we just love kids who are not afraid to step out of the box and put in the work.”

Student here from DAA interview-

What grade are you in and how long have you been in DAA?
“I am in 10th grade and moved to DAA at the beginning of 9th grade”

Have you heard of or even gone to one of the college visits?
“Yes I have heard of them and I’ve heard the announcements but I have never actually gone and talked to them. Even though I should, I always either don’t have an interest or don’t know when they are coming.”

Now that you have heard of these visits how do you feel?
“I can’t say im gonna go every single day but if I walk past and something seems interesting I would definitely talk to the people.”

College visits can really help boost students’ ideas about what they want to study or even just what path they want to go in, but it could also help them figure out what they are not interested in. DAA has diverse colleges from all around the world join them, and it is highly recommended you go and talk to them.