LABORATORY INSTITUTE OF MERCHANDISING
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
The College
Situated in a lovely town house in the center of the fashion capital of the world, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM) has been a major force in fashion and business education for more than six decades. Its graduates can be found throughout the reaches of the industry, and its high standards of education have earned LIM accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
LIM is a highly personal college where students learn about the business of fashion with an emphasis on academic and professional study. Lifelong friends are made at LIM as well as lifelong careers. While most students come to the college directly from high school or transfer from other colleges, there are also those of nontraditional college age who enter LIM. Students come to LIM from many parts of the country and the world. The current enrollment at LIM is 400.
LIM prides itself on its placement record. Prior to graduation, the Placement Office undertakes the important task of counseling each student with regard to her or his career. The Office has had outstanding success in helping both four-year and two-year graduates obtain positions relevant to their studies. More than 90 percent of the graduates available for placement have been placed in positions related to their studies within ninety days of graduation.
The unique nature of LIM's curriculum provides students with a foundation of core courses in liberal arts and business while offering diverse and intensive hands-on preparation in the fashion industry. This affords graduates the opportunity to accept executive training, merchandising, management, marketing, and communications positions in a wide variety of areas within the fashion and business worlds.
Support services are important at LIM. In addition to academic and career advising, personal counseling is provided through the Director of Student Services' office. Because of the college's small size and the close relationships between students and staff, any faculty member or administrator, including the president, is readily accessible to help and advise all students. LIM's advisory board members, all successful fashion industry executives, serve as mentors to junior and senior students, offering additional guidance and advice.
Aside from the Student Government and the Fashion Club, other clubs are formed in accordance with student interest. Students have responsibility for LIMLIGHT, the college yearbook, and for fashion shows and other social and cultural events.
While most students commute, many live in apartments and student residences near the campus. LIM recommends the de Hirsch Residence as well as several other private dormitory residences in New York City for off-campus housing. These facilities, which broaden the social experiences and friendships for LIM students, are safe, convenient, and located just minutes from the college.
LIM's unique open-house program, called Student-For-a-Day, offers students and their families the opportunity to tour the college and learn not only of LIM's unique academic programs, but also of the vast array of careers found in the fashion industry. The day also includes a special presentation on visual merchandising and financial aid information on a group or individual level. Current LIM students assist in hosting the event and are available to answer questions. Lunch is provided, and, immediately following, students are invited to stay for a personal interview, which is a requirement for admissions, and sit for the LIM Competitive Scholarship exam.
Location
LIM is fortunate to be able to call New York City its campus. A whole world of fashion is at the college's doorstep and includes such famous stores as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Henri Bendel, Armani, and Ralph Lauren. Some of the most exciting buildings in the world are within walking distance–Trump Tower, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with Broadway just a few blocks away. New York City is the headquarters for the garment, cosmetics, advertising, publishing, and textile industries, all of which are essential to the fashion industry and are visited regularly by LIM students. The college incorporates all of these resources into the curriculum. For example, the Fashion Magazines course includes trips to photography studios and modeling agencies, as well as tours of magazine and advertising firms. New York City offers LIM students an unparalleled learning experience.
Majors and Degrees
LIM offers four-year programs in fashion merchandising, marketing leading, and visual merchandising to a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) or a Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.) degree and a two-year program leading to the Associate in Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) degree. Qualified transfer students may also apply to a one-year program (ACCESS) leading to the associate degree. Students also have the option to study visual merchandising as part of their curriculum.
Academic Program
LIM offers a combination of classroom education and supervised practical fieldwork that has been designed to prepare students for executive training programs and other entry-level executive positions in various areas of the fashion industry.
The curriculum has four divisions: fashion, visual, business, and arts and communications. Classroom study is supplemented by weekly field trips into the heart of the fashion industry and guest lectures by luminaries from the fashion world.
Work experience is an integral part of an LIM student's education. During the four-year bachelor's degree program, a student will enter the fashion industry three times. Each of the first two years of study contains a five-week, 3-credit work project. During Work Project I, freshmen are placed in paid, full-time selling positions in order to learn the basics of retailing. Work Project II, sophomore year, continues the retailing experience. Qualified sophomores may choose an internship in more glamorous areas such as cosmetics, magazines, designer showrooms, and fashion forecasting companies.
The third and most significant work experience is the Senior Co-op. Students spend one semester working full-time in the fashion industry in an area relevant to their career goals and ambitions. This program earns 13 credits and is required for graduation from the bachelor's degree program. The responsibility, challenge, and fun of this semester prepare students for their next step–the business world.
Students who are applying to the associate degree program follow the first two years of the bachelor's degree program, including the required Work Projects.
To graduate, students must complete 126 credits for the bachelor's degree or 64 credits for the associate degree (33 for one-year ACCESS students), achieve a grade point average of at least 2.0, and satisfactorily complete the cooperative work assignments.
LIM accepts qualified students as transfers throughout the four years. Those with an associate degree in fashion merchandising or related field or with 60 acceptable college credits from a regionally accredited college are usually eligible for junior-year status. Transfer students must complete a minimum of 33 semester hours in addition to the co-op semester at LIM.
LIM's calendar runs on a traditional semester format, offering both fall and spring start dates. Also offered is a summer program in July for both high school and college students. The specially selected courses, such as Display Workshop, Cosmetics Marketing, and Fashion Magazines, blend academics with hands-on experience. Three college credits can be earned for any of these courses.
Off-Campus Arrangements
Study-abroad options are available, including study in London, Paris, Milan, Barcelona, and China.
Academic Facilities
LIM's specialized resource center contains 11,000 volumes pertaining to the liberal arts, fashion merchandising, and related fields, as well as 110 professional and academic journals. The library connects to the Internet and accesses worldwide information sources. Videocassettes and other multimedia items useful for fashion-related studies are also at students' disposal. A distinctive feature of the video collection is a major group of tapes of the Institute's guest-lecture series, an important reference source for use by students and faculty alike. Personal computers are available for use in the library and classrooms. The student-to-computer ratio is 5:1. The Learning Center offers peer-tutoring and special computer programs to supplement and reinforce other learning.
Costs
In 2003–04, tuition is $14,900. Other expenses vary, depending on residence. Students who commute spend from $550 to $1500 for transportation. In 2002–03, off-campus room and board were about $10,000. Books, supplies, and fees were about $750. Personal expenditures are about $1000 a year.
Financial Aid
LIM believes that lack of funds should not keep students from attending college. Thus, admissions decisions and financial aid are totally separate, and a request for aid has no effect on admissions. About 79 percent of LIM's students receive some form of financial aid. Institutional scholarships, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and New York State TAP grants are all available for eligible students. In addition, LIM is qualified to certify Federal Stafford Student Loans. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) should be filed by all applicants by April 1. Aid is granted on the basis of need and scholarships on the basis of need and ability. Details of the financial aid program are available on request from the Financial Aid Office.
LIM features a Merit Scholarship Program for incoming freshmen and transfer students. These scholarship monies are awarded for academic achievement in high school or college. Students can remain eligible for their scholarship throughout their stay at LIM by maintaining a GPA of 3.2 or above. LIM's Fashion Education Foundation also administers a limited number of grants other than direct institutional awards.
Faculty
LIM prides itself on its faculty members. More than a third of the teaching staff, including all members of the liberal arts faculty, have advanced degrees; all professional subject faculty members have wide business and professional experience. Many, through their business contacts, bring guests to class to share in the lectures and discussions. The student-faculty ratio is 8:1.
Each student is assigned an adviser from the faculty or administrative staff. Work-study and career guidance is given to students by the Placement Office, with conferences held before, during, and after the cooperative work assignments and prior to permanent placement interviews. Students are always welcome to discuss career options at any other time as well.
Student Government
The Student Services Office is the center of all student activities at LIM. This facility supports student government and approves other student organizations and establishes their operating budgets.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must hold a high school or equivalency (GED) diploma and submit SAT I or ACT scores. International students must achieve a TOEFL score of at least 550. Great emphasis is placed on the required personal interview, which the college prefers to conduct on campus. Transfer students' records are evaluated individually with liberal interpretation placed on course equivalencies. Transfer students may enter LIM in either semester and with any amount of credits accumulated. Students applying for junior year status must hold either an associate degree or have at least 60 acceptable semester hours of credit. Transfer students with more than 30 acceptable semester hours of credit are eligible for the one-year ACCESS program. LIM's Admissions Committee recognizes that many intangibles go into the making of a successful fashion merchandising student, and it evaluates each application individually.
Application and Information
The application should be accompanied by the $40 fee, an official high school transcript, an official college transcript (if applicable), SAT I or ACT scores, and TOEFL scores (if applicable). Letters of recommendation are encouraged. Applicants must also make an appointment for a personal interview. The college uses a rolling admission policy. Applicants are informed of the admission decision within approximately two weeks after all admission requirements have been fulfilled. Aypplication materials may be obtained from the address below:
