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The College

With its flagship location situated in a lovely town house in the center of the fashion capital of the world, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM College) has been a major force in fashion and business education for almost seven decades. Its graduates can be found throughout all aspects 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. Although 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 approximately 1,100.

LIM prides itself on its placement record. Prior to graduation, the Career Services 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 six months of graduation.

The unique nature of LIMs 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 available. Because of the Colleges small size and the close relationships between students and staff members, any faculty member or administrator, including the president, is readily accessible to help and advise all students. LIMs Advisory Board members, all successful fashion industry executives, may also serve as mentors to students, offering additional guidance and advice.

Aside from the student government and the Fashion Club, other clubs are formed according to student interest. Students have responsibility for LIMLIGHT, which is the College yearbook, and fashion shows and other social and cultural events.

LIM currently offers three housing facilities. The deHirsch Residence is located at the 92nd Street Y, on the corner of 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Residents at the de Hirsch are primarily freshmen. Two other facilities house sophomore- to senior-level students as well as all male students. The New Yorker Residence is located in the heart of Herald Square, at 481 Eighth Avenue (at 34th Street). The Clark Residence is located in Brooklyn Heights. The facility is just one stop from lower Manhattan and provides easy access to the subway. Each residence hall is staffed with 24-hour security and equipped with a communal kitchen and fitness center. Upon acceptance, students receive a housing application by mail. Rooms are limited and are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

LIMs unique Open-House Program offers to students and their families the opportunity to tour the College and learn not only of LIMs unique academic programs, but also of the vast array of careers found in the fashion industry. The day also includes a special presentation on financial aid information on a group or individual level. Current LIM students assist in hosting the event and are available to answer questions. In addition, students are invited to stay for a personal interview, which is a requirement for admission.

Location

LIM is situated in four buildingson East 53rd, East 54th, and East 45th Streets, and on Fifth Avenue, one of the most fashionable locales in the world. A whole world of fashion is at the Colleges doorstep and includes such famous stores as Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Henri Bendel, Armani, and Ralph Lauren. 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 offices and advertising firms. New York City offers LIM students an unparalleled learning experience.

Majors and Degrees

LIM offers four-year programs in fashion merchandising, management, marketing, and visual merchandising, leading to a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) or a Bachelor of Professional Studies (B.P.S.) degree, and a two-year program in fashion merchandising leading to the Associate in Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) degree. Qualified students with a bachelors degree may also apply to a one-year program (ACCESS) leading to the associate degree.

Academic Programs

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. 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 students education. During the four-year bachelors degree program, a student enters 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 positions in order to learn the basics of retailing. Work Project II, sophomore year, continues the retailing experience, or qualified sophomores may choose an internship in more specialized 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 is required for graduation from the bachelors degree program. The responsibility, challenge, and fun of this semester prepare students for their next stepthe business world.

Students who are applying to the associate degree program follow the first two years of the bachelors degree program, including the required Work Projects.

To graduate, students must complete 126 credits for the bachelors degree or 65 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 65 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.

LIMs calendar runs on a traditional semester format, offering both fall and spring start dates. Also offered are summer and Saturday programs for high school students. The specially selected courses, such as Fashion Buying and Fashion Magazines, blend academics with hands-on experience.

Off-Campus Programs

Study-abroad options are available, including study in places such as London, Paris, Milan, Barcelona, and China.

Academic Facilities

The 5,000-square-foot library contains 9,000 volumes pertaining to fashion, management, marketing, and the liberal arts, as well as 110 professional and academic journals. The library has more than forty computer terminals that connect to the Internet and provide access to online databases through the librarys subscriptions. DVDs and VHS cassettes useful for fashion-related studies are also at students disposal. Personal computers are available for use in the library, lounges, and classrooms. The student-to-computer ratio is 4:1. The Math Center and Writing Centers offer one-on-one tutoring and thirty-eight computer stations.

LIMs brand-new facility on Fifth Avenue is equipped with two fashion merchandising studios, one of which has a laboratory area for cosmetics. There are also two new 1,100-square-foot visual merchandising studios, as well as a state-of-the-art Color and Materials Laboratory at the new location.

Costs

In 200708, tuition was $18,100 and additional mandatory fees were $425. Other expenses vary, depending on residence. In 200708, off-campus rooms cost about $11,000$15,000. Students who commute spend from $700 to $2000 for transportation, depending on distance. Books and supplies average between $750 and $1000 per year. The personal expense allowance is approximately $2000 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 80 percent of LIMs 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 participates in the Federal Stafford Loan program for students and Federal PLUS Loan program for parents. The College also works with several private lenders to offer alternative education loans for students to supplement their federal loans. International students are eligible to apply for alternative loans with a credit-worthy U.S.-based co-signer. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) should be filed by all applicants by April1 for priority consideration. Aid is granted on the basis of financial need and scholarships are merit based, although some awards take need into consideration. Details of the financial aid programs are available on the LIM Web site or are available directly from the Office of Student Financial Services.

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 3.0 or above. LIMs nonprofit Fashion Education Foundation also administers a number of merit scholarships (both need and nonneed based) 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 is8:1.

Each student is assigned an academic adviser. Work-study and career guidance is given to students by the Career Services 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 Office of Student Life is the center of all student activities at LIM. This department 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 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 conducts 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 65 acceptable semester hours of credit. LIMs Admissions Committee recognizes that many intangibles go into the making of a successful fashion merchandising student, and it evaluates each application individually.

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