7 OBSTACLES THAT PREVENT ME FROM GETTING A SCHOLARSHIP IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY
Perhaps young people who love and want to pursue fashion always aspire to find an opportunity to win a scholarship from their dream industry. However, do you encounter these obstacles? Let's find out together!
1. NOT INVESTING IN A FASHION PORTFOLIO
In addition to Fashion Design, not every field in the fashion industry needs a portfolio (e.g. fashion marketing, fashion business & management...). However, having a portfolio is a big plus when applying for scholarships. Investing time and effort into a portfolio not only shows personal creativity and passion, but also helps you stand out from others.
2. LACKING IN CREATIVITY IN YOUR PORTFOLIO
It's difficult to define what is "enough" for each individual's creativity. But if you submit a rough portfolio, without investing in visual appeal, content, or just researching 100% from readily available sources online without developing your own ideas, your chances of obtaining a scholarship are not high. Don't limit yourself and unleash your creative personality.
3. LACK OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
Not just in the fashion industry, to obtain scholarships, you need to have certain experiences with the field you're selecting, so that the university can effectively evaluate your abilities. Researching design ideas on paper only contributes a part to your resume. Participating in extracurricular activities, supporting student projects, attending events, or experimenting with materials, crafting, and imaginative cutting and pasting...
4. UNCLEAR SUITABILITY OF YOURSELF & WHERE TO APPLY
Some fashion schools emphasize creativity and eccentricity, but there are also schools with strengths in highly applicable designs (ready-to-wear). You need to identify which direction is suitable for yourself. If the university feels a high degree of compatibility between your style, purpose, and value brought, a scholarship will be given to someone who has higher suitability...
5, PORTFOLIO LACKS REALISM
In reality, no matter how much creativity you have, the ideas you bring to your portfolio/resume must contribute practical value to life or have actual implications. Big, meaningful, and influential ideas will definitely receive higher scholarship levels. So, a portfolio that appears to have endless ideas but, in reality, needs a lot of pre-submission contemplation.
6. ESSAY WITHOUT INSPIRATION
In addition to portfolios, essays are the next factor determining the scholarship level you'll receive. For the fashion industry, the essay needs to inspire, demonstrate your own creativity, and have some technical words like describing style, clothing, or your worldview on aesthetics, fashion, art, etc. Most importantly, your "story" needs to connect with the works in your portfolio.
7. LACK OF A COMPANION WHEN APPLYING
Not everyone needs someone to support them closely to obtain a fashion scholarship if they have outstanding abilities from the start. However, for those who have yet to explore deeply or have little experience in fashion and are still lost in direction, seeking a companion like a mentor to ask for feedback from former students will give you a fresh perspective to improve yourself.