The title says it all, doesn’t it? Even though, NIFT is a very popular and brand worthy choice of maximum number of students for Design education, there are a few misconceptions regarding admissions, education, placements in NIFT. My main purpose is to clear those and bring clarity around these issues for future Design aspirants.
Every year, we face a barrage of questions regarding NIFT and every year these same questions are repeated. Through this blog, I would like to address these misconceptions and misunderstandings about NIFT.
NO.1 MISCONCEPTION: “Getting into NIFT is everything – Life Settled, Career Settled – But this belief is WRONG.
I have personally witnessed a growing trend in recent times where students put all their focus and hard-work just to secure admission into NIFT, thinking their career is already made by securing admission. But it’s only a minor step in your career or should I say the first step. Successful admission in NIFT is not equivalent to a successful Design career or a “settled life”. It does not entail that you transform into a Fashion Designer, Fashion Stylist or whichever field you are pursuing by just stepping into the NIFT building. The reality is that after securing a seat in NIFT, you have to work a 100 times harder to achieve professional excellence and success in the field of Design. NIFT is just a doorway towards your dream, but far away from your actual dream. So, don’t stop working hard after getting into NIFT.
No.2 MISCONCEPTION: I CAN’T BE FAILED IN NIFT:
The reason I am specifying this is because I have come across students, who after successfully gaining admissions tend to develop a lackadaisical attitude instead of ensuring to follow a disciplined work and learn ethic. They get casual and do not value the importance of the opportunity they have received. Students need to be aware of a harsh reality that every year the faculty at NIFT assesses your work and performance and can also fail you if your performance is unsatisfactory. Even if your CGP or attendance is low, your chances of failure increases. Also, if your performance is consistently low and unsatisfactory for two consecutive years, you might even lose your seat. Always remember, “Performance matters” – whether you are pursuing your course in NIFT or a professional career after the completion of your course. So be careful about your CGP, attendance and your overall performance.
My focus is on “Performance” because during your placement process – prospective employers would hire you on the basis of your overall performance and an understanding of you and your behavior over the four years of your course, not just on the basis of your final year work or portfolio. So, work hard when you have received this opportunity and learn to value it.
NO.3 MISCONCEPTION – EVERYONE GETS PLACEMENTS:
There are two misconceptions about placements. As I mentioned earlier, first of all securing admission in NIFT does not magically create your Design career. And secondly, not every student who has gained admission in NIFT is offered a placement or job. If we look at last year’s figures, only around 50 – 60% students have received placements and the rest have not received any offers. This is essential for all NIFT aspirants to remember. Not everyone gets a placement offer in NIFT and there is no certainty of you being in the 50% category of students who do get placements. You need to work really hard and prove your worth to belong to the category of students receiving good offers.
NO.4 MISCONCEPTION –EVERYONE RECEIVES A HIGH SALARAY PACKAGE IN THE BEGINNING OF THEIR CAREER:
A lot has been debated on the salary package offered by organizations which is often an exaggerated sum. Don’t always believe in these inflated figures because many times students also have their own professional connections and contacts for placements, some might get luckier than you and again some students might be exceptionally talented. But, generally after calculating last year’s figures, monthly remuneration is between 20 – 30,000. So, do not keep unrealistic monetary expectation which might turn into disappointment later on. You should and can get a better offer but this general parameter is what you need to base your future plan on.
No.5 MISCONCEPTION – ALL CENTERS HAVE SEPARATE PLACEMENTS:
Another major confusion regarding placement is that students assume that their future placement offers would depend on the center they have received. This is a very wrong assumption. All 17 centers of NIFT have centralized placements. Which means, the entire placement event takes place only in Delhi, irrespective of the center you belong to. Because, getting offers and placements will all depend on your CGP, portfolio and your overall performance, not on the center you belong to. Let me elaborate. Students who receive centers such as Kangra OR Kannaurfor e.g. refuse or hesitate to take up the offer thinking none of the MNC’s would bother to visit such remote locations to hire them. But that is not the case. Students are invited from all the NIFT campuses to Delhi exclusively for the placement process. However, those interested in pursuing a business ventureor those who aren’t interested skip this process entirely. NRI students are not invited to participate in the placement event. This rule might change in the future but in the current scenario NRI students do not participate in the placement process.
NO.6 MISCONCEPTION – EXPENSE- NIFT SHOULD BE VERY ECONOMICAL:
There’s a general assumption that NIFT is a government institute and hence should be reasonably affordable and economical. This assumption again is incorrect, since NIFT is a semi-government “Autonomous” body. And is also not very economical or cheap. There’s a 10% increase in their course fees every year and it costs over 3lakhs a year at NIFT. And these are only the course fees. Other additional expenses include material costs, hostel, transportation costs in case of outstation centers. So, if we calculate, the approximate cost of studying in NIFT for 4 years, it will be around 22 lakhs. Out of which around 12 – 15 lakhs is spent only as course fees. So, be prepared for this huge monetary investment.
No.7 MISCONCEPTION – EVERYONE WILL GET SCHOLARSHIP THROUGH SARTHAK NIFT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME:
Many students after realizing the expensive educational cost of NIFT, expect to avail the “Sarthak Financial Assistance Scheme” and secure a seat. But the reality is that the “Sarthak scheme does not work considering only a single criteria of catering to people from the EWS category. Along with the economic condition, they also assess the student’s abilities and skills based on which their application is approved or rejected. They receive a lot of applications from students and the scheme is provided to a limited number of students. To sum it up, your economic condition is important but along with it your score, performance, test, interview are all important factors – that too after the 1st Semester. You have to pay your fees for the 1st Semester and secure admission. After which you have to show your performance. Your performance will determine your CGP score, after which you submit your portfolio and attend interviews and tests. After all due process, a comparison is made between students regarding their performance and work. If there are similar levels of skills and abilities, only then will they begin to check who is most suitable to receive the “Sarthak” scheme among them after thoroughly assessing their financial status. Bottom line is that only belonging to an EWS category or lower income group does not ensure you the “Sarthak Financial Assistance. They will check your abilities and performance before considering you for the scheme.
No.8 MISCONCEPTION – GETTING RANK IS GETTING NIFT
Getting a Rank in NIFT does not mean that you have gained admission in NIFT. Your chance will only be finalized after the completion of your Counseling session. The initial 100-200 rank holders have the option to decide about centers after analyzing seat and course availability. For e.g. someone a 2000thrank holder can get a seat, sometimes a 200th rank holder can lose a seat because he/she may be dedicated to a particular field of Design and there are no vacant seats for that course which prompts them to leave the seat. And the student with a 2000th rank would prefer to study in NIFT irrespective of the course and seat, so they get a chance and secure a seat.
What I am emphasizing here is 100-200 rank holders have all the options open for them. After that it’s all about permutation, combination, luck and which course you want to study and where. Getting NIFT will only be confirmed after your counseling. But here I would stress the importance of alteration, calculation, combination after getting your rank so as to achieve the course and seat you desire. So be careful always.
Let’s discuss about some examples of this year. Around 22-23,000 students appeared for NIFT this year and around 14,000 students received their ranks. Why? Because this year Situation Test was scrapped by NIFT which led to the 14,000 figure, else with Situation Test the figure would have been reduced to 7 – 8,000. But in the absence of Situation Test, all those students who cleared the 1st round received their ranks which was 14,000. Out of these 14,000, excluding the NRI quota around 4,000 students will get a chance to study in NIFT – which leaves 10,000 students who will lose their chance. That’s why I am stressing again GETTING RANK IS NOT GETTING NIFT. That also doesn’t mean that students from 1st – 4,000 will all get NIFT because many of them may opt out due to unavailability of the desired seat, stream and center. Many also quit due to unaffordable fee structure. So, if you do not have a Plan B other than NIFT, it will create problems for you.
No.9 MISCONCEPTION – ALL NIFT’s ARE NOT SAME:
Many students have a perception that number and quality of courses varies from center to center. But that’s not true. Students are taught the same syllabus across NIFT centers. For e.g many students think that Fashion Design in NIFT, Delhi is the best whereas last year a student from Kangra received the highest salary package in Fashion Design. It depends on you – as students – how eager and passionately you can grasp the knowledge provided and how much you value your chance of getting into NIFT.
No.10 MISCONCEPTION – NIFT AN ONLY FASHION COLLEGE:
From the beginning, I am emphasizing that performance is all that matters. If your performance is good, you are dedicated and sincere towards your passion, then NIFT is not the ultimate destination. I have come across many Fashion aspirants at my Design institute and also on my Youtube channel who have an ultimate goal of securing a seat in NIFT. But you need to remember, studying in NIFT is an expensive affair and you can become a Fashion Designer even without studying in NIFT. I am not talking on only about financial terms. You can even spend more and study in any of the abroad Design colleges. What I mean is that NIFT is not the best college because similar to other colleges NIFT also follows a curriculum, a system and NIFT also doesn’t provide a job guarantee. You as a student need to be sincere and dedicated. There are many options other than NIFT which are even costlier but are better than NIFT. Also there are options which are cheaper and better too either equally or more. I am not saying that do not try for NIFT. It’s actually good you try for NIFT and know where you stand. If you get selected out of around 30 – 40,000 students, it’s actually a starting point of your Design journey / career. But remember, just getting a chance in NIFT does not guarantee a job. Sincerity, dedication, hard-work, passion is important. There are many private Design colleges which are better than NIFT and you can contact us to know more about them. And I am not stressing on this fact just to promote a few colleges. I am saying this because I have witnessed students changing their entire career path just because they lost their chance in NIFT. They had the required talent and passion to become a Fashion Designer but their careers took a different turn. Whether your dreams turn into reality, all depends on your hard-work, your planning and your patience so focus on that. College doesn’t matter. Do not change your career path for this one reason.
