This is my story of getting into one of the best design schools in the US and not pursuing it. 🎓
My aim is to shed some light on how the choices we make can shape our careers in ways we may not expect. 2020, two years into my business administration degree at the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka (IBA, DU), I made a bold move. My heart had always held a special place for design, and I decided to apply to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) – consistently ranked as the number one design school in the United States.
To my delight, I was accepted! However, my dream came with a hefty price tag. As an international student, the cost to complete my degree at RISD would have been a staggering $250k. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford it at that time and had to make the painful decision to turn down the opportunity.Yet, life has a funny way of unfolding, doesn't it? A mere month after rejecting the RISD offer, I landed a role at Zelf as the Lead Product Designer. And the compensation? More than enough to cover the RISD tuition. It was a bittersweet irony.
Yet, I don't regret the path I took. If anything, I am grateful for it. My continued education at IBA, DU, although not as glamorous as studying design at RISD, equipped me with the business acumen to launch my own startup – a journey I may not have embarked on had I pursued design.So, here's my advice to all the aspiring college students out there: Choose your major with care. If you excel in a particular area, consider whether studying it further will truly add value to your career or if it might be more beneficial to gain practical experience in that field while expanding your academic horizons in a complementary area.
Remember, your real-world, industry-based knowledge often holds more weight than what you learn in lecture halls. So, when you're stepping into university, aim to learn something that will truly enhance your skills, instead of creating redundancy.
In hindsight, I am where I am today because I was able to blend my love for design with my business knowledge. Each step – even the seemingly regretful ones – played a pivotal role in my journey. And who knows, maybe one day I'll have the honor of collaborating with RISD in some capacity, learning from their incredible community of artists and designers.
