<p>In addition to having the #1 worst food in the country, Fordham also ranked #1 for most expensive room and board this year by the U.S News and World Report!</p>
<p>U.S</a>. News And World Report: Fordham Has Most Expensive Room And Board CBS New York</p>
<p>So Fordham has:
1. The worst food.
2. The most expensive food.
3. the most overpriced food in terms of value per "board" dollar???</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>It’s New York. EVERYTHING is more expensive there.</p>
<p>Yes, the cost of living in NYC is expensive, hopefully the Room & Board will cap or even drop in the near future. As for the food, a new contract/vendor is in the works and some immediate improvements already made.</p>
<p>FWIW while the R&B cost at Fordham is about 15K, at NYU, the cost is over 13K and at Columbia, basic R&B is 12K, but adding in a meal plan and required fees of 2.2K brings the cost to over 14K</p>
<p>I agree that food, room, and board here are too expensive for what you get. Nor is the “It’s NYC!” explanation very satisfying. NYU and Columbia dorms should cost more than Fordham’s because they’re in more expensive neighborhoods. Unfortunately, as long as more people want to dorm than there are beds, room pricing will probably continue to border on exorbitant. Moving off-campus for junior year is very popular because you get the double-dip of Rent Sharing and No Reslife.</p>
<p>Now, the general consensus is that food this year is slightly higher-quality than last year’s. If they replace Sodexo next fall, it’ll only get better. We may be the most expensive next year, but the food will not be this bad again for a long time to come, if ever.</p>
<p>My thoughts? Me thinks that Skater Girl isnt a student at Fordham. Me thinks that Skater Girl has some agenda to hurt Fordham for some reason. Me thinks that Skater Girl is a ■■■■■…</p>
<p>I’m not proud of the Princeton Review rankings, but then again, I think the Princeton Review is a joke…not scientifically accurate polling…just opinionators and bloviators blasting to sell their version of ragtimes to the public and make money. BTW, USNWR doesnt rank food. It was Princeton Review who does that. USNWR is predominantly an academic measure, and their methods are explained all over the place on College Confidential, with threads galore for eternity.</p>
<p>Could things improve at Fordham? Sure. But they arent all perfect at UVa either. Or NYU. Or name a school.</p>
<p>You can dig dirt all day long if you try. </p>
<p>My advice? Ignore people like this.</p>
<p>She’s not a ■■■■■. Look up her posting history. She’s a real student. Most of her posts are from 2010 when she was actively applying to colleges. I don’t think her behavior here is trollish. Nothing wrong with provoking a discussion. This forum isn’t an extension of Fordham’s marketing department. People will take what’s written here more seriously if they are able to see that both sides are presented.</p>
<p>This food thing has been the topic of quite a number of threads. But honestly, I would have been severely disappointed if my son had decided against Fordham just because of the food. Fordham has been ranked among the top 10 colleges for getting its students internships. I find that a far more compelling plus than substandard food is a minus. What’s more important for our kids’ future, solid internship experience or some dissatisfaction with the dining hall? As for the high room and board cost, it’s in NYC. I was stunned to find out a friend was paying more than 4000/month for a one bedroom a few blocks away from Lincoln Center. In comparison, the board at Fordham seems pretty reasonable.</p>
<p>Parent46, I have another daughter who is in an undergraduate institution a few blocks away from Fordham (with similar dorms, although slightly lower tuition and slightly less expensive digs.) This year (Junior year) she is living off-campus around 100th Street, close to the subway. She and two roommates share a spacious 3-bedroom pre-war apartment with high ceilings and lots of light. It’s a 5th floor walk-up but at $2600/month, much cheaper.* So it’s possible to live in NYC without spending such an arm and a leg. The apartment you describe must be a luxurious doorman building.</p>
<p>I agree that it would be ridiculously superficial to eliminate a school because of the food (although I think sometimes colleges are chosen for capricious reasons.) My D4, now a freshman at Fordham LC, turned down many so-called more highly rated schools (including NYU Tisch, an ivy, and one of the top-rated BFA theater programs in the country) for Fordham, and she could not be happier. She reports that she has only eaten in the cafeteria at LC twice so far, (except for trips to the smoothie station.) She and her roommates cook in their dorm kitchen, something that D3 was unable to do in her Lincoln Center dorm, which had no kitchen facilities.</p>
<hr>
<ul>
<li>any apartment in NYC is going to be an arm and a leg–for comparison, D2 and roommates rented an apartment one block off-campus Cleveland, even bigger and more amenities, for $900/month two years ago. D1 paid $350/month for a room in a large house, with whole-house privileges, during her junior/senior years at Swarthmore, a few years ago.</li>
</ul>
<p>glass: Glad your daughter is at Fordham and made a choice over other seemingly higher ranked schools. I am not a marketing department person, I have repeatedly addressed Fordham’s quirks over the years and warned people that no college is perfect and glossy brochures are not the way to pick a college. I discussed dorm dramas, the reality of the workload at Fordham, and a variety of issues. </p>
<p>I still think skater has an agenda…and its for some unapparent reason…don’t think she is at Fordham. So why the smear campaign? We all know the situation on food and cost of room/board. Did she go elsewhere because the financial aid didnt meet her needs? I’ve discussed that here as well and made comments about Fordham’s financial aid department and how I think they need to do better…and not just offering loans. </p>
<p>The problem with negativity is that it is sometimes taken out of context or overblown. So that is why I challenge her agenda here. I’ve heard directly from Fordham administrators that they can take the criticisms and withstand the heat. Some of Fordham’s quirks have been addressed and cafeteria food is one of them. </p>
<p>I’m delighted your daughter is happy at Fordham…that is the best way to get the word out to others. My kid was at Rose Hill and in on campus dorms and apartments all four years, an entirely different experience than Lincoln Center. Its what makes Fordham so special…two unique choices. (She took several courses at Lincoln Center btw, just for the change of scenery and professors.) </p>
<p>If you want real estate/rental shock…check out Boston environs. The rents up there are OUTRAGEOUS and for very small spaces. Sometimes spaces that are really borderline uninhabitable. Then there is NO PARKING in Boston…lol.</p>
<p>LC student here. How is it ■■■■■-like behavior if everything the OP said is basically true. We have (one of) the most terrible dining experiences in the country and pay the most for R+B. NYC or not…having the highest room and board cost with (one of) the worst campus food in the nation is a remarkable accomplishment. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that for the price we are paying, we expect better, especially since Fordham now falls in the number ten spot in the Colleges With Most Student Debt (<a href=“http://www.fordhamobserver.com/dean-grimes-talks-jesuits-and-jobs/[/url]”>A “Blithe Spirit” for Troubled Times - The Observer) and prospective students should know since they are making an enormous financial investment.</p>
<p>I think in another post a prospie asked how the administration was? Well, the food had been an issue that students have been complaining about for YEARS and the administration had basically done nothing.</p>
<p>ramfans, its ■■■■■ like because skater is not a Fordham student presently, I believe, and has an agenda. I didnt deny that students have complained about food before (my kid graduated from Rose Hill), and that rising costs are a concern. I have stated before I have issues with ResLife and some administrators. </p>
<p>I just pondered why the slam from someone who goes somewhere else. </p>
<p>n.b., most of the issues relating to the food ratings in the Princeton Review are concerning the cafeteria at Rose Hill and have nothing to do with Lincoln Center. Ditto the article in the Ram, the newspaper from the Rose Hill campus.</p>
<p>Tuition/Room-Board of course are a university wide problem</p>
<p>I don’t think it is reasonable or appropriate to call anyone who posts a negative comment about Fordham a “■■■■■”. This is a forum for open conversation. If you disagree with a poster, that is fine, state your reasons for disagreeing and move on. And not to be rude sovreigndebt (I know you are a big Fordham booster) but you are not a student at the school and from prior comments your D graduated quite some time ago --I don’t that that makes you a ■■■■■ by your definition above (“not a Fordham student presently”). If you have nothing constructive to add, then move on to the next post. This is a blog not a recruiting brochure so it is fair to comment on positive and negative aspects of the school.</p>
<p>As I said, I am a current student. As for room and board fees I agree that part of it is the NYC location. And I have found my dorms so far (Queens/O’Hare/Walsh) to be exceptionally good as compared to those of friends at other schools that I visited.</p>
<p>If a person wants to choose a school based on food, that is their prerogative. And price certainly enters into the equation for many people. But there is no school I’d rather be at warts and all (and thankfully I got the aid I need to allow me to attend Fordham)</p>
<p>I apologize for rude comment above…it was not appropriate and not indicative of a typical Fordham student. I was frustrated because I firmly believe that nobody has the right to determine was is OK or not OK to post on this forum. Fordham has tremendous strengths but the school’s weakness should (and it sounds like they are) be addressed and improved upon. People who consider Fordham have a right to know the schools good and bad features and make their decision based on the factors that they deem to be most important. If education, internships, quality of students, interaction with professors, getting a well rounded education, access to NYC are important then Fordham is an amazing place.</p>
<p>Yup. That’s the thing, spirit.
The food in the cafe was such a minor consideration.
So much good outweighs the bad at Fordham. </p>
<p>And, it’s not like you live in a bubble. Where I went to college, unless you had a car, there was no where to eat except the cafe. That was it. Day in and day out. But at both Fordham campuses, there are lots of choices plus cooking for yourself. </p>
<p>No one seems to be starving. Maybe it makes the students appreciate Mom’s home cooking a little bit more. :)</p>
<p>the word ■■■■■ is used often on CC and it means generally someone who is not really involved in the subject matter, or who posts information (even if true) that is intended to harm a school or persons on the boards. It wasnt aimed at spirit, it was directed at skater and I note that skater has not replied. Hmmm.</p>
<p>Nor did I dispute the facts, nor attempt to squelch the truth. I questioned the motive and standing of the poster.</p>
<p>End of story.</p>
<p>Actually, “■■■■■” is an internet term for someone who posts inflammatory, and/or off-topic messages with the intent of provoking an emotional response or otherwise disrupting the discussion. I’ve seen trolls on CC occasionally but they are quickly scrubbed away by the moderators. If you believe that a poster is a ■■■■■ you can flag them for moderation. Skater isn’t a ■■■■■. As for motivations, we can never truly know another person’s motivations.</p>