Hey everyone. I’m a current freshman in Gabelli living on campus at Rose Hill. I’m also from the west coast so I can answer questions about moving if anyone has them. I know I’ve only been here a month but I remember how anxious I was a year ago and how many questions you all probably have, so ask away! I’m willing to answer anything.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread. It is NOT the appropriate place for “chance me” posts, however.
My S is a senior. He is interested in Fordham. His first choice would be Gabelli but his math SAT score is only 620. The Fordham website says that Gabelli students should have at least a 670 math score. Do you know if this is a strict rule? Thank you!
@ptc3 I definitely don’t think its a strict rule. I had a 29 on my ACT math section and never even took precalc in high school ( I did stats instead) and still got into Gabelli. Now i’m in a precalc class here at Fordham with other Gabelli kids who are in the same boat. I had really good extracurriculars and my overall ACT score was higher, so I think they are looking at the whole picture and not just one score.
Thanks - From your stats it looks like you had about a 680 math SAT score but not the precalc requirement. My S may not have the 670 minimum but will have the precalc requirement. His ECs are very good though. I hope he can get into Gabelli! Maybe he will apply ED to increase his chances.
Hi! Thanks for the offer to answer questions. My daughter is also a senior in high school and very interested in Fordham. Our question was that we had heard that there was very little control over the classes you took first semester and possibly the first year. Is this true? I understand that at any college, the freshmen are going to have a limited choices since other classes may have been filled by those who are older/have priority. However, my question is do they get to choose which philosophy they want to take for example or try to get in a class at a specific time or with a specific teacher? Or is it still a system of filling out a questionnaire and then being told what you were taking? Thanks
Hi, @5678abc, my daughter is a freshman in Gabelli At Rose Hill. The Gabelli students have slightly different core requirements than the rest of the school, but still have to take theology, philosophy and history and a composition class as freshmen. My daughter was assigned to Statistics, Finite Math and Ground Floor (business seminar class) with days and times. Then when her scheduling time opened, she had to choose a history and either philosophy or theology. She was able to choose the times and professors for those classes from what was still available during her scheduling time. My understanding is that the students in the Fordham College (liberal arts) may have more of their schedule set for the first semester, and I think that is even more true of students who chose to live in the dorms with the Manresa program. Hope this helps, or that a current student can chime in. I think today is the last day of midterms, so you might get more responses now.
Hey! I applied ED to Rose Hill and I’m just wondering if u remember when you got your decision. They say December 19th at the latest so will I hear back around that time or did you get your decision earlier?
@nillawafer_ I applied EA and I think I heard back on December 15th
@5678abc Everyone takes the same philosophy and theology course freshman year, but I was able to choose the teacher and times. For history, we have the choice of several different classes focusing on different time periods to fulfill the requirement. I was placed in a math class based on the level I was at, but I switched this during add-drop week because I wanted a different teacher. Freshman year is mostly fulfilling requirements for the core, but we definitely have a lot of freedom about when our classes are and who the teachers are.
The process isn’t filling out a questionnaire, we go online and have access to all of the classes offered. Some fill up fast, but there are tons of options for the core requirements. I was able to get the classes I wanted with the teachers I wanted. Also, since its still a fairly small school the deans are super helpful. I met with my dean when I wanted to switch math classes and she was extremely accommodating and pulled some strings to get me into a different class. The administration wants you to have a schedule you like and will benefit from.
How easy is it to switch from Rose Hill arts & science to Gabelli? Would you be behind since the schools have different core requirements?
@scorekeeper1 , thanks. And how has her experience been so far? For the business classes that she was given a professor/time, has she noticed a variations in the experience depending on what professor she has? Or are they pretty consistent. At her large public high school, there is a huge disparity in a student’s experience depending on which teacher they get. Her sophomore year was beyond stressful because she was one of only a handful of students who had the perfect storm of all of undesirable teachers (for some reason it seems that some of the less competent teachers were assigned the honors and AP classes. Maybe because administration knew the students would still succeed even if theirGPA took a huge hit. She got two of those teachers. And then her other teachers were fine, but noted for their very strict grading. My son is coming through and got the “better” teachers for the most part and is having an entirely different experience despite putting a fraction of work into it) So we are very gun shy in situations where it is the dumb luck of the draw that determines what the school experience will be. I know that it isn’t possible to pick the exact classes and professors you want at any college because classes will be filled and depending on where they are within their classes lottery, but I’m wondering what your daughter has seen in the business school so far? (I know students talk so if there is a teacher at either extreme, word gets around). Does she find there is grade deflation? Thanks so much!
@liliba Thank you for sharing! I hope your midterms went well. How is priority assigned for registration online? Is it a lottery and kids have different time frames based on their lottery number?
Also what are some of things you like most about Fordham and what are some of the things you would tweak/change if you could?
Thanks so much!
@5678abc I think she has been having a good year so far. Even with the classes whose times were preassigned, she could have changed them during orientation. I remember when she was registering, she had picked out an elective at the time she wanted with a professor she had looked up on RateMyProfessor as a really great one. By her time to register, that section was full so she had to go to a Plan B. I have heard rumors about grade deflation, and we shall see, but I have gotten a couple of excited texts about very high grades on midterms. I am so relieved at how happy D is at Fordham. We live in SoCal, so obviously a huge change. D is going into Manhattan, both for fun and for class assignments. She texted the other day because she was at the MOMA for one of her classes. It really seems like Rose Hill is the best of both worlds. A traditional campus, but so close to Manhattan.
@pct3 I was actually admitted to Rose Hill arts and sciences and then decided to switch over the summer to Gabelli. I just had to fill out a request forum online and write a little about why I wanted to switch and it was approved. I’m not sure if the process is different after having started at the school of arts and sciences, but I’ve heard that you have to meet with the deans and get approval. You definitely wouldn’t be behind if you decided to switch after freshman year because freshman year is mostly spent fulfilling the core class requirements which people in both schools take. The only difference is Arts and sciences is required to take a language, and gabelli takes a course called The Ground Floor which is like an introduction to business.
I was on the fence about which school I wanted but its ultimately easier to get into arts and sciences from gabelli than the other way around so I figured I’d start in Gabelli, take the ground floor and see if business was truly what I wanted to pursue, and then I could switch out if I wanted. It just depends on your preferences.
It’s not a lottery its literally just a free for all. There is an option to plan a few courses so that when registration opens you can sign up for the classes you really want right away. I think it’s usually two classes you can plan so you usually get those but it’s not hard to get the ones you want.
I love the location. It takes less than 20 minutes on metro north to get to grand central which is huge. It gets tiring being on a college campus all day, literally eating and sleeping and going to class at the same place (I have no clue how people at rural schools survive) so it is so nice to be able to get out and do really cool stuff in the city. Honestly I love most things about the school. Also I love the party scene. It’s kind of a bar school but there are also house parties. I always hear about my friends at other schools with huge greek life systems about how they have to be in certain sororities to get addresses for parties etc. To me that sounds so high school and annoyingly exclusive and stressful. It’s so nice to be able to go out and have a no pressure non-exclusive party scene. Friday and Saturday nights the Belmont area is full of fordham kids just hanging out. I can’t really think of anything bad other than the fact that people are kinda basic here (at the rose hill campus at least). Maybe it’s just because I’m not used to it, but there’s a lot of east coast prep.
Where are freshmen typically housed?
@nillawafer_ That information is online https://www.fordham.edu/info/21234/first-year_student_housing
Hi! Is switching majors a complicated process at Fordham?
You don’t officially declare your major until sophomore year. So you have time to figure it out. My daughter had friends who switched to Gabelli after their freshman year with no problem.
Thank you for offering to answer questions! I have a few:
How much overlap is there between the offerings at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center? Are they essentially the same, or are their advantages/disadvantages involved? If I were to guess, my daughter would be applying to Rose Hill.
The other schools we’re considering are also Jesuit institutions — SLU and Loyola-Chicago. Fordham’s academic profile seems somewhat higher. We’ve been able to visit SLU and Loyola, but we may not be able to get to Fordham for a visit. My daughter would be coming from a suburban, but quite diverse, high school in Minnesota. We’re not worried about the big city aspect, but we’re wondering what percentage of the student body is from areas outside of the NYC area?
Have you found the housing/food to be acceptable?