Boston University vs Fordham University-- help me choose!!!

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everyone!! I need help deciding on a college. Namely, I am focusing on BU and Fordham. But for reference, here are all the schools I got accepted/denied from.

Accepted: Indiana University (kelley), University of Michigan (LSA not Ross), University of MN (Carlson), FORDHAM (gabelli), University of Wisconsin- Madison (business school), Santa Clara University (leavey), Tulane (freeman), UW- Seattle (foster), Boston University (questrom)

Rejected: UT Austin (McCombs), NYU (stern), UPenn (wharton), Georgetown (mcdonough)

So out of all of these schools, I like Fordham and BU the best. I have visited both of them and like the feels of both campuses. I also really love both NYC and Boston as cities. Ideally, I want to study finance and end up working in NYC at a firm such as JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs (that’s the dream).

So some extra info about each school:

Fordham: I got a full-tuition scholarship for being NMSF (so it would cost about $20k, which is within my budget); I got into the global business honors program (don’t know a lot about it, but everyone says that it is really good); I visited the campus and liked it, but I’m sketched out about the location in the Bronx (even tho everyone says it’s not a big deal); I LOVE NYC and would love to go to school in the city

BU: I got 54K in scholarships so it would be about $21k to go (again, in my budget); I love the city of Boston too, but didn’t love the city-campus (fordham is more of a traditional campus); I didn’t get into kilachand honors college at BU, even tho I applied to it; I feel like I would feel safer at BU

Overall, I am wondering what school is best going to help me achieve my dream of being a wall street b*tch. pls help. sorry if this is all over the place. thanks again :slight_smile:

2

I may be wrong, but I thought that the Global Business Scholars received Fordham’s best housing near the Lincoln Center campus. Did you receive the Presidential Scholarship ?

Also, don’t the Global Business Scholars attend sessions in London & then in Asia or South America ?

Also, and again I may be misinformed, but isn’t Global Scholars a cohort of just 20 or 25 students ?

3

@eksimning : Have you been told that you will be at Fordham’s Bronx campus ?

Fordham’s top scholarship includes tuition, fees & housing. What does your scholarship include ?

4

@eksimning : Ask whether or not you will be living in McKeon Hall at Lincoln Center on Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus.

5

@Publisher I received the Fordham University Semifinalist Scholarship for being a national merit semifinalist. I listed Fordham as my top school on the NMSC application. The scholarship is only worth full-tuition, which is $52,980. It does not include housing or other fees. The total COA at fordham is about $77k, but I also got a grant worth 6k, so my total cost of attendance is about $20k.

6

@Publisher I applied to the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx because I liked the more traditional campus feel. In addition, most of the majors at gabelli are only offered at the rose hill campus.

7

@Publisher You are correct in that the GBHP is only 20-25 students, and we would travel to one location in south america/asia and one in london throughout my 4 years at fordham.

8

My S graduated from Fordham (Gabelli) and was at the Rose Hill campus. He loved his time there and had a great outcome (got into a top 4 program in his field for grad school). Like you he wanted a traditional campus and he loved the Rose Hill campus and the fact that it had such great access to Manhattan. (He did not like the totally urban campus at NYU or BU) The campus itself is gated and an ID is needed to get on campus. He actually enjoyed being in Bronx. Yes, one must be street-smart (don’t walk around alone and drunk at 4AM waving your iPhone) but students figure out quickly to travel in groups etc. He enjoyed the proximity to Arthur Avenue (restaurants/bars), was able to run in the Botanical Gardens, did an internship in Manhattan and went to Manhattan often for all kinds of things (concerts, museum, tapings of TV shows, various street festivals, small/fairly inexpensive clubs etc.).

One difference between the two schools I should note is that Fordham has a large core curriculum which is typical of Jesuit colleges (I’m sure you can find it online). My S did not mind the core for the most part (he would have preferred a few fewer core classes) but I must say that he got a wonderfully well rounded liberal arts education as well as a strong business education which I think has served him well in the long run.

IMO neither schools will guarantee your Wall Street dream will come true but both can help you get there…ultimately your success will be up to you and what you achieve during your time in college.

There is no bad choice here. Maybe visit both BU and Fordham during accepted students day before deciding.

9

Is the grant from Fordham or outside?

10

I don’t think the facts necessarily support your gut sense that you’d be safer at BU. Boston has crime just like New York does. Looking at crime rates per 1000 students on the two schools with the ope.ed.gov comparison tool, BU has higher rates of assault, sexual assault, and robbery, than Fordham. Fordham has more burglaries. Overall it seems like a wash - you would have to be attentive to personal safety at either school, and both have good crime prevention measures in place to support your use of good common sense.

For basically equivalent cost, I wouldn’t turn down an opportunity like Global Business Scholars at Fordham, for a general, non-honors admission at BU - especially since you eventually hope to end up in New York. You seem to prefer a “real campus” like Rose Hill as well. BU is a good school, but it’s not an undergraduate business standout that’s a particular feeder to the kind of Wall Street opportunities you want. (TBH, IU Kelley would give you a bigger advantage in that regard.) Unless you don’t actually want the international experiences and focus of the Fordham program, that sounds like a terrific experience.

11

Son graduated from Rose Hill and never had a problem in 4 years. He walked off campus to tutor in a shelter for several years, again without incident. He went to a public high school and never had Religion pushed on him. One class in the core was religious and I believe it was Aethiest. There is a core group of classes that can double/triple count toward majors/minors. Son was able to graduate in 4 years with a Major and 2 minors while also interning Jr/Sr years. Fordham has the best of both worlds as it provides a beautiful traditional campus with all of the major sports playing on campus. The Ram Van travels back and forth to the Lincoln Center campus in mid-town all day and night. Nice, safe easy ride to midtown NYC. Subway and Metro are also within walking distance.
Bronx Zoo and Botanical Gardens are across the street. Arthur Avenue (original Little Italy) is one city block away and offers some of the best restaurants, deli’s and bakeries in the US. Guaranteed 4 years of housing. Plenty of affordable off-campus housing within walking distance. It’s New York City so there is always something to do. Museums, Concerts, Clubs, Broadway, Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Devils, Islanders, Giants Jets, Radio City, Rockerfeller Center, The Freedom Center, Wall Street, 5th Avenue, Hudson Yards, just to name a few. Career Services was tremendous. Internships were plentiful. Alumni is well placed in NYC job market. The job market in New York City is amazingly strong. Name an industry and it will most likely have shown growth over the past decade and still growing.
Boston is colder and gets more snow.