I’m currently a senior in high school graduating in 2016. I plan to major in biology. I want the NYC experience and want to go to Fordham University Lincoln Center Campus however they don’t have the biology major. Should i settle for Bronx campus? Are there any other private universities in Manhattan that have a good biology department?
Both Fordham University’s Fordham College Rose Hill and Fordham College Lincoln Center are in New York City, in different boroughs. LC is in Manhattan, and RH is in the Bronx, as you mention. RH is the larger campus with a larger student body. It gives the classic college experience - complete with expansive lawns, old stately buildings and a bell tower. LC is a small city campus, more of a ‘vertical’ school - with a much smaller number of students.
Which you would choose depends on what you are looking for in a school experience. It is common for RH or LC students to take classes in at the other campus, but that does involve a 30-45+ minute commute each way, depending on traffic. If Bio is your passion, choose RH. If being in Manhattan is the most important to you, choose LC. However, note that all core classes (and there are many) must be taken at your own college.
How often a student travels to Manhattan from RH is up to the individual - Metro North train is located just a few steps away from the RH gate. Fordham Road is a bustling area, and a couple blocks from the famous Little Italy of Arthur Avenue, where it is easy to become a ‘regular’ and feel at home. Graduation for all Fordham University colleges is held at RH.
LC is a block west of Columbus Circle, at the SW corner of Central Park, and a part of the concert halls of Lincoln Center. A great location for fine arts!
There is no ‘right’ answer - it is up to each person to decide what matters most to them.
Actually, look under “Natural Sciences”. http://www.fordham.edu/info/20526/majors_and_minors/1844/biological_sciences
You will see things there that might suit what you are interested in. My daughter has a friend doing this and it is very good. Though I don’t get the “difference” but they teach the “Natural Sciences” at LC and “Biological Sciences” at RH.
If you are considering going to med school, I highly suggest you look at NYU. Also, Baruch (part of the CUNY system) has a very good Biology department.
I wanna be a doctor so would that be appropriate for me too? And my gpa is a 3.3 and my sat score isnt that good for NYU @MomTheChauffer
You should certainly apply, but your GPA might be a bit low for Fordham as well.
http://www.fordham.edu/info/20063/undergraduate_admission/2535/fordham_at_a_glance
Apply to NYU. If you are a NYS resident I highly recommend you also applying to Baruch as their science program is excellent (as is Stonybrook, Bimghamton and others).
The PreHealth program at Fordham is tough. Beyond tough. It’s ridiculously tough. I’m going to DM you.
All of this is true. Agree 100%. Let me add a few salient points.
Many many well meaning and ambitious kids think they want to become doctors and major in biology. Over 90% give up long before they graduate with their bachelors. Its a tough slog, interests change, some find out they hate science or “blood and guts” and others find another passion in life. Undergraduate school isnt a technical training school, its designed to give you options to explore. Its all good. Nothing wrong with being ambitious and having some focus, but just be aware it can change and that is also fine.
Fordham gets kids into excellent medical schools.
I am not a fan of NYU as an undergraduate experience. Plus its gynormous. 35,000 students.
Getting into college is a matrix of factors, including personality and creativity. But mostly its a numbers game, as they attempt to be as fair and impartial and objective as they can, treating everyone with the same set of standards (cf. affirmative action stuff.)
GPA, class rank, difficulty of your coursework/transcript, reputation of your high school and the ubiquitous SAT score all matter a lot. The SAT score is likely the biggest factor. It is what it is.
Know your target schools inside and out. Focus on MATCH schools. Have a couple of reaches and a couple of safety schools (safety related to YOUR stats and scores.) Go from there.
No school is perfect and no school has it all. Not even Harvard.
Be true to yourself.
Nobody here works for Admissions and cant guarantee anything. We can recommend and advise and guide. And we are not you, your parents or your financial situation.
NYU is expensive, and it reportedly has a more stingy financial aid department than Fordham. If that matters to you or not.
Finally, nobody settles on Rose Hill. They choose it. There are some subtle and unique differences between the campuses, but the vibe is different and so are many of the students. Rose Hill has an environmental science program as well. The Provost is an Environmental Scientist and Fordham also has an Biological Research Station a few hours from campus, which is gorgeous.
If you want a classic college experience with sports and dorms and big leafy campus, then Rose Hill is awesome. And the Bronx gets a bad rap often from the uniformed. It is eclectic and has its downside. So does UChicago. So does Yale. But largely its urban legend and many, many Fordham Rose Hill students embrace the Bronx and learn to LOVE it… My kid did. We are NOT from NY. It was huge culture shock. But now its heaven. Trust me on this.
You want to be well above the 50th percentile of applicant’s stats. Good luck to you.
NYU has the label, but I don’t know the quality of their pre-health program. If you’re looking for higher medical schools, you might want to look there, since they’re more likely to take form NYU than Fordham. However, that does not mean the higher ranked medical schools won’t take from Fordham.
Anyway, if you do wish to come to Fordham, and I hope you do, you probably should go to Rose Hill. It’s geared more toward the sciences as far as I can tell with the classes than Lincoln Center is, despite LC having a Neuroscience program. It also depends on the type of campus you want, but classes and what’s in each campus should be a major factor. If you do go to the Bronx campus, just remember to have common sense and don’t completely freak out over stuff you see in the local news if you watch it. 
While stuff does happen, as long as you’re not alone at night and don’t stay out overly late, you’ll be fine. And this is coming from a native and current New Yorker.
I’m sure Baruch has a fine program and it’s one of the higher regarded CUNY schools. But well…it’s CUNY, and since people have a preconceived notion of CUNY, you might not get into that great of a med school. (Which stinks because my mom went to CUNY and did just fine with medical school and residency. but that was decades ago, not now. There are kids who actually ask if they should switch from CUNY in order to get to a higher graduate school due to the view many people have regarding CUNY 
). So yeah, if you want cheap, Baruch is fine, but you’re gonna really have to prove yourself to med schools.
I hope you do come to Fordham and if not, good luck to you!
Just to note, i wrote the above response with the assumption you’re wishing to go into med school or something of the sort. I know you didn’t say it, but I included it in my answer anyway.
It should be noted that getting into medical school or law school is all about the MCAT and LSAT. The name brand of your undergraduate college matters much much less than the MCAT or LSAT score. Professional schools are ALL about numbers, its brutal. You can have a perfect 4.0 and summa cum laude degree but if you bombed the MCAT or LCAT, speaking rhetorically, you wont get into medical or law school. Or not one worth going to (accredited and respected.)
Go to the undergrad school that fits your personality and financial situation, and offers a broad range of courses and programs of interest to you. Chasing prestige is silly, superficial and often results in disappointment and sometimes disaster. Hopefully Fordham is a great fit for you. You will be happy, content and challenged. And do well. But also have fun and grow emotionally and spiritually and socially.