<p>Hi,
We just reviewed the publication Princeton's Best 371 schools and now my DD has moved Fordham Rose Hill to the very back, the end, the bottom, of her list. And I just bought the plane tickets to fly to NYC next week. I am frustrated and just venting. I am ready to get off the roller coaster ride of the college search. My bad, I should have done more research on the student body before making the travel arrangements, but it seemed like it would be a good school, and hey it's NYC! Anyway, the description of the student body as upper middle class, conservative, and business like attitude toward education has been a turn off to her. Now I'm trying to figure out if we should just spend the day in Manhattan sightseeing instead. Sigh. I guess one upside is while we are there we might check out this school called Sarah Lawrence, which sounds much more hippie groovie. I did a mapquest on the drive to Ithaca and that is almost too far to drive and hope to get back to La Guardia in time to catch our flight home. I don't really expect too much advice, I am just venting a little before I go to bed.</p>
<p>There’s so much to see and do in NYC, it won’t be a wasted trip. If you tell us more about your daughter’s preferences and what she intends to study, we can recommend area schools beyond Columbia/Barnard and NYU (both worth a look). And you should still visit Fordham. I’m sure the entire student body isn’t conservative. Will you be renting a car?</p>
<p>If you’re not a ■■■■■, tell us something about your D, what she is looking for in a school, something about her grades and test scores, and maybe we can make some suggetions of schools in the NYC area that would be a better fit.</p>
<p>D had pretty much the same impression and wasn’t too excited to visit, but changed her mind once we got there. Quite an impressive campus, she compared the kids to the middle of the road catholic school in out town. Still not first on her list, but it all depends on where she is accepted .</p>
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<p>Umm, Sarah Lawrence is not in Ithaca. It’s in Bronxville which is just north of NYC.</p>
<p>I know a couple of Fordham alum, and both are far from conservative (both are/were Americorps volunteers, too).</p>
<p>ihs76 - I think OP knows - I think she was saying that they were definitely going to visit SLC, and then they were thinking about possibly visiting Cornell (or maybe Ithaca College) but realized the trip was too far. They were separate thoughts if I am interpreting them correctly.</p>
<p>It won’t be a wasted, trip, and you should probably still check out Fordham just in case - I definitely have never heard that perception of Fordham students before. Anyway, the Rose Hill campus is pretty and your daughter may change her mind and put it back on the list, so it’s probably still good to go look.</p>
<p>I agree – Ithaca is a little too far to drive if you hadn’t already planned it into your trip. Sarah Lawrence, however, is very close. You might also visit NYU and Columbia and Barnard, as suggested, but also maybe some of the CUNY colleges (Hunter and City college particularly) and maybe even take the Metro-North up to Poughkeepsie to see Vassar and/or Marist.</p>
<p>I agree with the others. Definitely visit Fordham, since you already planned to. It is an excellent school. She might be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>That’s why I never had my D look at those college guides! Seems like so many people with first hand knowledge of a school disagree with the guide’s generalizations.</p>
<p>Oh honestly, those guides make me crazy! Bought the current one (at the time) for both D & S, but mostly for the barebones facts about the schools. Seems like the opinions/comments are mostly at one extreme or another. Fordham is a good, solid school. </p>
<p>OP, I would definitely take your D to see it. The challenge is that she now apparently has a very negative opinion, so won’t be going in with an open mind.</p>
<p>I think Ithaca/Cornell is a LOT too far to drive – 4 hours or so each way of mostly highway driving through the mountains in early December – if you weren’t thinking of it in the first place.</p>
<p>The other suggestions are great tho … see NYC, NYU, Columbia, Fordham while you are there, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Fairfield.</p>
<p>I don’t think it will be a wasted trip.</p>
<p>We visited Fordham at Rose Hill w D and did not get the “conservative, businesslike” vibe at all. (That would not have appealed in the least to D). So I would encourage you to continue with plans to visit. You can also check out Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus, too in addition to the other NYC schools.</p>
<p>Immediate family members have attended Fordham - certainly Catholic but otherwise not as you described. Check it out.</p>
<p>Fordham was a real surprise to me. Its “Rose Hill” (Belmont) campus is quite nice, and in the middle of a really vibrant neighborhood, close by the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Gardens, and the Arthur Avenue market. It’s not for everyone, but it’s far from dreary.</p>
<p>I think there will be huge differences between the Fordham student body and the Sarah Lawrence student body. Yes, I expect the former to be much more practical and career-focused on average, and the latter to be much more affluent and less focused, liberal-arts seekers. By the way, the two colleges are on the same train line, five or six stops apart. Maybe a 20-minute drive between them.</p>
<p>I live in the NYC area, and I would strongly encourage you to go. I know Fordham quite well, and many of D1’s friends go to school there. It’s large enough to accommodate all types of students and is well worth the visit. In addition to the other schools in the area that were already mentioned, check out Purchase (very much in the “hippie groovie” mode you describe), Manhattanville (small with an artsy crowd), and Bard.</p>
<p>There are other schools in the area that merit your attention: Bard, SUNY Purchase, SUNY New Paltz.</p>
<p>And you can check out the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham too. It’s where the acting school and the law school are, but there are also solid liberal art majors offered at Fordham, Lincoln Center.</p>
<p>If she is truly “hippie groovey,” Fordham may not be for her, but if she thinks she just leans more that way than conservative, she may be pleasantly surprised when she gets there. Rarely is a school completely true to a stereotype. Tell her those guides are based on a very small sample, have a blast in NYC (which is a huge part of the Fordham experience), and see the school with an open mind!
I’m jealous and wish I could go with you – I love visiting NY :).</p>
<p>Good morning!</p>
<p>Thanks for all your wonderful, helpful input. The college guide did make a big difference in her perspective so it was both good and bad as we looked at the different colleges on her short list. All of you are so very helpful with all of your input. </p>
<p>We are excited about seeing NY for the first time. We are Hoosiers (Indiana). My D is attending a Catholic high school but is not in line with much Catholic teaching/thought. This is sometimes disappointing to me as I love the Catholic church - but, everyone must find their own path in the world.</p>
<p>She is a National Merit Semi Finalist and a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar, so really good criteria. The only choice for her a few months ago was IU Bloomington which still really seems like a great choice. The other schools she has developed an interest in are Lewis and Clark (Portland), Ithaca (Ithaca, NY), Westminster (Utah), and Fordham Rose Hill. </p>
<p>Her interests are communications (In the vein of international multimedia and documentary style journalism), languages, poli sci (maybe), philosophy. She is a vegan and is interested in bicycle community type stuff and some activism. She loved the eclectic description of the students at Lewis and Clark in the Princeton Review and was way turned off by the description of the students at Fordham Rose Hill. (described as sandals and jeans, polos, conservative, smokers and drinkers). </p>
<p>We are not well positioned to finance a great deal for her education (translate: broke) but our EFC does not reflect that so much (on paper it looks like we should have cash to spare). Originally the interest in Fordham and many other schools has come about by the deluge of marketing materials that we received when the announcements were made about the NM standings and Hispanic Scholars. </p>
<p>She has worked a part time job for almost two years to buy a lot of her own “stuff” (car, music, clothes), and does not relish the idea of being with a lot of spoiled affluent kids. That I KNOW is a stereotype, but sometimes stereotypes are hard to shake. And, more, who wants to be broke in NYC? I worry that if she did earn a full tuition scholarship or close to it to Fordham, the cost of living in NYC even over and above Room and Board might make her stay there bleak. </p>
<p>I love all your feedback! I am newly happy about our trip again, hoping for good weather (as much as possible) and looking forward to seeing the campus in the Bronx. The Sarah Lawrence school still is kind of a mystery to me, and the D hasn’t really followed up with any comments so I will kind of let her make the call as to whether we hit that one or not.</p>
<p>Yes, Ithaca College was a consideration and still is, but not going to happen this time to New York. She is competing for something called a Park Scholar Award so if she happens to be a semi-finalist for that award she would be visiting Ithaca in late March anyway, so we will see the campus then (or not).</p>
<p>THANKS!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all.</p>
<p>If your D is looking for a hippie groovy atmosphere she should definitely check out SUNY New paltz!! It also fits in with her her interests in Journalism, mulitmedia, philosophy and languages. There are lots of vegans there and the local community caters to them with restaurants like Karma Road, Rock da Pasta and many ethnic choices. It’s a 1 1/2 hour drive from NYC. Not sure if you want to check it out on this trip, but definitely plan something in the future.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to start a flame war, but a Hoosier’s idea of conservative would be quite a bit different than a NYer’s. You may be pleasantly surprised. Personally, I don’t think Fordham kids are any more conservative than those at IU-B.</p>
<p>Fordham gives a lot of merit awards to NYC kids who live at home and commute. These kids are usually far from wealthy. They may not be living in the dorms, but they will be in your D’s classes if she attends Fordham. </p>
<p>I think that for a student NYC can be surprisingly affordable, if you live in a dorm and take a meal plan. Kids don’t have cars. From Fordham, you can either take the subway or jump on MetroNorth, which is more expensive, but a lot quicker if you are headed for Grand Central. </p>
<p>I personally think the Fordham campus is really, really pretty–and so unexpected! So go look.</p>