Chance me for Fordham

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>Hello everyone! I am currently a Junior going to a pretty good MA public school. I plan on majoring in chemistry and then going to med. school. During my Freshman and Sophomore years I struggled w/ some serious depression. As a result, my grades dropped significantly. </p>

<p>Freshman GPA: 3.2 UW/ 3.3 W
Sophomore GPA: 3.8 UW/ 4.07 W
Junior GPA: 3.94 UW/4.15 W</p>

<p><em>Cumulative GPA: 3.66 UW/ 3.83 W</em></p>

<p>SAT: 2100 (M: 740 CR: 680 W: 680)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:</p>

<p>Interact Club (2 years)
Chess Club (2 years)
VP sophomore year
P.A.W.S. Club (3 years)
Freshman soccer team
Club soccer (14 years)
Indoor soccer (7 years)
Soccer referee (2 years)
Head and assistant referee
Summer work at library (2 years)
~300 hours of volunteer work w/ animal shelter (1 year)
Head of friday night volunteers
Over 100 hours of volunteer work w/ organization that teaches disabled kids how to play sports (3 years)
Leadership position
20 hours of misc. volunteer work
National Honors Society
Spanish Honors Society</p>

<p>Course Load:</p>

<p>Honors American Literature
Honors Biology
Honors Chemistry I
Honors Chemistry II
Honors Spanish IV
Honors Spanish V
Honors Physics
Honors Expository Writing
Honors American History I
Honors Economics(senior year)
Honors Psychology
AP Psychology (senior year)
AP Economics (senior year)
AP Environmental Science
AP Statistics (senior year)
Honors Calculus (senior year)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance and I will chance back!</p>

2

<p>Whoa…step back a minute. You had depression and grades dropped significantly? With a 4.07 weighted gpa? </p>

<p>Then you list a gazillion activities and clubs and honors?<br>
And an SAT of 2100? I think you are way too hard on yourself.</p>

<p>You are in at Fordham. Unless there is something in your background or transcript that is a problem, which I doubt. </p>

<p>But you really need to relax and breathe. Kids with uber stats who can’t function unless they are perfect human beings don’t do all that well in life. Trust me.</p>

<p>Give yourself room. The best learning experiences come from imperfections, faults, errors and sometimes failure. </p>

<p>Fordham (and most schools) don’t want perfection. They want well adjusted, well rounded and strong academic students. But that does not mean perfection. </p>

<p>Schools can fill an entire entering freshman class with kids who are perfect and they intentionally DONT do that. Even Harvard.</p>

<p>What I smell here a mile away is you using Fordham as a safety and admissions will sniff that too. Not good. </p>

<p>Pick a school which is good for you academically and socially. Its called fit. Who are you inside your head and heart? Be honest to yourself. Explore ideas and courses that challenge you and give yourself room to be less than perfect.</p>

<p>Fordham does admit (and they do attend) kids with very high stats, on scholarship. A number of those kids were in my D1’s class (since graduated). Many kids who finished at the top of Fordhams graduating class didnt always have a perfect High School record or a perfect 2400 SAT. They worked hard, got the bigger picture, and enjoyed their four years at Fordham, often taking internships in non profits or serving the community.</p>

<p>I wish you the very best. But you need to slow down, relax, and focus on those schools which fit your personality and ambitions and academic rigor. Visit schools this summer if you can and get a feel for campus. </p>

<p>Fordham wants strong students, but they want kids who want Fordham and will contribute to Fordham’s culture and student body. </p>

<p>Fordham’s profile is listed online on their website. If Fordham is for you, great! If not, then select schools that will fit your needs. Fine. </p>

<p>You have strong credentials and lots of EC’s…breathe. Think about how you can serve others, making special emphasis on your EC’s in helping disabled kids…which I applaud loudly! </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>n.b., depression is common in kids with “perfection syndrome.” Its more healthy to be sanguine, accepting and learn from your experiences…good, bad or indifferent.</p>

3

<p>You do look like a strong student, and a comfortable match for Fordham. (What I mean is, you’ll get in easily, and might get a decent amount of money…I don’t know whether the term is “high match” or “low match” or something else entirely.)</p>

<p>Sovereign might have seen your quantization of what-should-be-intangibles as evidence of the classic CC college-crazed attitude. Does it really matter that you’ve played soccer for exactly 14 years? I played U-6 and watched my brothers play U-6 and, uh, it’s a joke. (That is, unless you’re planning on using your 14 years in soccer in some essay.) More to the point, nobody should tally their hours of volunteer work. Volunteering is something you’re supposed to do for its own sake, not to check off a box on an application or a Los Hermanos/Ticktockers form. The point with extracurriculars is how they’ve affected you and you them, not the raw number of hours during which you were saving puppies.</p>

<p>People have a variety of reasons for applying where they do; I was over the 75th percentile, stats-wise, at every university to which I applied. Consider Fordham for its rich heritage, well-rounded academics, and unbeatable location. (Da Bx > Manhattan 4ever.) Stay smart and stay happy [:</p>