<p>Actually, being theologically open-minded is the same thing as the meaning of open-minded...but about theology. I don't know what your idea of being theologically open-minded is but it includes not having a problem discussing religion with others, accepting people of numerous religious backgrounds and yes, understanding a school's philosophy regarding its theology requirements. There are other ways to put it, but I think that's sufficient.</p>
<p>Who said anything about you being close-minded about the religion? I think it's clear here that you are offended by my comments, thinking that I've personally attacked you by "supposedly" calling you close-minded. No, I just found it interesting. Somewhat akin to seeing someone who says they prefer blondes but dates a brunette instead. It's a mismatch, so it's interesting to bring up. Doesn't mean they're lying about their preference...maybe they wanted to spice things up. Likewise, I'm not saying you're close-minded. There was a mismatch between what you stated and what you showed, and I thought it appropriate to comment on. If you found my posts offensive, that was certainly not my intention. </p>
<p>Oh, and apologies for the late reply. I had to catch up on schoolwork.</p>
<p>I felt a little more secure in my D's chances before reading the first post of this thread - if sat123 is worrying about their chances with those numbers, my D might be looking at choice #2. </p>
<p>I won't list everything - but the basic stats are that she has a 4.6 weighted (3.8 non weighted) with 1210 SAT (plus a 740 in the essay portion that they don't count), class rank is #20, all the AP classes she could take (her school doesn't offer many). All the rest of the resume is pretty strong - well rounded, etc. </p>
<p>Her GC feels she is in no problem - I'm not so sure.
She applied EA, when should we hear?</p>
<p>"But clearly I have told you again and again (I think this will be the fourth time) that I strongly dislike the school creating priorities for all even though some or even most do not prioritize in the same manner. I believe such prioritizing inhibits free-thinking, and I also believe that such prioritizing attacks a student's personal priorities if he/she opposes the system's priorities. " SAT123</p>
<p>Then in my humble and professional opinion you need to search for a school that has NO core requirements and is absolutely non religious. There are many such schools, such as Brown University where kids design their own degrees.</p>
<p>Being argumentative and pedantic can be problematic for you. Its okay to disagree, but you seem overly sensitive and not enough give and take.</p>
<p>I wish you well. But I also want kids to find schools where they fit the best. That is what the schools want as well.</p>
<p>Theology is often just like Philosophy. Fordham has MANY theology courses available and are taught not as dogma but as exploratory and open for debate, including courses on Islam, Judaism, Hinduims, Comparative Religions, etc. </p>
<p>Columbia is a very liberal school. But it has a strict core requirement involving the great books and classics for Freshmen. Would that offend you too?</p>
<p>aaabbb: Typing takes to long, and I have better things to do these days, so I'm not even going to prolong this debate. I'm not even sure if you neutrally read what I post, I feel you're just picking your spots and are trying to reply to certain parts of my posts while completely ignoring others, where the other parts reinforce what I say.</p>
<p>catfishin: Fordham is close to my home, is in a great city, has decent academics, has nice people, is a school I have now established as a safety, I can probably even get some money, and my school gave me a scholarship that I can cash in on only if I go to a school in New York. Obviously there are a lot of reasons why Fordham is a decent school for me. Just because I find one part of the school somewhat uncomfortable doesn't mean I should not consider it. Obviously I have a lot of good reasons to apply to the school.</p>
<p>Also, I certainly have other schools on my list that are of a greater match, such as Brown, Wesleyan, etc. </p>
<p>As for your question, I have not researched into Columbia's "strict core requirement" yet, but from what I have heard, most schools with Cores generally allow students a greater range in topics, such as a humanities requirement can be completed after studying anything from Kant's philosophy to Pakistani history.</p>
<p>Lastly, I have recently realized that a problem here may indeed be that I am just oversensitive on the religion issue. If such is indeed the case, than I apologize. It is just that I have been through so many struggles in the world of religion that I feel that the stuff that I have done and the cool that I have maintained would classify me as most certainly open-minded. I don't exactly live in the most supportive environment.</p>
<p>I am no longer going to continue posting on this thread because I am frankly just sick of it, because I really can't get my points across publically online.</p>
<p>Whew! Well, you are certainly never at a loss for words! LOL. I wish you well wherever you end up. I am not saying DONT apply to Fordham and DONT come (because of your contrarian nature, you just might end up there! LOL) only to consider where YOU will be happiest and thrive. Nobody wants you, including Fordham itself, to be unhappy anywhere. And Fordham offers MANY choices to take for the theology course requirements, including Islam. The trick, my friend, is to be dispassionate about religion, and not take it personally. Just read it and study it and acknowledge its existence and do your best, even if it is contrary to your own personal beliefs. Nobody is trying to evangelize you or bombard you with dogma. That is NOT the Jesuit way.</p>
<p>Now just relax and enjoy the coming months and see what happens. If I see you at Fordham, I will have a cup of tea with you! Peace.</p>
<p>You should come to Fordham. I think you'll get about $8,000 - $10,000 in academic scholarship. I applied to Fordham 3 years back. I had a 1350 on SAT, went to a public school in NYC (Forest Hills High School), I am Indian, and had about 88/89 avg unweighted (took 8 AP's and mostly honors). I chose Fordham over a few colleges that I got accepted to such as Syracuse, Baruch, Penn State, Emory, among a few others.</p>
<p>But I think you'll be a good fit here since I can relate to you. They gave me $4,200 scholarship. I am graduating one year early (this May) and have a full-time offer already with one of the big Accounting firms...so if anything, being in NYC and having the reputation Fordham has, you'll definitely be in a good situation coming out of college. Good luck!</p>
<p>I wasn't too fond of taking Theology classes either, but hey it's just two classes and sometimes you do what you gotta do. Trust me, there are so many other interesting and challenging classes that you will be required to take, Theology will be just two more classes (out of the 40 classes) that you will just take and get out of your way without even realizing it. I personally enjoyed taking the two theology classes that I took..it was new for me and difficult to grasp..but rewarding and enlightening nonetheless at the end. The intro class teaches Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the second theology class if your own choice (good variety of eastern/western religions). But I know where you are coming from, you are just against the idea of being required to take it, although you are open to taking it. </p>
<p>However, apart from that nuisance, there is no other way that Fordham tries to remind you that it is a Jesuit college. You'll see a few Fathers/Sisters here and there on campus, but that's about it. They even call the Christmas tree the "holiday tree" so it does not offend anyone. It is just like going to any other college; people drink, party, etc and it really isn't a strict school. So don't have that requirement become an obstacle for you in any way (if anything, have it encourage you, as Fordham when compared to most other schools has one of the most comprehensive and diverse core requirements in the country).</p>