Chances at Merit $ and Honors Program

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>Hello, I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to apply to Fordham yet, but I mosy likely will because I got an email saying I could apply for free. And I miss New York! (lived there for 5 years)</p>

<p>Male
Not reporting race
Catholic High School (not Jesuit though)</p>

<p>GPA: UW around a 3.8, probably a low 3.8ish. W 4.17ish
Grade Trend: Might hurt me a little bit. Frosh yr was pretty good, soph year was pretty good/really good, I showed an upward trend for the most part. 1st semester Jr year was pretty good too, but 2nd semester I kind of burned out and ended up with 3 Bs. I have a total of 5 Bs on my transcript (not horrible I know), and 4/5 were in math or sci classes, which is definitely not my forte. Not freaking out about Bs, I was pretty chill when I got my report card, but it kinda sucks to end Jr. yr on kind of a crappy note, with half my classes getting Bs in them.
Anyways.
Class Rank: My school is kind unclear they say they don’t rank, but they tell in a counselor rec the approximate rank. I should be in at least the top 5-10% so I’m guessing they’ll put down something like that. Or they might not put anything in the letter. I’m not sure.</p>

<p>SAT: 700 M 690 CR 720 W --- 1390/2110 total (single sitting, not superscore)
ACT: 29 ( Don't plan on sending)
5/6* APs by graduation. *School is unclear, we might be credit for taking my physics class last year because right now it is an AP class..and its basically the same thing, but I doubt the college board will let them do that. Will haven taken 7-8 test though by graduation, however only 2 were Junior year.
SAT IIs: Should be decent (have not taken yet), expecting 700+ in Math 1/2(not sure which on to take), anything less than 750 on USH will be a huge disappointment for me. For the third one, I'll probably pick some English one or self study World History</p>

<p>Teacher and Counselor Recs: Teacher one should be pretty good, my grade in the teacher's class that I'm asking to write me a rec rarely dipped below a 97% (AP class) and I think he liked me as a person/student. Not sure about counselor one, we get to write a "brag" sheet, so it should be at least ok.</p>

<p>Essays: Looks like MDA Camp for the main one </p>

<p>ECs: Pretty solid, though nothing spectacular like some people on CC.</p>

<p>-Eagle Scout, plus one year of being Senior Patrol Leader
-Student Govt Representative (lowest position in student govt, lol)
-Work Experience: 1 secretary job at my Church, another is a yard work type job. I may quit the handyman job/yard work job soon though, but I've had that job since summer before freshman year, so it should still look pretty good.
-Student Ambassador and Freshman Mentor (more intensive than you think haha)
-NHS
-Minor role in school paper
-Mock Trial
-Model UN
-Catholic Schools for Peace and Justice
-AP US History Co-Student of the Year
-Investment Club</p>

<p>probably leaving a couple minor things out</p>

<p>Service:
-Have not tallied up my hours, but it should be about 300+ service hours when I apply (tutor at school and local library, soup kitchens, various things, etc...)
-Eucharistic Minister at my church, at my school and I go to the nursing home and distribute Communion.
-MDA Camp Counselor. This is where a bulk of my service hours came from. Very demanding, but very rewarding and I plan on doing it again next year. I also participate in a program that helps disabled kids play sports during the summer and school year. Might write an essay about this. Something to the gist of the first day and a half or so of camp, I absolutely hated it, but it kind of grew on me and I really want to go back.</p>

<p>What do you think? From reading this board, it sounds like you need a 1400+ SAT to have a shot at the big, top dog awards but I'm as close as you can get to 1400 without being 1400 haha. I'm probably going to need at least $30,000 in a few different ways (grants and scholarships) for it to possible for me to attend. Not sure, if it is going to work out, but it is worth a shot. </p>

<p>What do you think?
Thanks</p>

2

<p>Boy, you and DS could be, like, brothers or something. His application will look alarmingly like yours :frowning: . Really - good luck! Will you have financial need on the FAFSA?</p>

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<p>All applications at Fordham are reviewed for scholarship money, some of which is restricted funds and some of which is unrestricted general scholarship funds.</p>

<p>You are on the bubble for the bigger awards and some people make the grade. Depends on a number of factors, if you apply EA or not, and if Fordham knows your school.</p>

<p>As for Honors Program, I think not. But don’t fret, they have more honors programs for kids who do well freshmen year at Fordham.</p>

<p>As for grant money, perhaps they can make up what they can’t cover in scholarship. Fill out the FAFSA and CSS forms and submit them in a timely fashion along with your application.</p>

<p>It never hurts to try and then compare offers from other schools. Its ALWAYS a good idea to apply to match and safety schools that will give you money. Look at some other Jesuit colleges as well. If you really want New York, then consider Manhattan College. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

4

<p>Thank you very much sylvan and ghostbuster. Maybe we’ll end up roommates sylvan…? haha</p>

<p>I’m going to apply for the FAFSA and based of my calculations and what my dad put into College Boards estimator, I think out EFC will be any where from 18k-28k, obviously hoping it is more towards the 18k number because my parents said they will pay the instate rate (OH) of $20,000 and I have to make up the rest…which I hope is not a lot. </p>

<p>Thats good news that I could eventually work my way into the Honors program, which I think I am capable of. </p>

<p>I guess all I can do is apply EA, and then wait until the honors notifications and awards come out. </p>

<p>Honestly, at some point from soph. year on while I was making college lists, NYU, Columbia and Fordham were all on the list at one point. NYU was taken off because I really want at least a semi-campus feel and their FA is supposedly horrible. Stern would be a reach for me to, a little bit.
I took CU off because I needed to cut down schools (still have too many on my list haha), chances are I’m not going to get in, and I really want to go to CU for grad school, so I’d rather go to a different school for undergrad.
Fordham, I never really considered until recently. Not sure why. Sounds ideal, not in the hub-hub of the city, but a subway ride away and Rose Hill sounds really nice.</p>

<p>But, I’m not gung-ho about going to school in NYC for college, but I would like to either go to grad school in NYC and/or work there as a young adult (maybe not my whole life though, who knows…). </p>

<p>I am applying to UVa, Georgetown, Penn, Cornell, all of which seem to have decent ties to NYC. BC too, which supposedly has decent ties as well. </p>

<p>But, like I said, I’m aiming for getting my MBA or something at Columbia, so undergrad technically doesn’t matter.
However, if FU gives me decent money, I’ll have to consider it and would love going to school in NYC…and two subway stops away from Yankee Stadium!</p>

<p>Thanks again</p>

5

<p>You are welcome. But let me clarify. You don’t “work your way into The Honors Program.” The Freshman Honors Program is the classic program for a select few people. While there may be very special circumstances where someone enters that program late (I am not aware of any, but perhaps yenrod here knows if that is so), in essence, if you aren’t invited, you aren’t getting in. ON THE OTHER HAND, there are OTHER Honors programs in liberal arts, business etc, that are departmentally designated as “Honors Journalism” “Honors History” “Honors American Studies” etc, which you can be invited to and your transcript will duly record you were in a special honors path program, though not the Freshman Program. </p>

<p>They are not as prestigious, but they are also highly selective and based upon performance freshman year at Fordham, in either FCLC, FCRH, CBA (now Gabelli School of Business.)</p>

<p>As for financial aid, you need to file both the CSS and the FAFSA. The CSS is filed first and can be filed with the EA application, so you will get a good faith ESTIMATE on aid/scholarships if admitted early, to be formalized and finalized with a FAFSA filing after January 1, and submission of requisite tax forms. </p>

<p>Good luck</p>

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<p>Two people in my class were invited to join the Honors Program after first semester freshman year, so yes, it is entirely possible to join if you are not immediately selected. As ghostbuster said, though- don’t fret. There are a ton of prestigious academic programs to join other than the Rose Hill Honors Program if you don’t make it.</p>

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<p>^^^^ thanks Sunshowers, that enlightens me. I was not aware that was possible. But its important to tell people its a huge commitment of time and energy and for some students, its a difficult choice, balancing the prestige with the work load and other objectives they may have at Fordham. Not knocking it. In fact, I admire it tremendously and Dr. Nasuti who runs it. Just laying out the facts for people to consider.</p>

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<p>I am a National Merit Semifinalist, expecting to be a finalist. Are full tuition scholarships available? Housing included? Any help is appreciated.</p>

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<p>Fordham has full tuition scholarships. I would check online at Fordham’s website under financial aid and scholarships for the college (FCLC or Gabelli Business or FCRH) of your choice. If that doesnt answer your question, call 1-800-Fordham and ask them. You can also ask by emailing Fordham Admisssions at <a href=“mailto:enroll@Fordham.edu”>enroll@Fordham.edu</a></p>