Chances, please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>I understand--this is incredibly obnoxious and the college confidential community does not represent an actual admissions office. However, I absolutely love Fordham and I plan on applying for International Studies at the Lincoln Center. Problem is, I'm super stressed right now and am currently fearing rejection. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>I've taken all honors class and 7 APs (Language, Environmental Science, Economics, US History, Psychology, US Government and Politics, Literature). Unfortunately I had one really terrible term of math (I struggle with anything involving numbers) last spring, or else my GPA would be significantly higher.</p>

<p>W GPA: 4.3
UW GPA: 3.6...ish?
Top 5% of my class.</p>

<p>SATS:
CR: 740
Math: 600
W: 800</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>*Student Council President (For previous years: class president, class treasurer, chair of several committees)
*School Paper Editor-in-Chief
*State Mock Government Participant (Chaired committee, leadership council representative, delegation vice president)
*Cross Country (3 years; 2 years of varsity, though I had to quit this year due to lack of time with my other activities)
*Philosophy Club (this sounds like a joke but it's actually been a huge part of my high school career)
*National Honor Society
*Another organization that I've worked on for the past three years that fundraises for education projects </p>

<p>*I've spent my summers on foreign exchange programs in two countries (both on full scholarships awarded by their governments) and spent one summer interning at a political organization in Boston.</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>A few mostly insignificant community awards.</p>

<p>Recommendations:</p>

<p>*One from my student council adviser, who is also a teacher I've had for advanced history/AP Economics
*One from my AP Language teacher who helped me develop independent study projects (I love English) all last spring and whose class I consistently got A's in.</p>

<p>My only concern is that my first term of senior year isn't so great. I think I'm going to finish with about a 90% average, though this includes all honors classes and 3 APs.</p>

<p>So will someone please just write something reassuring or help me find a way to improve my application? Thank you!</p>

2

<p>You do realize you sound like you are bragging, right?</p>

3

<p>sylvan8798 this is CC, people brag about themselves all the time to make themselves feel better. If u don’t like it get off the site.</p>

4

<p>Please note that my first sentence was “I understand–this incredibly obnoxious…” And yes, it does make me feel better. Ever have one of those moments when you feel like you’re just never getting into college and need to spew something off in a public forum just to feel slightly more organized? Yes, me too.</p>

<p>I’ll be honest here. My ECs are solid, but my GPA is only okay for Fordham and my math SAT is pretty weak. I recently just browsed the applicant profiles and in that respect I’m below a large percent of the accepted students.</p>

<p>I’m sorry to have offended you with my post. My intention, however, was not to sound arrogant or boastful–I just need reassurance or helpful advice.</p>

5

<p>Meghan; I think you will be fine. Did you apply EA? </p>

<p>Now relax and focus on your studies as a Senior and getting in your other college applications.</p>

6

<p>100% in…</p>

7

<p>I unfortunately didn’t apply EA; I only did so for a few state schools. I actually thought Fordham would just be another random application, but I visited last weekend and fell in love with the school.</p>

<p>I have one bad mark from junior year (mathematics is the bane of my existence) so I’m hoping that won’t affect my admission chances. My other classes balanced it out GPA-wise, but I’m still worried.</p>

<p>Does anyone know how generous Fordham is with merit aid? I’m a white girl from Massachusetts so I have a lot working against me scholarship-wise… but if I accepted I just don’t think I can afford the 40k tuition.</p>

8

<p>actually, you are a very strong candidate. I would say you are very, very likely in.</p>

<p>Disregard the “accepted students” statistics. Fordham’s yield is pretty low (something like 15% or so, don’t remember exactly, definitely below 20%) - at a school with yield this low, it’s the students at the upper end of the accepted students stats that jump ship. The ENROLLED student stats are much lower than the accepted students stats. </p>

<p>In your RD application, what you can do to up your odds is to show clearly why you really like Fordham, so that they don’t think you are just applying to Fordham as a safety backup that you are likely to ditch the moment you have an offer from a school you like better.</p>

9

<p>Okay…I was on campus this past weekend too. ;-)</p>

<p>Your core SAT is 1340. That is below the general scholarship level of 1400, but sometimes exceptions are made for various reasons. However, apply RD and do so right away, even though the deadline is not until January 15, then submit your CSS profile right away. I think you are good to go. </p>

<p>My kid was like you…math not her strength either. But she has excelled at Fordham because of excellent study skills and outstanding writing skills. </p>

<p>You should know that Fordham Rose Hill campus has a wonderful IPE program and several area study programs too. And once an upperclassman, you can take classes at either campus. No problem. </p>

<p>So check out Rose Hill before you submit your application, go to the webcam too! </p>

<p>As for financial aid, it all depends on your family EFC and overall financial situation. They can be very generous with grants to deserving students. And of course they may ask you to take on some student loans which is the norm. I don’t recommend taking on more than 20k total debt for an undergraduate degree. Anywhere. </p>

<p>Get your applications all in, then take a breather, focus on your studies and just relax until March when you have all the offers in front of you. In the meantime make a simple matrix of what happens under your plan A, then plan B, then plan C etc. Give yourself some credit for hard work, and don’t expect to have all the answers. Even after kids select a school in April, they often get the heeby jeebies and worry if they made the right choice. It all works out in the end.</p>