Current student here to take questions about Fordham

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
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<p>Hello, I am a freshman at Fordham University (Rose Hill). Just like most of you now, I was in the same exact position as you last year, anxiously awaiting a reply from the school. I also read these forums religiously to pick up any information about what college life would be like, and more specifically, what my experience at Fordham would be like as well. I'm here to take any questions that anyone may have about Fordham, New York City, and pretty much any question that you can think of! I'd love to help you out in any way shape or form, so don't be hesitant to post a question for me to respond to. Believe me, I know what it was like to be in your situation; there is no question too trivial, unimportant, or dumb for me to answer. If you'd rather talk in private, then shoot me a private message and I'll answer your question there!</p>

<p>I'll just start with a little bit of basic information about myself and the school. I'm currently a freshman, enrolled in FCRH. I live in the Alumni Court North building, and I was born and currently live on Long Island when school isn't in session. I'm an Atheist at a Catholic university, which sounds strange; however, my beliefs have not been questioned, nor have any sort of religious ideologies been pushed upon me. The first semester has just two weeks remaining and then one week or so for finals. Through the first half of the first semester, I had a 3.5 GPA; hopefully that GPA has not gone down since that point! :( I go out occasionally during the week, and I go out every single weekend. Fordham is not located in the greatest of areas, but I have yet to get mugged, harassed, attacked, or even feel threatened by any of our neighbors. As far as the food is concerned, the cafeteria's food is not the greatest. On some days, I'm actually quite pleased with the selection and the food, but other days it isn't so great. I have friends at various universities such as SUNY's, UMD, BC, Penn, Vermont, and they all express similar sentiments about their respective school's dining options. There is a grill on campus, as well as a deli, that both serve pretty good food. If you're not satisfied with the on-campus food, Little Italy is a five minute walk away, with some of the best Italian food that you'll ever have. There's also a plethora of other options in the form of Mexican, Caribbean, and Chinese with delivery service, or a quick walk from campus. Keep in mind that Manhattan is just a subway or Metro North ride away, and you'll be able to eat and do pretty much whatever you want to do.</p>

<p>I'm willing to answer any question, and I'll do my best to answer them to the best of my knowledge, as well as in a timely fashion. Parents may also feel free to ask, and I'll try to accommodate their concerns as well!</p>

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<p>Thanks for your service!</p>

<p>Specifically, what are some of the classes like? My D is thinking of majoring in English with a writing concentration or Math.</p>

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<p>How's life at RH? Do you ever regret choosing it over LC?</p>

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<p>janesmom1: It really varies depending on the professor that your daughter has. Currently, I'm enrolled in the following classes: English Composition & Rhetoric, Finite Mathematics, Introduction to U.S. History, Philosophy of Human Nature, and Intermediate Spanish I. The amount of work a student receives, and the number of papers and exams they take during a given semester all pretty much depend on the professor. However, I will say that for the most part, the workload is somewhat similar due to the Core Curriculum that the freshmen are enrolled in. The College of Business Administration students do more work with spreadsheets, powerpoint presentations, and economics, while the students enrolled in FCRH will write more papers and do more reading in their core classes.</p>

<p>verbalizing: Life at Rose Hill is pretty enjoyable. The campus looks absolutely amazing during the Autumn, and I imagine it'll look even better come Spring time. It has a traditional college feel, right in the middle of the Bronx, which is pretty cool. The social life is good, with the downside being that people spend more money on partying, which is due to the nonexistence of fraternities and sororities. The life at Rose Hill is a little different than other college campuses as I believe other schools may have more activities to do on campus. I'm not saying that there aren't any activities to do on campus, but the campus life is different than that of huge state schools where you probably never have to leave campus in the course of the semester. That leads me to your question about choosing RH over LC. At times, I do think that it would be nice to live in such a sweet area of Manhattan, but I don't think the Manhattan campus is big enough for me to really enjoy. There are more students living at the RH campus and it just has more of a college feel to it, which was important to me. I imagine living at Lincoln Center to be pretty awesome, but personally, I wanted a more traditional campus, and the ability to go to Manhattan whenever I wanted. LC definitely has its benefits, even if it's a different campus and feel than RH.</p>

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<p>how's spanish???
good language teachers?
i wanna take foreign languages and lots of them.</p>

<p>They dont offer japanese do they?</p>

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<p>So RC is more enclosed and LC is in the city?</p>

<p>How are the class sizes. Is an interview really that important. I don't know if I would get a chance to visit before I apply. </p>

<p>What were some of your other schools?
Why did you chose Fordham over your other schools?</p>

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<p>How many recommendation do I need?</p>

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<p>BIGTWIX: The Spanish courses are sort of difficult, based on my own experience and on the experiences of my peers. I believe most if not all of the professors for Spanish are native speakers, as Spanish is their first language. It’s beneficial to the students that the professors are from Spanish-speaking countries, as the professors have first-hand experience of daily life and culture of where they are from. You’ll probably end up learning more than just the language, but also a bit about other Spanish-speaking countries, as well as your professor’s native country. As far as other foreign languages are concerned, the school offers classes for Chinese, French, Greek, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, and also Spanish. </p>

<p>Bond35: I’m not sure what you’re asking exactly, but Rose Hill is more of a traditional campus with areas of buildings spread out across the campus, areas of grass, sports teams, etc. The Lincoln Center campus is smaller and does not have as much room in its campus, nor does it have the trees and grass that Rose Hill has. However, the benefit of Lincoln Center is that it’s smack right in the heart of Manhattan. Rose Hill is in the Bronx, which is about a half hour or so subway ride to around where Lincoln Center is. Choosing a campus is pretty much entirely about preference; if you want to be situated in the heart of Manhattan, then Lincoln Center is probably for you. If you want to live on more of a traditional college campus, then you’d enjoy Rose Hill.</p>

<p>The class sizes are much smaller than the classes at other universities. I don’t have one class in which there are more than thirty people. I think there are a few freshmen lecture classes that may have around forty people, but I’ve yet to be in one, or hear from someone about it. My Philosophy and English classes have less than fifteen people in them. The United States History and Mathematics classes have around twenty-five to thirty people in them, and my Spanish class has about twenty people in it. Before coming to Fordham, I heard that the classes were small, which is a benefit. Now I know that this is the truth as I have experienced it first hand that none of my classes have many people. I don’t know if an interview is important; I’m sure it says whether or not it’s important on Princeton Review or something. The school didn’t tell me to have an interview anyway, so maybe it isn’t that important. It certainly wouldn’t hurt your chances though. I suggest to head down to the school and take a campus tour; make sure they get your name down and in file so that Fordham has your name in its records, which shows interest on your behalf. I’d also urge you to apply Early Action here, or to any school that offers it for that matter; I found out that I was accepted to Fordham and a few other schools a few days before Christmas, or a little before Christmas, so it definitely makes Senior year in high school less stressful.</p>

<p>Some of the other schools that I applied to include SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Albany, George Washington University, St. Joseph’s University, Northeastern, and Boston College. I was accepted to all of the schools that I applied to with the exception of Boston College, where I was waitlisted. I choose Fordham over the other schools because I envisioned myself enjoying my college time in New York City. I am/was interested in obtaining a solid education, but at the same time, being able to enjoy what the greatest city in the world has to offer. I foresaw a Fordham degree as a means of educating myself, and then later being able to have a successful career, in a city that offers endless opportunities for graduates. I can’t give you an exact number on how many recommendations you need, but personally speaking, I had two letters of recommendation, and then another letter from my guidance counselor.</p>

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<p>How good is the school for science? Are the laboratories well equipped? And i totally agree with you about the whole enjoyability factor about fordham. It just feels right! :-)</p>

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<p>I'm thinking of transferring for Fall '07. I'm going to try and enter their bio program with a pre-med track. I believe that's the LC campus. I was wondering, since they shut down one of their campuses this year and are taking those students at your school and the LC campus, do you think I'll have a tough time getting on campus housing?</p>

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<p>How political is Fordham? 1 being very liberal and 10 being very conservative, where would you rate Fordham's students on the political spectrum?</p>

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<p>the students from the Marymount campus are being absorbed into both campuses. I believe getting housing as a transfer is a little more difficult. They have a waiting list for housing that they do take people off so get on it asap after you know you're going there. Good luck</p>

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<p>ilyasaber14: I'm not entirely sure how the school ranks for its science, or how well the laboratories are equipped. I think this type of question could be answered through a call to the school, and an appointment with one of the higher-ups in one of the science departments.</p>

<p>hopefulnj: Again, another question that I would not be able to answer adequately. Kr123 pretty much covered your question to the best of his/her ability, though.</p>

<p>jlauer95: Well, you'll find a mix of people. For the most part, I suppose there are more liberal-minded students than conservative-minded. It all depends on who you decide to associate yourself with. The school itself is kind of moderate, as it is a Catholic institution, but the students' positions on issues is by no means reflective of the university's.</p>

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<p>does anyone know if they will ever add more language programs...</p>

<p>i like eveything about fordham except that they dont have a japanese or east asian studies program</p>

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<p>Fordham already has a very diverse language program (and over my past 4 years here Ive studied 4 of them). Languages include: spanish, arabic, greek, latin, mandarin, russian, portuguese, french, german, and italian.</p>

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<p>yeah i know what they have
but does anyone know if they will add to it</p>

<p>like mandarin and/or japanese (i know they have cantonese but that's not super useful)</p>

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<p>It is mandarin, not cantonese.</p>

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<p>are u sure...</p>

<p>oh wait
i just checked the site</p>

<p>weird
i coulda swore when i checked a few months ago it said cantonese</p>

<p>weird
anyway
i really wish they had japanese though</p>

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<p>Did you apply EA and when did you get your decision?</p>

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<p>i am applying regular decision to fordham. Theater major. I starred in my first movie this summer and lived in Argentina for a month. I am Puerto Rican. </p>

<p>Chances?</p>