<p>I got my acceptance letter from Fordham 2 days ago, which was the last school I was waiting on.</p>
<p>Considering my family's income and assets, I was extremely surprised when they offered me $29,300 (not counting the Unsubsidized Loan, which I don't plan to take).</p>
<p>I still don't know the tuition for commuters, but that 29,300 will definitely make things lighter.</p>
<p>Coming from a strict Asian family, I'm not allowed to dorm (trust issues, the whole nine yards). Does Fordham provide an environment for commuters? And how hard is it for commuters, in terms of social life and such?</p>
<p>PS - I live in NJ. The travel will be 1.5 - 2 hours one way, about 4 in total.</p>
<p>Do you already commute that far for school? If so you should take your chosen method of transportation for admitted students day and see if you can really handle that commute.</p>
<p>I am in a kind of similar situation. I was admitted to Fordham College at Rose Hill, and want to go, but it is to expensive unless I commute. $18K more. </p>
<p>I live on the East Side of Manhattan, is such a commute really possible? I’m not so concerned about the length of the commute, but rather the neighborhood. Being super white, I’m kind of worried about it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Sorry to co-opt your post, but it’s a similar topic.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Walking through Fordham Road at certain hours. I’m from a pretty nice part of the city, and would stick out like a sore thumb. </p></li>
<li><p>I would have to live with my parents for those 4 years. I’m not sure that is really the greatest idea.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Jemtime~ If you live on the UES, take a subway into Grand Central & take the Metro North to Rose Hill- not the subway. The Metro North Ride from GC takes about 20-25 min. & is directly across from the campus entrance ( not the main gate). The Metro North trains aren’t packed going north, unless it’s rush hour. The subway is up a bit further from the campus. You could also take the Ram Van from the LC campus & it drops you off by the student center- but I think it is longer than the train ride w/ traffic delays. Do a few dry runs at varying times of day to see how it would be for you.</p>
<p>I live in the dorms and I’m like 40 minutes away by bus (from the Bronx) and 10 minutes by car but I won’t get a car so it would be strictly taking the bus. Honestly, I don’t know how some people commute so far. I did it for my first semester freshman year and it was like high school all over again. To me it’s worth living on campus simply because of the work I get done and the jobs I have. Commuting is a pain, I’ll say that much. Forget getting work done in the train/bus, let alone if your driving. You’ll get home and be tired. Most importantly, if you want to be active on campus, you’ll have to put in more effort than residents simply for the fact that most friendships/social groups are formed within residents. It sucks it’s that way, but that’s how it is unfortunately. The school does try to keep commuters invovled on campus, but it’s just hard. They have a commuter lounge and a week long event every year for commuters. Keep in mind this, if you get fin aid and have a Metro Grant, that converts to a Room grant if you live on campus. You really should try to live on campus if you can, even if your social life won’t improve, you’ll probably get more work done and be able to do more activities/get jobs on campus.</p>
<p>I don’t want to discourage you but trust me, you will grow to resent the commute. I live on Long Island and I am doing the same thing as you, 1.5 to 2 hours each way, 4 for a round-trip. Think about it, that’s 4 out of 24 hours everyday. </p>
<p>I get so tired by the end of the day that I can hardly do much else. If you do this, you will probably want to shorten the commute by taking as many classes in one day as possible. Expect 12 hour to 17 hour days if you have events later that you want to participate in. You will be exhausted. </p>
<p>I was very unhappy my first semester as a freshman because I was doing this. It’s not so much that you’ll have less of a social life (that depends more on personality) but you will get less opportunities to participate. There will be events you want to go to but you can’t because you have to take a train.</p>
<p>My advice to you is think long and hard if Fordham is worth that kind of commute. If you do decide to do it, do it with your eyes open and understand what you’re signing up for. When I was a senior, I thought I could handle it until I came to college and realized it’s so much more tiring than I thought and I guarantee, you will be sick and tired of it by the end of your first year. At this point, I strongly suggest talking to your parents about the issue. Tell them it’s nothing personal but living closer to campus will give you a richer college experience.</p>
<p>I can tell you now that I’m glad I chose to commute because I like Fordham and its community. A long commute was never a deal breaker for me but you really should think of alternative plans now if you decide to go to Fordham. You can do the 4-hour commute for a year or two but after that it gets to be a hassle.</p>
<p>I live in Midtown West and moving to Morningside Heights, I currently am only 10 blocks from campus, but after moving, maybe a fifteen minute subway ride.</p>
<p>I don’t mind commuting. I do get home kind of exhausted, but I also have two internships located on the opposite side immediately after and before classes, so that could lend to that.</p>
<p>Two hours for one way is a lot, though. Weigh your pros and cons. </p>
<p>Fordham does have some sort of Commuters organization or something like that, they’re constantly sending emails about some commuter breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, brinner. I guess commuters are hungry a lot.</p>
<p>I’ve never attended, so I can’t say what they do there besides eat. But there’s the option if you’re looking for meeting people in a similar situation.</p>
<p>Commuting is really not that bad, depending on your location. It might be a bit difficult to sacrifice your time to get to class and risking to be late to classes due to traffic delays, etc. However, commuter students are not left out nor singled out from the general Fordham population. Professors have sympathy over those who commute since most Professors are commuters. Plus, commuters receive a $6,000 Metro Grant, which is deducted from their Tuition. Also, commuters have their own lounge along with the option to purchase a Commuter meal plan. I would suggest commuting if the commute is less than 2 hours. If not, then commuting Is not a good choice.</p>