Fordham Alum willing to take questions

<p>I graduated from Fordham's CBA in 08 with a degree in accounting. Throw any Q at me.</p>

<p>Is there a difference in the admission rate for fordham’s business school and other programs at fordham ?</p>

<p>The SAT average is a little lower at the B-school than the other schools but I think it is getting more and more competitive each year. An A- average and 1200-1230 SAT cuts it at the B-school v/s mid to high 1200’s at the other schools.</p>

<p>Hey, thanks for providing answers for our questions!!</p>

<p>In general, how do you find the social scene at Fordham? What makes its social scene unique in your opinion?</p>

<p>And from what you know, how is the social work program at Fordham (undergraduate)?</p>

<p>I’d say the social scene is very much connected with Fordham being in NYC as their slogan goes “Fordham is my school, NYC is my campus.” If you go to the LC campus, you’re in the heart of the city and if you go to the Rose Hill campus, you’re a ram van ride (half an hour ride) or a Metro North ride (20 minutes to Grand Central station) away. Metro North station is literally two steps away from the campus and it takes you express into the city (no stops). Otherwise, you have your normal bars and some house/apartment parties around the Fordham RH area where many of the students like gathering every weekend. You have some great authentic Italian restaurants in Arthur Avenue. Really the social scene is what you make of it and how active you are. I’d say what makes Fordham’s social scene unique is that you get the best of all worlds - a school in NYC, good food/bars in the Bronx, and accessibility to any other boroughs. NY is just so culturally diverse (restaurants, museums, sports venues, Broadway shows, comedy clubs, etc.) that you can just take the train anywhere and cover so many things in four years and you would get sick of it. So what makes Fordham really unique is that it is the only Jesuit school in NYC, a true oasis in the middle of the Bronx (surrounded by Botanical Gardens and Bronx Zoo), only D-1 sports team in NYC besides Columbia that is a top tier academic school (you’ll enjoy the improved basketball and football teams over your four years at Fordham I promise), and the president is committed to improving Fordham. You’ll be there just in time to witness $70 million in constructions that will transform the Bronx campus. A new campus center, recreation center, new dining hall, and a new dorm will really transform the social scene and make the campus more integrated and intimate. Check the pictures below:
[Excelsior</a> | Ever Upward | The Campaign for Fordham](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/campaign_home/campaign_priorities/facilities/rose_hill_campus_68733.asp]Excelsior”>http://www.fordham.edu/campaign_home/campaign_priorities/facilities/rose_hill_campus_68733.asp)
And I remember reading somewhere that when Fordham goes through its next campaign phase (probably after you graduate), they’ll get a new basketball arena, science center, and maybe a new business building which they so desperately need.</p>

<p>Cool, thanks for your answer!</p>

<p>The NYC scene isn’t really that interesting because I live in NY already lol. I’m just considering Fordham because it’s a target school for me and it has an undergrad social work major. Would you recommend Fordham to a NY resident?</p>

<p>i am not sure if they have u-grad Social Work Program, i know they have a graduate school of social service. You should call them up and look into it. Maybe you can get a degree in something like political science? and then go to their grad school or NYU’s? Both are really good.</p>

<p>Last question: How is the social scene racially? Is it white-dominated?</p>

<p>oh ok so i guess they do have an undergrad social work major so sorry never mind. I am also a NY native and attended Fordham but I think once you go to college, there is so much more to do and see. Yes, there are a lot of Whites at Fordham (I would say around 65%) but most people are really cool and you will not feel any racial tension. Fordham takes a lot of Hispanics (14%). Hispanics and Asians make over the quarter of the class so every one in four student is either a hispanic or asian, which is not a bad number for a school like Fordham being that it is Jesuit. There are a lot of Filipinos at Fordham (international students from the Philippines) so the international presence is also there. Fordham is getting more and more diverse each and every year so I think that should be the least of your concerns. </p>

<p>I would recommend Fordham to a NY resident but I would also recommend looking for other schools outside of NY to expand your horizons. You said Fordham is a target school (how are your grades like?) Maybe I can recommend some more schools. But overall, you cannot go wrong with Fordham. It is a very good school with solid academics and reputation (especially when it comes to social service, Fordham is unrivaled in its reputation). You will get a lot of very good internship opportunities being at Fordham and chance to help others around Campus because of the location.</p>

<p>Thanks for your replay, I’m definitely going to seriously consider Fordham now.</p>

<p>88.5 average (translates to a 3.4ish GPA??) and 2260 SATs (1500/1600). Decent ECs, strong essays. </p>

<p>My GPA sucks, but it’s mainly due to freshman year and first term soph. My junior year and second term soph year has a 91.5 average. I’m hoping that upward curve and my SAT’s make up for my weak GPA. I also go to a magnet school, so yeah…</p>

<p>My current list is Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Macaulay Honors at CUNY Queens, Fordham, George Wash, NYU, Oberlin, and SUNY Bing/Stony/Geneseo. I’m not really that sure of this list because I haven’t done research on most of these schools. I’m planning to ED Macaulay and Bing is my primary safety.</p>

<p>If you have anything to add/remove/modify, please tell me!</p>

<p>You’ll get a nice package from Fordham (should get a nice $10,000-$15,000) scholarship. Just bring your GPA above a 90 if you still have time. However, class rank is more important (schools basically want students from top 10% of class regardless of the GPA) because class rank affects U.S. news rankings and GPA does not). Equal weight is given to class rank and avg SAT score in these college rankings and trust me, all colleges are conscious about these statistics as they want to maintain or go up in the rankings. </p>

<p>That’s a decent list of schools. I applied Early Decision to Carnegie Mellon but was rejected. I had a low GPA like you as well (around 89.5 UW) and a 1350 SAT. Fordham gave me $4,200 in scholarship. But the school has gotten so much more selective since the time I applied (2005). Case is a good school with a high acceptance rate (you should get in) but I don’t know if you want to go to Ohio. As for BU, honestly if it comes down to BU and Fordham, go for Fordham. I think the academics are better and more rigorous at Fordham. I think you can get into NYU but if Fordham gives you a better package financially, go with Fordham. It will be a long shot but I think you may be able to get into Fordham’s Honors Program. I say apply and show interest in the school - attend all the events, take a campus tour, write a letter expressing your interest, and really bug the admissions office/financial aid office once they accept you to increase the package (and they will if they really want you). Honestly, do not waste your ED on CUNY honors; I think you can get in regardless. If not, you have a lot of options outside of CUNY.</p>

<p>Give Boston College and Villanova a shot (both great schools with superb academics). You might surprise yourself. I like SUNY Bing as a safety (although you would not believe it, they rejected me for some reason). Apply early to state schools as they admit on a rolling basis. Talking about state schools, try UMich and some of the UC’s like UCLA (I think you will thrive in that kind of environment).</p>

<p>Basically, apply to good number of schools and do not limit yourself by applying ED to one particular school. If you can attend a private school on scholarship, that would be the best thing ever, and I think you are not giving yourself enough credit due to the low GPA, and I know how that feels because I was in the same situation.
I would apply to (no particular order)

  1. Fordham (match)
  2. BU (match)
  3. CUNY Honors (match)
  4. NYU (match/slight reach)
  5. Carnergie Mellon (slight reach)
  6. UMich (slight reach) - apply like RIGHT NOW. earlier the better for these state schools.
  7. Villanova (slight reach/reach)
  8. Boston College (reach)
  9. Georgetown (reach)
  10. Tufts (reach)
  11. Columbia (far reach)
  12. SUNY Bing (Safety)
  13. CUNY (Safety)
  14. GW (Match)
  15. Syracuse (Safety)
    Apply ED to a really good school and you never know with your SAT score. If your EC’s are good and you stand apart from other applicants and have good essay/recs you may be knocking on the door of a good school (perhaps ivy if you get very lucky). Try ED @ Columbia or Tufts (non-ivy) maybe? Let me know what you think. Good luck!</p>

<p>since you are applying to Fordham, you may want to get rid of BU and GW (and substitute them with BC and Georgetown), both better schools at the same locations respectively. If you go out of state, make sure it is worth it and a good school. But if you are not concerned about application fees, apply to all those schools. Do not do Case IMHO. Not worth it.</p>

<p>Did you take SAT II’s for these higher ranked schools? just wondering. maybe add UCLA to the list so the west coast is represented in your list.</p>

<p>My school doesn’t rank. And I got an 800 in Math2 and I’m planning to take Physics this October.</p>

<p>Georgetown and BC seem really hard to get into. On my school stats, a lot of rejections begin at like 92 or 90. Lowest to get into BC last year was a 92.7. I don’t think my SAT, GPA curve, and EC’s can pull me into those colleges. Nor do I fancy my chances at Columbia, Tufts, and definitely not UCLA. UMich doesn’t really appeal to me; I’ve considered it. I think Villanova seems pretty cool, I’ll definitely check that out.</p>

<p>I really lean toward the idea of CUNY Honors because it’s free, it’s (I think) a good school, and I live near it. I hear that it’s better to save your money in undergrad and do well, then go to a good grad school. My family can afford like a full NYU tuition, but I’d rather save the money. I think I can get in CUNY Honors with Regular Decision, but I want to ED it to make it more certain. I just think it’s worth both the cost and the education.</p>

<p>If you don’t mind me asking - what were the colleges you applied to?</p>

<p>I’d say if you can afford to pay for the applications, just apply and test your luck. It takes some extra work (most of the schools are on common app anyways), you just need to spend some time with the supplements. Your SAT II is really good and since you want to take Physics as well, I am assuming you are really good at math/science. Fordham has a 5 year engineering program with Columbia if you are interested. </p>

<p>I think you can get into some of these really good schools due to the really high SAT score so do not limit yourself. And I still say since ED is binding, do not apply to CUNY honors as an ED. If Fordham accepts you into an honors program or even gives you half tuition, I’d take it any day over CUNY (I am saying this without any bias). The Fordham education is totally worth it.</p>

<p>Just test your luck.</p>

<p>I applied to:
Emory (accepted) - but they put in me in a general studies type of program where you have to go for two years before moving into the main school
Syracuse (accepted)
Fordham (accepted)
Baruch (accepted)
Penn State (accepted)</p>

<p>UMich(waitlisted)</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon (rejected)
Binghamton (rejected) - still do not know to this day why</p>

<p>Basically, with colleges you do not know what to expect. You never know what a school sees in you. So test your luck and do not put all your eggs in one basket. just my two cents. You are a better applicant than you think, just don’t sell yourself short man.</p>

<p>My SAT II’s don’t really match with my intended major lol. Will high scores in Math2 and Physics help me if I’m going into social work/psychology/sociology?</p>

<p>And well, thanks a lot for your advice! You definitely gave me a new perspective on things. I’ll definitely consider Fordham a lot more now and I’ll consider my ED choice for CUNY Honors. Maybe I’ll ED a harder school and try to get in through Regular Decision. The thing is I don’t know exactly how hard Macaulay is.</p>

<p>You better be careful. ED is binding. EA is non binding. Know the difference.</p>

<p>Apply ED only if you have that one dream school, or you may greatly regret it. It’s a long time from November to May 1.</p>

<p>High SAT II scores are always good but they may be confused as to why you took those two particular ones contrary to your intended major. But if you can write a very convincing essay that somehow incorporates what you want to do in the future and if your EC’s are reflective of that, then I think you’ll be alright. In fact, they may even think you are well-rounded which would work in your favor. Maybe you can get your GC to include in the recommendation your personality, your career aspirations, and why you’d be a great fit - that way the admissions office would not think you are BS’ing. Maybe also try to squeeze in another SAT II that deals with humanities (but it is not necessary to do so). Most of all, concentrate on getting stellar GPAs first semester of senior year. This is another reason why you may have a greater chance in the RD round for some of the good schools. If you can somehow pull out like a 4.0 (and you are clearly capable of doing so), it may end up removing any doubts schools may have about taking you.</p>

<p>Find a school that you really want to attend, where you think you will fit, and visit the campus a few times and get a feel for the school, then only apply ED. If you are convinced that CUNY is the right fit for you, then apply ED. If you are doing it out of convenience (you think you can get in, free tuition, close to home, etc), then you are compromising your future and you need to reassess your game plan. Like people above me have said, ED is binding and once you get in, there will be no turning back. </p>

<p>Just curious as to why you are picking a completely different major? You clearly seem more inclined towards math and science rather than humanities. Just an advice. If and only if you think you may want to major in engineering, I think you may have a better shot at some of the top ranked schools if you apply to the engineering schools. Because clearly you are well rounded and your SAT scores are really good. Your Math SAT II (and I am assuming you will do well in physics) show that you are capable of handling such a discipline. Furthermore, you will have high verbal/grammar scores as well that many math majors do not have. So you can maybe apply to schools like Columbia Fu Foundation Early Decision and you probably have like a 60% chance of getting in.</p>

<p>What was your GPA in highschool?
What’s the main difference between Rose Hill and Lincoln Center?
How many miles is Lincoln Center away from manhattan?
Which school should i apply to if i want to study journalism? (i’m thinking LC)</p>

<p>Thanks. your a HUGE help</p>