<p>This can be the discussion thread for EA and RD applicants.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Applied EA only because I got a fee waiver. I don’t have school all week due to the storm, so the only things that need to be sent in are my recs/transcript from my GC. </p>
<p>Fordham is a bit of a reach for me. 3.7 W/27 ACT but I just re-took. However, I spent a lot of time sick and in hospitals during HS. I wrote a VERY strong essay and I have excellent recs, especially from GC.</p>
<p>I hope you are safe and dry, awks. I am crossing my fingers for Fordham’s full-tuition scholarship for National Merit peeps. </p>
<p>So, did you apply to Rose Hill or Lincoln Center?</p>
<p>Good luck! I applied to RH, mostly because I want an actual campus, though I hear RH is more conservative. I also applied to Clark U, and will be applying to Hampshire College, Sarah Lawrence, Pace U, and SUNY New Paltz. Possibly NYU Gallatin. Where else are you applying?</p>
<p>I applied to RH too. :)</p>
<p>For EA: Georgetown, Fordham, Northeastern
For RD: Cornell, UPenn, Dartmouth, Yale, UVA, W&M</p>
<p>I am a future Ivy-reject… I really don’t know how admissions will go. My stats are slightly competitive (4.0/2340), but I am don’t have much confidence.</p>
<p>I’m not even sure if I’ll apply lol New York is expensive to live in.</p>
<p>The issue is not so much “expensive city” as expensive tuition/room/board. That is true at many colleges, not just Fordham.</p>
<p>does anyone know when is the latest that fordham will accept test scores?</p>
<p>For EA or RD?</p>
<p>For RD it is Feb 1st. I think test scores for EA have to be submitted by the deadline.</p>
<p>If you applied EA (deadline extended to November 8, btw), and submitted a test score you want to improve and are taking the November SAT exam to make another “college try” at getting it up higher, then I would advise Fordham by email of your intentions. They wont announce decisions until the week before Christmas, except the ones at the very top who may hear a bit sooner. (90th percentile). </p>
<p>Just tell them you are taking it again and they will hold your application for final decision until then, if your prior score is problematic. </p>
<p>Sadly, SAT scores are an important part of the process. While some schools have gone SAT optional, Fordham has not done so. The SAT optional choice has mixed reviews. Some love it, some think it only acts to flag your file as “score too low to submit”. You have to ask the schools who have gone optional what their experience is. I have read in publications that the reason they went SAT optional is they have ample evidence that kids with high GPA’s and modest SAT’s can succeed and thrive in college, while sometimes kids with high SAT’s can bomb (usually because they are lazy or have other personal issues, not because of IQ.) SAT scandals have come to the front pages of newspapers. I am no fan of standardized testing, but I have not seen anything which is more objective across a broad applicant pool, since grades can be inflated (and often are at some prestigious prep schools and even some public schools) to enhance applications. So I dont have an answer for that quandry. It is what it is. Just do your best.</p>
<p>Having been through the college application/admissions cycle with my kids, I know the pain and frustration of wanting to attend a particular school for all the right reasons, and being “held back” because of SAT scores. But I also empathize with admissions officers because how else can they decide between saying “yes to one, and no to another?” What is fair and just? I am reminded of an admissions officer at UVa (arguably one of the hardest state schools to gain entry, particularly for out of state applicants) who said, “we could admit an entire class of 4.0, 1600 SAT students if we wanted. We have that many with those stats. We choose NOT to do that for many reasons, and try instead to be fair, just and diverse.” So it goes.</p>
<p>Fordham tries to be holistic and inclusive and diverse. They have more than 35,000 applications a year for a class of 1,700. Their overall admit rate is between 40-45% variable. Many apply and are admitted but go elsewhere and among those, many go higher up the ladder of prestige to peer colleges: Ivy League or BC or Tufts or Georgetown, Notre Dame etc. Some go elsewhere because of finances/scholarship offers (up and down the ladder). </p>
<p>So just do your best, submit your best credentials and wait for the results. Good luck to all.</p>
<p>Thank you sovereign! That was a very useful post. :)</p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking, would you rather have your children attend Fordham or Northeastern? I realize there are many threads on the topic, but, since you seem to be the resident Fordham expert, I would very much like to hear your analysis.</p>
<p>Northeastern is an up and coming school in the sense its rising in the rankings…fairly hot school. They have some strong programs. Its very urban, sort of like NYU, in downtown Boston, near Fenway Park.</p>
<p>A few thoughts.</p>
<p>Northeastern is not a sports school like it used to be. Bowing out of football completely. Hockey is big for them. </p>
<p>Boston is a quintessential college town. BC, BU, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Tufts, and several others nearby. Its a young persons town. The bad news is parking is simply impossible, rents are unfathomably high for what you get.</p>
<p>Northeastern is probably best for jobs in Boston and the northeast, whereas Fordham is better for jobs in New York. Depends on your major and what you want to do. Fordham is Jesuit and that is special. Northeastern is private non sectarian. Northeastern is also a lot larger, like NYU. </p>
<p>Fordham Rose Hill has a true campus and campus feel/experience for kids. Its an academic oasis in the city, with superb access to Manhattan by train, subway, bus or RamVan. Fordham has basketball and football on campus. Not killer sports but fun for the students and parents who visit. Fordham offers a double education: collegiate and academic, yet urban enough and close enough to superb internships in Manhattan that give kids a street smart education. </p>
<p>They are ranked very similar in USNWR. I would delve deeply into websites and examine faculty credentials and strength of programs for your major. Fordham’s core offers a valuable broad based education that is valued by students and employers alike. Fordham’s reputation is its graduates are well prepared, grounded and hard working with strong ethics. They get jobs. </p>
<p>I am biased and partial to the Jesuits, so consider that in your analysis. I have nothing against Northeastern at all. I know someone there in the medical school. I know a graduate of Northeastern. But the culture and experience are different. Just as Fordham and NYU are different. </p>
<p>Northeastern is better compared to BU…and many apply to both and get into both and then decide based on personal factors. </p>
<p>Its my opinion that Fordham is as strong as BC in academics and the ONLY difference is the entering class at BC has higher SAT scores. And they are a powerhouse in athletics (except struggling lately) in the ACC. But Fordham faculty are just as strong and the programs just as good in most departments. </p>
<p>Some people love Boston. Some people prefer New York. Its a highly subjective decision. Fordham has BC graduates on its faculty. </p>
<p>New York is a major commercial and business center for the world. Boston is known for outstanding companies, but its better known as an academic mecca. What is your preference? </p>
<p>You live on campus (if you desire) at Fordham Rose Hill all four years. No need to worry about renting houses, apartments and parking fiascos. The T Line in Boston is good and fairly dependable and most Bostonians use it. </p>
<p>For me, I prefer the Jesuit influence and New York. You may have other interests. Good luck.</p>
<p>I can try to augment sovereign’s description.</p>
<p>I have no idea what kind of parent I’ll be…Let’s say, though, that I thought college was for earning a degree and getting a job. In that case, I’d probably send my daughter or son to Northeastern. The school has a very good reputation in Boston and is gaining national visibility through scholarships, sheer size, regional campuses, and recruitment. Co-op is a definite advantage, and it gives students a certain worldly perspective–that English major might, you know, be hard to get a job with–but most significantly, the core there is miniscule. I took mostly math/science APs and could have graduated from their engineering program in six semesters with a normal credit load. If you think that the humanities, while not necessarily a waste of time, do not belong in a college curriculum, you’d probably be better off at Northeastern. Visits and catalog-browsing reinforced its image as a more pragmatically-minded place.</p>
<p>But let’s say I was a bit more old-school, or that I thought academic variety was good for the mind. Say I thought the humanities were worth studying in the classroom, even though I still wanted my kid to major in STEM-something. Then I’d send her/him to Fordham in a second! The Jesuit-ness and academic conservativeness here are great for doing all those fun college-y things that you’ll never get to do again. (Socratic seminars! Yay!) If I had gone to Northeastern, I might never have read–much less appreciated–all the literature, history, and philosophy I’ve run into here. It’s also quite convenient to get the world’s backstory right as you’re transitioning into it. And the fact that Fordham is a Catholic school is great if you’re at all into academic theology.</p>
<p>Now-me would send my kids to Fordham rather than Northeastern. It’s better, I think, to ensure a certain breadth of knowledge as you enter adulthood, and I like the theologically considerate atmosphere here. But, like sovereign, I’m a little biased.</p>
<p>Juniormint, if you’re open to living in Protestant Texas, I highly recommend applying to Baylor. It was my second choice, ahead of Northeastern and behind Fordham. Very unique atmosphere there–I liked it a lot, although I’m from a family of Protestants myself–and their BIC and honors programs (separate applications) are very solid. Massive NMF scholarships too.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your knowledgeable observations! </p>
<p>I do see Northeastern as a more pragmatic, STEM school, and it seems to be a more modern campus when compared with Rose Hill. Sadly, I don’t fall very neatly into the LAC/STEM divide. My intended major is Econ/Math along with Pre-med, so, I will most likely be taking humanities, statistics, science, and mathematics classes. Fordham seems to boast a more consistent quality across these disciplines.</p>
<p>I suppose then, I am slightly more inclined to old-school. </p>
<p>Also, angle, thank you for the Baylor recommendation. I considered it for a time, but it will be far away from where I intend to live and work. I might be open to Southern Baptist Texas, but I probably wouldn’t choose it over Jesuit NY. ;)</p>
<p>Thank you again, you have both been terribly helpful.</p>
<p>There are many excellent schools around the country. Its more about fit than core classes or jobs in the abstract sense. </p>
<p>Kids with english degrees often DO get jobs, from internships and because they can write and THINK ON THEIR FEET. Its a bit tougher than the finance majors, but its done every year. </p>
<p>Kids with liberal arts degrees go onto law school, medical school, graduate school, work in communications, broadcasting, publishing, banking, non profit world, healthcare management and on and on. </p>
<p>College is the ONE time in your life you choose what to take and enjoy it for what it is, because once you are an adult its hard to do that. Worry not about the jobs, and worry instead about contributing to the student body, to the overall academic flavor and exchange of ideas, studying and giving back to society in some selfless way regardless of your major.</p>
<p>Many kids minor in business (without being at Gabelli) and use that to enhance their resumes as well.</p>
<p>Best to all.</p>
<p>Would anyone on this thread happen to know if Fordham accepts outside scholarships to cover room and board? I know for myself that even if I was blessed enough to get a full tuition scholarship, $15k+ a year will be very difficult to manage for room and board.</p>
<p>All colleges require that you report any outside sources, grants and scholarships and gifts. Sometimes they consider that in your package and may in fact reduce your financial aid package…as absurd as that sounds, it happens. Why? Because they use FAFSA and internal matrix to determine how much they think you (parents and yourself) must contribute towards your education. </p>
<p>However, if you provided a CSS and FAFSA with application they will see your family situation and could give you scholarship (merit) or grant (need) and then loans to cover the gap. You can get cheap government loans from Fordham with a 10 year repayment period. Some loan programs have max limits per year but others dont’.</p>
<p>National average for student loans at MOST colleges is around 20k per year per student. </p>
<p>Another consideration is if you have a lot of AP’s coming in, and use them carefully and plan your major carefully and so forth, you can finish in 3-3.5 years at Fordham. yes, that means working your behind off and being stressed, but it saves you money. Its done fairly frequently in fact. A good number of seniors at Fordham second semester are really only taking classes for interest and socializing…cruising, they say. Not all…some are paying a price for slacking in previous years and having to get enough credits to graduate on time. Case by case basis. Careful planning and hard work pays off, is my message.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>@MadameDefarge, all tuition+ scholarships are reduced by half the amount of aid received from outside scholarships. You can use them to cover room and board, but you’d have to find 30k/year in scholarships to cover that 15k while also making up for the reduction in your Fordham scholarship.</p>
<p>As sovereign notes, need-based grants may be reduced by as much as the full amount of outside scholarships.</p>
<p>I’ve only known one guy to graduate in 3 years–exactly as many as I know who’ve taken a fifth year. Fordham is stingy with AP credit, especially in math and science, but transfer course equivalence policies are the real kicker. If you took college classes while in high school, don’t plan on getting any credits for them, and if you’re a transfer, count on doing most of the core at Fordham.</p>
<p>angle, lots of kids graduate in 3-3.5. Most walk in May, but get degrees in February. AP credit is stingy. Most Ivy’s give NO CREDIT. So we get some on the back half of the major but it placed correctly work also towards the major. My kid did it.</p>
<p>Not sure if the outside scholarships reduce by half, but yes they are often reduced. Its frustrating, but once financial aid says your expected contribution is a figure, it is what it is. And most people use loans to fill that gap.</p>
<p>^^I have to agree with angle… I haven’t seen anyone graduate in 3 years although some do finish up a bit early. Two seniors I know who live off campus and will go to school part-time next semester as they only need a couple more classes, another will take 2 classes towards his MBA next semester, and another friend who transferred in will need to go an extra semester to finish the required classes. All of the rest of the seniors as well as my friends who are juniors expect to be going full time for four years (all strong students). The new core makes it difficult to graduate early. That is fine with me since I love Fordham and I am in no rush to leave college early!</p>