Hey everyone! So I’m at the tough decision of picking the best fit school for me. I’ve narrowed down my decisions to Fordham and PSU. I’m planning on majoring in Marketing.
I would like people’s opinions on these 2 schools. I’m an international student so I didn’t get any sort of financial aid, but I do have an education grant letter from my mom’s job in the UN.
My mother has no problem with paying for my college education, I’ve been pretty blessed so far. She wants me to go to the best possible school I can get into for my undergraduate, but I am really torn.
I guess what I’m looking for is which school is best for my major and reputable for future internships and jobs?
Congratulations on your acceptances. I know that the Smeal school has a good name, probably the equivalent of Fordham, but I don’t know anything about the Altoona campus. I think the advantage of Fordham would be its location – close enough to Manhattan that you could do internships while you are a student. I’m not in the business school but I"ve been very happy with my experience at Fordham.
Hello and congratulations on your acceptances!
Smeal and Gabelli are really close in rankings.
BUT you got into the Altoona campus at Penn State, which is less competitive/selective than the UP campus, and consequently, Fordham (which is harder to get into than both). And I’m not sure if the campus you attend shows up when you apply for internships, but if it does then for the first two years it will be more difficult for you to get internships, since you transfer to UP for your junior year.
Fordham is probably better known in NYC as well, and being about 30 minutes away from Manhattan (the biggest financial center in the US and probably the world) doesn’t hurt.
Objective factors aside, what do you prefer in a college experience?
Fordham RH is in the Bronx, which is very urban. It is a big campus with lots of green spaces and sports, but at the same time you’re in a huge city.
Penn State Altoona is in a small town and has a slightly bigger campus than Fordham RH. Fordham RH has more students, however.
All in all, I’d say Penn State UP and Fordham are comparable, but the Altoona campus is not comparable to either and that’s where you’d have to spend your first two years. So I recommend that you go to Fordham if cost isn’t a factor in your decision.
Good luck in making your decision!
Thank you all for your helpful advice!
I have questions regarding religious affiliation at Fordham. I’m not a catholic and I was wondering if religion will be pushed up against students who do not practice the Catholic faith? Are there a variety of religions viewed on campus? The courses we have to take to fulfill the theology requirements, are they all just towards Catholic and Christian faiths or are there an array of religion courses to take?
I have plenty of non-Catholic (Jewish, Hindu, atheist etc.) friends who are very comfortable at Fordham. You are required to take one theology course that is more Catholic-based (the teacher understands not everyone in the class is Catholic) but you have a choice for the second one and it can be something like World Religions etc. In general religion is on campus for those who want to partake, but it is not pushed on anyone. The Jesuits have a reputation for being educators first and foremost and I have found that to be the case. In general, I would say that you should be OK with seeing some Catholic symbols around campus and that you should be respectful of religion if you attend Fordham.
Oh okay. I’m perfectly fine with religion and I have also heard of The Jesuits having a reputation for being educators.
Would you say in anyway I would be missing out on Fordham’s opportunities if I decide to go to Penn State Altoona?
I’m really scared that I might not do well in my first 2 years in the branch campus and then have trouble transferring to UPark when I would already have the opportunity at Fordham to just started and finish for 4 years.
I’m sorry if I seem like I keep going back in forth, I have so many opinions on this and I need to get it out somewhere in order to come up with a decision 
Ps. How is Fordham when it comes to grants and scholarships given throughout the academic year if I student does really well in their first semester?
Ranking may show these as equivalent, but Fordham offers greater access to internships, better location, nicer campus, smaller class sizes and a liberal arts core curriculum.
Note that the Penn State brand is more well known outside of NewYork. State College is a great campus but remote from internships.