<p>i read about how it comprises mostly of "rich, snobby white kids." is this true? will i find any diversity there? or will i have to dorm at lincoln center to find the more diverse students? i also read that it seems that the commuters make up the diverse body.</p>
<p>Wrong on all counts. </p>
<p>Fordham PROUDLY boasts about 25% people of ethnicity: African American, Asian/Islander and Hispanic. Its diverse culturally, geographically and religiously as well. </p>
<p>You will find some suburban kids with money. But that is not all of them. And many of those suburban kids are great friends and NOT snobby. </p>
<p>It is what you make of it. Its not a party school, but kids do have a good time. </p>
<p>Lincoln Center is a different group overall. There are many kids there who are just like the Rose Hill kids, but generally Lincoln Center is the more artistic bunch, theatre kids and urban students who don’t care much for sports, for example. Rose Hill has all the sports complex, teams etc. Right now most of the business stuff is at Rose Hill, but eventually I believe that will change and be interchangeable. </p>
<p>Visit Rose Hill during the school year if you can and see for yourself. Walk around and talk to people. We did. We split up as well…my d1 went one way and we another…and spoke separately to people to get the straight skinny.</p>
<p>YOu will be fine. Its a friendly campus, and inclusive. Its not over the top political or anything.</p>
<p>i don’t know if i really should believe you because you seem to be all for fordham…i kind of want a real student’s opinion.</p>
<p>Hi overrated,</p>
<p>Real student here. Yes, it is mostly a bunch of rich snobby white kids. 25% for minorities is a very slim amount and it shows on campus. </p>
<p>The group of “friends” I made, which lasted about a week, consisted of a bunch of snobby white kids that spent all their time bbming catty things about people and talking about how many businesses their parents own, their boat houses, etc. I think they were convinced that they were the real life gossip girls. Who knows, maybe through multicultural clubs you can find normal, down to earth people. Overall the aforementioned group does seem to dominate the local social scene though, if you plan on hanging at the dive bars and stuff (ugh).</p>
<p>Oh and most people get wasted every weekend (and wednesdays for some reason) and smoke pot in the bathrooms. And none of the local bars/liquor stores card at all because they want the Fordham kids’ business. (Don’t have a heart attack, parents). I’m not straight edge or anything, I just think most of the locals are lame and would rather spend my time studying.</p>
<p>Are you really asking students if they are all rich, snobby and white?? And do you think they will say yes??? I think it’s safe to assume that the answer to that question will depend on who you ask. There are sure to be some rich, snobby, white kids on campus just as there are sure to be some poor minorities. And do keep in mind that off campus you will find one of the most ethnically diverse places on earth.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to visit both campuses and decide for yourself.</p>
<p>BTW, I believe I read in Fiske’s guide last year that Fordham was considered more diverse than Boston College, less funky than NYU. But who cares? You can’t get the vibe of a campus from a book or a website or from asking someone else. FWIW, my S, a “real” student at LC visited Fordham about 7 times and even sat in on a class a week after an overnight to another Jesuit school and told me that one of the things he really liked about Fordham LC was how diverse the student body was. Of course, he’s too busy enjoying life in NYC to come on CC and tell you himself and I don’t know whether or not you will choose to believe me but there you have it. Take it or leave it but do yourself a favor…go visit!!! :)</p>
<p>I am a Rose Hill student heavily involved in many campus activities. I also have a healthy social life and go out every weekend (not necessarily drinking)- so I’d say I have pretty good knowledge of Fordham’s social scene (campus clubs/nightlife/party scene/etc).</p>
<p>There is definitely a presence of the upper middle class elite “snobby white kids” you speak of but by no means is it significant enough to become a problem. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy to be honest. You are attending a tier 1 private university in the North-East… of course you are going to have white rich kids (duh). Sure there are plenty of wealthy students at Fordham given its nature… but I have encountered nothing but diversity. I have friends that are white, wasp-y, rich, poor, middle-class, jap-y, black, international, jewish, asian, catholic, atheist, etc. etc. the list goes on and on. If you are a sociable and open person you will meet so many people from all different backgrounds. If you can’t find diversity on your own there are more than enough cultural clubs on campus (ASILI/FUPAC/FUSE/etc. all with programming budgets of many thousands of dollars). </p>
<p>Every university is going to have the stereotypical cliques but every university is also going to have diversity. Fordham is no different… but I have seen far more diversity at Fordham then at other Southern schools (I am from FL).</p>
<p>Hi, real student from Rose Hill here as well.
Diversity at Fordham really is pretty good, especially for a Catholic school. You have your jocks and preps, but there are a ton of artsy, indie, gay, ‘ghetto,’ and nerdy kids too. There’s also plenty of kids whom I honestly couldn’t classify for you. And there’s interaction between these groups. I think this is a really cool aspect of community life at Fordham.</p>
<p>Fordham is also very racially diverse. It’s minority population has actually climbed past 30% (making it more diverse than Georgetown). Yes, many of this diversity comes from the commuters, but they are just as much part of the Fordham family as are residents. Residents and commuters interact in many different ways.</p>
<p>Typical nights involve either attending an on-Campus programming event, going to one of the four bars around campus, attending a house party, going to one of the MANY events/concerts/shows/restaurants in Manhattan, or just haning out in the dorms with a movie or board game. If you want to party, you’ll have no problem finding people and places that will fufill that desire. If you don’t want to party, there are a ton of other options and other students who feel the same way. There’s no frats here, something most people associate with the “rich snobby white kids” you seem to want to avoid.</p>
<p>Viirgo, I do hope your situation at Fordham improves soon. As I transfer student, it may be harder for you to make friends at first. I know you were also unhappy about your housing situation and the off-campus atmosphere of Fordham in general (something I truly love), but as the year goes on, I hope you grow to love Fordham as much as I do.</p>
<p>overrated:</p>
<p>I wont take your comment personally or as an insult. I am sure none was intended. No, I am not a student at Fordham presently and I am a parent. Am I a cheerleader? Yes. Unabashedly and proudly. But if you read my posts thoroughly, I caution people with regularity that Fordham (nor any school) is perfect, and we have our own problems and quirks. Fordham wants people who want Fordham, not negative karma types. If there are legit problems, then come and try to make the better. Fordham is a large institution and there is bureaucracy and the usual administrative insouciance about “complaining students.” Leaders learn how to work through or around problems with a positive attitude. No employer wants to hire a person who is a rotten apple in the barrel and spoils the show for everyone with negativity. Employers want people with a 'can do" attitude, who face problems and seek resolutions without too much disruption or being offensive (unless the company is in crisis mode and then they sometimes hire wrecking ball CEO’s with marching orders to tear it down and build it up etc.) </p>
<p>I am not going to respond to the remarks from Viirgo which are offensive on their face and inflammatory and unprofessional. Period.</p>
<p>We are caucasians. We are middle class. We are NOT New Yorkers. My D1 has faced all sorts of issues at Fordham, made all sorts of friends. But we are not “white snobby and cliquey.” Fordham is expensive. Not everyone gets a “full ride” or some huge amount of financial aid. That means it includes people of wealth, from Long Island, Connecticut, Manhattan, No. New Jersey, or California (for that matter.) There is nothing evil about being wealthy and white. Nor is there anything evil about being poor, a minority (or poor white person). </p>
<p>My approach in life is to judge people by their character, not their pocketbook or race or religion. </p>
<p>Be positive, think positive and bring positive change.</p>
<p>I hope that helps.</p>
<p>Just yesterday in class we were talking about how there are limits placed on the amount of money people can donate to a politician, and this (typical fordham) girl in my class referred to the wealthy as “people who decided to do well in life.” <em>rolls eyes</em> It was all I could do not to slap her in the face. But my teacher set her straight. Annoying.</p>
<p>If you dont agree, fine. If you have something to share in class, with particular emphasis on your personal experience, do so…with proper sensitivities and civility. Kids your age are all growing up. Be patient. Enlighten them on different cultures and experiences…</p>
<p>now I have to comment on something else. It is IMPERATIVE that kids who are in despair seek help at Fordham’s Campus Ministry or Health Service. And IMPERATIVE that kids around people in despair, reach out, get an RA if necessary…</p>
<p>no shame in being down, for whatever reason: personal problems, financial problems, or grade problems or just social adjustment problems. None whatsoever. We are ALL human. But for the sake of everyone, please reach out for help if you are sinking into the abyss. Campus Ministry at Fordham is FABULOUS. Even for atheists. Warm, caring people who are paid to help you. Please, please, please.</p>
<p>Now I am a bit out of sorts this afternoon and need to go collect my thoughts. God bless you all.</p>
<p>Not going to comment on the economic situations of the students, but from observation, just walking through campus you get this sense of homogeneity and uniformity in the student body. So yes, the student body is overbearingly white and suburban, most specifically the tri state area. During orientation and first week of freshmen year,when everyone was introducing themselves as part of the ice breaker activities, legitimately it felt like 7/10 people you’d meet were from NJ,CT,LI and some from NE. I even remember I had a class of 45 or so people, and less then TEN (6-7 i think, dont remember the exact number but we broke everyone up by location for an exercise) students in the class were from outside of the tri state area.
A Large portion of the students also come from catholic/prep schools as well, once again, most of which are in LI,CT,NJ, upper northeast.
And I’m sure that commuters comprise a large part of this 25% of ethnic minorities. Which is cool and all, but honestly there is a huge divide between the commuters and residents. Both groups tend to hang out amongst each other, not much unity.
And then there’s LC. I take a few classes there actually, and the campuses differ a lot, especially as far as diversity goes. To give you an idea, I had a friend from LC visit me in RH and he couldn’t believe that we technically went to the same school.</p>
<p>But Fordham is in NYC, the cultural capital of the world. Though from RH it requires a little bit of effort to get to the heart of the fun, but you can honestly meet people from every corner of the world in the city. I met a lot of interesting,international people in NYC, at concerts and what not, and a lot of them were Columbia/NYU students, so whenever I would mention Fordham they’d be like “oh yea I was gonna go to the LC campuss!”.Just gives you an idea of the difference between RH and LC socially.</p>
<p>Ok here are the statistics (class of 2014) from the Fordham website and Boston College website for comparison:</p>
<p>Fordham 30.5% minority
Boston College: 24% minority</p>
<p>Geographic Diversity:
New York State: 40.4%
Mid-Atlantic: 24.2%
New England: 13.4%
West: 6.4%
Midwest: 5.5%
International: 3.2%
South: 3.3%
Southwest: 3.4%</p>
<p>Residents: 77%
Commuter: 23%</p>
<p>So about 78% from the East Coast
Boston College: N/A</p>
<p>Religious Diversity:</p>
<p>Fordham: 40% Non-Catholic/60% Catholic
Boston College: 70% Catholic/ 30% Non-Catholic</p>
<p>Also, here is a link to the U.S. News college ranking by campus diversity
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-campus-ethnic-diversity[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-campus-ethnic-diversity</a></p>
<p>Fordham has an index of .44 while Boston College and Georgetown have an index of .40. Ruters is the most diverse with an index of .74</p>
<p>^^^^^ Yep. </p>
<p>But the difference is BC, I believe, is much more geographically diverse than Fordham. I dont have their stats on that. Just anecdotal comments.</p>
<p>Fordham is changing. And that is a good thing.</p>
<p>yes, BC is more geographically diverse</p>
<p>I am a real student from Fordham and I have not really seen anything of what viirgo is saying. I have made plenty of friends, the diversity is astounding. And also, just because it is a Jesuit-Catholic school does not mean that everyone is necessarily Catholic or even Christian. My roommate is actually Hindu and I have met many, many people of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Also, Fordham has a club for most ethnicities (Polish, Hispanic, Philippino, Asian, etc). </p>
<p>I will admit that there are a few of the “snobby” people that you may come across, but if that’s the case, just stay away from those people. It is really not that hard to find people that you enjoy being around.</p>
<p>^^^^^ Viirgo may be a ■■■■■ who isnt actually a student at Fordham. He/She has an agenda and its not good. Not sure about that. Regardless, just ignore them.</p>
<p>C’mon guys, rich white kids get such a bad rep. </p>
<p>I believe that the education students receive here at Fordham will give them a better understanding of and perspective on life outside of their own social norm, no matter what background students come from when they begin their college education. This isn’t a place where rich white kids learn to adore each other for being around other rich white kids. It’s a place where we learn to love the Bronx, New York City, and the multiple backgrounds we all come from. Fordham is culturally rich in so many different ways, and most students learn to appreciate this after the first few months of living here. It doesn’t matter what background any of us comes form, because we all leave with a new understanding of it when we leave.</p>
<p>I agree with the posts in here being also a current Fordham sophomore. I have a very great diverse group of friends coming from all different states reaching out to California. “Rich, snobby kids” may be found here at the school but are by no means found in abundance. I come from a small town in New Jersey and have friends that share the same interests and backgrounds as I do. You will have the ability to meet any type of diversity you want if you come to Fordham as long as you branch out and get to know one another. The type of friends that you are looking for coming into your freshmen college year, you will eventually find.</p>
<p>And the fact that Fordham has a strong commuter population means that there is more economic diversity here than at typical private colleges. In addition to the economic diversity provided by financial aid and merit scholarships, we have students who can afford Fordham partly because they live at home.</p>