<p>it's affiliated with the roman catholic church. can i attend it even though i'm not catholic? will i have to take any classes involving religion? should i consider not applying because it's a jesuit university? what does a jesuit university really mean anyway?</p>
<p>Fordham is a Catholic university but plenty of nonCatholics attend.</p>
<p>Some of the required core courses are with the religion department.</p>
<p>The “Jesuit” label stems from its Jesuit Administration, though the Board of Directors is now overwhelmingly non religious. There are about 28 Jesuits who teach at Fordham. </p>
<p>Google the jesuits for their 450 year old history, some of which is “colorful” and “alarming” and had to do with the Spanish Inquisition. LOL. </p>
<p>They are the Society of Jesus. An order of priests dedicated to teaching mostly at the University level, but also some Jesuit Prep schools. They have a rather unique ethic and ethos about them. Brilliant professors and often orators. Wicked steel trap minds. Some are liberal and some are conservative. </p>
<p>They operate 28 Jesuit colleges in the US, among them Georgetown and Boston College, Fordham, Marquette, Saint Louis University, Loyola Chicago, Gonzaga, Santa Clara Univ., Seattle U, and Creighton. </p>
<p>Theology at Fordham is a panoply of choice. Its more philosophical in approach and focuses on the origins of Reason. Then you can select among many others, including comparative religion. </p>
<p>A Jesuit education is something to prize (and be proud of). Well rounded, well reasoned, and a considerable amount of hard work. </p>
<p>Fordham is roughly 40% non catholic in its student body. You will find all religions at Fordham, both in students and in faculty members. </p>
<p>Just come with an open mind and be willing to respect others, and you will be respected in return. </p>
<p>Not all Catholics are “devout” in their practice. Its there if you want it, but its not forced on you. But neither do we hide it nor play a game of denial.</p>
<p>Fordham is a Jesuit University. However, I would not let that dissuade you from applying. The Jesuits are widely known to be open minded educators. There is no effort to push religion on anyone who is not interested. I find that the biggest influence of the Jesuit education is the large liberal arts core curriculum which all students must complete. Included in this are two mandatory religion courses - one is a class that every freshman takes on faith (the content of which can vary based on the prof. from what my son says) and the second is an elective so you can pick from not only courses in Christianity but from ones in the Old Testament, Religions of the World etc. My S has friends at Fordham who are Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Hindu etc. If you are interested in Fordham, the best thing to do is to visit the school and see what you think. Good luck.</p>
<p>how hard is it? ive heard that it takes two years to complete the core curriculum? you don’t have enough room to take any courses relevant to your major? </p>
<p>what about business at fordham??</p>
<p>The core is less than two years if you have taken AP courses and gotten 4’s or 5’s. And some of the core classes will qualify for the major. You will take several classes in your major in sophomore year. Don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>The real problem at Fordham is wanting to take all sorts of wonderful classes and not being able to fit them into your 4 year plan…so you have to focus on what is really important to you…and pick electives as you can.</p>
<p>Its not overwhelmingly hard at Fordham. You will work hard. Write a lot of papers.</p>
<p>Business at Fordham is awesome! Mario Gabelli just gave us 25 million dollars and renamed the Business School, the Gabelli School of Business. Its on the Rose Hill Campus. They are renovating Hughes Hall and it will be a state of the art facility with a REAL stock trading room on the ground floor. Amazing stuff coming.</p>
<p>Business kids take a lot of core classes with the FCRH kids and live in the same dorms. But you also have overseas opportunities as well…such as in Beijing.</p>
<p>Fordham’s core takes about 2 years to complete. Keep in mind that most of these classes are taught by Grad students, not full time professors with Ph.D’s. Also, student apathy reins in these core classes, FYI.</p>
<p>^^^ uh…that is simply NOT the case. Sorry. Maybe you had a grad student. But my kid had ZERO grad students. She had ONE professor who was a Lutheran Priest, who is now at Princeton, who had completed all requirements for his Phd except defending his thesis and in fact was a friend to the late Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. All others were PhD’s and two were adjunct professors. Only ONE was a dud. She also had a bunch of AP’s and was essentially done after 3 semesters. </p>
<p>Apathy reins in many classes from people not into the subject matter, or kids who view college as merely a rite of passage until adult life and who knows what. Many kids actually like these classes and their professors. The trick is to stay away from the boobirds and lazy students and get into the courses and focus on the bright kids in the room and the professor and you will be fine. My D1 (now a senior) has had some amazing professors along the way, and some of them are still her friend. You get out of it what you put into it.</p>
<p>ghostbuster, do you know how many students are in the honors college at Rose Hill? The website says only 16 at LC, and at RH from the pics looks like around 30?</p>
<p>Correct. It varies year to year…25-30. BUT…its not the only path either. Its a fabulous and rigorous program. But Fordham also taps kids on the shoulder after Freshman year who have done very well, 3.5 and up, and suggests other honors programs for them to get into, from liberal arts programs to business programs. And they also have a bunch of 5 year BA/MA programs that he/she will be invited to. Fordham is good about that.</p>
<p>Getting into the Honors Program is highly, highly selective and not everyone with the requisite stats even gets invited into it. Its a huge commitment of time and energy. Not saying don’t do it, only saying to think about it. And don’t fret if you don’t get in, because there will be other honors programs after Freshmen year if he/she does well.</p>
<p>Thank you gb. Some of the schools on DS list, I would be hoping/expecting him to be invited to be in the honors college. At a school like Fordham, I don’t think that is as important, since more of the student body is at his academic level overall. He would certainly be more interested in being in a dorm with the less party-oriented crowd.</p>
<p>If you are looking at Rose Hill there are a number of excellent options for kids looking for a less party-crowd.<br>
-Queens Court - my son was there during is freshman year and loved it …it is a wellness dorm (students have to write a letter saying they don’t drink or do drugs etc.) …not everyone follows the wellness pledge but most do. It is a small dorm with a lot of programing and the the kids get close.<br>
-Tierney - I don’t know much about it but it has a Manresa program where the students take seminars together. My S knows a couple of kids who lived there freshman year and liked it.
-Science Learning Community - in Alumni South…obviously only good if there is an interest in the sciences.
Hope this helps a little…good luck…</p>
<p>I’ve had no grad students teach any of my core classes. I’ve heard of one grad student that my friends have had. Many have taken him three times now because he was so good. The students here are almost always very pleased with their professors. </p>
<p>The core curriculum is something that makes Fordham very special to me. It’s two years well spent.</p>
<p>^^^ agree. College is NOT a technical school where you learn plumbing and take nothing else. (or architectural drafting or name a trade). The Jesuit ethos is all about being broad based, learning how to think and tackling problems in many spheres, often tying things together, but above all else, critical thinking and humanitarian approach. The core is about all of that and more. </p>
<p>Some colleges dont have a core or general education requirement and thus students jump into all sorts of electives or double major…but that also allows them more freedom to choose and sometimes choose poorly. Its a difference of perspective and approach. For some, the freedom to choose is paramount. Fordham is not for them. (Though there is considerable latitude in selecting options within the core). </p>
<p>We toured Washington University in St. Louis. A marvelous (but a bit intense/hyper school). People bragging with regularity about being TRIPLE majors. I queried, “How on earth is that even possible?” The answer: absolutely no core requirements and they jump in to majors as freshmen. Hmmmm…heaven for some, hell for others.</p>
<p>Fordham wants students who want Fordham, for being Fordham. (and yes, that includes our problems, warts and quirks). (Actually, most colleges will tell you the same thing…pick the school where you fit in and where you really want to go for the right reasons). Fordham selects a very diverse class each year because they bring diverse attitudes, experiences, opinions and ideas to the table of learning. Which is why I am a strong proponent of Fordham reaching out geographically as well. To me, a cookie cutter school with penguins all marching in order is the antithesis of learning. So even within a structured core, you can and should choose diverse courses and bring your diverse views. </p>
<p>Finally, employers VALUE Fordham students for many things, and I strongly suspect the core requirements are one of those reasons.</p>
<p>In general, my S had a very good expereince with the core. Unfortunately our HS does not have APs, so he had to do it all from scratch. He did have two grad students who were very good and in all honesty, he did have two profs. who were clunkers (but that can happen anywhere). Overall, I would say that he has benefited greatly having such wide range of courses and experiences. The core is an integral part of Fordham, no two ways about it. For my S it was a positive. However, if a student has one or two strong passions that he or she is determined to pursue in great depth from the first day of college, the core may become a roadblock. There are many great colleges out there and everyone has to find the right fit.</p>