<p>I went to Fordham’s open house today and loved the gothic campus and its proximity to Manhattan. I’m stuck between the two because they are very similar. I know BC’s more famous but Fordham is cheaper for me. Help!</p>
<p>Besides the proximity to Manhattan, this should be a no-contest. I cannot think of a category where Fordham trumps Boston College.</p>
<p>Denzel Washington went to Fordham. but unless you're denzel washington, or hope to be denzel washington, BC is the logical choice, granted the money issue is a non factor.</p>
<p>Skater Girl, I'm in the same position. Fordham is a nice school but i just cant imagine denying BC. but the money is kind of an issue for me cause fordham is cheaper and my parents say that i would be in like 100 grand debt if i go to bc..which im sure they could help me some more but i'd still have debt on my shoulders. there'd still be debt at fordham too but not as much. if money wasnt an issue id pick bc without a doubt. any suggestions?</p>
<p>Are you guys serious?
We're not comparing Fordham to Notre Dame or Georgetown here,
we're talking about BC!</p>
<p>It's not THAT much better.</p>
<p>^And yet Fordham itself would disagree with you.</p>
<p>"In determining its path to preeminence, Fordham has identified five schools whose rank it desires to join and five schools it now feels are its peers. The "aspirant" universities include New York University, Columbia University, Georgetown University, the University of Notre Dame and Boston College. The "peer" schools include Villanova University, George Washington University, Santa Clara University, Boston University and Syracuse University."</p>
<p>University</a> identifies peer, aspirant institutions in Strategic Plan - News</p>
<p>The only thing Fordham has in common with those schools is the happenstance that people who apply to those very schools are likely to apply to Fordham as a safety.</p>
<p>G-town, Columbia U, ND, NYU, and BC are five VERY different schools of different qualities and missions. It's... unusual that Fordham would choose those five specific schools to which to aspire :/</p>
<p>^So, what's your point? The Ivy League has eight very different schools of different qualities. And yet, almost every school in this country wants to join it (or bask in its glory, e.g. New Ivy, Public Ivy, Ivy of the South, etc). That doesn't mean they want to be exactly like Dartmouth or Penn.</p>
<p>BC wants to join the top-30's, the 20's something wants to be in the teen, the teen wants to be the "Harvard of the (insert region)." What college below the top-3 wants to stuck where it is? Fordham has simply identified five schools that it has consistently lost top students to (thus pointing out a significant difference between those schools and itself) and it wants to overtake them within the next decade. Because honestly, who wants to be a safety when you can be a reach?</p>
<p>If you got into BC then there is no contest; it has the academics the big city feel, and athletics.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm choosing among Fordham honors, BC, and NYU. One thing you can't deny is that Fordham and NYU seem to be on the rise. NYC is a huge factor: the nightlife, the internships, diversity, etc. </p>
<p>I kind of get the feeling that BC will only go as far as their sports take them. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>The sport myth has been busted. If you look at every single school that had won a championship in money sports (i.e. football and basketball) since the 1980's, none of them, with the exception of USC, Notre Dame and Michigan in football, Duke and UNC (and maybe another) in basketball, has ranked higher than BC. Miami with its six national championships still ranked far behind BC on a number of categories. If sports were the ranking-getter that so many people claimed it was, then shouldn't Miami, Ohio State, LSU (which is third-tier, by the way) and Louisville (also third-tier) be in the top 40 instead of BC. After all, the only “highly watched” national championships we have won over the past 20 years are the two hockey championships, one in 2001 (we were ranked in the 40th then) and one this year. Sports provide you with an audience, mostly sport nuts. But it doesn’t magically make your professors better, your student body any smarter, and your financial aid any more generous. Sport might be the tie-breaker for many students who are deciding between BC and another school, but you see, those students already got in and their stats already qualify them for top schools from across the country. If you have data or statistical proof that BC rises in rank through sports, please post them and shut me up once and for all. I’ve asked this question for over a year, no one has taken my offer. </p>
<p>Now, about BC’s future, here’s an article from the student newspaper a few weeks back about grad schools ranking on US News:</p>
<p>“Four BC graduate programs improved their standings in US News & World Report's latest annual graduate school rankings. The Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), the Lynch School of Education (LSOE), the Carroll School of Management (CSOM), and Boston College Law School all moved up in their respective categories. GSSW had the most dramatic increase, jumping to 14th from 24th a year ago. CSOM's full-time MBA program followed with a five-place improvement to 34th. LSOE moved up four spots to 18th. and BC Law moved two spots to 26th. Nursing schools were not ranked this year, so the Connell School of Nursing (CSON) remained at No. 26.”
Grad</a> schools jump in rank - News</p>
<p>Here are a few things BC is trying to do with its 10-year plan:
- Spend a total of $1.6 billion to improve the school over ten years.
- Hire an additional 100 faculty (40 more will be hired other to fill in the retiring professors, so totaling 140ish).
- Spend $800 million on constructions ($300 of which will go to academic facilities).
<a href="http://www.vhb.com/bostoncollege/imp/pdf/ChronInsertTHIN.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.vhb.com/bostoncollege/imp/pdf/ChronInsertTHIN.pdf</a></p>
<p>Not all the buildings will be built to the exact specification of the plan. Some will be different due to compromise with the neighborhood. But I have no doubt they will build and they will hire. I would like to see NYU and Fordham build in that 2-3000 dollars per square foot real estate market that is New York City. Fordham maybe, NYU, who knows?</p>
<p>Furthermore, the students' SAT score has been increasing at a steady race. From 2001 to now, the SAT scores from the 25th and the 75th percentile have increased 50-70 points EACH.
[pg.28]
<a href="http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/meta-elements/pdf/07-08/07-08_fact_book.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.bc.edu/publications/factbook/meta-elements/pdf/07-08/07-08_fact_book.pdf</a> </p>
<p>If BC some how sinks, it will be because of cataclysmic events like a comet wiping out Boston or someone looting all of our endowment. And it won’t be because of sports.</p>