Fordham v. Villanova

Our daughter is trying to decide between Fordham and Villanova (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences); will most likely be majoring in the humanities rather than science. The cost of FU will be approximately $28k less per year, trying to determine whether VU value is worth this difference. Any insights appreciated.

For Humanities, I would go with Fordham and save the $. Villanova is strong in nursing, engineering and business, but since your D is none of those, both schools will offer a comparable education.

@sadiect i agree with @wisteria100.

Another vote for Fordham. You are talking about a 4 year difference of $112,000 (minimum), but I’d answer the same way even if the costs were equal.

Would you please elaborate further?

Do you have a child there (at Villanova)? Why Fordham if costs were same?

@sadiect Yes. My S is currently a freshman in CLAS at Villanova. Don’t get me wrong, he and I absolutely love the school and wouldn’t change a thing! Villanova was the best school and fit for him out of all the schools he was accepted to so that’s why he is there. Fordham is a great school too and cheaper. Seems like a no brainer if you like both campuses equally. Save some money. You had mentioned Fordham was cheaper

I don’t have a kid at either school. I live about 20 minutes from Villanova and have had several nephews, nieces, and kids’ friends attend, but no truly first-hand knowledge–so take my reply from that perspective.

Villanova is certainly a fine school. Maybe it’s my proximity to the school that makes me underwhelmed by it. It’s a pretty campus in an attractive but homogenous suburb. Lots of wealthy white kids from Catholic prep schools (which describes most of my family members, so that’s not meant to be insulting, just descriptive). Until recently, Villanova was ranked as a Regional University; it’s now considered national (and probably should have been for some time), but it still has a “local” feel to me. Potential students get very excited about the train access to Philadelphia, but then spend most of their time within 2 miles of campus–not that there’s anything wrong with that IF they want to go to school in Radnor Township, not Philadelphia. And yes, the nicknames Vanillanova and VillaNoFun do have some basis in fact.

Maybe Fordham’s New York location is what gives it more energy? It also appears to be pretty diverse. Academically it is quite good; yes, Villanova is ranked higher, but I’d put them in the same broad category of Catholic colleges. My read was that it was more purely academic and learning for learning’s sake, whereas Villanova seems a little more pre-professional (again, not a bad thing if that’s what you are looking for).

Finally, Fordham is Jesuit while Villanova is Augustinian. Many people agree that Jesuit schools, Fordham among them, place a big emphasis on tolerance, social justice, and ethical behavior. I am Catholic and I mean no disrespect with this comment, but I really don’t know what kind of values the Augustinians espouse.

If the schools cost the same, I’d say, “Pick whichever one felt better.” If Villanova were cheaper, I’d be all for it. But I can’t imagine seriously considering paying $28,000 more a year for a school that is more similar to Fordham than it is different.

Thank you for taking the time to reply; I appreciate the perspective of someone local to the area.

The cost is the major factor. Fordham is a better bet. The schools are quite similar and enjoy significant clout in their area.

As for some of the observations about location, they seem a little nitpicking. It takes about as long to get to Manhattan from the Bronx as it does from Villanova to 30th Street. I’m certain Brandeis kids tell people they go to school in Boston.

Each school has strengths: Nova for engineering, nursing and business is a bit stronger than at Fordham (and why ranked higher in USN&WR) . Fordham in NYC: 3 campuses, lots of internship possibilities. Fordham strong in the arts (Lincoln Center campus), and other general programs about the same as Nova. A fine education can be had at each school.

Read the summaries of each on Wikipedia. Visit both: you may have a preference for one over the other.

Both are excellent schools. Great to have such good choices. IMO, Nova is slightly more difficult to gain admission. Nova offers engineering, which attracts a lot of solid students. Fordham doesn’t. As a prior poster stated, Nova has nursing (Fordham doesn’t). Nova’s business school probably still has an edge.

Fordham, though, is pretty much stronger across the board in the Liberal Arts and in most sciences, and its faculty generally deeper and more notable. Fordham’s Bachelor of Fine Arts, offered in conjunction with Alvin Ailey School of Dance, might be the best undergraduate degree in the field of dance/arts offered by any school.

If your daughter is leaning toward the liberal arts, she should evaluate each program carefully, but my guess is that Fordham’s program in a liberal art or science is likely to be stronger.

US News ranks Villanova 46 and Fordham 61

If you are a strong enough applicant to be offered admission to Villanova, you will get a $20-30,000 tuition discount/merit “scholarship” from Fordham, regardless of whether you apply for financial aid.

This post was from last April – the OP would have had to decide on a college by May.

If an applicant is strong enough to be accepted at Villanova, he/she will likely get a $20,000-30,000 tuition discount/ “merit scholarship” from Fordham.