Fordham vs NYU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
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<p>I totally disagree with this comment from Monoclide:
And there is no hate towards Fordham. I feel that it sets kids up to have a job in the real world. I don’t agree with that idea - college is to learn. Not to set yourself up for a job.</p>

<p>Fordham’s rich liberal arts curriculum, which is very proscribed and requires students to take courses outside of their area of interests, is the meat of a liberal arts education. My daughter’s friend who is at NYU is taking more courses as a freshman in her area of interest, and my experience is that many if not most kids don’t end up in a career working in the area that they originally studied in college. Fordham’s very rich required curriculum provides a great liberal arts foundation, no matter what your ultimate career is. That was actually one of the things I was most concerned with when we looked at colleges for my daughter and one that ultimately I thought was the biggest advantage. In fact, she got accepted at Emerson and the down side to that (besides Boston v. NYC) was that it was heavy in concentration in what her planned major was now. Speaking from experience and the wisdom of my 53 years, having a major concentration in what an 18 year old is interested in at the moment is not, in my opinion, as valuable as a rich liberal arts education that forces a student to take courses outside of their current area of interest.</p>

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<p>Yeah I was a little confused by that post too. Fordham has a hefty liberal arts core requirment, even for the kids at the business school. This is a big turn off for a lot of people, but I think it is extremely advantageous.
My hardest class this semester was Ancient Greek Philosophy - something I never would have taken had I been able to fill up my schedule with classes only geared towards my career intentions. In the end, it was this class that I feel developed my ability to think critically and write critically the most - skills that are beneficial for ANY career.</p>

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<p>Whether anyone finds a strong liberal arts presence beneficial is completely irrelevant. As I stated, college is to learn. It is not to take required classes that the school feels you will use in a career - it is take classes about a subject/major you are interested in. Increase your knowledge in your major!</p>

<p>I’d gladly reconsider my stance on college if you could enlighten me on jobs that require specific undergraduate majors? To the extent of my knowledge, the only that matters is your GPA - whether you majored in Financial Math or English is not important for a job.</p>

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<p>Monoclide, I am very confused by your posts. College is to learn, that is why I think a broad liberal arts curriculum is a benefit. Fordham requires students to take a very varied curriculum, which is geared towards learning many subjects, not just those that are beneficial for your career. My daughter’s area of interest is communications, hopefully in the television field. She has been required to take courses in philosophy, theology, math, history, english, etc., most of which she would not use in her planned career. Emerson’s curriculum was more geared for people to get training in their desired careers, again, how does an 18 year old really know what they will ultimately work at when they start college? I see Forham’s curriculum as geared to encourage learning, and learning many different subjects. I don’t see how the curriculum she is required to take is designed to be those she will use in her career. </p>

<p>And I don’t agree that the only thing that matters is your GPA unless you are planning on going to post-graduate work or to a professional school like law, medical, etc. Most employers don’t look at your GPA when hiring you right out of college, they will look at your experiences, so I believe internships are critical. Both Fordham and NYU offer great internship opportunities, the difference is that when we visited NYU they basically said you have to find your own internship opportunities whereas Fordham seemed to offer much more help and support in that area.</p>

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<p>One of Fordham’s greatest assets is its connections in the city for awesome internships, many of them paid. </p>

<p>There are distinct differences between NYU and Fordham, and that is something to celebrate in my opinion. For some students, NYU is their best option/fit, whether its lifestyle or its urban setting or size of the school or programs. For others, the Jesuit education and strong core curriculum at Fordham will be the better choice for them, or perhaps they desire a classic college campus like Rose Hill, or Division 1A sports. </p>

<p>Fordham has many NYU trained professors on its tenured faculty. My D has had more than one of them and found them to be awesome professors who challenged her to the max. </p>

<p>The dilemma (or question) posed by the OP is a legitimate one and actually fairly common, both for the schools mentioned as well as what most kids are facing this time of year: picking between offers of admission. </p>

<p>I would not go so far as to say that NYU kids are categorically different from Fordham kids and its an either/or situation. Some students would do as well at one school as the other, while some may be better off somewhere else. </p>

<p>Its important to visit both schools and find out which one is best for you. </p>

<p>I just get irritated at people who apply to schools with no intention of attending, even if admitted. Its an unfortunate fact of life in today’s world of college admissions however. Its perfectly fair to submit applications to several schools and compare/contrast and see which is most affordable etc. What I am talking about is the problem of dumping on so called “safeties” with zero intention of even considering attending those schools. Fordham is NOT a “safety” school. </p>

<p>You will find kids at Fordham who have turned down offers at higher ranking schools, for a variety of reasons. (I don’t put much credence in the USNWR rankings anyway.) </p>

<p>My hopes are that every student who applies to Fordham has done so in the spirit of genuine interest, and if accepted will give Fordham strong consideration and take the time to look much further than their offer of admission letter. If it is not for them and they have a better fit or better offer, so be it. But if it is the best fit or best offer, then I hope they come to Fordham to experience all that it has to offer.</p>