Fordham vs Villanova?

<p>Yep. There are sadly “issues concerning the security of students” at many schools and sadly one such story is going on right now at UVa. I am praying for a good result there, but its getting unlikely as the hours pass. </p>

<p>Students must learn to stay away from alcohol and NEVER go drinking off campus and wandering around alone. EVER. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. ANYWHERE. </p>

<p>If you go out, go out in a group with friends and RETURN with those same friends.</p>

<p>Stay away from party animals and drunks. </p>

<p>I am not much of a drinker but it is unrealistic to think that student’s won’t ever drink – and some of the drinking does happen in bars close to campus. The goal is to do things in moderation and safely. As @mymaca said, Fordham does a great job of educating students and security maintains excellent relationships in the local area. BUT, at this point we are waaaaay off the topic of the OP.</p>

<p>I am interested in hearing the difference in the Catholic aspect of the school as that is one of the reasons I am looking at this school-one of many but definitely one of the more important ones-</p>

<p>I have talked to a number of people who know the area and the school very well and I am not overly concerned with safety issues-they seem to do a great job there with safety and sadly there are risks everywhere-I think in a city you are more aware of them and perhaps this isn’t a bad thing.</p>

<p>We will be having a tour in a few weeks with a student who is both a tour guide and RA-a personal tour after the main one-I am really looking forward to it as the virtual tours I have taken with my daughter are beautiful!</p>

<p>Catholicity…its really up to the individual student. Spirituality. Fordham is a majority catholic school, but its also one of the most diverse among Jesuit campuses. Not all catholic students practice their faith. Campus ministry is wonderful at Fordham, offering fabulous retreats for weekends away up in Goshen NY…where its a spiritual catholic based but not exclusively catholic experience. Its about self actualization and self reflection and restoring a spiritual aspect to student life away from the craziness of uban life and dorm drama. </p>

<p>There are deeply catholic kids on campus, some of whom attend weekly mass or even daily mass. There are catholics who do neither. There are people (students and faculty) of all faiths at Fordham, and all of them feel welcome and accepted. There is no dogma at Fordham. If you want more spirtuality and catholicity it is there for the asking, both in religious services as well as academic endeavor. </p>

<p>There are programs in Theology that are fabulous. There are honors programs that are fabulous: Curran Center. There are faculty who will embrace your spirituality and faculty who will challenge your faith and make it better. Jesuits are all about living one’s faith outside of church walls: community. </p>

<p>If you are agnostic and indifferent, its okay, because the theology courses required for graduation are really more philosophical and historical. Not dogma. Faith and Reason. All views are respected. </p>

<p>My daughter had friends from all backgrounds and faith experiences. Friends who were deeply religious and friends who were indifferent. </p>

<p>If you seek more spirituality and theology, its there for the taking. If not, you take your core requirements and move along. But Theology is a particularly strong department at Fordham. For everyone, not just Catholics. </p>

<p>Thank you for this reply. I would like a school that you can tell is Catholic. I don’t need to to be over the top or rigid but I want her to feel comfortable practicing and growing in her Catholic faith. </p>

<p>You are most welcome. Its a tough topic to discern and discuss because everyone is different and has different views of what college is about. Some catholic schools are “more catholic” than others, but that mostly means more catholic students admitted, not necessarily more faith followers. You will find all sorts of people with all sorts of personal issues and values in even the most religious schools. In the end its up to each student.</p>

<p>My daughter was sheltered and was in culture shock in New York for a year. Some students were less than “religious” shall we say in their personal choices and values. She learned to ignore them and find spirituality among her friends and notably her boyfriend (who is now her fiance.) She learned not to judge as well. </p>

<p>They went to weekly mass and enjoyed it immensely because the Jesuits give such thought provoking sermons. Campus ministry was fabulous. She wasnt a holy roller or bible thumper or self righteous person. Many of her friends were of different faiths, and some were openly agnostic. But they all learned to be respectful of views. Her classes were very thought provoking and she wrote many papers often that were not necessarily consistent with professors views, but thankfully (with one exception and he is gone) they were all fabulous and NEVER downgraded her papers on the basis of content. She was judged and graded on the basis of her argument and scholarly research. </p>

<p>I can recommend the Curran Center strongly. One of my daughter’s friends in Curran went to Harvard Divinity School for grad school and he was jewish. A very nice person. </p>

<p>Jesuits are all about Faith and Reason, challenging faith precepts in an honest scholarly manner and then trying to employ ones faith in community, not through proselytizing but through love and giving back to community. </p>

<p>Some jesuit colleges are more religious than others and Fordham is near the top in “available” religious experience and overall environment. </p>

<p>If one desires a distinctly more religious environment then Franciscan College in Ohio is there, or perhaps a smaller school run by an order of nuns and priests where the student body is predominantly Catholic. Fordham is about 60% Roman Catholic. </p>

<p>Some Fordham faculty are rather well known in theology circles around the country and the Vatican and more than one has been challenged in the previous pontificate. But I can attest that these professors are outstanding scholars, inspiring teachers and open minded. She is better off for the experience. The same, some of her more rigid friends who came from rigid catholic high schools and families learned to open their minds and perspectives on the meaning of faith and were greatly helped by the Jesuit ethos.<br>
University Church is a beautiful place and one of the most precious examples of gothic architecture in the country, including both an altar and stained glass windows as gifts (Dagger John, the archbishop of New York obtained them and his stories are infamous and sometimes humorous). The new pipe organ is fabulous. </p>

<p>Choirs are available to join at Fordham as well and student involvement by reading at Mass is also encouraged. But nobody is forced to attend any services. </p>

<p>@sovereigndebt I am very grateful you took the time to give me this detail. I wouldn’t want her in a rigid and almost exclusively Catholic college. We have done our best to raise our children in the faith that means so much to us-as you say it is up to each student (and each of our children) to take what they have learned into the bigger world of college and beyond and find their own way spiritually. </p>

<p>The environment you have described would be perfect for what I am looking for and what I think would be a very good fit for her. We shall see-but I am now even more excited about this place as a possibility for her. </p>

<p>It sounds like an amazing place!</p>

<p>Pepper03: I agree that Fordham seems to me to have about the right blend of Catholicism and diversity. Villanova seemed to me to also have a good blend of spirituality and Catholicism but in overall terms, seems less diverse. I have also visited a few other Catholic universities and the only one that seemed to me to be rigidly Catholic was Notre Dame.</p>

<p>@Pepper03‌ I would like to reiterate other’s comments that Fordham has religion available for those who are interested but does not push it on people. Fordham has a great campus ministry group which people can get involved with in many different ways. There are weekly groups that meet, great off-campus retreats, and many other ways to grow in and experience one’s faith. You can check out the link here for more information: <a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/mission/mission_and_ministry/campus_ministry/index.asp”>http://www.fordham.edu/mission/mission_and_ministry/campus_ministry/index.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Thanks I will and I really appreciate your help. </p>

<p>My son stayed home tonight while his roommate went to church as he had to study. ffddFollow your heart My son was 100% Villanova based on higher ranking. Business school has a great rep. After visiting accepted student day with outstanding tour guides he knew the homogenous environment in a suburban setting felt safe but was not his best fit. I loved V. The kids and admissions staff were very passionate. I saw my son flaming out early and ThanK Goodness he did too and picked Fordham with cool new business school; Amazing guest lectures, off site class opportunities and a weekly NYC opportunity that includes restaurants, cultural activity and fun college student discount activity. ’ Minor in NY" is what he heard at Freshman orientation and that was the difference. Traditonal college life PLUS city life. The kids that seem to be making the most of Fordham are making NYC apart of campus life. The combination of traditional college campus and NY life is a fabulous opportunity for those willing to get out of their comfort zone. The “things to do” and connection to curriculum is exciting. All our kids should be happy to see us but super connected to friends!</p>

<p>“Minor in New York”, I like that. My daughter has done exactly that. Her resume is filled with things she has done outside of Fordham. They say “New York is your campus” and it’s really true.</p>

<p>That is how my son feels about Boston. He also knew he had to push himself outside his comfort zone and chose the one school in the city-the one thing he knew he didn’t want when he started looking.</p>

<p>She isn’t even looking at Villanova maybe I should start a new thread.</p>

<p>@LeftyLou I remember you from our parents thread-I recall your daughter struggling with the transition I am happy to read she is doing well!</p>

<p>Thank you Pepper! She’s had some roommate issues but finally, in her senior year, she is with a great group of girls. Wish she had found these girls sooner, but at least she is finally having a good living experience. She is making the most of every minute. (Translate that to- so busy she is only getting about 5 hours of sleep each night…)</p>

<p>Nymaca, You said that you “saw my son flaming out early” at Villanova. What does that mean? Thanks </p>

<p>Got a little too passionate there. Flaming out meaning he would have been bored in a smaller suburban setting. He is best active and busy or grades could slip. There just isn’t much to do. </p>

<p>Got it. Thanks </p>

<p>Of course parents know their kid the best. I understand. But I am a bit perplexed on the above thread. I think students are busy at both Fordham and Villanova. I think there is plenty to do at both campuses, though Villanova is a distinctly suburban and less diverse campus. If a student is prone to distractions, it depends on what one means by bored or burned out or busy. </p>

<p>Some kids do better in rural quiet bucolic settings. Some do better in hyper competitive urban settings. Everyone is different.</p>

<p>In many ways I dont like comparisons, though its part of the process…we all went through it. For us, we just didnt consider Boston for undergraduate school…another four hours north of New York. We didnt consider Philly…just not interested enough seriously to make the application. Plus we were scrambling after the dreaded wait list letter came in from number one choice on Christmas Eve…and we had to make tough but clever decisions before January 1. Using the common app and applying to 8 schools and then finding high school counselors quickly to make recommendations over the holidays. Ugh. For us, Fordham was approximately number 3 on the list. But after the visit in April for accepted students weekend (before the May 1 drop dead date), it became number one and we never looked back. In other words, New York was a magical place for her and Fordham offered everything she wanted in a campus experience coupled with very strong academics. </p>

<p>We were scared to death. And dropping her off move in day was one of hardest things we ever did. But she was brave. And within days made some really good friends, who remain friends…years later. We got facebook postings and emails…and she settled in. Easy? No. Smooth? No. Challenging? Yes. Transforming? Absolutely. All good. </p>

<p>The bottom line is find a school that fits, that challenges and helps you grow. If its Fordham, that is wonderful. If its not, go with blessings and best of luck. </p>

<p>Hi Ramray, I saw on another post that your daughter chose Fordham over Villanova and there were some things that she did not like about Villanova. Can you provide more detail on the latter? Thanks,</p>

<p>Well, she had her views, so what I state here are the views of one person; she just didn’t care for the campus. She found it sort of boring and too uniform. She found the student body too preppy and lacked diversity. They had a reception for the accepted students and it was quite the show, with a well scripted Q & A that was supposed to appear impromptu as students were gushing over how great it is to attend Nova. My D found that phony and pretentious while my wife loved it. To my D, most kids were a little too into frats, sports and beer. She also found many kids to be a bit arrogant about Nova, many saying how much better Nova was to most other Catholic schools like Fordham, Holy Cross etc. In contrast, she found the students she spoke to at Fordham and BU (she didn’t apply) to be mature, sophisticated and focused on their goals. My D found Fordham to be much more cosmopolitan, chic and international yet she loved the gothic beauty of Rose Hill. She called it “Cambridge in the Bronx”. </p>

<p>In the end for her it was about results: she looked at the list of alums (found on Wiki) from Fordham and compared them to Villanova as well as other schools she applied to and concluded that more accomplished grads were from the school she chose. It would have cost us less had she gone to Nova as they offered much more than Fordham. For her it was the right choice.</p>

<p>Nova is a fine school with many strengths and I know many who are very proud they went there. Your son will do fine attending either.</p>