Fordham vs. Villanova

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Well, BC and Notre Dame waitlisted me, and I was rejected by Georgetown, but I am still relatively happy with my choices. I have narrowed it down to Villanova and Fordham, but am having a tough time deciding because they are so similar. Right now, I'm leaning towards Villanova.</p>

<p>What I have been considering so far:</p>

<p>-I think Villanova is considered to be slightly more academically prestigious than Fordham (althugh, that may be because of Villanova's business and engineering schools). I am majoring in political science, and I think their programs are comparable.
-Athletics are a bigger part of the college experience at Villanova. While I don't play sports, I enjoy watching them, but the tradeoff it seems is that Villanova is more of a jock school.
-I'm interested in being a member of the band in college, and I think it would be more fun to be a member of the band in Villanova, which is the more athletically competitive school.
-I definitely prefer Fordham's campus.
-I definitely prefer Villanova's location.
-Villanova's core curriculum seems a lot more daunting and less appealing to me than Fordham's which is more lax.
-I like the idea of Villanova's learning communities for freshmen.
-Fordham initially gave me less aid than Villanova, but I asked them to consider giving me more, and they ended up giving me another $5000. While cost isn't a major issue, I thought that was really nice of them. As of now, both schools are offering me about the same amount of aid (a little over 17k) and will cost about the same. Fordham's aid is almost all merit (they chose me as a Dean's scholar being in the top 6% of their applicant pool) whereas Villanova's is mostly need-based. Villanova said its aid was non-negotiable.
-Fordham has expressed more interest in me.</p>

<p>If anyone can offer any other opinions, comparisons, or thoughts, I'd greatly appreciate them.
Thanks!</p>

2

<p>i really beleive that fordham is a school rising quickly to become a top catholic university. although located in the bronz, your still a 10 minute drive away from manhattan-you cant really say that about nova. i have freinds that go to nova and that go to fordham and each of them love thier own schools. if i were making the pick-i would go fordham because of nyc and the opportunities that would arise for me there. good luck</p>

3

<p>Fordham is much strong academically and you are right the students seem pretty happy and have time for other interests. Plus you are a 20 minute subway ride to Manhattan!!!! Imagine the internship/job/connection opportunities.</p>

4

<p>Is Fordham really much stronger academically?</p>

5

<p>Fordham is a school on the rise. Plus at Fordham, you can get amazing internships because of NYC. I know a Fordham student who interned at the U.N last year and she really likes the school!</p>

6

<p>Yes Fordham is and I will tell you why. Faculty members take jobs at lesser ranked universities to stay in New York, because they want to live in NYC. (Like L.A. and Chicago) so they will stay at a place like Fordham instead of going to a place like Michigan for example. So you get some great faculty that would have jobs elsewhere if they were willing to move.</p>