Getting emails from Fordham - FAKE or REAL?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

Hi so I’ve gotten about three emails now from Fordham University that are encouraging me to apply this fall which contain actual links to the website.
Here is the one that I received today.

(my name), I’ll be so pleased when you apply to Fordham University for 2016 admission – and I encourage you to submit your application this fall.

Fordham’s spirit comes from the nearly 500-year history of the Jesuits. It’s the spirit of full-hearted engagement – with profound ideas, with communities around the world, with justice, with beauty, with the entirety of the human experience. And because we offer a talented student like you two exceptional campus locations, I’m curious which one is better suited to your vibrant spirit:

Our Lincoln Center campus, in the fast-paced heart of Manhattan.

Our Rose Hill campus, on a spectacular green and Gothic landscape in the Bronx.

As you visit campuses and narrow down your college list in the coming months, I hope you will continue exploring our dynamic community. Perhaps one day soon you too will say, “New York is my campus. Fordham is my school.”

I look forward to learning more about you this fall.

Patricia Peek, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Admission
Fordham University

P.S. Visit Fordham University – there’s no better way to experience the energy of our spectacular campuses and get excited to apply for admission. (And be sure to upload your campus visit photos here to share your adventures with the world.)

I received your contact information from a previous contact. If you would prefer not to receive email from Fordham, please let me know.

Fordham University, 441 East Fordham Road, New York, NY 10458-5191

However the email address is fordhamuniversity@fordhamu.org and on the Contact Us part of Fordham’s website I don’t see that address listed there. Most of the endings are .edu instead of .org. Fordham University is actually my dream school and I am just worried because I don’t want to get my hopes up only to realize that these emails aren’t real.

Has anybody ever received an email from this address or can tell me if this is real? Thank you so much.

  • From a very confused and hopeful international student.
2

Dr. Peek is indeed the Director of Admissions for Fordham Rose Hill. Has been there in that position since 2012. Her direct email address is however different than you listed, though perhaps they want responses to go into a different basket instead of flooding her personal email address with applicants responses, leaving it for other university business.

Fordham does reach out to students both domestically and internationally. Doing so however does NOT imply they guarantee admission. Its the start of a conversation.

However, I dont know about the FordhamU.org website. That seems odd. I am suspicious. Fordham almost always uses the Fordham.edu email address for every department. Typically Fordham Admissions is enroll@Fordham.edu.

I would copy and send your alleged email to the enroll@Fordham.edu email and ask if it it is legitimate and why they are using a FordhamU.org email. Maybe its legitimate and used only for admissions, I dont know. But verify before you reply and send off something personal to them. Hackers abound around the world and someone may have gotten her name and used this bogus email address.

Good luck.

3

I did a whois lookup of fordhamu.org. It is registered to Royall and Company. This company is located in Virginia and calls itself “the higher education industry leader in enrollment management.” Basically, they do recruitment outsourcing, and my guess is that Fordham paid them for this work. It makes sense. You need a LOT of work 3-5 months out of the year, you might not want to hire permanent staff for all of it.

4

I don’t think there is any need to investigate or forward your email to Fordham. I’m pretty certain those are real…and just the start of the many, many emails you will get from countless schools. Getting an email is not any guarantee of admissions—and in many cases is not even a guarantee that you are qualified. See this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1731244-what-are-your-stalker-schools-and-have-you-caved-in-to-them-p1.html

Both my kids received many many emails from the address you listed.

If you are interested in the school, apply, but don’t put much stalk in these emails. (And even if they weren’t legitimate, what’s the harm? It’s not asking you to reply, just asking you to apply)

BTW - I went to the fordhamu.org website and it redirected me to fordham.edu – sounds legit to me.

Edit: Just saw WasatchWriter’s post-so that helps to explain it. (Curious why they bothered with a new domain but it’s not harmful)

5

That first sentence suggests a Nigerian source. If Fordham is outsourcing to a firm this unprofessional, that’s sad.

6

If the email is exactly as posted, it does suggest something funky. I wouldnt trust it. I would use Fordham.edu and their own admissions people. Agreed…many colleges send these out and they mean nothing other than interest, fairly random.

7

@gluttonforstress and @sovereigndebt - Am I missing something? What’s funky about the email? What’s wrong with the first sentence (the “(my name)” is the OP’s way of not including his/her name)…And what’s not to trust? The email simply describes the campus and invites the student to apply… There is nothing on that email that says “Please send us your SSN and $1,000 to apply”. It simply encourages them to learn about the school and apply (presumably through the normal channels).

Granted it makes it seem so personal, but lots of colleges do that — “We are looking for your application”, “You are the type of student we are looking for”, “Did you miss our deadline? We will extend it”, and other stuff along those lines. Perhaps misleading but not a scam.

8

It’s just the first sentence. “I’ll be so pleased when you apply to Fordham…” The rest is fine and very professional but there is no way a native english speaking PhD Dean of Admissions would start off like that. They would say something like “We’re delighted to learn of your interest in Fordham and hope you will consider applying” Or “You"re the type of student we are looking for” or something along those lines.

9

And I’m not saying it isn’t a genuine Fordham effort, just that it probably came from a third party outsourced marketer-with a lousy sense of what sounds cheesy.

10

It’s legit, I’ve gotten the exact same emails. All it’s doing is encouraging us to apply and we probably fall in their range of students. You will most likely get tons of these emails from other colleges as well.