<p>I am deciding between Fordham University and Hofstra Honors College for mechanical engineering. I plan to master in aerospace engineering (hopefully at Penn State or RPI) after obtaining my bachelor's degree, so Hofstra seems more attractive since they have a subsonic wind tunnel. Attending Hofstra will be free while I have to pay around 10,000 for Fordham. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>You should check out the the Fordham program. My understanding is that its a 3/5 program which can have some drawbacks, though also some advantages. Hofstra is more the typical college engineering program.</p>
<p>Hi @kc2496 - If you’re wondering what Hofstra’s engineering program can offer you, we can have an engineering student get in touch with you. They can give you the full scoop on our engineering programs. Not only do we have a subsonic wind tunnel, we also have a state-of-the-art 3D printer! The Honors College offers a host of opportunities to really enrich your mind, we can also have an honors student reach out to you as well. We’re so excited you’re considering Hofstra we want to make sure you have as much info as possible. </p>
<p>I suggest comparing the freshman retention rate at both schools.</p>
<p>Well, Hofstra does have a school of engineering and Fordham does not, so that is a plus for Hofstra.</p>
<p>Hofstra is free for you, Fordham is 10K. That is a very big plus for Hofstra.</p>
<p>Fordham does have the 3/2 program with Columbia Engineering, which is a top 15 school of engineering (14th in mechanical engineering -5th in research); you really can’t compare Hofstra engineering (ranked 397th) as it is in a whole other league, so while it is a demanding and difficult program, if you get through it it will be a more valuable engineering degree and you will get TWO BS degrees from 2 schools (one an Ivy League engineering school). That is a plus for Fordham. You could also look into the engineering physics degree at Fordham which has a growing reputation in the filed.</p>
<p>Comparing the two schools in general, for 2014 in USN&WR Hofstra is ranked 135th while Fordham is 57th. A plus for Fordham if you accept rankings. Rankings aside, you will get a good education at either school.</p>
<p>Whatever you decide, where ever you wind up, in the end it is you who makes an education work. Good luck!</p>
<p>3-2 Fordham program with Columbia does sound excellent on paper but it will require a huge amount of effort. Hofstra does seem like the ideal choice since its practically free and ultimately guaranteed an engineering degree. I just don’t have good feeling about Hofstra, can anyone reassure me with an unbiased opinion that it’ll work out in the end.</p>
<p>It may be wiser to save your money and then get the best grades you can at Hofstra, so you can start grad school as debt free as possible. The 3/2 program is great, but only about 60-70% of the kids in the program complete it.</p>
<p>Hi @kc2496 - I know you asked for an unbiased opinion but I am curious about why you don’t have a good feeling about Hofstra? </p>
<p>I am going to be completely honest with you, I got into Fordham (my top choice), BU, Northeastern, UMiami, Marist, Binghamton, Ithaca Honors, and Penn State, and I still chose Hofstra. I got into the honors program and after shadowing a student who told me he really wanted to go to Fordham as well, but chose Hofstra from money reasons, I felt much better about my decision. Granted, I am going for Finance, but I am 95% sure I am going to pursue an MBA from (hopefully) a top business school. Had I gone to Fordham, I would have left with 80K in debt, whereas Hofstra, I will be leaving with zero debt and my parents will have leftover money to contribute to my grad school fund assuming I cannot get an employer to contribute. Once you look past all the negative opinions people have, Hofstra has great connections and from what I understand, the workload is much less demanding than Fordham, meaning that the higher GPA and honors designation will give us a much bigger edge on grad programs and at the end of the day, once you get your graduate degree, your undergrad is essentially irrelevant. After weighing my options and opportunity costs, I really believe that Hofstra was my best (and most affordable) option. Of course you have to make the decision that is best for you, but put yourself in a long-term mind frame and compare what you can have with what you are saving. Hofstra is no slouch and if you live on LI like me, its inevitable but it is heavily disregarded because everyone wants to get the “college experience.” Good luck and DM me if you have any further questions!</p>
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