Holy Cross vs Stonehill vs Scranton vs Fordham

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello Everyone, </p>

<p>I have narrowed it down to these four schools. This is probably the most important (to me) post I have made on CC as I must ultimately know where I am going to spend the next four year in less than a week for many reason (I know it is due May 1st). I have greatly thought about where I want to go and feel that I will probably attend Stonehill or Holy Cross next year but am still debating on many issues. Thank you sooo much for your time, I truly appreciate. Also, I know that you can only give me insight and that I must make the ultimate decision so I am not pressuring you or anyone to tell me where to attend. Thanks for your feedback</p>

<p>Stonehill:
absolutely love the campus and people, seems like a very nice environment to attend school
great campus activities and many things to do
nice location - although it might get boring
accredited Business program (i am thinking about doing business in college)
free laundry
The main con about this school, it that it is not well recognized. Everyone, literally, everyone i asked has never heard of it or has only heard about it once and asked "where is that school?"</p>

<p>Holy Cross:
Best ranked of all the schools i applied to
My brother has graduated from this school, had a great experience loved it
Lovely people and lovely campus - again homely like Stonehill with many things to do
Probably the most rigorous and competitive but well regarded school
Competitive Accounting/Economics Program (if i choose this or i may do math) - not sure is this is really a pro or con since it is pretty well regarded but hard to get in to
Excellent options of activities
not so sure if I can handle the work load since it a tough school but I am a pretty good student, But i have heard Holy Cross deflates grades, not sure if this is a huge issue
Main con: MONEY!!! see below...
This might be a first if money wasn't an issue</p>

<p>Scranton:
Pretty nice school, nice people
Good Business Program
EXCELLENT DORMS
I was accepted into the Honors program
Decent campus, but not so happy that it seems to be part of the city of Scranton, I would rather have a college campus with a campus set apart from the surrounding area
Not so sure about the class structure and about some of the requirements about the core curriculum -- like having to take 3 - 4 units of Physical Education
Does not seem to really value its Catholic/Jesuit Identity when I visited like all of the other schools did, but i could be wrong (Did not advertise this well in the tour)
Felt like this was a very nice school, but did not feel like a #1 to me, but maybe...</p>

<p>Fordham:
Well regarded Business Program
Not so sure about the campus but.....again Great school!
Great connections to wall street and the city
Free laundry
Living conditions (dorms, food) do not seem to have such a high caliber like the other colleges, but i could be wrong...
Did not feel like a #1 homey type of environment for em, but still a great school</p>

<p>Here this financial situation for the schools:</p>

<p>Please note that i have about $7,000 from outside scholarships this year. This will most likely go down to about $2,000 for the next three years since most of them are one year scholarships only. I did not take this into account with each of the college scholarships below...</p>

<p>Holy Cross:
Did not do so well
Received only loans and about $2,000 in work study so not including the loans and outside scholarships above $52,000
The reason why I am not including loans is because I will have to pay them off one day eventually....</p>

<p>Stonehill
Did pretty well
Not including loans and the outside scholarships I listed above,it will probably cost about $32,000 a year (received $16,000 scholarship) </p>

<p>Scranton
Did pretty well again
Not including loans and the outside scholarships I listed above, it will probably cost between
$30,000 and $31,000 to attend this school (received $19,400 in grants and scholarships)</p>

<p>Fordham
Did ehhh okay i guess
Not including loans and outside scholarships I listed above, it will probably cost about $43,000 a year to attend here (received about $14,000 in grants and scholarships)</p>

<p>So thats that. My family is very supportive of the choice I make. They say I should try to block out money but I know it is an issue and so do they. They tell me that if I were to choose the most expensive, Holy Cross, they would of course help a little bit and I would obviously walk out owing a lot of money but they feel with my perspective major that I would be able to get a good job to pay it off. But I'm not sure, I got pretty good deals at Stonehill and Scranton.</p>

<p>So please give me your opinions and feedback. I appreciate all of your opinions and the time you have put into reading this post. Thanks and I will try to return the favor to you and other by giving feedback if you are in a situation like mine. Thanks CCers!</p>

2

<p>By the way, even though I am interested in Business, I am undecided. Thanks!</p>

3

<p>If money werent an issue I’d pick Holy Cross or Fordham. But the difference in prestige between all these schools is neglible, so I would go to your most affordable option (Stonehill - since you like it).</p>

<p>But keep in mind, StoneHill is still going to be $128k which is still a ton of debt – I would try to go to my state school and save the money for grad school.</p>

4

<p>thanks timetodecide12, I do have other money in savings which I did not account for, my parents will be able to contribute to some of my tuition to, but only what they can. Sorry I did not take all of these things into account. I did receive an offer of admission from Geneseo which would cost we $20,000 a year, which is a good deal. However, Geneseo is very far from me, but I haven’t crossed it out yet…thanks again</p>

5

<p>also I have other money aside in outside scholarships which will be probably about $7,000 for this year and probably $2,000 for the other years since many of them are one year only.</p>

<p>I am pretty sure that I have removed Fordham from the picture at this point…</p>

6

<p>Holy Cross and Fordham are much more highly regarded than Stonehill and especially Scranton. But money is an issue and if you are a serious student and have a great work ethic, you can succeeed from all four of these colleges.</p>

7

<p>thanks for the input required_details. Yes, its a battle of saving money or prestige. But it is encouraging to know that it should work out in the end regardless of my choice (in terms of being successful).</p>

8

<p>It’s down to Holy Cross and Stonehill</p>

<p>Let’s battle it out!</p>

9

<p>If money is no object, Holy Cross is definitely the better academic school and far prettier campus. Stonehill is nice modern suburban campus but lacks the historic character of Holy Cross. HC was founded in 1843 and is the oldest Catholic college in all of New England. Stonehill was founded over a hundred years later in 1948 and lacks the prestige of HC.</p>

10

<p>You have a nice spread of schools here. in USN&WR rankings:
FWIW HC is an excellent Liberal arts college and is ranked 29th in Liberal Arts (BA/BS only) Stone Hill is ranked #8-North in the Regional group (regional schools with some graduate). Fordham (founded 1841) is the only school here that is in the National Research University class (major reseach with many PhDs offered) in the same large group of huge state, top private and Ivy league schools with a ranking of #53.</p>

<p>They are all good choices; Best of luck… but I would lean towards Holy Cross</p>

11

<p>HC also has one of the best alumni networks for job placement.</p>

12

<p>Curious to know where you ended up… My son also is applying to Fordham, Holy Cross and Siena… and MONEY is an issue since the bulk will be his responsibility… 1970 SAT score (1260) on math and reading… not hundred percent sure but looking in PA which would me 6 years of college… He wants the catholic feel on campus… Please advise… and hope you are doing great in the college you chose.</p>