I have heard some mixed reviews about it.A tour guide at another college told me she is from Brooklyn and applied and got into Fordham but didn’t go because it was unsafe and coming from someone already from the city I don’t know what to think.But I have also read stuff online how it is safe and I’m not sure what to think.I guess my question is would a suburban girl feel comfortable walking down the street alone any time of the day or would I be clutching pepper spray?Is Fordham suburban or is it in the middle of the city atmosphere?What is your personal experience with the campus?
Fordham is in one of the nicer sections of the Bronx. Very pretty, traditional campus feel. Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens and Arthur ave (Little Italy type area) are nearby, which all keep the neighborhood vibrant with many visitors. Campus is very safe. Walking in the neighborhood during the day is safe. At night, like in many other cities, you will want to walk in a group.
Fordham was not on my original list of schools as my parents were concerned about the Bronx location. But we got a mailing from Fordham and decided to visit the school on a whim – and it was the best whim I ever had!
Fordham’s campus itself is gorgeous and very well kept – it is also gated and one needs an ID to enter campus so it is very safe. I always felt that the surrounding area was also pretty safe – but a degree of common sense/street smarts is necessary. For example it is a bad idea to be off-campus alone and drunk at 2AM waving an iPhone and cash around. But the location has many pluses. Most Fordham students take advantage of the area such as the restaurants and bars on Arthur Avenue, running through the Botanical Garden, opportunities for community service work etc. And Manhattan is a short subway/van/train trip away. I found Fordham Rose Hill to be a great place to go to school. I’d suggest you visit and see for yourself what you think of the school and the surrounding area.
“Fordham’s campus itself is gorgeous and very well kept – it is also gated and one needs an ID to enter campus so it is very safe.”
This is what we loved about the campus. A beautiful oasis in the city with on site access to public transportation and completely gated. Very safe!
If you never had to go off campus, you’d never know the Bronx is out there.
I don’t recommend that. In fact, I highly encourage it.
As someone who grew up on LI, it made me chuckle that the guide from Brooklyn was uneasy about the Bronx.
My daughter almost went there. We did not feel unsafe, but we are from a city with its own crime problems so its a matter of perspective. If you are from a small town or rural area (and many suburbs in South or West) it may feel unsafe mostly because it will be very foreign to you. The school does pay a lot of attention to safety. For example, it would not be a good idea to come back on the subway late at night and try to walk the mile or so to the campus gate. So Fordham has shuttles that continuously run from the subway stop to campus at night. A shuttle does not leave the subway stop until another arrives, so you are never alone there.
“Fordham’s campus itself is gorgeous and very well kept – it is also gated…”
If these are things which communicate ‘safe to live and grow here,’ do not go there.
The city is not gated. The city is vibrant and busy and busy and diverse and noisy and open and dusty and busy and…No.
@Waiting2exhale I think we will have to agree to disagree on this point. As a former student I had no issues with the gated campus. In fact I liked that I felt secure and comfortable walking home from the library or a friend’s dorm at any hour or the night or early morning. I liked that the campus was filled with students and professors. It created a traditional campus while being right in the Bronx.
Does that mean that I lived my 4 years locked in the safety Fordham’s gated campus? ABSOLUTELY NOT. That would be akin to saying that if you lock the door to your house that you don’t experience the outside. As an undergrad at Fordham I spent time in the Bronx – on Arthur Avenue, shopping, visiting local attractions such as the zoo and Botanical garden, and (most importantly IMO) doing community service with LIFT, an off campus organization that helps people in the Bronx http://www.liftcommunities.org/people/city/new-york/ Many Fordham students are actively involved in the community. I also spent time in Manhattan both socially on weekends and did an internship in my field of study. For me Fordham was the perfect blend of having a safe traditional campus and interaction with a vibrant city.
I wanted to have that traditional campus experience as an undergraduate. I felt that I had my whole adult/working life ahead of me to live in the heart of the (as you say) “noisy and open city.” In fact, I took NYU off my list after vising as it didn’t have a traditional campus – that was my personal choice – I have friends who went to NYU and loved it.
For me Fordham was the perfect blend of campus and city life. I hope you can respect that.
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Yes, @spirit77, you perfectly connected with and shined light upon the nuances of what I found displeasing and a little fantastical about the “gated community” idea.
The traditional campus inside of the big city…check.
I am from the safest suburb in my state so I don’t know if it will be too big of a change for me. My dad is overly cautious so I don’t know if he would go for it. In April we did a college road trip and we were going to see Fordham and we were driving and decided not to because I think we were passing through the Bronx, I can’t quite remember but decided not to see it, due to wherever we were driving.
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^^^If you or your parents are uncomfortable with the idea of Fordham being in the Bronx and don’t want to take the time to visit and see the campus and surrounding area for yourselves, that is your choice. No school is for everyone. There are tons of great colleges and universities out there and I hope you find choices that work for you and your parents.
No one said gated community or implied such, except you, @waitingtoexhale . “The campus is also gated” was mentioned. Fact. Point being eloquently explained by @spirit77 - the comfort and safety of being on campus with the full opportunities and culture of NY steps away.
OP, take some time to try out his tool from the Dept. of Education…
http://ope.ed.gov/campussafety/#/
You can compare the crime data of various schools. I think you will find that Fordham is relatively safe.
You’ll be fine on the Metro North but it cost more. In addition Metro North is a quicker ride to internships. Subway is slower and not advisable at night. This old dad from rural area misses Fordham.
@suzyq7: I’ve heard enough of these statements in meetings with reps, and with parents in the room clamoring for what they understand will keep their child from the wolves at the door to glean what is being implied.
That is what I inferred from your ‘gate,’ suzyq7, whiffs and winds of the same from all the other times I’ve heard it.
Is that really not what you meant? Hmm.
@Waiting2exhale I’m not sure what you are trying to imply. Have you seen Fordham firsthand? Do you know that there are classroom buildings and school operated dorms outside the gates of campus? Have you seen students in the community?
Yes, parents want their kids to be safe… But most parents who send kids to Fordham as well as the school itself look for students to be involved in the community and the city.
Again, if you don’t like the idea of a gated campus that is your prerogative. But by the same logic you probably should not lock your door at night, live in a doorman building in NYC etc. (And FYI there are also security guards at entrance points into Columbia as well.) And from what I can see your kids are at UVa which is very traditional campus in an entirely different environment from the Bronx.
Anyway, we veer off of the OP’s question.
@spirit77: Everything you said about the campus and the city in your first post I agree with.
I LOVE the campus at Fordham’s Bronx campus. Was just there last application season. I can totally navigate the area around the campus, utilizing the bus and subway lines, shopping or perusing, or walking the area. The area is busy and there are throngs of people, as is the nature of city life.
I didn’t want to post here that if one needs the gated part of Fordham, absolutely needs it, then you will need the doorman building as well. So many people do, for themselves and their kids.
I’ve been on Columbia’s campus about 99 times, and don’t even notice the security. Haven’t been stopped once. Now, as to what the Columbia reps tell parents about their security and the proximity to police stations and protections within the rising police precinct culture which will keep their kids safe is another matter altogether.
My kids are at MIT (very urban and gritty and gritty and gritty area) and Stanford (exactly the opposite, and more remote-ish from an urban area than would be my express desire, but I am not the student).
@spirit77: Don’t know where things went awry, but I say, regarding NYC: cook the day, eat the night. Of course, one should go to class as well.
Apologies if I misread your post #14 – I read it as sarcastic but apparently that was not your intention.
And I am at Columbia for grad school (living in a non-doorman apartment off campus if that means anything). Security is significantly less obtrusive as compared to Fordham but it is there. And similar to Fordham, campus security is present in the area surrounding campus as well as the campus itself.
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^^^^above post should have been tagged @Waiting2exhale
I got that, spirit. No problem at all. (I have had questions about grad housing at Columbia;maybe I’ll find you later.)
Not trying to be sarcastic or mean or even biting, though maybe I was biting in my response to @suzyQ7 .
So, following your lead, suzyQ7, I did not intend to open the door to a fight, or to unfairly suggest your intention was to have the student OP sequester themselves away from all NYC has to offer.
Truly, as @spirit77 expressed, I think the best way to come closer to understanding the unique geography of Fordham is to think of it as offering a traditional campus opportunity even while ensconced within a quintessentially East Coast metropolitan environ. Something for everyone.