<p>I was recently accepted about a month ago. I haven't made up my mind on exactly where I want to go yet. But I'm just curious...I know there is a 5% African American make up at Fordham. Do they make friends? Do all the black people hang out together? Is there a good mix?</p>
<p>The diversity, or lack thereof, at Fordham has been something our family has discussed. We have found that, frankly, it is similar at many private institutions except for those with huge endowments where they are making a concerted effort to have things like fly-in visitation programs, etc. for URMs. Notre Dame and Dartmouth both have summer programs for first generation students and URMs that are very competitive to get in, but they serve as excellent feeders for those schools for economic and ethnic diversity.
As for Fordham, there certainly are minorities on campus. I don’t know the statistics, but a solid number seem to be athletes and commuters from what we can gather by word of mouth (does anyone know if we are reading this right?). That being said, none we talked to feel marginalized at Fordham. There is an active multi-cultural organization and yes, the students seem to support one another without limiting their interactions to only one another.
The other thing to consider is that you are going to an incredibly diverse location in the Bronx and NYC. I would think (and I would be interested in hearing from other students about this) that it takes some level of open-mindedness to choose Fordham.
Fordham provides consideration for the full tuition scholarship to National Achievement (African Americans) and National Hispanic Scholars as well as the general National Merit semi-finalist. This to us in another indicator that Fordham is doing what it can with what it has to increase its diversity for the benefit of all.
A white student we know did not care for Fordham because she felt it too wealthy and preppy for her taste, but pointed out that in retrospect she could have engaged in cultural groups and events (they are not just for URMs) but at 18 did not do so since her ‘friends’ did not.
So will you fit in? There is a good chance there will be many others wondering the same thing (for a variety of reasons) and you all will find each other AND find friends within the greater community. Go visit on accepted students day. Talk to students. Talk to faculty. See if it feels welcoming to you. I think that will be a key factor in our child’s decision.</p>
<p>A huge percentage of scholarship money goes to minorities. There’s a lot of Spanish kids at Fordham. I’ve seen a lot of Asians too.</p>
<p>I’ve probably seen less Blacks than any other race, but they’re there too. I’ve never seen any kind of racism or prejudice against any race.</p>
<p>Just my experience, though.</p>
<p>MountLover:</p>
<p>Please read my recent posting/response in the accepted students thread today. It addresses part of what you are asking, and some other salient points I want you to consider. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Sov.</p>