<p>Hey guys! I was admitted to Fordham LC and am so ecstatic!! However, I have some questions about LC & I was hoping someone could answer them! Thank you & here goes:</p>
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<li><p>Will commuting affect my social life at LC? I don't live in NYC, but after graduation im moving in with my cousin who lives in Manhattan, and to save money I've decided to commute. I plan on spending quite a bit of time on campus, and not be the commuter who goes to class and then goes back home. Will I be able to have a social life as a commuter?</p></li>
<li><p>I am very liberal, and was wondering how the general student body is like at LC? How is the gay population? </p></li>
<li><p>I don't plan on being a party animal, but every now and then I wouldn't mind going to a party. That being said, how's the party scene at LC? I know it's in Manhattan, so I doubt there are "parties", am I right? Do most student just go out clubbing or to other colleges in the city, like NYU or Columbia?</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, what is the relationship between LC and RH? Do the students at each campus interact with each other? How often do students at LC see students at RH? Would I be able to go to RH sometimes, or would I be stuck at LC? </p></li>
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<p>Thanks in advance to anyone answering my questions! Fordham is on the top of my list, and I just want to know a little bit more about LC before I commit there. Thank you again, and if my questions come off rude in any way I also want to apologize in advance! Just a curious admitted student :)</p>
<p>For you and other lurking readers :-), let me respond by saying:</p>
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<li><p>There is not a great deal of interaction between LC and RH in general terms. They are different colleges within the University, and different populations, locations, and schools (programs). </p></li>
<li><p>There is SOME interaction in that LC students are always welcome at all Fordham athletic events both at RH for football, basketball, baseball, soccer…and when the Rams play at MSG or Barclays. But most LC students are not big athletic fans. </p></li>
<li><p>RH students and LC students are allowed to take courses at the other campus. My kid graduated RH and took 3 courses at LC, which she really liked and enjoyed the different faces, perspectives and venue. She also did an internship on the Upper West Side on Saturdays and loved that. </p></li>
<li><p>LC was started in 1968 and has always been a separate college. Its much more arts centered. Drama and Dance, plus the new Julliard School relationship. </p></li>
<li><p>As for the LGBT crowd, its not something I know anything about and only knew one kid who was a friend of my kid at RH who came out while at Fordham. Nice kid…absolutely brilliant…and hilariously funny…and went through some struggles socially at RH (loss of friends). But he is doing well now and is a very strong Fordham Ram. He drove the RamVan, coincidentally, between campuses for extra income. I think you will be fine at LC, just be respectful and tolerant of others as you expect them to be of you. What goes around comes around…respect gets respect. </p></li>
<li><p>LC has a large number of commuter students. You wont be alone. You will be on campus for class, clubs and studying. I am sure you will be invited to social events…parties etc. Warning: stay away from heavy drinkers and party animals. They will tank your grades and reputation. The cream always rises to the top. Hard work pays off. The workload at Fordham is challenging and increases in volume and speed as the semester moves along. Be warned. </p></li>
<li><p>LC has a proud history of Cambridge Scholars, Truman Scholars, Fulbright Scholars. Your aim should be to achieve one of those prestigious post undergraduate scholarships. That means hard work, discipline, focus, ambition, civility, community involvement. </p></li>
<li><p>The faculty at LC is stellar. But they are demanding as well. Be warned.</p></li>
<li><p>You can make your experience at Fordham what you want. You can be happy, content, enriching and enriched, giving, caring, absorbing, sharing, learning, enlightening, etc…or cynical, negative, detached, dysfunctional, dismissive etc. There are people like that…so avoid them. Choose the right friends…the ones who WORK and the ones who GIVE and the ones who MAKE FORDHAM BETTER. </p></li>
<li><p>Welcome to Fordham.</p></li>
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<p>Thank you so much @sovereigndebt! I feel much better now im excited to go to Fordham, and experience living in NYC (it’s been my dream since 8th grade!!) would you give anymore advice or do you have anything else to say about Fordham?</p>
<p>My advice is tempered by who is asking and what the issues are with that person. We are not New Yorkers. We come from a smallish city, but not small. Under 400k, above 100k people. New York was severe culture shock. In terms of the personalities of New Yorkers, the fast pace, the number of people in one city, the level of competitiion out there. You snooze you lose. My kid almost didnt survive. Rough freshman year. But she pulled through, worked hard and powered through illness, drama, weather, homesickness, etc. </p>
<p>Fordham is an academic school. Its not some large state flagship school where 90% of the college experience is going to football games and basketball games, then sorority and fraternity parties and 10% going to class and just looking to get C. Fordham has athletics…and they are fun and an excellent source of outreach and change of venue and destressing. But fundamentally, Fordham is academic. The workload is challenging and the competition is fierce. Fordham is not known for being cutthroat. But it is competitive. You will be shocked how many of your classmates graduated high school with 4.0 gpa’s and have 1500+ SAT’s and were top 10% etc. etc. And they all (with a few outlayer immature goofballs) will be hard working. Competing for grades. Come ready to work hard. And the rewards are fabulous. </p>
<p>Fordham has small classes. Get to know your professors. They are excellent mentors. </p>
<p>You build or destroy your reputation quickly. Kids are kids and make mistakes. But be very careful who you hang with and what they do. Kids get into Fordham, unfortunately, who are party animals and malcontents. STAY AWAY from them. </p>
<p>Fordham offers spirituality as well. Embrace it. It can be a wonderful respite from the storm of life and academics. </p>
<p>Give Fordham and New York some time…meaning, dont be too quick to judge and too quick to roll over and quit. Be strong. Be focused. Always take the HIGH ROAD. And by March…your second semester things will start to look more clear and you will understand better what is expected and how to achieve it. </p>
<p>My daughter took a summer class at LC and loved being in Manhattan. Being a RH student, it gave her a chance to see what LC has to offer. She prefers the “campus” feel of RH but absolutely LOVED being so close to the subway. At RH, MetroNorth is literally right outside the gate, but the D and 4 are a bit of a walk, she would rather play it safe and take the bus to the 4.</p>
<p>My daughter went to high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and even though we are native NY’rs, (well, my husband and I were born and raised in the city, me in Manhattan/Bronx, him Queens, we moved from Queens to over 50 miles outside of NY when our daughter was 2) she wasn’t too familiar with the Upper West Side and that took some getting used to. It’s not that difficult once you know the “lay of the land”. And if you’re planning on living in Manhattan, you should be fine. Commuting should not hinder your social life, especially since you’ll be in Manhattan. Join clubs and make sure you have a good balance of social/studying/work. Fordham is tough. I’m serious. My daughter is being challenged. Be prepared to do a lot of writing. And then you’ll see your writing improve, as I’ve seen with my daughter’s. </p>
<p>As Sovereign says above, make sure you study and do stay away from the partiers. But have a good time also, it is very important to have some sort of social life at college, not just tucked away in the library studying. </p>
<p>I had been pulling for you since you started that initial thread about acceptances and when I saw you were accepted it really made me smile. </p>
<p>Thank you @MomTheChauffer! Your final paragraph made me smile, thank you so much! It’s still so surreal, I can’t believe I’ll be in Manhattan (hoping finances work out). In regards to that, how is Fordham with financial aid? I have an EFC of 0, and my parents really can’t chip in on my college education at all. I also don’t want to pick up more than 10k in loans a year, am I being realistic? If I pick up more than 10k in loans, is Fordham worth it? I do plan on staying in NYC after college too, if that makes a difference. What would be your advice on this matter, @MomTheChauffer and @sovereigndebt?</p>
<p>as Fordham tuition has risen so has aid. BUT…a part of that is loans. The national average is 25-27k at graduation…a tough target at Fordham </p>
<p>If you commute and live with family it saves a lot of money. And avoids party animals in the dorms. Better sleep as well.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, if its not enough, you can appeal and submit the paperwork to justify more aid. Fordham is not terribly generous and they look at hard assets like home values etc. But in some cases they can be very good.</p>
<p>As @Sovereigndebt says, it does come in loans and if i remember correctly, Fordham doesn’t meet full need. I don’t remember your stats, but since you’ll be commuting you might eligible for the “Commuter Scholarship” It think it’s called. There’s a section somewhere on the website describing the scholarships. Hope you find it, they updated the website and some stuff was/wasn’t working. I know the link about the Core is finally up, don’t know about the scholarships. Make sure all paperwork is filed (FAFSA and CSS) to be eligible for aid. And update as necessary when taxes as filed. </p>
<p>They just added a document to my fin. aid documents page, and I printed it out and will fill it out tonight. @MomTheChauffer ok! I’ll be on the lookout for your dm </p>
<p>Nope. LC has lots of commuters and none of them seem to be hurt socially. There’s a club for commuters to hang out and have fun as well as going out together. I also see my resident and commuting friends hang out together as well. It all depends on you, you are not at a disadvantage.</p>
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<p>LC has a high gay population (girls here complain about the lack of straight men) and its very liberal.</p>
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<p>Most people go out to clubs, other schools, or friends’ apartments/dorms. But drinking in dorms is pretty common, just can’t get too loud.</p>
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<p>You can take classes at RH with free transportation. As for interaction, many have friends in both campuses. There’s no animosity or anything if that’s what you mean.</p>
<p>Thank you so much @Matachines anything else you want to add on student life? How’re the professors and work load? If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your major? And does fordham offer tours?? I can’t find anything online on it. How’re the internship oppurtunities?? Campus food? Library? I really want to visit haha, but I don’t know if I can, hence the barrage of questions. Sorry & thank youuuu!</p>
<p>They redid the website and it’s awful right now in terms of information but there’s plenty of tours; I’d call or email. Honestly the professors and work load are just like any other school: some are easy, some are hard. I’ve had classes where I only had to turn my brain on for the midterm and final and others where I had to work every day. Not sure what your major is but from what I hear the history and english professors are really good. Math-wise from my experience the professors are better at Rose Hill… but that’s about all I know.</p>
<p>Internship opportunities are very good. They school has many ways to connect you to internships and you can also search for yourself—there’s lots of places you can apply to.</p>
<p>Campus food is overpriced and not that good. I’d bring lunch if I were you. Most students just buy their own food and cook it.</p>
<p>The library is fine, nothing special. Some people don’t like it because it’s underground and there’s no windows but I’ve never had any issues. It’s just a big room full of books and desks.</p>
<p>Are the students able to get enough variety of courses offered at the LC campus? My daughter has been accepted at the LC campus, she is thinking of International Studies major…</p>
<p>Does Fordham offer “fun” electives, per se? For example, a few other colleges im looking at offer electives such as massage therapy, or seminar classes on the show mad men. Does FORDHAM have these types of classes? @Matachines </p>
<p>Go to Fordham.edu and look up the core requirements on the web. Also go to the various departments and look at their offered curriculums. Look at majors and determine what looks fun.</p>
<p>In general Fordham doesnt do the silly fun stuff. They do offer creative stuff, even in Theology Department. </p>
<p>I typically tell kids to go after the most challenging and difficult classes and professors they can handle while at Fordham. Its the last time you can take stuff in life on a complete whim while earning a degree…as an adult you can take night classes and such at local colleges to explore…but when you factor in marriage, mortgages and children its pretty daunting and most people taking night classes are pretty focused on career enhancing curriculum. </p>
<p>So embrace theology and philosophy and political science etc…while you can. Take hard courses and professors as a challenge. </p>
im excited to go to Fordham, and experience living in NYC (it’s been my dream since 8th grade!!) would you give anymore advice or do you have anything else to say about Fordham?</p>
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