Need input on Fordham Lincoln Center

D23 was just accepted at Fordham Lincoln Center (yay!), and I would love to hear more about the school culture for the students who live on campus there. I understand the urban dynamic, but am curious if there is much organized stuff going on in the dorm or otherwise. Is it very social? Are there any communal spaces where the residents hang out and/or organized activities/outings? Or do most kids just spend their time going out around the city?

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

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My son is a Freshman at FCLC and LOVES it. He’s found a wide and diverse group of friends, several are commuter students who live off-campus nearby and in other burrows. I think the ability to seek out opportunities and comfort with the city is super important to success at Lincoln Center.

Having said that, I will say that the Student Life team offers plenty of activities on dorm…study breaks, game nights, etc. Depending on the floor RA and resident desires, there may be more floor “togetherness”.

The Freshman dorm is AMAZING!!! The rooms are surprisingly large with jaw-dropping views with common rooms on each floor. It can feel more like living in a high-rise apartment building than a college dorm…a new one with a/c and giant windows.

Generally speaking the LC campus is a specific experience. I highly recommend a visit. If your student is looking for a campus-centric college lifestyle, they may be disappointed. It is a verticle campus comprised of only a few building to explore with one large outdoor space…in addition to Central Park of course.

I’ve noticed that the “kids” at LC are very independent and quite mature. They do have social lives, but not the keg party style gatherings that maybe associated with college life. They absolutely take full advantage of the city and consider it their campus. The students really do live the motto: “Fordham is my school. New York is my campus.”

If I can help, or answer any other questions, happy to do so.

Congratulations to your daughter! Does she know her major? That can also affect her experience.

All the best!

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My S22 is at Fordham LC and I agree with everything you have written. It is not the “typical” college experience, and so students who want a social life that is centered on Greek life, keggers, or sports will be disappointed. Students who thrive at LC tend to be mature, independent, and comfortable with a very urban environment. There are activities in the dorms, plenty of clubs, and students also go out on the town in small groups. It is possible to spend a LOT of money in New York, but it is also possible to have a lot of fun for cheap (Central Park, the High Line, free museums passes, heavily discounted theater tickets etc.) Agree the experience can vary depending on major. LC is strong in the arts, humanities, business and social sciences. But it is pretty limited in STEM, so students interested in that often end up transferring to the Rose Hill campus.

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ok your typo for boroughs to burrows has this Queens girl in stitches!

I loved that typo! It seems so cozy. My son also has made friends with students from all the different “burrows.”

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Hilarious. Completely missed that homonym miss from autocorrect. Thx from a former (now displaced on the West Coast) Manhattan girl.

like they are hobbits! Love it!

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Thanks so much, @lizzyt1 and @fiftyfifty1! Everything you have said is very helpful & reassuring. We are actually heading to NYC this week and will be going on our first official visit of Fordham, so I am eager to see what my D23 thinks. That said, my S22 is currently a freshman at Juilliard, so we know the neighborhood a bit, and D23 understands the dynamics of going to school in that area … but honestly, she is not yet sure it is what she wants (versus a more traditional campus), and she would probably not really be considering it at all if her big bro (BFF) was not right across the street. But she is majoring in Communications & Culture (for now at least), and she is a big theater & music kid, so LC will be great for that; and she is not into the kegger/Greek/sports scene at all. She is very social and very much a “joiner”, though, so she will want to find activities and events to get involved in at school and in the dorm. But it sounds like that is very much a possibility at Fordham LC!

Thank you again! I hope you don’t mind that I might follow up with more questions as we get into our visit.

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You bet! Have a great visit and let us know what you and your daughter think when you get back.

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