I was accepted into both Fordham and Notre Dame in December. I have always wanted to go to Notre Dame, but it looks as though I will be about $100,000 in debt after graduation. Fordham, on the other hand, gave me a full tuition scholarship which has become a tempting offer to me. Which school do you think I should choose if I want to pursue biology/chemistry to prepare me for medical school? Where should I go if I want to pursue economics/political science to prepare me for law school? Both of these options are going to require more schooling. This will mean more debt if I choose ND. However, Fordham doesn’t have the academic strength and prestige of ND.
My daughter went to Norte Dame and graduated magna cum laude chemical engineering. Top rate school and a cult like experience that one never forgets and you hate when it’s over. But if you plan on medical school or law school and have a full scholarship you have to really accept that as you’re reality.
If you are planning to go to med school or law school, you will definitely want to minimize your debt. They will also look more at your transcript, the MCAT/LSAT scores, and your record outside of school rather than where you went to school, unless there is vastly different academic quality. For the schools you named, both are well regarded schools and strong academically.
My S went to Fordham undergrad and then went on for a Master’s at ND. While they both are Catholic schools they are different (Fordham being more urban with its NYC location and ND being Midwest and sports-centric). He loved both schools and both experiences. While Fordham is not as prestigious as ND, the school is very well respected and if you do really well at Fordham you should be able to get into a top grad school.
One of his close friends from Fordham was in your situation – he got into ND but chose to Fordham with a total full ride and the honors program – he had no regrets about his decision. Amassing $100,000 in debt as an undergrad is a terrible idea – especially with grad school down the road. And keep in mind that you would never be able to borrow that kind of money as a student – your parents would have to take on the bulk of that debt.
I’m an ND student currently beginning the medical school process. Fortunately, I will not be graduating with any debt, which makes it worth it. But if I were you I would go to Fordham, try to excel there to be ready for med/law school. Both are expensive and hard to finance, and 100k debt will make it much harder.
Also when it comes to med school (and I’m assuming law school as well), where you went to undergrad doesnt matter very much. Its about what you did there, your GPA, your MCAT score, etc.
“Where should I go if I want to pursue economics/political science to prepare me for law school? This will mean more debt if I choose ND. However, Fordham doesn’t have the academic strength and prestige of ND.”
To get into a top law school, you need a high GPA and a high LSAT score. A near 4.0 GPA from Fordham was good enough to get me and several of my Fordham classmates into top 10 law schools including HLS. Probably easier to get a 4.0 at Fordham than ND. Here’s the most recent HLS list of undergrad schools fyi.
http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/jdadmissions/apply-to-harvard-law-school/undergraduate-colleges/
At my top 10 law school, I had classmates who had been undergrads at Ivies and other swank colleges (including ND). And others who had attended colleges that were way down market from Fordham. We all ended up with the exact same law degree.
I don’t think anyone should borrow $100k to get an undergrad degree. FYI, I assume you know you can’t borrow amounts like that as an undergrad by yourself-- it would require your parents to sign on. What do they think about that prospect?
But borrowing $100k for college and then another $150k for law school is just outrageously and moronically stupid. Since you are smart enough to get into ND, I assume you are not a moron. I got a great education at Fordham (though my college experience wasn’t nearly as fun/cool as it would have been at ND). I got into a top 10 law school just fine from Fordham and then had plenty of fun while attending law school. Go Rams.
Good luck.
@northwesty Having graduated from Fordham and gone on to an excellent law school, what major would you recommend for me to choose as an undergraduate. I am in love with politics but I have heard from some sources that a political science degree isn’t desirable for law schools. Any help would be much appreciated!
Your major does not matter one bit. Study something you like or that you are good at. Or something that would provide some good job opportunities if you decide against going to law school. Literally, anything from accounting to zoology will work. So long as you have a 4.0 in it.
Plenty of lawyers study political science. Anything that requires a lot of reading, writing and analysis is good training – history, English, philosophy, econ. Plenty of science and business majors too.
My suggestion is Fordham, it’s a great school. If you want to be a frozen popsicle with only one day of sunshine then go to Notre Dame. Fordham is way better especially with the savings that you’re talking about. If you read reviews about Notre Dame you will find that there are always many comments about how dreary and miserable the weather is at Notre Dame.
@reformedman Thank you for your advice. However, I am from Minnesota, so I am used to the kind of cold weather you get at Notre Dame.
I have 2 kids who went to ND and went on to top rated med schools. I don’t know anything about Fordham. ND has an amazing 1st year advising system (First Year of Studies) and incredible premed advising too. ND has a very high rate (over 82%) of their students being accepted to med school. You can be any major for premed, but being some type of science major makes the first year of med school easier. Also, being a science major may be helpful in getting undergrad research opportunities which you need for getting into med school. That being said, you can be any major like political science, but make sure you get more than the the core 8 courses to prepare for the MCAT because the MCAT is more important than where you go to school. Winters in MN are similar to winters at ND. The fall is beautiful. Make sure you do your research about Fordham in comparison. I highly suggest visiting the campuses when students are present because the bottom line is that you will do well where you are happy.
a20 – ND is terrific and does a stellar job with their pre-meds.
But the question isn’t whether ND is better than Fordham. It is whether you can justify having $100k in ungrad debt and then needing to fund med or law school in addition. Vs. debt-free from Fordham.
If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of test scores/gpa did you have to get a full ride to fordham?
Full tuition (not full ride) to Fordham for any NMSF or NMF.
@gagrant I was a Nation Hispanic Scholar based on my PSAT score, so this is what got me the scholarship. My unweighted GPA is 3.99 and ACT is 34.