<p>what are the pros and cons of applying to each campus? this is one of my safety schools, but i don't want to make the wrong choice. i intend to study music performance and biology. thank you for the input!</p>
<p>There are many differences between the campuses. RH is a traditional campus in the Bronx, LC is a small campus on the upper west side of Manhattan. But the easy answer is that the LC campus does not have a biology major. I just don’t know anything about music performance at either campus.</p>
<p>Fordham is not really a music performance school. If that is really what you want to do, then go elsewhere. It has a music department which is primarily a music history degree. Music is one of Fordham’s glaring weaknesses. They are outstanding for dance and theatre, but very weak in the music department. On both campuses. </p>
<p>Biology is another matter. </p>
<p>You can play in a Fordham ensemble, take music history (recommended as a minor, if you want), and major in something bigger (and more lucrative or evocative) like environmental biology. But to major in music performance, think about going somewhere else, or a conservatory.</p>
<p>If you like an urban college, and you are interested in music performance and biology (And if you can get in), I would suggest you look at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh or Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.</p>
<p>If you need it to be a Jesuit University and a major city, try maybe Loyola of Chicago.</p>
<p>If you are looking for an active social life go to Rose Hill. The students are much more involved- LC is a very… independent school. 
As far as music performance and Fordham, I know a number of incredibly talented musicians who are minoring or double majoring in Music, there is a good program at Fordham. It’s also better than a conservatory because you still get the liberal arts education.</p>
<p>^^^I think that really depends on your definitiion of “active” social life and what you are looking for. But as happy1 already pointed out, biology is only offered at RH.</p>
<p>well…there are double majors at Fordham in music, but most of them are simply music majors…and that is music history…not performance related…like majoring in violin performance. Fordham is NOT a music performance school. Its the weak link in liberal arts and with the death of Fr. Boyce last year, they lost a really wonderful and talented Music professor. I digress.</p>
<p>However, lots of kids take classes at both campuses for upperclassmen related courses. Taking the ramvan is easy, though at times time consuming. In fact I highly recommend it just to get a flavor of the “other campus”, enriching your overall experience and meeting different students and faculty. </p>
<p>Finally, on music performance majors be careful what you wish for. I know several friends of my D who are doing so at OTHER schools…and they took the tempting bait of music scholarships. OUCH! They got trapped in the politics of seating assignments, sometimes neurotic professors who don’t care about your workload and make unrealistic demands on your time for practicing and auditions etc. and then grade very very tough because the professional music world is overloaded with “talent.” </p>
<p>My recommendation is to make it a minor, play in an orchestra as a walk on, for enjoyment and experience, but make something else your major. Less stress, better time management, more useful degree in the end (whether for work or graduate school). If you are THAT talented, then go to a conservatory. Its a tough situation, I know. Because high schools and youth symphonies work so hard and those kids truly are ‘gifted’ at one level or another…and then many/most essentially have to let it slip to the back burner in undergraduate school…an emotional dilemma…but better for the longer term. Not saying drop your violin or flute. Just put it in perspective. Fordham has an orchestra that is improving. They have excellent music history courses. And in fact, you can self select them for part of your arts core requirement. (even a course in Opera is offered, where they attend the Met!) But be realistic about your skillset and longer term goals. Musicians have a ‘relationship’ with their particular musical instrument. I know all about that. So its hard to make it no longer the shining star in your life. But transitioning to college requires you make difficult choices…as we all do as adults between competing interests. There are a gazillion majors and many kids have angst over selecting which one to pick…which can be stressful and overwhelming…been there and done that…at Fordham! But choose we must…</p>
<p>Ping me if you want…I can extrapolate more.</p>
<p>To OP - I think if anything the posts show that is is important to thoroughly research any school that is a possibility for you – even a safety school. You don’t want to end up at a place that doesn’t meet your needs. A number of people for a number of reasons (financial and otherwise) end up at a school they thought was a safety, so it is important that each place you apply has what you want in a college. If Fordham is a good fit for you, great - if not, you just need to keep looking. Good luck.</p>
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<p>As the mother of a Theatre major, I have heard this all before and couldn’t disagree more. It is up to each individual to pursue the path that it best for them. That is what will bring joy to their life…it is not about “making bank” in the end. But too many people lack the courage to pursue those interests that are important to them. Everyone should just be a business major, right? It’s all about a porsche. Yeah, I’ve heard it before from plenty of kids and even from parents who discouraged their kids from ANY liberal arts major and think they’ll thank them when they are driving the fancy cars and pulling up to their mansions…and let’s not forget working 100 hours a week to support their lifestyle. </p>
<p>And maybe some will. I’m sure there are plenty of people called to be business or other majors who will have a big career and love it. And that’s awesome for them. But we’re not all called to the same things in life so we should never discourage a person from pursuing their passions or label their degree as useful or not. And there is no reason to believe that a person can’t have just as big a career with a so called less useful degree. But either way, in the end, it’s passion that makes a life rich, not investment portfolios. </p>
<p>And BTW a conservatory environment does not offer the academic enrichment that some people want and need. I think OP should thoroughly investigate the departments that she is interested in and visit Fordham to determine if it could be right for her…safety or not. And FYI, OP, in the NYC corporate world, management LOVES music majors because they are creative and aren’t easily discouraged and they keep trying new things when others fail.</p>
<p>sandkmom, you are way out of line on that remark. I am offended. It wasnt aimed at you or your theatre major student at Fordham. It was aimed at a prospective student interested in Fordham in both Biology and Music Performance. You don’t, to my knowledge, know a thing about the Music Program at Fordham, either LC or RH. To suggest the Music Performance major at Fordham is strong is a gross disservice. We know a LOT of professional musicians and to the person, they all state that going to a conservatory is the best method to attain a professional position as a musician, but even that is fraught with challenges and an extraordinary amount of competition, with no guarantees of success. There is nothing wrong with being a musician, but kids must be told the daunting challenges and help them to make the best decisions for them. I dont know a thing about the Theatre program at Fordham, except some of its alumni have made it big in Broadway. But I refrain from commenting about something I know little or nothing about. </p>
<p>Your point that a well rounded education is beneficial and a conservatory is too limiting is an opinion, which I largely share with regards to the normal level of talent and longer term views of where a young person should attend higher education. My point was that a conservatory is where the superior talented kids should go if their goal is to become a musician. And frankly, even among those who simply want to take a music scholarship and use that as a financial tool to attend college, I still would not recommend Fordham on any level. Fordham’s music major is largely for music history buffs. Its a small and weak department. Made more weak by the death of a faculty member last year. </p>
<p>Your comment about porsches and business majors is so out of line (and incorrect) I would really be better off not responding to it at all. But let me try and give you something to think about. My D1 who is a senior, is not in the Gabelli School of Business. She is a liberal arts major, in an Honors Program. She will attend a prestigious graduate degree program next year. So we know a thing or two about a well rounded broad based liberal arts Jesuit education. No, its not all about money. </p>
<p>The Gabelli School of Business is, however, highly regarded. Many of those alumni from there (formerly known as CBA) have gone onto become major players on WallStreet, and some have become members of our Board of Trustees. The Global Program at Gabelli is wonderful and highly regarded. Gabelli students are required to take a well rounded core just like FCRH and FCLC students. I know many kids, including my D1’s boyfriend who is at FCRH, who is a business minor. So no, its not all about making a Porsche. (If you knew me, you would realize how silly that comment really was). </p>
<p>That some music majors do go into business is axiomatic. I have a friend whose daughter is going to Furman (a SUPERB school of music by the way, which makes Fordham’s music program look like kindergarten), and is a double major in accounting. She will take the CPA exam and go into business. I have no idea if she likes Porsches or not. 
But while its a generalization to assume music majors (in performance!) want to become professional musicians, the fact remains that most of them do. If you know someone who succeeded in Manhattan in business who was a music major, then good for them, but they are an exception. Whether banks, lawyers and corporations prefer music majors over a philosophy or history or english lit or german studies or american studies or middle eastern studies or classics or medieval studies is an open question. Its also sort of rhetorical and inane. My comment was not to limit the creativity of a young prospect, but to be frank, honest and forthcoming about the strengths at Fordham and the weaknesses and when someone talks about being a performance major, I can only assume they are a superior talent and they need to be told in advance, that Fordham’s music department is not very strong. I would be ecstatic if some wealthy alumni (from Gabelli or FCRH) donated a bunch of money to upgrade the program and hire some amazing faculty in strings performance, brass performance and woodwinds performance. So I am a BIG supporter of music, the arts and the Orchestra at Fordham. (See…you don’t really know me at all.) </p>
<p>I will take your comments in stride because you are a mother of a freshmen and still learning about Fordham. Further, you are at FCLC which is a different campus and environment than FCRH. </p>
<p>Finally, if the OP wants to come to Fordham with the knowledge that our music performance program is weak, that is fine by me and I welcome them. But I won’t be found guilty of telling its wonderful when its not. </p>
<p>In the interim, I suggest you ask the powers that be at Fordham to improve the music department at Fordham. The Orchestra at FCRH has improved the last few years and students do enjoy putting on concerts (which now includes some FCLC students…who previously had NO outlet whatsoever because there is no orchestra at all at FCLC!) and they regard it as a lovely way to give back to the Fordham community, to showcase their talents and to express themselves creatively. Admissions is also working, from what I can glean, on admitting talented students from high school orchestras and youth symphonies. But that doesnt make up for the fact the program is still weak and badly needs to be upgraded, before we begin to tell kids who have intentions of majoring Music Performance to come to Fordham. I know you are defending “alma mater” but we must be forthright about the programs when doing so. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I took sandkmom’s comments as being related to following a career in the arts in general and not towards Fordham’s music program in particular. I for one have a son who is in the business school and I was not offended by her remarks. My S is not the creative sort, and with his mind for numbers seems well suited to business. (And for the record, he hopes to eventually work for a non-profit so I agree that not all business students are after the big money) BUT everyone must follow his or her own dreams. As a lover of theatre/music, I applaud those with the talent and desire to follow that difficult path. I have friends who make a living one way or another in music although none have made it “big” (one musician I know writes jingles to support his band, another plays in a Broadway pit orchestra, and others teach and play in local orchestras) and I’m sure the same is true in the acting profession. BUT let’s please remember that purpose of this forum is to help the posters with their questions. We were not asked to opine on what the OP should study at college, just how it relates to Fordham. Disagreements not related to the OP might be best done through PMs.</p>
<p>Ghostbuster,</p>
<p>How do you have the time to write responses like this? Nearly every thread has your fingerprints all over it. I’m sure some people value that but your opinions are quite singleminded at times, and really dominate the forum. </p>
<p>Also, I’d like to point out that you are not a student. You know what your daughter tells you, and I can ASSURE you that there are many things you do not know about Fordham. I may be a sophomore where your daughter is a senior, but you have never lived at Fordham nor sat in a classroom. You don’t know what it’s like to be kept up until 2 AM because of screaming drunken partiers outside your window nor how freeing Manhattan can feel after being in the Bronx for 4 days. You don’t know how frustrating it is eery Saturday not to be able to eat because the dining hall doesn’t open until 11, nor the pride of just getting through a course that started with 40 kids and ended with 14. You don’t know what it’s like to have that mandatory course destroy your gpa either. You can speak of how great your daughter’s time at Fordham is, but don’t think for a second that means you know what it is live here for 4 years.</p>
<p>My point is that you are not a student. Your opinions are based on the experiences of others. Until you have your own first hand knowledge of this school, it may do you well to keep in mind that you don’t know everything.</p>
<p>Have a good day.</p>
<p>Impertinent, impetuous, rude and discourteous remarks from students are ignored. NYC2013 you don’t know how much time I spent at Fordham or whether I am an alumnus or not. Or who I know at Rose Hill. Or how many people I talk to. How I spend my time is none of your business. You personalized this discussion, when it had nothing to do with you, admissions or the talking points of Rose Hill Society tour guides. It had to do with the OP and the Music Performance intended major. I won’t make this discussion about you. I stand behind everything I stated. But, I don’t care what others think. I was personally offended by the remarks and the clear slap at Gabelli students, and the assumption that neither my D1 nor I are interested in the arts, music or anything creative. That assumption was completely false. I responded to clarify my original point and to respond to the unsolicited and unfortunate personal remarks. My original remarks to the OP were in FACT to educate that person on the truth about Fordham’s music program. </p>
<p>It doesnt matter to me folks. Its all good and we are done.</p>
<p>And one more point NYC2013, I don’t dominate the forum for Fordham threads at all. I comment when I see fit, thank you very much and when I believe I can make a suggestion or be helpful in answering questions. Over the years I have received a lot of private emails from a lot of appreciative people. If that bothers you, too bad. Nobody is restricting this website that I know of, from others contibuting their opinions or suggestions. I responded to a poster this morning who was responding directly to something I said to the OP. While she is certainly welcome to post her own personal opinions on Fordham matters, I took umbrage at some of the remarks and assumptions. She may have edited those remarks since then. </p>
<p>I don’t spend my time attacking people on this forum, certainly for no apparent reason. If someone disagrees with anything I have stated about Fordham, they are more than welcome to post their own opinions and perceptions and so long as they don’t take swipes at me personally, its all good. </p>
<p>I make no apologies however for my own opinions.</p>
<p>Mr. Gabelli, who donated 25million dollars to Fordham, its largest donation in history from one individual, will be on campus tomorrow for a presentation in Keating Hall. There will be live Ram…as in animal, on campus on Eddies Parade tomorrow afternoon, accompanied by appropriate animal handlers.</p>
<p>@ghostbuster</p>
<p>There have been no edited remarks.<br>
There were no “personal swipes” at you.
There were no attacks.
There were no assumptions about you or your daughter.
There were no suggestions that the Music department at Fordham is strong.
There were no clear slaps at Gabelli students.
There were no suggestions that a conservatory is always too limiting or that those whose talent is superior should attend them. </p>
<p>All I can say is wow! Where DID that all come from? I’m not about to go line by line through your posts in this thread and point out all the problems that I have with them because I don’t think anybody is really that interested and I’m just not concerned enough to address them all…not even the snarky comments about me.</p>
<p>But I will point out that the OP simply asked for pros and cons on RH and LC and stated she wished to study biology and music performance. She never asked for the pros and cons on studying music performance or for opinions on whether that was a useful degree. You walked into that one on your own…unsolicited and maybe even unfortunate I might add to paraphrase your later post that seemed to have been directed at me. And even though you claim that your “comment was not to limit the creativity of a young prospect” you did just that when you told her not to major in it but to major in something more useful or to go to a conservatory if she is “THAT talented.”</p>
<p>This IS a public opinion forum and conversations do evolve and as you pointed out all are welcome to post their own opinions and perceptions. And so I did. And while my post was not intended to personally offend anyone, you were obviously SO SO SO personally offended by it and for that I am sorry. But it does seem as if you are the only one who took it that way and so I don’t see my comments as being out of line at all. I stand by my advice to the OP that she should not only thoroughly investigate the departments and visit the school but that she should pursue her interests and follow the path that is best for her. </p>
<p>Good luck, erinflute! :)</p>
<p>Well this is becoming silly. But you misunderstood my comment originally sandkmom. When I said to her, “If you are THAT talented, then go to a conservatory” I was being complimentary (and not knowing what her talent level is, thought it wise for her to consider). I could write a book on the students at Rose Hill over the years who have been deeply disappointed in Fordham’s music performance major and Orchestra. But enough of that. What was intended as specific advice to a young prospect on that narrow issue of music performance, got hijacked into a personal matter because you used my post as an example to criticize. Suggesting you did not take a swipe at me is disingenuous I think. And the comments about money, fast cars was intended by you, I believe, to be aimed at business students at Rose Hill…the Gabelli school. So if you state that is not the case, then perhaps you might clarify why you said what you said this morning at 630am. If the OP wanted to major in visual arts, theatre, dance etc. I wouldnt have stated a word because I know nothing about them. You on the other hand, ventured “over to Rose Hill” and commented on what I was saying and our music program.</p>
<p>Its not important. I don’t have an agenda with you or anyone here. Anyone can post what they want, to be certain. So long as they are civil and don’t go ad hominem (and someone has already done so). If I thought you edited your post and was wrong, please accept my humble apology. </p>
<p>My intent then and now was to make certain a young prospect was not mislead about music performance at Fordham. And again, I hope that program improves. (n.b. no Jesuit university to my knowledge is much into music performance, i.e. violin performance major, piano performance major, cello, flute, clarinet, etc. ) </p>
<p>We have finished our tenure at Fordham in more ways than one. (I got a letter from the Development Office asking for more money last week, btw). My other kids wont be attending Fordham. D1 is going to graduate school elsewhere. Ditto her boyfriend. </p>
<p>So people won’t be bothered by my frequent opinions here on the Fordham thread. </p>
<p>Good luck to all applicants to Fordham.</p>
<p>^^^I did not misunderstand any of your comments. I understood but disagreed with them and you took it as a personal attack. </p>
<p>For starters, I disagree with your ideas on conservatories and that students of “superior talent” should attend them. While it is true that a very high level of talent is necessary to be accepted to such a program, it is not the only path…nor is it necessarily the “best method” to a career in the performing arts. There are plenty of highly talented students who choose NOT to go to a conservatory because they want a greater challenge academically just as there are plenty of highly intelligent students who choose to go to a conservatory because they want to focus on training. Again, I will state, plain and simple…the best path to take in life is the one you WANT to take. </p>
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<p>Sorry but you are the one making assumptions here. And if you decide to take that as a personal swipe as well, so be it. But for the record, while I happened to have picked business as a major to refer to in my post, as far as I was concerned it was interchangeable with any other potential “big money” or “practical” major that you can think of. It is quite a leap to think that I was taking shots at Gabelli students. Or that I have anything against anyone who majors in business or who makes money. I happen to like money. I use it. A little too frequently according to my husband. 
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<p>What I don’t like is when people state their opinions about someone else’s life choices and label them (ex. more useful degree) or when they take it upon themselves to enlighten someone about their choices…in other words, DISCOURAGE them. And that is exactly what you did when you stated to the OP that she should major in something else. “Less stress, better time management, more useful degree in the end…” Less stress in other majors? IDK but I can’t imagine someone who wants to be in one major and majors in something else not being stressed about it. Better time management? Yes, performing arts majors are time consuming but some people are actually better disciplined and better able to manage their time when they are busy. How do you know that OP isn’t just like that? More useful degree? Well maybe another major might lead to a more useful degree in YOUR opinion but that is wholly subjective. I personally think that the most useful degree is the one you want. </p>
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<p>What??? Seriously??? I’m not about to start cutting and pasting all the threads you’ve posted in and offered your opinion. Not stating a word isn’t exactly your forte. And I read over my posts several times and still can’t figure out what you are talking about. I never even mentioned or alluded to Fordham’s music program. </p>
<p>This isn’t silly. It’s just plain bizarre.</p>