Should I apply to Fordham as a safety school?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I attend a very good high school in NYC with very good standardized test scores and pretty good grades. Overall, I'm likely to end up attending a school around the level of Rice/Georgetown or something, though those schools are certainly not shoo-ins for me, and I plan on applying to a few Ivies and such as well.</p>

<p>My school limits applications to less than ten. It's a major feeder school to Fordham, and I'm absolutely sure I would be accepted there - actually, since I just found out that I'm going to be a NMSF, I'll almost certainly get full tuition as well. Fordham's a good school.</p>

<p>The thing is that I feel uncomfortable staying in the city for another four years, which is why I'm not applying to Columbia, and certainly not NYU. I've honestly gotten sick of it. The thing is that I need two or three safeties, and Fordham - on paper - is a borderline Top 50 school that I would attend for free. I doubt I'm going to find a "safety" near the caliber and with the package (free college!) that Fordham has, so my question is whether or not I should use one of my applications there, if I should suck it up.</p>

2

<p>Its a personal decision. You are coming off a bit brash and condescending in your tone, so be careful with that. Perhaps you didnt mean to. Fordham gets tons of applications from kids with uber high stats and grades from very competitive schools. Many of those students do elect to attend higher ranking schools for various reasons, most of which is a sense of hubris and entitlement; prestige hounds. On the other hand a growing number of students at Fordham do have the same stats as you (whether or not they are full ride/half ride students or no ride). Fordham is a good school as you stated and you will be plenty challenged. Fordham ranks its students at the end of the year and 2% make first honors…so its a misperception that you will automatically glide through like a breeze. </p>

<p>My position on Fordham is to help kids answer questions as best I can and as honestly as I can. Others may differ in their opinions about Fordham or its programs etc. I don’t think anyone should apply to a school they have no intention of attending and I don’t think anyone should attend a school they will hold a grudge about or they know they won’t like, whether that is Fordham or Georgetown or Harvard or Yale. </p>

<p>I will tell you to pay close attention to quality of life issues and how you fit and whether undergraduates are overly stressed, overly cold or impersonal, or overly cliquey. Find the place that best suits your personality and academic ability and go with that.</p>

<p>Yes, students do need to be wise and submit match and safety applications because of finances or because of the quirkiness of admissions. Every year prestigious schools reject highly qualified applicants and pick kids with lower stats…often because they smell a “safety” application and sometimes because they want diversity including academic diversity. Top 20 schools could make up an entire freshman class with kids who got 1600 SAT’s. But they don’t, intentionally.</p>

<p>I presume you are at Regis or Chaminade. Both excellent college prep schools. If you truly want to leave New York and go out of state, then do so. Pick schools where you feel like you can grow, be challenged and have some fun. Not party schools, but strong academic schools. What are your interests? Do you care about community service? How important is the athletic scene to you? All sorts of issues.</p>

<p>I understand wanting to get away from your high school buddies. Been there and done that with my kids. Its sometimes very healthy to hang around a new bunch of kids and learn a different culture. </p>

<p>Remember too to be humble and gracious. Sometimes kids with lower SAT’s will really surprise you in class and get outstanding grades. You will meet all sorts of people in college and your best friends may not necessarily be kids with SAT’s like yours. </p>

<p>Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>*and with the package (free college!) that Fordham has, *</p>

<p>Unless you can commute to Fordham, it’s not really “free college”. However, it’s a great scholarship.</p>

<p>Congrats on finding out that your PSAT is high enough to make NMSF next year. :)</p>

<p>Fordham is one of several schools that give big merit for National Merit status, so you will have some opportunities to have a financial safety away from your home state.</p>

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<p>well said. right on!</p>

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<p>It sounds like you’re uncomfortable, but not completely against, staying in NYC. In that case, I think it’s a good idea to apply to Fordham. Most people’s safeties aren’t their favorite or aren’t the best fit, it’s part of why a school would be a safety.</p>

6

<p>^^^^ I am sorry, but I disagree with that last comment. My experience is actually the opposite, having seen it with my kids, their friends and anecdotal comments from all over the place here and in my hometown. Frequently safety and match schools are a wonderful fit. Safety is a subjective term that is relative to YOUR SAT scores and YOUR grades/gpa/classrank. Its not a label that is attached to the school. </p>

<p>It means you are a slam dunk for admission but it has nothing to do with other factors having to do with your personal objectives. I tell kids all the time, to apply 2 reach, 3-4 match schools and 3 safety schools and focus on the latter two groups as that is where you will likely get in and have the most money and perhaps be the best fit. </p>

<p>Ivy schools are notorious for a social scene and environment that is not always conducive to a good time. Dartmouth is an exception as it seems to have a lot of happy kids and a fairly normal experience (though their athletic teams are very poor…lol. But so are Fordham’s…so that is a wash!) </p>

<p>Each person is different. Some prefer a hyper competitive environment, stress city and being surrounded by very similary type A people (WashU St. Louis is notoriously like this…we saw it on our two day tour there). Some people prefer a laid back environment, almost bucolic in nature and being a better opportunity to be at the top of your game and top of the class. For some, Harvard and Yale are the penultimate experience while for others its better to be at UVa or UNC or Emory. No right or wrong answer for everyone, only what is right or wrong for YOU. </p>

<p>Kids this age (18) are caught up in prestige and make a self assessment of their self worth based on the status/ranking of a school, which is most unfortunate. The most mature kids pick schools instead on a holistic approach, what is the best fit for them, their objectives and their lifestyle choices. Sometimes you walk on a campus and get a warm and fuzzy Epiphany. Sometimes you get the heebie jeebies and know immediately its not for you. (Doesnt mean its a bad school or everyone is bad…only that YOU don’t fit in there.) </p>

<p>The bigger picture goal ought to be your success and happiness for four years, not whether the school is ranked in the top 20 (or some other superfluous measurement). If Georgetown or Harvard is your gig: Congratulations and go get em! If NYU is your gig, ditto. But if you want to experience something more fulfilling and different in your life, then going to say, Virginia Tech could be the best decision you ever made in your life. Its a complete misnomer that all the uber stat people go to top 20 schools. In fact a LOT of uber stat people go to schools…and some dip down into the top 75 for a lot of reasons. And are happy and thrive. </p>

<p>The OP has a lot going on. He needs to assess whether going away to college is really what he wants…and if so, then where? Why not Hamilton College or Colgate? Or Davidson College? Getting out of NYC for four years can be highly rewarding if you are sick of it and sick of being around the same high school buddies all the time. </p>

<p>Why not Kenyon? Or Furman? Or Emory? Or Wake Forest? </p>

<p>Fordham wants bright kids. Fordham also wants kids who want New York and want Fordham. Because they know that a happy and contented student is going to be the best student. </p>

<p>That is what I am saying. So get rid of this notion that safety colleges are somehow lesser schools and for less intelligent people. Its simply not true.</p>

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<p>A safety school for many people is their in-state public, and in many cases it’s not somewhere they’re thrilled thinking about attending. In OP’s case, Fordham would likely end up being cheaper than his/her instate public so it would be a good place to apply to fill that role. Not saying that I disagree with you about fit, but I don’t think someone should rule a school out (even when limited in the number of schools to apply) just because it doesn’t seem perfect.</p>

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<p>*Most people’s safeties aren’t their favorite or aren’t the best fit, it’s part of why a school would be a safety. *</p>

<p>I don’t agree with that at all.</p>

<p>I know that some subscribe to this belief…maybe to justify why they spent more for another college, but I would not say that students’ safeties cannot be one of a student’s top choices or good fit.</p>

<p>Frankly, I think the whole “fit” thing is waaay overblown unless a student has some kind of special issues. I’m not saying that fit should be ignored, but it’s not the big deal that is often touted. If “fit” were so important, then these kids wouldn’t have been able to cope or succeed in their one-size-fits-all public high schools that most attended. At least in college, most of the non-college prep kids aren’t there.</p>

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<p>If this were a thread about someone who was considering applying to a school they absolutely detested but was likely to get a generous financial offer from there, I would have said to not apply there. But it’s not. The OP just doesn’t consider it ideal to stay in NYC for college, but it doesn’t sound like it’s a deal breaker. </p>

<p>It all boils down to what schools the OP would be willing to attend over Fordham even if they cost more and aren’t on the level of Rice/Georgetown (what the OP has stated he is aiming for). If there are such schools, and applying to these schools would only be possible if Fordham were taken of the “less than ten” list, then take Fordham off. If there aren’t enough such alternatives, leave Fordham on.</p>

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<p>Well…to some extent fit is overblown by some people. But too often kids pick schools based on superfluous reasons and then when they get there, they are freaked out about either social issues or size of the school (too big or too small and bucolic) etc. My point is that students and family should visit schools, certainly after they have been accepted, to determine if that is where they can be happy and go. </p>

<p>Yes, I know that some kids have no alternative but a state school for financial and/or SAT reasons. And for them, fit may not even be a factor. But there are frequently choices with in state schools as well and they may differ in culture. </p>

<p>As for the OP, he can do what he wishes about Fordham. But don’t tag it as “a safety school” as if its somehow beneath him/her/anyone. Its a rigorous academic school. Safety is state of mind anyway.</p>

<p>Finally, each student must eventually pull the trigger on one school. The better informed they are about their choices the better likelihood they make the right choice the first time. There is no such thing as one school fits all, nor one school only fits me. There are many schools that fit you. Going away to college is often a rite of passage and a very healthy thing to do.</p>