<p>I am interested in Fordham and think I have a chance but my mother is worried that the jewish population there is too small..</p>
<p>I'm not worried because I think that I should be prepared to not encounter a lot of jews in the real world (I grew up in a predominantly jewish and asian town).</p>
<p>Also, I visited over the summer (Rose Hill campus) and liked it...</p>
<p>My Stats:</p>
<p>GPA: 3.67/4.3 weighted. School doesn't rank. 3.6/4.3 unweighted.</p>
<p>Superscored SAT: 2150 (680CR, 700M, 770W)
SAT IIs: Registered to take Math 1 (October), Math 2 (November), and US History (November)
ACT: Registered to take in October.
APs: AP Bio - 3, AP Lang - 3. I am taking AP Lit and AP Stats this year. And might self-study for AP Psych and macro/microeconomics.</p>
<p>I have taken/am taking three honors courses (Spanish 5 Honors, Child Psych Honors, Algebra 2 Honors) and advanced history course three years in a row.</p>
<p>EDIT:
Work/Volunteer Experience: The summer before my sophomore year, I completed 60 hours of community service by volunteering at my local library. Since October of my sophomore year, I have been working as a secretary/assistant/paralegal for a lawyer in my area and will be asking her to write me a college recommendation letter.</p>
<p>I am interested in Psychology and Political Science/International Relations.</p>
<p>I suggest that you visit campus and get a sense of how you will feel (and how your parents feel). There will be a smaller Jewish population at Fordham than you will find at many other colleges. That being said, my son has friends who are Jewish, Muslim, atheist etc. who are all happy and doing well. Although it is a Catholic school, religion is not forced on anyone. The Jesuits are educators first and foremost. </p>
<p>At Fordham you do have to take two theology classes and two philosophy classes as part of the core curriculum. My S found the first first (required) theology class to have a Catholic bent, but friends in other sections had different experiences so it may depend on the professor. The second theology class is an elective so you can take The Old Testament, Religions of the World etc.</p>
<p>My S has been very happy at Fordham. I think it is worth a visit to see if it may be the right place for you. Good luck.</p>
<p>I think you have a very good chance of getting in. My D is also applying (she got one of those free applications) and also is interested in Psychology.</p>
<p>I think the only thing kind of weak is your EC’s, is there any sports or clubs that you belong to? Otherwise, you scores and GPA are above Fordham’s average.</p>
<p>I asked my daughter about how many Jewish people she has met so far, and she said she has met just a few. There are/were signs up acknowledging the recent high holidays, and she has felt totally comfortable. There is a Jewish Student Organization but she hasn’t been able to get to any meetings, she is in choir that meets at that same time. </p>
<p>She likes her theology class, had found it pretty interesting so far.
(She’s at Lincoln Center though, not Rose Hill.)</p>
<p>I don’t think being jewish should be an issue at all.</p>
<p>I am sure there will still be plenty of jews at Fordham. Further, most of the smart kids at Fordham will have had jewish friends and classmates in high school. Plus, you will still be in New York City. With a lot of jews around. </p>
<p>By the way, I am jewish too.</p>
<p>I would say that the only problem I see with Fordham is that almost everyone there will probably be Columbia and NYU rejects. So for many kids, it will not have been their first choice. Similarly, for the Catholics, they may be Boston College and Georgetown rejects.</p>
<p>I don’t know if graduate school is different, but I applied to Fordham Law School when I was a kid, and the fact that I was jewish did not even enter my mind. And my wife’s father went to St Johns, and he was jewish.</p>
<p>floridadad - This is off the topic of the OP, but my S is currently at Fordham and he certainly never has the sense that all of his classmates are “NYU and Columbia rejects”. In fact my S visited NYU and had an excellent chance to get in, but he felt strongly that it was not what he wanted in a college experience (too large and impersonal, no campus). Of course there will be students at Fordham for whom the school was not their first choice, but that is true of almost any college (excluding Harvard and a few others of that ilk.) The fact is that most everyone my S knows is very proud to be there and they are all getting a great education.</p>
<p>I think that you should definitely apply…although Fordham is a Jesuit school, it is still in New York, which helps with the diversity. Also, as mentioned by another poster, the primary mission of Jesuits has always been to educate; therefore, people at Fordham are relatively liberal, broad-minded, and accepting. I am pretty sure that you will fit right in and not feel awkward. I am Indian (grew up in a pretty diverse neighborhood of Queens) and lived on campus, but had the time of my life at Fordham! Also, I think that you may have a chance of receiving some scholarship (maybe up to 10K) due to your high SAT score, so it does not hurt to apply. Good luck!</p>
<p>Don’t worry, you will fit in fine. Fordham is accepting of people of all faiths and those with none at all. You definitely have a chance so you should apply and see how it all turns out. If you are accepted and get a package that makes Fordham worth considering, bring your parents back for a second look in the spring. If you get your application in by the EA deadline of 11/1, you will get your decision in December and your FA package will probably come out in Feb if you are timely in filling out the requested docs. Good luck! :)</p>
<p>@floridadad55 </p>
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<p>Attendance at a lower ranked school does NOT automatically mean that you were rejected elsewhere and it wasn’t your first choice. This thinking completely fails to take personal preference into account. Even Harvard’s ivy covered halls are filled with students that may have had rejections at other schools and for some of them, Harvard may not have even been their first choice school!!! You just can’t presume to “know” the student body at ANY school. And if that is your impression of Fordham, I beg you to look a little deeper! </p>
<p>My S was accepted at every school he applied to and chose Fordham LC over all of them including two on your list, NYU Tisch and Boston College. Fordham was actually his 1st choice school and that was BEFORE they gave him a generous merit award. I can assure you that when you join the Fordham family, nobody really cares where else you applied! :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your advice! It is very helpful.</p>
<p>My father agrees with many of you that being in NY will give me access to a large population of Jews anyway. My mother just needs a little more convincing…</p>
<p>I might apply RD instead of EA (as I didn’t ask my teachers to send their recommendations there for EA and it’s a little late to do so)…</p>
<p>Also, @starburyknicks2004-2005, what scholarships would I be eligible for with my SAT score?</p>
<p>P.S. - My high school is very highly ranked so the average GPA of students from my school accepted to Fordham is 3.57 on a weighted 4.3 scale… (This is according to Naviance).</p>
<p>You’d probably qualify for a Loyola Scholarship. I applied back in 2005 when admissions were a lot less competitive at Fordham and received a $4,200 scholarship (1350 SAT, 670 SAT II writing, 88 avg – 7 AP courses). I believe that Loyola Scholarships range up to $10,000, but don’t quote me on that, since a lot of things may have changed since I last applied.</p>
<p>Regarding your GPA, I am sure that Fordham will take into account the competitiveness of your high school. Does your high school rank? Fordham is really focusing on increasing the percentage of students ranked in the top 10% of their high school. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about missing the early action deadline…you have a very good shot regardless of which pool you apply in. Once again, good luck!</p>
<p>@Floridadad555: I want to know the statistical basis of your statement: “I would say that the only problem I see with Fordham is that almost everyone there will probably be Columbia and NYU rejects. So for many kids, it will not have been their first choice. Similarly, for the Catholics, they may be Boston College and Georgetown rejects.” Did you go around conducting a survey?</p>
<p>My cousin who attended Archbishop Molloy High School chose Fordham LC over NYU (received almost identical financial packages). Another one of his friends chose to attend Gabelli School of Business over NYU. I chose to attend Fordham over Emory (Oxford campus). Also, there are students that can turn down BC and Georgetown in favor of Fordham just because they want to be in New York. </p>
<p>Also, as Sandkmom said, every one has top-choice schools; just because you attend Harvard does not mean that it is your first-choice school. The valedictorian at my high school was rejected to Wharton and attended Harvard (his dream was to get a Wharton undergrad degree and Harvard MBA degree). Even if some of the students attending Fordham may have not chose it as a first choice, that does not mean it is a “problem,” as you said. Fordham was not my first-choice school either, but I still chose the school because I WANTED to attend, not because I had to. Each student gets accepted and rejected to multiple schools, but if he/she is choosing to attend Fordham, then there must be something likable about it, so I don’t see the “problem.” Let me go ahead on a limb and also make a non-statistical statement: I see more pride among Fordham students and alum than their NYU counterparts.</p>
<p>Therefore, I would respectfully have to say that your statement is baseless at best.</p>
<p>Actually, to substantiate my above claim, Fordham’s alumni particpation rate (donations) is 25% (placing them top 20 in the country) vs. NYU’s 12% or 13%. It says on NYU’s website that their endowment on an average per-student basis is among the lowest in the country. I also believe that the average debt of a Fordham student upon graduation is much lower compared to that of a NYU student, which probably explains the difference in student satisfaction, as reflected in the alumni participation rate. Compared to Fordham, NYU is a very, very big school and seems commercialized…they are now selling their brand to places like Dubai and Shangai for certain sums of money (I believe the royal family gave a check of $50 million and promised to cover all costs, in order to replicate NYU’s “campus” in Dubai). Of course, there might be nothing wrong with that, but certain students prefer the small, intimate setting (also, helps foster more pride, in my opinion). Therefore, it is laughable for you to make a clear-cut statement that Fordham consists of NYU rejects. Even if it does, they seem to appreciate their degree more.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, you do not need to apply for any scholarship…you automatically are considered for all of the scholarships; Fordham sends it to you with the decision.</p>
<p>I also agree that Fordham is not full of kids who would have rather gone to NYU. Fordham was my daughter’s first choice. She visited NYU and Fordham, and it was the atmosphere at Lincoln Center that drew her in, she knew right away that that was the school for her. She also liked that she could major/minor easier than at NYU, where you could only major/minor within the same school.</p>
<p>Her grades were good enough that she could have gone pretty much anywhere, National Merit Finalist, #3 in her class, etc and blah blah blah. She chose Fordham and is thrilled to be there.</p>
<p>That’s awesome, LeftyLou. My cousin also told me that some kid turned down NYU Stern for Fordham even though the financial aid packages were nearly identical. It really comes down to personal preference and what the student wants from his/her college experience. They are all fine schools.</p>
It is very helpful.</p>