<p>My student was very excited about Urban Plunge, applied early but got rejected. Anyone else? We were under the impression acceptance was on first come basis.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear it. Very disappointing for your child. :(</p>
<p>Thank you. I expect that the disappointment will be forgotten by move-in day!</p>
<p>Sorry to hear that. My S didn’t apply to UP so I have no personal knowledge of how it works. BUT, do tell him/her to cheer up – it may work out to be just as well. Freshman move in day at Fordham is a great experince (UP kids kind of miss since they move in early). When you arrive on campus we were greeted with water bottles (some people are greeted by Fr. McShane depending on when you get there!). When the car pulls up to the drom, each student cheered. Then a horde of upperclassmen descend on your car and carry every freshman’s boxes/suitcases up to their rooms. By the time my S signed in, filled out his paperwork and got his keys, his stuff was all in the room! The halls of the dorms are filled with excited freshmen all arriving on campus. Orientation starts late that afternoon. You hate to start a college experience off with a disappointment, but if he/she is interested in community service, there will be plenty of opportunity both on and off campus at Fordham. Just tell him/her to brush it off and look forward to a great move-in day! My S is having a great experience at RH and hopefully your child will as well. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you, happy1. Move-in day sounds like an awesome experience! (As a parent, I am particularly pleased that I will not need to do any “heavy lifting.” lol). I am sure that the experience will negate any lingering disappointment my daughter has about UP. I am glad that your son is thriving at Fordham. I think that Fordham RH is a great place and hope that my daughter has as great an experience as your son.</p>
<p>Urban Plunge is fun and a good learning experience. But its not a big deal. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in community service projects and internships and just checking out the sites, sounds and smells of “the Bronx”. Its all good.</p>
<p>:( Thats stinks to hear that Urban Plunge is not a big deal.Sounds like a great opportunity to start off your freshman year with…HMMMMM…My D is still looking forward to it anyway…</p>
<p>Dont misread me, caseymom. I didnt say it wasnt worth it or that you wont have fun. I said it wasnt a big deal, meaning if you DONT do it, its not like there is a label against you, or you will be denied future opportunities. Its a good program and for those who want to do it, its great. But if you didnt get in, or you didnt want to do it, then its not the end of the world. That is all. There are PLENTY of opportunities to do things at Fordham and many of them involve community service. I also highly recommend the campus ministry retreats they offer. Truly worthwhile and rewarding and frankly a welcome respite from the noisy city life.</p>
<p>To Caseymom–the students who I talked to who did it thought it was an AWESOME experience, they would say it was a big deal to them. In addition to the great experience they received doing the service project, they made very good friends and it was a great start of their freshman year. My D is rooming this year with a girl she met at Urban Plunge last year and many of her really close friends were people she met during Urban Plunge. It gave her a leg up to go into the school year knowing people already, and gave her an opportunity to meet some upperclassmen as well. And even though my D moved in early to do Urban Plunge, we still participated in the traditional move-in day by coming that day with more stuff so we all were able to experience the fun of move in day, without the stress since most of her stuff was moved in before.</p>
<p>My commentary, apparently was misread by two people, one from someone who has a history of wanting to contradict me for some bizarre reason.</p>
<p>My commentary, again, was aimed at the OP who was bummed about not being in Urban Plunge. I reject fully any commentary that says kids who get in “have a leg up” on others or are somehow better off or more privileged. Its a fine program for those who choose to do it. </p>
<p>But for those not selected or for those who choose not to do it, its not a big deal. Period. End of story. </p>
<p>If you got in and do it, great. If not, don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Ghostbuster-chill. My comment was directed to caseymom, who seemed disappointed by your comment to the OP. I understand you were trying to appease the OP whose son was disappointed that he did not get accepted, but it did seem like you were trying to downplay the program to help her help her son not be disappointed to not be accepted (ok that was way too many negatives!). I understand your wanting to reassure mothership that her son will survive the disappointment, yes of course he will, but your using the phrase, “it’s not a big deal” does imply you are putting down the program somewhat. </p>
<p>I never said students that don’t get in are better off or more privileged, but I did say my daughter did have a “leg up” by doing it. Your son didn’t do it, my D did. I am simply stating how she and her friends that also did it felt. They felt that they had an advantage in that they had a shared experience prior to orientation, that they met people before move-in, that due to the shared experience, which is a little more than just a service project, they bonded with people even before the official move in date. Her experience with UP led her to several very close relationships with other freshmen and upper classmen, and the opportunity to meet these upper classmen then led to other opportunities such as running for Freshman Senator, being an Orientation Leader this year, etc. She felt that she would not have had these opportunities had she not met and bonded with the people she met during Urban Plunge. Having had the UP opportunity also made her consider minoring in Urban Studies, which she never would have considered without that experience, and also encouraged her to do an awesome Global Outreach after school ended. So, for her, the UP experience was a big deal. </p>
<p>With regard to the actual service opportunity, yes, you can have other service opportunities during the year. With regard to whether students who do UP are somehow branded as “better” or “more privileged,” no, of course not. With regard to the OP, no, not being accepted is not the end of the world. I believe things happen for a reason, there was some reason he was not meant to do this.</p>
<p>Yes, life will go on, he will have many great experiences, and opportunities to do service projects, but please, don’t put down the UP experience, especially since your son did not do it and thus didn’t really have the opportunity to know if it was a big deal or not.</p>
<p>And, ps, I wouldn’t have responded on this thread at all had I not seen the post from caseymom, who seemed to take your comment as I did.</p>
<p>Look, it is a great experience for those who do it, and for those who don’t, they will have other great experiences. You don’t have to make the OP feel better at the expense of putting down a good program.</p>
<p>Dont put words in my mouth or assume my intentions please. Its really out of place. I think you may want to chill a bit. It doesnt matter. We are done…another year to go and frankly just on cruise control now. </p>
<p>My role here has been to help those with questions or problems, primarily about admissions and sorting through the myriad of anxieties. There are as many opinions about Fordham and New York as there are people who attend there. You are certainly welcome to your opinions. I am going to express mine.</p>
<p>And to suggest I am putting down a program is ridiculous. I said nothing of the sort. I said it was no big deal if you didnt go. My kid has had several wonderful opportunities that lasted months and in one case over a period of years, involving community service at Fordham, so I know a thing or two about it and what Fordham offers.</p>
<p>Its very likely I will speaking with Fr. McShane in about 10 days…in person.</p>
<p>Have a great day and good luck next year.</p>
<p>Thank you, Ghostbuster, for your insight and encouragement on this issue. Also, thank you for all of the valuable information you have provided to so many of us on other threads on this forum. You have made the college application and selection process less stressful. I very much appreciate your help. </p>
<p>When we visited Fordham in April on Accepted Students’ Day, D met a student who had done Urban Plunge the previous year and spoke quite positively about her experiences. The student also described how UP served as a great entry point into other community service programs with which she had become involved. D has a very strong interest in social justice issues and has been involved in several community service activities. She was very impressed with the student’s description of UP and thought it was something she definitely wanted to participate in if she decided to attend Fordham.</p>
<p>At the time of our April visit, D was trying to decide between Fordham and another college. Frankly, I believe that her discussion with the UP participant helped tilt the scales in favor of Fordham. I think that her decision was the right one. </p>
<p>By the time we attended NSO in July, D had already applied to UP. IMO she had submitted a strong essay in support of her application. At NSO, D had the opportunity to approach the UP representative and reiterate her interest. Ultimately, she did not do so. </p>
<p>In view of her strong interest in the program D was quite disappointed when she was not accepted. The rejection was made more stinging by the fact that the overwhelming majority of applicants to UP were accepted, including many who had applied much later than she did. Although I am confident that it was not intended as such, the rejection made D feel unwelcome at Fordham. D began to question whether she had made the right college choice. </p>
<p>As adults, our students must learn to deal with disappointment and rejection and be willing to accept decisions which may appear arbitrary or unreasonable. Overall, I think that the UP rejection will be a valuable learning experience for my daughter. In the grand scheme of life, it is only a minor setback.</p>
<p>Jptmom, I agree completely that things happen for a reason. I think that move-in day will be exciting and that D’s overall experience at Fordham will be an awesome one. I am confident that she will thrive here. </p>
<p>Thanks for all of your input. I’ll see you on campus!</p>
<p>
Mothership, how does your daughter know that the majority of applicants were accepted? Any ideas as to why D was not? Just curious about the whole process.</p>
<p>I asked the organization that runs the program for general stats on number of applicants v. acceptances. I was told that “nearly 200” students applied and that the program could only accomodate 160 students. So, my assumption is that they accepted at least 160 to fill all available spots. This means that no more than 40 applicants were rejected. </p>
<p>I do not know how the decisions were made. Essays? Demographics? I do know that the application itself was very short and students were asked to write an essay responding to a specific prompt. I never inquired about my daughter’s specific situation so I don’t know why she was rejected. D was wondering what the basis was but, wisely, I think, elected to put the whole matter behind her rather than make a specific inquiry about the basis for the decision. She has been in touch with her roommate-to-be and is now wrapped up in the excitement and anticipation of starting college. (Oh yes, and bringing an entire Target store of stuff with her. . .)</p>
<p>With such a mature and positive attitude there is no doubt in my mind that your D will be happy and successful at Fordham. All the best!</p>
<p>Thank you, Happy1 :)</p>
<p>Ghostbuster–what is the significance of your speaking with Father McShane in a few days? Just curious, seemed out of place in your post.</p>
<p>Mothership–it could be as simple as they were trying to have a broad demographic and maybe had too many people from your geographic area? Or maybe too many girls, and they needed more boys? Or some other factor. But I’m glad she’s not letting this color her excitement for starting school here.</p>