<p>I have been accepted to the five schools in the title of the thread and have no idea where to go..........
I have visited and liked all five of these schools, but prefer Nova, Fordham, and HC over Manhattan and SJU. However, if I attend Manhattan or SJU, I would be debt free whereas at the other three I would probably be from 50-100k in debt.
I am thinking about studying premed, but I'm not 100% sure about going that route. Bio/chem engineering, history, computer science, and even music could be potential options as well.
As I said earlier, I liked all five of these schools, otherwise I would have never applied to them. But now, I have no clue where to attend.
I'll answer any questions you guys might have while trying to figure out my best fit.</p>
<p>If you are going to graduate school, medical school or law school then save your money. It pains me to say that and have you spurn Fordham (among others), but going into debt 50k plus for undergraduate studies, if you will likely have large medical school debt is not a good idea.</p>
<p>I am partial to Manhattan over St. Joes because its a nice school, close to Fordham and smallâŠand will prepare you well for what you want to do. Manhattanâs President is the former Dean of the College at Rose Hill at Fordham. A fabulous person. </p>
<p>I dont have stats on Manhattans or St. Joes medical school admission rates. Fordham is north of 86 % and getting better. </p>
<p>If money was not an issue, then I would strongly recommend Fordham.</p>
<p>I guess it would be ok to talk directly about my financial offers:
Not included Stafford / Work Study / Perkins Loans, Manhattan College & St. Josephs expect me to pay about 16-17k (merit scholarships).
On the other hand, Holy Cross, Fordham, and Villanova expect me to pay about 25k a year.</p>
<p>However, my parents can only pay about 15k a year so, I would have around 50k in debt going to Holy Cross, Fordham and Villanova.</p>
<p>I think Iâm going the premed route, but Iâm probably 70% sure on that. To be safe, I would probably be undecided going to college. However, at Manhattan College, I got accepted into the school of science and got a specific scholarship for being in that school so I canât transfer out to the engineering school if I change my mind. There was little to no core curriculum at Manhattan College so Iâm not 100% sure on going there vs. St. Josephâs even though it is in NYC (I live in NYC).</p>
<p>The other three schools had superior academics. The core curriculum at Villanova and Fordham are really good (esp the revamped core at Fordham) as well as the premed program at Holy Cross. These three schools had way better programs⊠At Manhattan College and St. Josephâs, I would have to apply for honors programs immediately in order for the work to be remotely challenging. But, I donât know if the programs at Villanova/Fordham/HolyCross are 50k better than those at MC and SJUâŠ</p>
<p>I guess it would be better to discuss the academic concerns I have with these schools first since that is my priority when making my decision.</p>
<p>Villanova, Fordham, and Holy Cross are several tiers above St Joes and Manhattan which is why you are getting more money from the latter two. You are probably a student they rarely get whereas you are more the average for HC, Fordham, and Villanova. I personally am not a big fan of Philly or the Bronx so would probably pick HC out of those three but any one of those three are excellent choices.</p>
<p>@required_details
Iâm completely aware of this but Manhattan College & St. Josephâs University are still choices for me to consider for financial reasons.
If you are curious, I got a 2100 on the SAT and have a 3.8 at a prestigious high schoolâŠ
The problem is, I donât know if the Honors Programs of MC & SJU at least come close to the standard programs at the other three schools.</p>
<p>If only I was a year older ⊠College of the Holy Cross gave full tuition scholarships to my school for decades until they removed it this year :(</p>
<p>Congrats, all are fine schools. I would agree with the posters here that A)-Fordham, Villanova and HC are stronger schools than Manhattan or St. Joeâs and B)- like most students, is the extra reputation and higher standards worth the money out of pocket?
If you plan to finance a medical education, perhaps the less expensive programs will save you money and most students make that choice. I would also look at what is the Med school placement rate at each school to help make your decision.</p>
<p>Nova, Fordham, and HC are much better academically than the other two. Last year I the three of them were on my list and I ended up choosing HC. I love the school and I am learning so much. Fordham and Nova are also good schools, but just werenât the right fit for me. Unless you really canât afford any of the three, I wouldnât go to Manhattan or STU. And of course, Iâd advocate for HC :)</p>
<p>Update:
I decided to request financial aid reevaluation for Fordham, Villanova, and Holy Cross. These schools are simply way better than the other two⊠I am visiting St. Josephâs tomorrow to see if it is worth attending at a lower price. Manhattan Collegeâs med school acceptance rate is very high, so it is also a consideration. At Manhattan College, I would probably major & minor or double major in chem and computer science to prepare for a medical informatics job.
At Fordham, I would probably take the 3-2 engineering program and the back-up plan would be a premed track.
At Villanova, I would probably major in biochemistry.
Finally, Holy Cross has the best premed program of the bunch.</p>
<p>I have visited every school and liked them all so I canât subjectively decide -___-
Objectively, which ever school that comes through with more financial aid is where Iâll attend (in that case most likely Fordham).</p>
<p>My questions at this point is what is the better âsafetyâ school for me, SJU or Manhattan?</p>
<p>You should try to speak with the professors who head the pre-med programs at each of colleges. If you were to go to a school with a weaker program, it could hinder your plans to go to a top med school and if you opt to go to one of your back-up schools with no pre-med program, you might need to âmake-upâ a year obtaining necessary course work which would cost you more money.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision and your future!</p>
<p>If money is not too big of a concern you should first narrow it down to Nova, HC, and Fordham. </p>
<p>If you really want to major in biology or biochem you should choose villanova which is very strong in the bio related fields and will prepare you for the MCATs as well as med school.</p>
<p>If you want to major in chemistry, I would suggest Holy Cross where the chem department is very strong and will prepare you well for med school. </p>
<p>Fordham, although academically strong, is not as strong as nova and HC.
Of the three, Villanova has the highest sat score 1300, then HC 1295, then fordham 1245.
Villanova and HC both have higher retention rates than Fordham. </p>
<p>In short you cant go wrong between HC and Nova. I would recommend Nova, but as my username suggests I am slightly biased.</p>
<p>In the end its your decision. I strongly recommend saving your money if you are serious about medical school or graduate school. I love Fordham dearly, but you are going to need money for medical school. </p>
<p>I would pick Manhattan over St. Joes. But that is me. Not you. Good luck.</p>
<p>A lot can happen in the next 4 years. You may change your major/career path many times over. Subsequently, I would select the school that gives you the best return on your investment. If you are talking about $50k in debt, you could make that up in 5 years after graduating from one of the higher tier schools. And if you decide to remain with a grad school path, you should attend the school that provides you the best opportunity to continue with your goals. In either event, Iâd be leaning towards HC.</p>
<p>I wouldnât count on being able to pay off your student loans in 5 years. Wait and see what your FA appeals bring and then make the most at whichever school you can afford. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Kiplingers, Forbes, and the recent Payscale Salary study rate highly Holy Cross. HC has one of the better pre-med programs in the country and its alumni network is fantastic.</p>
<p>Update 2:
I have effectively eliminated two schools off of my list: Villanova & Manhattan College.
First, Villanova: I called the Villanova financial aid office and addressed all of my concerns (15k efc paying nearly 30k a year) and a fin aid and they said they would not consider me for financial aid reevaluation. It was my number one choice
Second, Manhattan College: I visited St. Josephâs University and slightly preferred it over Manhattan College. The major turn off for Manhattan College is that if I transfer to another of the four schools, I lose my scholarshipâŠ</p>
<p>So now, itâs between Fordham, Holy Cross, and St. Josephâs
Fordham - 24k/yr (most likely to change)
Holy Cross - 23k/yr (most likely NOT to change)
St. Josephâs - 16k/yr (most likely NOT to change)</p>
<p>I would go with the most financial sound decision, meaning try to graduate with the least debt. If pre-med, pre-law really is your goal, than your college GPA and MCAT/LSAT score will be significantly more important than the prestige of your undergraduate school.</p>
<p>Obviously amongst your current three choices, HC is the most prestigious and will probably offer the best academic environment and oppurtunities. However SJU is not a bad school to attend, esp. if you can graduate w/o debt.</p>
<p>Iâm a parent. My neighbor is a St Joeâs grad. Neighbors have stated they would support their 11th grader D go to an Ivy over St Joe if she is fortunate enough to get admitted. Anything less than Ivy brand name is not worth added cost over St Joe to them.</p>
<p>My neighbor got a first rate education, amazing merit and is very involved with the alumni network. She was a physics major. She makes 6 figures. She opted to not go onto grad school and instead marry and have a family. Her job is full time, but not more than 45 hrs/wk.</p>
<p>My point is you would NOT be giving up academic challenges at St Joeâs. The challenges are there, esp. in the science fields. Just seek them out.</p>
<p>You should be proud that you have so many wonderful choices!</p>
<p>Update 3:
Fordham did come through with the financial aid!
Here are the numbers now:
Holy Cross 23k/yr
Fordham 20k/yr
St. Joeâs 16k/yr
Currently, I am heavily leaning towards Fordham, but I have Holy Cross in the back of my headâŠ
Thoughts?</p>
<p>THose three Jesuit schools are all wonderful. But VERY different on another level. First, Holy Cross is in WorcesterâŠa couple hours (maybe less) to Boston. Its a small liberal arts undergraduate schoolâŠfabulous schoolâŠreally goodâŠbut also insular and no grad schools. Fordham offers Rose Hill and Lincoln Center and you can take courses at BOTH as an upperclassmen. Both Fordham and Holy Cross are in the Patriot League in football and play each other every year. Fierce rivalry. Fordham is in the A10 for basketballâŠanother notch up the ladder and they play big time teams like Temple and Saint Louis and Dayton and XavierâŠand St. Joes! </p>
<p>Fordham is in New York, as you know, and that is also an education in and of itself. And the internships are amazing. </p>
<p>St. Joes is in Philly and that is a different place than New York completely. </p>
<p>I am a Fordham fanatic, for what its worth. But I strongly recommend it and you will likely rise to the creme de la creme there if you work hard. So I think Fordham makes sense. </p>
<p>Nothing wrong with Holy Cross. But donât let the perceived prestige misguide you. Look at programs, internships and what you want to do and where you want to go. Holy Cross tends to be Boston Centric. Fordham tends now to be more nationalâŠand is ranked in USNWR in the uber tough National Research Universities at 53 and will break top 50 this year. </p>
<p>But visit the schools and get your own personal vibe and decide. Congrats to you and good luck!</p>
