I have been accepted to both Villanova and Fordham LC and I’m struggling to decide between them.
My parents and family friends are all encouraging me to choose Villanova, and it is really stressing me out. They all say Nova is the better school, and i really need help deciding.
Here’s some info about me:
I am a female, of Middle Eastern background, coming from a small private school in suburban NJ. I am typically very shy, though I’m hoping to come out of my shell in college. I consider myself to be unique and artsy, also very politically aware. I’m interested in the arts: I do photography and am a musician (singing, guitar, and a bunch of other instruments). I’d like to surround myself with people that are quirky and artsy like myself, and attend a school with a lot of diversity. That’s one of the reasons I figured Fordham would be better; Villanova has almost no diversity and I feel out of place there (also since I’m Muslim) since everyone is mostly white and rich. I feel that I could be myself more at Fordham. Also, I’m generally a good kid; I don’t drink/do drugs, I am respectful of other people, and I was raised in a religious household.
I think Villanova is better academically but I don’t think I fit in with the stereotypical frat boy/sorority girl, Vineyard Vines wearing person that attends Villanova. I feel that at Fordham I will find people who appreciate the arts and are cultured, and who will want to go to art museums and alternative rock concerts with me. I want to surround myself with people that I can have intellectual discussions outside of class with; I’m not interested in a student body who’s main concern is frat parties. Also i’m not a person that really likes going to sporting events, and sports seem to be huge at Nova; the school spirit is a little much for me.
When it comes to academics, I’m pretty much undecided but want to major in the arts with either a minor in Arabic or Art History. I like Villanova’s philosophy more and i feel like the teachers are willing to do anything for their students. I went to accepted students days for both Nova and Fordham, and at Villanova the people were generally more friendly and so were the faculty.
Almost every adult I know is pressuring me to choose Villanova, but I don’t feel like I will fit in with the kids there. Yet on the other hand, my friends tell me that they picture me at Fordham.
So which school do you think is better for me? And if it is Fordham, how do i convince my parents it’s the better choice?
It sounds like you know where you want to go to school. I will say though, that while you might feel Villanova is all white rich preppy kids you’ll find people you fit in with. Although Fordham isn’t as hard to get into as Villanova it’s still a very good school and will give you good connections to New York City if you plan on working there in the future.
Fordham and Villanova have roughly the same acceptance rates - 49% at Villanova vs. 48% at Fordham. The students’ SAT scores and class rank are similar. Fordham is somewhat more diverse, but looking at a racial/ethnic breakdown, the biggest change in diversity seems to be in Hispanic/Latino students: Fordham appears to have roughly the same percentage of black, Asian, and mixed-race students as Villanova. Another difference is international students: 2% at Villanova vs. 6% at Fordham. But these are not huge differences, so Fordham isn’t a whole lot less white than Villanova is. Villanova does have more out-of-state students than Fordham, though: 81% at Villanova vs. 53% at Fordham. However, I’d say that’s maybe less important at Fordham because New Yorkers are often from everywhere.
So the schools have roughly similar student bodies in terms of academic achievements in high school and in terms of racial/ethnic diversity. I’m not sure that I agree that Villanova is better academically - perhaps it is, but I see the schools as roughly equal in that regard.
So it seems that comfort should really win out here, and you feel more comfortable at Fordham. Also, its location in Lincoln Center would be really ideal for someone who is interested in music and the arts, and New York is a good place to come out of your shell and thrive. Living in New York may also make it easier to find like-minded Muslim college students - even if not at Fordham, there are tons of other colleges and lots of young professionals in New York.
I think that your gut feeling is correct. Villanova is an excellent school, but as an Augustinian school, it is heavily Catholic (about 80%), and quite serious about religion - I think you should check out how active any other religious organizations are on campus to assess how comfortable you might feel (and I am not suggesting that Villanova is intolerant or anything of the sort - merely that some of the homogeneity that some feel stems from its strong Catholic identity). Fordham, particularly the Lincoln Center campus, is quite different - very LBGT tolerant, artsy, liberal, and overall the school is only approximately 60% Catholic.
Juillet, I’m not sure your figures are correct. On the US News site, Fordham is listed as 61% white, with 14% hispanic, 6% international, 4% black, 8.8% Asian and 3% two or more races, whereas Villanova is approximately 75-75%. That’s a pretty big difference in diversity between the two schools.