Whats so bad about Fordham?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>im a Junior in HS and applying next yr to either Syracuse or Fordham in ED/EA. i absolutely love the Rose Hill Campus! its beautiful! but people complain so much about it! </p>

<p>here is what i heard so far:

  1. Dining Halls are Ewwww (can someone give me an example of what they serve you?)</p>

<li><p>Gay Population (i have MANY gay friends but people are making it sound like all the boys are gay.)</p></li>
<li><p>The Science Department i horrible. (i want to major in Environmental Science and go to Med school after that, but, people are saying itsa horrible program.)</p></li>
<li><p>School Lacks Technology</p></li>
<li><p>If you live in NY, the boroughs, it is 100% sure you wont be able to reside in the college.
(i live 1 hour away from it but am worried they wont provide me with a dorm)</p></li>
<li><p>Lacks Social Life</p></li>
</ol>

<p>can you help me to understand in a more in-depth way, for these things ive heard about Fordham.</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>the food just gets repetitive. i got to the point last year where i just stopped going even though i had a meal plan. i mean it’s edible food, but i preferred to order out food than eat in the cafeteria.</p></li>
<li><p>i’ve heard this too. there’s certainly a few homosexuals on campus, but nothing that would suggest at least from appearance that the majority of boys are gay. i think the problem is that there are more girls than boys (i think it’s 60/40 ratio, could be wrong) and so the few boys that are gay might seem like a bigger group being that there are less boys. but in any case, it’s not a problem (at least for me) for people on campus. everyone just goes about their business, no one really cares if you’re gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>don’t know anything about the Sci Dept so can’t comment on that.</p></li>
<li><p>what exactly do you mean by lacking technology? they got decent IT services, though nothing that is state of the art.</p></li>
<li><p>that’s not true. i live in the bronx and i live on campus. i had to get on the waitlist but it all worked out. so if you don’t get to live on campus, just put yourself on the waitlist.</p></li>
<li><p>it feels like that to be honest. i’m not sure what it is. i think maybe it’s because most people go into the city on weekends or they’ll go home since most students live within the tri-state area.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>If you go to the Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus, then yes there is a sizable gay population and yes it is hard to find housing accommodations if you live in the area. But looks like you will end up at the Rose Hill Campus (Bronx) since you want to major in the sciences (pre-med). At the Rose Hill Campus, “all boys are not gay” and housing is not a problem at all. I am from Queens and many of my friends (50%) were residents of NY and no one had any problems. Fordham is building more residence halls as I speak and is dishing out $70 million in constructions (and that includes a new state of the art dining hall as well as student center) so you are entering the school at a very good time. Most of the projects will take some time to complete but either ways, you have something to look forward to. </p>

<p>“Dining Halls are Ewwww (can someone give me an example of what they serve you?)”
Calm down, you sound like they serve you rats. They serve normal food but the lack of variety makes you sick of the food in two weeks. The food can definitely use some more variety and improve a little more in quality. But the food is edible and by no means, should you be repulsed by going to the cafeteria. Once you get sick of it though, there are a lot of on campus eating facilities other than the cafeteria and you get a dollar balance along with your meal plan (around 300 a semester) that you can use at these other facilities. And there are some very nice Italian off-campus restaurants if you’re willing to spend the money.</p>

<p>I don’t know what you mean by “school lacks technology.” The computers are decent and fairly new. 95% of the campus is wireless; sometimes, it runs slow, but by no means does that make the technology weak. </p>

<p>The Science Dept. is not “horrible” although they can use a new science building. Pre-Med program is fairly competitive from what I have heard; some students drop out of the program after freshman year as they are not able to cope with the program. But if you stick with it and study hard, I have heard that a good percentage of pre-med Fordham students end up at decent med-schools; but since I was a business major, it is better that you speak to someone else about it.</p>

<p>Hmm…lacks social life? Again, another vague question that I do not understand. If you mean by lacking social life, the students are dumb, inarticulate, and do not know how to interact with each other, then that’s a false statement. If you mean that there aren’t many things to do, you’re 20 minutes away from the most happening city in the world; there is an on campus Ram Van that takes the students to Manhattan every 30 minutes for $3. And, the campus is well situated, with many bars and night clubs around. So I do not what you mean by lacking social life. If you want to compare Syracuse with Manhttan, there isn’t even much of an argument there.</p>

<p>It seems to me a lot of things that you have heard are very generalized, blown out of context, or just misinformed. If you are really interested in the school, then I suggest you try harder to learn about the school. </p>

<p>If you have more questions, feel free to ask.</p>

4

<p>[Excelsior</a> | Ever Upward | The Campaign for Fordham](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/campaign_home/campaign_priorities/facilities/rose_hill_campus_68733.asp]Excelsior”>http://www.fordham.edu/campaign_home/campaign_priorities/facilities/rose_hill_campus_68733.asp)</p>

<p>[Fordham</a> University Rose Hill Campus](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/audience/tours/rh_map.shtml]Fordham”>http://www.fordham.edu/audience/tours/rh_map.shtml)</p>

5

<p>thanks starburyknicks and BPtheguy88 you really helped me!</p>

<p>im planning on seeing the campus in june with my parents and probably going to do the pre-college summer program at fordham to get a better sense of the school. </p>

<p>i love everything about fordham but those stupid things i heard about it were ruining my interest in it. </p>

<p>I AM IN LOVE WITH THE CAMPUS! </p>

<p>and can you answer a couple more questions for me?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>how are the basketball and football games? are they packed and fun to go to?</p></li>
<li><p>do Fordham students interact with the Fordham prep high school students?</p></li>
<li><p>last, are there many commuters at Rose Hill?</p></li>
</ol>

6

<p>Fordham sports have been struggling, the basketball team only had 3 wins the previous season. The games are not packed and that’s one of the problems at Fordham. </p>

<p>I did not really see much interaction between Fordham prep students and Fordham college students from what I can recall. I would think though that there might be after school tutoring programs in which Fordham students tutor Fordham prep students, but I may be wrong. </p>

<p>There are approx. 70% residents and 30% commuters.
<a href=“http://www.educations.com/Fordham_University__b9483.html[/url]”>Education Abroad: University & College Study Abroad Programs;

<p>If you commute, Fordham gives you an extra $6,000 a year as an incentive, so I guess that may be the reason for some people to commute. Fordham has enough residence halls and again you should have no problem whatsoever being able to dorm.</p>

7

<p>Since you are a junior and applying next year, make sure you have a 3.7 GPA (Fordham is big on HS grades) and 1850+ on SAT’s, in order to have a good shot. Applying EA might help but if your grades are not good, many students get deferred. Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>

8

<p>my gpa is pretty low because of my freshman yr.
its 86.4 %
Freshman yr: 77.5%
Sophomore yr: 81.5%
Junior year 97.5% (4.0)</p>

<p>i have taken 5 IB Classes and 4 Honors Classes so far and taking all IB in my senior year. w/ 4 HL’s and 2 SL’s next year. </p>

<p>i received a 2050 on my SAT’s though which is good. </p>

<p>Also, i have taken 5 SAT Subject Tests:</p>

<p>Math Level 1: 670
Biology: 680
Chemistry: 710
Global History: 720
Physics: taking in june
Spanish: taking october of my senior year
US History: taking in june</p>

<p>i have 800-1000 hours of community service. </p>

<p>i play 2 sports.</p>

<p>im in 4 clubs.</p>

<p>i also am running for president this year.</p>

<p>did an internship for a travel agency</p>

<p>play the clarinet and trumpet in my school’s orchestra.</p>

<p>do drum line.</p>

<p>been in 3 plays so far for my school.</p>

<p>have done a summer job at a restaurant for 4 years. </p>

<p>Volunteer at a hospital and nursery home.</p>

<p>i speak fluently in 4 languages. </p>

<p>going to have great teacher rec. as well as counselor rec.</p>

<p>i think the summer program could really get me in.</p>

<p>my school is also very connected with Fordham</p>

9

<p>Fordham loves mediocre students. You’ll be fine.</p>

10

<p>I think you have a decent shot and taking a summer course would definitely show that you have a lot of interest in the school. You definitely have an upward trend in GPA but the grades Freshman and Sophomore years are extremely low (C+ and B-) and perhaps you can explain the reason for low grades to the admissions committee. Your overall GPA is a B (Fordham’s average is an A-) but your SAT score compensates. Your rank will also be important, so perhaps you go to a difficult school, which might explain the low grades. And since you took a demanding program, it will definitely be factored in. All in all, you have a decent shot at Fordham but receiving some scholarship may be a problem.</p>

<p>I applied to Fordham 4 years ago (Fordham was a lot less competitive then). My stats were almost identical to yours. I had a 1350 on the SAT (670 on SAT II writing since that was not part of the SAT back then)…so 2020 i guess you can say. I had 690 on math 1c and 660 on us history. (Your SAT II’s are def amazing). My freshman year was a 82 GPA…and I ended around an 89 after junior year. I had taken 3 AP’s junior year and 4 senior year. I received $4,200 in scholarship.</p>

<p>My brother applied two year back. He had around a 94 unweighted GPA (7 AP classes), 1800 on SAT, 670 math 1c and 670 us hist). He was first wait-listed and then later rejected. He did transfer over though this past year. </p>

<p>Some advices to increase shot at admissions and a scholarship:

  1. You have taken enough SAT II’s, even for an ivy league standard (most elite schools require 2-3). And many of the exams you have taken or will take are redundant (multiple sciences, history). I would rather focus on maintaining extremely high grades senior year for mid year report as well as perhaps taking the SAT once more and getting it over a 2100 to give yourself a fair chance at a partial scholarship ($8,000-$10,000).</p>

<p>2) Focus on 3-4 extracurricular activities rather than creating what admissions committee call a “laundry list.” Fordham is big on community service so you may want to leverage that rather than diverting attention to internship/working at a restaurant. Playing on a varsity team shows teamwork and leadership so that should definitely help you. For the clubs, having a leadership position (Pres, VP, Treasurer?) will help. Fluency in language/instruments shows great talent.</p>

<p>3) Perhaps take a liberal arts course this summer at Fordham (ex: phil, theology) to show your level of critical thinking and that you’re well rounded. The well-rounded aspect of a Jesuit education is a very big part of the Fordham education (you will be surprised how many required liberal arts courses you will be required to take). To show that you can handle such a course will not only reflect to the admissions committee your ability but will also be rewarding to yourself, as you will walk away having learned a lot. Plus I spending a summer at Fordham would be a nice way for you to experience the campus and the people, to help you decide whether the school is a good fit for you or not. The best thing about summer at Fordham is that they charge half tuition, $650 a credit (it is like $1,200 a credit during the summer). I do not think any other school lowers their tuition rate by that much during the summer.</p>

<p>Lastly, I would say look into some more schools as well. You have great stats, minus the GPA of course, and might get into some other really good schools (eg: NYU, Tufts, BC) if you bump your SAT score a notch.</p>

11

<p>it is like $1,200 a credit during the school year**</p>

12

<p>thanks! you really helped me ALOT! you dont understand how much i needed this information! i really appreciate your help.</p>

<p>and yeah, i am planning on taking only liberal arts courses so i could focus on my major in college. </p>

<ol>
<li>Intro to Sociology</li>
<li>
English Composition/Rhetoric course
or
History: The West from the Enlightenment to the Present.</li>
</ol>

<p>i wish i wasn’t so stupid my Freshman and Sophomore year! i wish i couldve pushed myself instead of slacking off!</p>

<p>and yeah, my school is known as being difficult. Fordham also has a close relationship with my school, which could help me in the long run. </p>

<p>im just so nervous about my freshman and sophomore year! thats the reason i took the SAT subject tests, so i could compensate for my horrible freshman and sophomore year.</p>

13

<p>I think you’ll be alright. Take sociology and history and get an A in those classes to show you can handle the curriculum. Taking Eng over the summer will be a pain in the a$$. I am guessing you go Xaverian, since they offer IB courses and is closely tied with Fordham?</p>

14

<p>lol thats funny cause i do go there!</p>

15

<p>Nice…that’s a great school…one of my friends at Fordham attended the school…that’s how I know about it. And you play varsity ball there? Impressive. Didn’t Chris Mullin play there?</p>

16

<p>yeah he did or at least thats what i heard.</p>

<p>i play lacrosse and Soccer for Xaverian but, play b-ball for outside programs.</p>

17

<p>The football and basketball games get packed, there’s a big emphasis on sports. </p>

<p>I would not recommend going to Syracuse if you’ve been going to Catholic school.</p>

18

<p>you go to Fordham?</p>

<p>and yeah i still cant make my decision…</p>

<p>its the fact that Syracuse is alot more easier to get into than Fordham and i am worried that Fordham might reject me.</p>

<p>otherwise, Fordham is my first choice.</p>

19

<p>oh and does anyone have any idea that if you took summer school for a course, does that grade you got in summer school overwrite the grade you failed that class with.</p>

<p>its because i recieved a 64 in Math my freshman year and repeated it in summer school and got a 96. (i had a horrible math teacher who was a nun lol.)</p>

<p>because if it does over write then my freshman year grade should be around an 81% instead.</p>

20

<p>I don’t go there, but my cousin did and her family lived very far away and I live nearby so we visited her a lot. Its so cold at Syracuse you have to go in like underground tunnels to get to class in the winter.</p>