Where to go? Fordham, Northeastern, Penn, UMD, american, USC, Richmond, elon, JMU

College Search & Selection
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<p>Dazed: The link is a good one but it is obvious that the school is trying to manipulate perception rather than present raw material (Jesuits have a reputation for inflating stats, btw). </p>

<p>Look closely at it. The title says “Profile of the Class of 2014.” That gives the clear message that this data is for ENROLLED students. Then it goes on and gives class rank for “accepted students.” There obviously is a big difference between the stats of accepted students and enrolled students. This is a MAJOR red flag to me. It is not a blatant lie but it is clearly intended to deceive or create a false impression. There is absolutely no other purpose in giving stats for accepted students in a report that purports to be a profile for the incoming class.</p>

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<p>RisingChemist is right. The fact that much of the stats listed on the Fordham link is of accepted rather than enrolled students is an attempt to make themselves look more competitive than they really are. Not only is the class rank listed this way but the SAT and ACT scores are as well.</p>

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<p>Sorry, I was interupted by phone call and my last post did not have my full attention. Take a look at my prior post and the link provided. It says class profile (implying enrolled students). Then the stats provided are for admitted students. Look after the SAT scores and ACT scores and it says “middle 50% for accepted students.” Again, the stats will be substantially lower for enrolled students. Clearly (and I believe, intentionally) misleading.</p>

<p>Ghostbuster: You base your “fact” on the information provided by the university that I addressed above. Clearly this is not for enrolled students but, rather, accepted students. Maybe you should soften your tone. You are clearly wrong but want to insult me because you don’t like my message. It is deceptive marketing and you took it hook, line and sinker. That’s how deceptive marketing works: you state the impression you want to give in bold then hide the truth in the fine print. You should be angry at Fordham for misleading you, not at me.</p>

<p>I am not trying to insult Fordham as a University. In fact, I recommended it to the OP. I just want to clear up false information that was provided.</p>

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<p>-Fordhami - Jesuit school in NYC. I didn’t like the location, but it has a nice program.</p>

<p>-Northeastern - Expensive research institution. Private and jumping up in the rankings significantly every year. 120 spots in three years. Not sure when it will stop rising, but could be a good investment. Boston is a great city to live in.</p>

<p>-Penn state (University Park)- State school in the middle of nowhere. </p>

<p>-University of Maryland (College Park)- Party school. Good sports scene, though not good at sports. Good weather. Not in a city, but not far from DC which is a great spot. Not really close enough to go out in the city every night, but close enough for random adventures.</p>

<p>-American University-Not the best name academically, but it is in DC. Inferiority complex with GW/Georgetown. Ugly campus. Beautiful city. I would live off campus.</p>

<p>-University of South Carolina - not on par with the others you mentioned, academically or socially. Beautiful woman, southern mentalities, southern slang, low job prospects at graduation. Great weather. </p>

<p>-University of Richmond-Not as well known, but it is an okay school. Richmond isn’t a very happening city.</p>

<p>-James Madison University - Good school, good name. Decent location.</p>

<p>-Tulane - Sadly, the school has fallen on some hard times since Katrina. I don’t see it recovering. Loss of professors and money. Drop in rankings.</p>

<p>-Elon - Never heard of it.</p>

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<p>Wow, thanks for pointing that out RisingChemist. That is very misleading and deceptive on their part. Good news for me however as it means I probably stand a better chance of being admitted. </p>

<p>Informative thanks for giving me your insights. However I do not understand how Tulane’s rise in selectivity would not add to the prestige of the school?</p>

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<p>I hope Tulane can get their stuff together too, but it took a heck of a hit in the last few years. I am sure it will get some new profs and get back to form at some point. I just don’t see it happening in the next five or so years.</p>

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<p>True, your list is all over the place! </p>

<p>H is native of Boston, what is attraction of Northeastern lately? Is it the co-op program or what? Lack of housing, lack of financial aid, not as highly regarded as other schools in the Boston area by the locals.</p>

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<p>^Northeastern is a very good school if you can afford it. Highly regarded, good reputation, strong career placement statistics, award winning campus and a great location in Boston.</p>

<p>Boston College is even stronger, but it is much harder to get into. The big Boston schools are all great schools and will provide an excellent education. </p>

<p>I agree that the list is fairly broad. The southern schools are going to have a very different environment than the northern schools, and the liberal arts schools are going to have a very different focus than the national universities. You may want to review what you are looking for before narrowing your list.</p>

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<p>I know my list is all over the place and this is probably because I think I am pretty socially adaptable and don’t care that much. While I would prefer a school in the south I will not neglect northeastern schools with good programs. I am just looking to get into the best program possible in terms of education and job placement.</p>

<p>Overall experience (fun) is important as well; but I believe that will come almost naturally with any college experience. It’s what you make of it.</p>

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<p>Not really sure you are going to get great job placement out of a state school in the south. It depends on what you want to do, but NY, Boston and the other major markets should be your focus if you are looking to do anything business-wise.</p>

31

<p>Okay…so we all know that that risingchemist is a bigot and hates Jesuits and is another Fordham basher. </p>

<p>Not going to lower myself to that pathetic level. Sorry. Where are you in school rising chemist? Don’t lie.</p>

<p>Fordham is an outstanding and competitive academic school with many students having very high STATS.</p>

<p>Each applicant must decide for themselves where they want to attend after they receive their acceptance offers. You make your best choice from the data you have and from your own impressions. Its your life. Your decision. Fordham wants people who want Fordham. Its that simple.</p>

<p>I have zero time for people with a bash the school agenda. I dont care if its Harvard, Stanford, Fordham or Chapel Hill.</p>

32

<p>I’m looking at a lot of the schools you’re looking at. FYI, if you haven’t visited Fordham, do so before you go there. One side is nice and pretty with trees, and the other side is frankly a not-so-great part of the Bronx. My mom saw the area and said that she wanted me to take it off my list. I know several of my friends who applied and loved it, but it wasn’t for me. </p>

<p>As for Northeastern, don’t believe people when they say that it doesn’t give out a lot of aid - I got offered $20,000 a year in merit money, and I didn’t even apply for aid. I didn’t even get into the honors program, either, so obviously I’m not the smartest student admitted. Northeastern is also in Boston, the Mecca for college students. The location is better than that of BC or BU, in my opinion.</p>

<p>American is in a great area and the people there are unbelievably friendly.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Um, pointing out a statistical manipulation does not equate to being a bigot. On your part, you’re not exactly unbiased either given your history of being extremely pro-Fordham, apparently so much you’re willing to be blind to obviously tweaked data sitting in front of you just because it appears the least bit unflattering. Basically, a summary of that post is you threw up your hands and said “Whatever! You suck!” which looks pretty bad lol. </p>

<p>Fordham’s not a bad school, and this number tweaking is pretty minor, I’ve seen other schools report the stats of accepted students instead of matriculating in their viewbooks before also (USC and my own school in fact). But if a prospective student is trying to evaluate their chances from that data and they think that those numbers are for the matriculating class you’ve got to point it out.</p>

34

<p>Of the schools on your list, I would recommend Richmond. I very nearly applied ED there, so I know quite a bit about it. There are a lot of things to like about the school, and I thought I would have graduated from UR feeling very prepared. </p>

<p>Their B-school was ranked 15th in the country by some magazine (I’m not interested in business, so I don’t really know) and is apparently on the rise. They just moved into a new building that apparently has some pretty sweet stuff inside. Like I said, I odn’t care about business, so I’ll let you research that. But it is a plus for UR. </p>

<p>Now, the things I liked about the school that would also matter to you. UR has a leadership studies major. It probably wouldn’t be a great stand-alone major, but in combination with something else could make you very attractive to employers. These classes seemed really interesting, to me at least. Richmond itself is a really nice city. I have family that lives there so I’m a little more familiar with it than people that just visited UR. Richmond’s campus is tucked away pretty far removed from everything else, and it’s in a really nice neighborhood in Richmond. There are a lot of different parts of Richmond (some not so good, I won’t lie) that have a lot of really nice restaurants and interesting things to do. Personally, I like Civil War history, and there’s quite a bit of that in Richmond and the surrounding area. </p>

<p>The campus at Richmond is immaculate, and is probably the nicest of the schools on your list (although I haven’t been to all of them). It’s built around a lake and has red brick buildings, and all of the architecture is coordinated (no ugly 70s buildings). Richmond also has pretty good sports, as its in the CAA which is hyper-competitive in football and pretty good in basketball. </p>

<p>The classes at UR are small and you’ll get to know your professors. This is something I saw from visiting classes and also from people I know who have gone there. This was really important to me, so I liked that. The academics will be challenging, but UR is a respected school you should reap the rewards after graduation. </p>

<p>Well, I’ve pretty much just rambled on about Richmond. I really loved it there, if you can’t tell. I think it’s far and away the best choice of the schools to which you’re applying.</p>

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<p>^Richmond? Out of all the good schools he listed, you recommend Richmond? lol.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the defense Schritzo. I would also like to point out that Fordham was the school that I recommended to the original poster despite having attended another school on the list. I also repeatedly said Fordham is a good school. Clearly, I have nothing against Fordham. I am not a “hater.” Actually, I am just a lover of truth.</p>

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<p>Fordham is a decent school. Lets stop the bashing on this thread.</p>

38

<p>Actually, I am just a lover of truth. =rising Chemist.</p>

<p>Then please stop spreading untruths and opinions about Fordham which you know nothing about. Its really quite rude and frankly makes you look like a ■■■■■. Perhaps that was not your intent, but I don’t appreciate being called a liar, particularly when I have the real facts and stats at my fingertips. </p>

<p>+++++</p>

<p>As for that other poster novelsandteacups: its certainly well within your purview and right to visit a school and decide its not for you. We did the same thing with numerous schools. Visits are very helpful. However, it may well be that you and your mother got the entirely wrong impression of the Bronx and Little Italy. Many Fordham students embrace that neighborhood and work in community service projects. Most Fordham students LOVE to go into Little Italy and eat dinner, where they are treated well. Crime happens everywhere, even in bucolic (meaning beautiful) rural campuses and seemingly ideal locations. Fordham is a VERY safe campus. The only students who have issues are usually the ones who make poor decisions like going out alone late at night, drinking in bars. </p>

<p>For some an urban campus (despite Rose Hill being a beautiful gothic campus with lush gardens and lots of green space) is not what they want to do for four years. That is perfectly okay. But I remind the viewers that Yale is not in the best of locations and Duke has a boundary with a seedy part of Durham and UChicago is in very rough neighborhood etc. I know for a fact that crime is a problem at Georgetown and George Washington, and while American University is a gorgeous campus in Northwest wealthy Washington, students also have issues in the city. There are problems at UVa, UNC, and PennState. </p>

<p>The Bronx is a borough in New York that prides itself on its improving conditions, and Fordham has been an integral part of that change. For some families who live in classic suburbs, the Bronx and the urban New York setting can be a culture shock and perhaps make incorrect judgments. Again, if the urban setting is not for you, fine. But please don’t judge a book by its cover. </p>

<p>I will be there next week, enjoying ANOTHER fine meal in Little Italy! And we wouldn’t trade our experience at Fordham for anything. (No, its not fairy land or a southern finishing school or a campus for perfectly pampered kids, but its well worth the investment of your money and your time/effort.)</p>

<p>There is adjustment at every college. Whether its in the beautiful countryside, an urban campus, a suburban campus, a Land of Oz or sports mecca. Its important to view schools with a sense of reality. </p>

<p>I wish everyone success this admissions cycle.</p>

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<p>Got in to Fordham!!!</p>

<p>So pumped right now. Hopefully I have similar results with the rest!</p>

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<p>Congrats Dazed! Welcome to the Fordham family! Its a fabulous school full of warm people, and a lot of very very smart students.</p>