why do people doubt Fordham just because of the neighborhood?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>a group of my neighbors asked me what college i was thinking about going to. I said Fordham in the Bronx and they started laughing saying that i must be stupid and cant get into any where else. i was like, are you retarded? Fordham's has such a prestigious reputation. Then my sisters told me the same thing.</p>

<p>My sisters told me "What are you going to tell people? i go to school in the Bronx."</p>

<p>its so stupid because Fordham is a great and beautiful school and people doubt it because of its location</p>

2

<p>People who don’t know ANYTHING about New York, the Bronx, or Fordham make those comments. Ignore them. </p>

<p>While all big cities (and even some rural college locations) have inherent risks associated with them, being smart (like not drinking and walking around alone late at night off campus) is all that is required at Fordham.</p>

<ol>
<li> Its a gorgeous campus. Truly.</li>
<li> The New York Botanical Gardens are across the street (used to belong to Fordham actually) and are world famous.</li>
<li> The Bronx Zoo is adjacent to Fordham and the Gardens. Also world famous, and free on Wednesdays for Fordham students. Both the Zoo and the Gardens have joint educational programs with Fordham.</li>
<li><p>Arthur Ave, or “Little Italy” is roughly two blocks off Fordham Road. Its eclectic to be sure. Its very blue collar. But its also very safe, and home to more fabulous restaurants than you can count, whose owners respect Fordham and its faculty and students and needs their business. They look out for you. Fordham has apartments for upperclassmen in this area and they are very safe. Also home to great little grocery stores and general merchandise stores, whose owners love Fordham students. Some of them are Fordham graduates. Its “authentic” and not a tourist trap. Amazing bakeries too!</p></li>
<li><p>The Metro North train literally stops at Fordham’s gate on Fordham Road. It is clean, safe and costs like 4.00 to go into the city, which is about a 10-15 minute ride. Most kids use this and not the subway system: cleaner, safer and more convenient. It goes direct to Grand Central Station, midtown. It runs until 130am. </p></li>
<li><p>Fordham operates the RamVan service and carries students back and forth between Lincoln Center and Rose Hill almost 24.7, plus to JFK and LaGuardia (for a fee). </p></li>
<li><p>Fordham is very near Van Cortland park in Riverdale, a very nice section of the Bronx. This park is one of the largest in New York City. </p></li>
<li><p>When I drive up to see my d at Fordham, I cross the George Washington Bridge (I-95) and take the first exit, north to the Henry Hudson Parkway (Hiway 9) and drive that gorgeous drive up the riverside, past the Cloisters, past Manhattan College/Riverdale and buzz into Fordham on the Moshulu Parkway (right past Van Cortland Park). </p></li>
<li><p>The Bronx is NOT what it was in the late 70’s. Fordham distributes a CD to incoming Freshman which was a PBS publication on the boroughs of NYC, and this one is about the history of the Bronx and its highly informative. </p></li>
<li><p>The Bronx is unique and a vibrant part of New York City. Lots of professionals live in the Bronx and commute into the city daily. Its much cheaper than Manhattan. </p></li>
<li><p>Your experience at Fordham will be two educations in one: The Jesuit Experience on campus and the New York experience outside its gates. Embrace it. Whether you stay or leave after college, its an invaluable experience. </p></li>
<li><p>The statistics of crime on Fordham’s campus and nearby are actually quite low, compared to many very well known colleges. I know, I checked thoroughly. People go into the city (at night) in groups. People go out at night for dining and clubbing in groups. </p></li>
<li><p>Fordham kids are proud of their school and its location. Yes, there are the usual jokes and wise acres. But its a really healthy experience. And Fordham does a decent job of selecting a highly diverse student body, both geographically and socially. You will have classmates who grew up in the Bronx and some from Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut. Some from New Jersey and the rest are from all over the US and some foreign countries. Largely, they are good kids. Fordham kids stick up for Fordham kids. You might see a bunch of them waiting on flights in LaGuardia.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I can’t tell you how many places I have been up and down the East Coast Seabord and into the South wearing Fordham shirts or hats and having people say, “Hey, I know that school! I know someone who went there!” Its always a pleasant conversation. </p>

<p>Is the Bronx a place of perfection? No. UChicago is southside Chicago. Notre Dame is in South Bend (not exactly the nicest place), Duke is in Durham. USC is in South Central LA-Watts. Columbia is very near Harlem (I got corrected on that once, its not technically in Harlem). NYU is totally urban. Boston has schools in tough areas. Marquette is in Milwaukee. Tulane and Loyola-N.O. are in New Orleans. </p>

<p>But its been a very positive experience for us, to date. And we don’t have to mumble, “its in the Bronx” and then cringe. We stand tall and say where it is and what that is all about. And people are surprised. </p>

<p>If you are looking for country club-suburbia its not. And the internships are fabulous!</p>

3

<p>i heard the food around the campus is pretty good though~
but by the way, is it feasible to find a part-time job around the campus?</p>

4

<p>You shouldn’t preoccupy yourself with people’s ideas about the school. You’re going for you. And as long as you like it, then that’s good enough. </p>

<p>I’m sure people snub Yale, too. (Not to insinuate Fordham is anywhere near on par with Yale.)</p>

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<p>Lies.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>More lies.</p>

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</p>

<p>Yes, there are plenty, but put your bid in early. Campus jobs go quickly.</p>

5

<p>Its not lies. Its facts, young man. Statistics that are posted with official reports. Your negativity is astonishing. And be careful who you call a liar. Its very unprofessional.</p>

6

<ol>
<li>I’m not a man. Assumptions only make you look foolish…but I think you do that pretty well on your own.</li>
<li>Considering Fordham is sending out an email every week about some student being robbed in the Bronx…I doubt your claims. </li>
<li>It’s a forum. Do you think being “professional” is a priority?</li>
</ol>

<p>As other students–as in people who have actually attended Fordham–have already stated over and over and over and what a quick search of this sub-forum will reveal–Fordham does not equal the warm cozy little safe haven you’re trying to project.</p>

<p>It’s the Bronx. Yes, all campuses have their share of safety problems, robberies. etc. But, in the edited words of Obama, quit trying to dress up a pig. </p>

<p>Please entertain reality.</p>

7

<p>endless do you even ****ing go to fordham? if you did you would know that just about EVERY WEEKEND there is an email recounting how at least one fordham student was mugged right outside of campus. I love the actual campus just like everyone else, but fact is you have to be careful the second you step out of those gates.</p>

8

<p>My son just finished up a wonderful freshman year at Fordham and here is what I gather about the area.
There are many many positives about Fordham’s location. Being close to Arthur Avenue is nice. Access to Manhattan is great. Theatre, concerts, museums etc. of NYC are all at your disposal. Contrary to what another poster wrote, Fordham students (at I should say at least my son and his friends) typically take the subway to Manhattan (limited student budgets and access to more destinations in Manhattan make the subway attractive) but Fordham has a van which picks Fordham students up late at night at the subway station to take them back to campus which is an excellent service that students actually use (and is much appreciated by parents!). The ease of access to NYC allows for great internships etc.
On the other hand, while the gated campus itself is very safe, you need to be smart about the Bronx. It is not a quiet, sleepy suburb. Easy and common sense things like going out in groups, not wandering alone drunk are important.
Fordham’s neighborhood, like almost everything in life has its positives and negatives. My son sees many more positives than negatives, but that is him. You need to walk around, think about what you want in a college and see if you are comfortable there. If you feel its the right place for you, don’t let anyone dissuade you - chances are they have never been to the campus or walked through the area themselves.</p>

9

<p>I am a current Fordham student, and I would say the previous posters represent two extremes: the earlier saying the neighborhood isn’t terrible, and some of the more recent posters making it sound like Baghdad 2 years ago. The truth is somewhere in the middle - from campus security alerts there are students getting robbed, but keep in mind that many of the students roam around off campus by themselves around 2AM on saturday mornings and things (putting themselves in really bad positions). A large amount of upperclassmen choose to move off campus, and they would not do so if the neighborhood was as scary as some of the previous posters have claimed. My advice is to not let Fordham’s neighborhood stop your from attending, but you definitely have to exercise caution as you would in any semi-dangerous urban area once you are off campus (after dark is the real time to worry, the area is perfectly safe in broad daylight).</p>

10

<p>thanks everyone for your really helpful answers! </p>

<p>and yeah, i know the obvious watching out and not walking alone 2AM in the morning. Its like that everywhere!</p>

<p>It’s just that i heard Fordham’s campus is in a very minority-populated city. is that true? </p>

<p>im visiting the campus in 2-3 weeks, so im going to see how exact it really looks.</p>

11

<p>In the Bronx minorities are the majority, especially in the areas around Fordham University. If you are not comfortable with that, it is best to avoid Fordham. Here is the demographics (via Wikipedia) of the Belmont neighborhood Fordham is most often associated with:</p>

<p>[Belmont</a>, Bronx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belmont,_Bronx]Belmont”>Belmont, Bronx - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Also relevant is the Fordham neighborhood right near Fordham:</p>

<p>[Fordham</a>, Bronx - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordham,_Bronx]Fordham”>Fordham, Bronx - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Hope you find the links helpful.</p>

12

<p>i dont have a problem i was just wondering lol. </p>

<p>oh and did The Bronx Tale take place on Arthur Ave.?</p>

13

<p>How funny that endlessrecession is warning Plattsburgh to “be carefull who you call a liar”. Considering endless is the biggest phony on this message board with her numerous multiple personalities and screen names over the years. I see she is back calling others negative when she can’t she how negative her posts always become. Nonetheless, she’s always entertaining.</p>

<p>And, regarding: ““Fordham is very near Van Cortland park in Riverdale, a very nice section of the Bronx. This park is one of the largest in New York City.””"</p>

<p>Fordham is about 3 miles away from Van Cortland Park, I wouldn’t consider that very near and I would not recommend a student walking there.</p>

<p>Kingsta, Fordham is a breathtaking campus, a very safe campus, and those who are saying you can’t get in anywhere else but Fordham do not know anything about college admission. If you get into Fordham, you should be very proud & you will get a great education.</p>

<p>And yes, A Bronx Tale took place on Arthur Avenue in the movie, but it was actually filed in Astoria, Queens. The only scene filmed in the Bronx was the City Island scene. The Wanderers is another movie that took place in the Bronx & if I remember correctly has scenes on Fordham Road & definitley Pelham Parkway.</p>