<p>As of now, I am deciding between Muhlenberg, Temple, and Fordham. With 6 days left to choose, I am developing quite a bit of anxiety over this. </p>
<p>While Muhlenberg and Temple have such great things to offer, I cannot get over the idea of living in New York City. However, as everybody has pointed out: college should be more than location.</p>
<p>So with that, I ask anyone who can possibly answer:
-How is the social life? I've heard bad things about the lack of comeraderie about the students and such.
-Is it academically challenging? Right now I attend a magnet school and while it's extremely competitive, I really enjoy being around people who want to learn.</p>
<p>i recently attended an open house at FCLC and was impressed at the pride and sense of community of the school because i had also heard bad things. while i was there, almost every random student that i came across seemed happy and strongly recommended the school, many even explicitly said “Fordham is the best, you should definitely come here.” as for a social life, you will be in New York City, therefore your social life will be wrapped up in the city as a whole in addition to the school; you should be fine. academically, i’ve heard varying things. generally the core seems to be considered fairly rigorous and challenging by the average student but is by no means unmanageable. if you are “above average,” i’m sure it will be easier but i’m also sure you’ll find classes that will still challenge you. Fordham is a jesuit school meaning that they educate in the jesuit tradition of challenging the student to develop as a whole person. personally, i feel that Fordham does very well in pursuing this ideal in every aspect. the curriculum isn’t limited to the campus, the whole City is the classroom. this leads to a far more practical and enveloping education than one can receive at other universities.</p>
<p>in conclusion, you should attend FCLC not because of the location in and of itself but because of the education it offers that incorporates the location into the revered jesuit tradition.</p>
<p>if this hasn’t been enough to convince you, i suggest visiting the campus. i was pleasantly surprised with the facilities and services offered.</p>
<p>Have you visited all three schools? FCLC just clicked for my daughter as soon as she stepped foot inside. Temple is a good school, my niece goes there, but I believe it is much bigger. You really need to get a feel for them.</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you! I visited all three. Muhlenberg a total of three times (junior open house last year, Scholarship auditions for theater, and Accepted Students Day); Fordham only once (Accepted Students Day), and Temple twice (tour & auditions). The reason I didn’t stress about the decision is that I thought the answer would come to me after the accepted students days, but it didn’t. I loved and said “I’m totally going here!” after both visits, but began to grow hesitant of each as I did more and more research. I’m torn because I don’t know if I’m ready to live in the city at a school with no social life, but at the same time I think Muhlenberg might be too similar to what my life is like now (Harry Potter fans, theater people) and I might not grow up.</p>
<p>I went to Fordham’s accepted students day too, and I saw lots of kids walking by the atrium, walking in twos and threes and groups, the tour guide knew tons of people. There were groups hanging out in the study lounges too and the cafe. I can’t imagine that there is no social life at Fordham. You have to get involved in clubs and activities no matter where you go.</p>
<p>(And if you like theater and Harry Potter, I’m sure my daughter will become one of your best friends!)</p>
<p>I am currently a sophomore at FCLC. There is definitely a social life. Especially if you dorm, it is pretty much impossible to not make friends. The thing that is different about LC from most other colleges though, is that while we do have a lot of on campus programming and student life, most students prefer to do things in the city instead of on campus. So while there may not seem like a huge on campus social presence, once you find your core group of friends there will be no shortage of things you can do with them at any given moment of the day. It is extremely easy to meet people and make friends quickly because we are such a small campus, and fordham does a really good job of giving the new students ample time and an abundance of events in the beginning of the year in order for the freshmen to create their core social group- all freshmen live on floors 2-7 and their RAs and FMs work hard to create community on their floors, the first month of school is dedicated to welcoming new students to the school with a ton of events on and off campus, and you take this freshman seminar class that includes students from your floor so that you automatically know people in both your class and where you live. So there’s that.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, I have yet to meet a student who doesn’t feel challenged here. We have a rigorous core, and the major classes are definitely stimulating for those who are interested in the subject at hand. As someone else on this forum has said before, the most commont complaint among students with regard to academics is exhaustion, not boredom.</p>
<p>Are you a Theatre major? Or considering a minor? If so, I’d be happy to give you any info I can on the program. My S is a freshman Theatre major doubling in Performance and Playwriting and his top three reasons for choosing FCLC were location, Theatre program, Jesuit education. He couldn’t be happier. Good luck with your decision! :)</p>
<p>Thanks so much to everyone, specifically Ramfan for giving a Fordham perspective!
Sandkmom-I am not a theater major, but I think I will be minoring and I would love to do it extracurricularly.
I’m the city type, and New York has so much to offer: it’s looking like Fordham 2015 for me (: I just keep telling myself if I hate it, I can transfer, and if it really gets too expensive (something I wasn’t considering, but I have misjudged it)- I can deal with it. Thanks again to everyone, and anyone else going to Fordham can feel free to contact me!</p>
<p>if you need any further convincing, join “the selective cult at lincoln center.” its a facebook group made by/for incoming freshman. we’ve all been talking and become friends and its helped solidify the choice in my mind since i was concerned with the reported lack of community. this group and all of its members have provided me with the sense of community i had hoped for and more</p>
<p>Well Fordham is an expensive school (55k+) for that kind of money it would only be worth it to me if you just felt like you really need to be in NYC. For me, I feel at home at NYC its where I grew up, it strikes motivation in me, and I love being around diverse and creative people in the city. Also, for the field I am looking to go into it only makes sense to be in NYC. So if you feel that way about the city you should follow your heart and definitely do it =] Also, have you toured the campuses? I have toured both…I actually applied last year to LC and got in but would not have applied at all if it werent for the LC campus. To be honest Fordham is a good school as far as ranks…not a GREAT school. I just wanted to be in manhattan. It best suited me for my career choice, and I didnt get into NYU. So if you DONT feel like I said as though you NEED to be in the middle of the city 55k is just too expensive. BTW the LC apartments are fckn sweeeeet!!! I was suprised at the nice size! The living room space and kitchen space of the apartment I toured was relatively tiny however, the actual bedrooms(which to me are the most important) were a realllyyyy good size. The closet was hugee, windows hugeeee with a nice view, just a nice open space. The living room I saw had big ceiling to floor windows. A good sized space for two people. Really fell in love with the apartments…the school just wasnt for me.</p>