Why?! Shouldn't this school be more esteemed?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
81

<p>NYU has a very different campus than Fordham and while NYU is amazing, that was the deal breaker for my D</p>

<p>My D was accepted at both, but chose Fordham because after thinking about it, she really wanted that campus feel</p>

<p>Different strokes, she really liked NYU, it was her first choice for awhile, but for HER, she realized that a traditional campus in a great city was more what she wanted</p>

<p>So "experience" is all relative</p>

<p>She didn't want any school in the south, nor the midwest, no California for various reasons, so no matter how amazing a school might be in Atlanta, or Florida, or Montana, or LA, no matter how amazing the profs were, there was no chance of even looking at schools in locations she wasn't interested in the city or little town they were in</p>

<p>For MY D, the college experience, isn't just ONLY about the school and the classroom, it is much much more than that</p>

<p>What attracted her to Fordham: (besides the education, classes, and the typical stuff)</p>

<p>THe amazing radio station
THe program that works with other schools for great speakers
THe emphasis and opportunties to help others
The Campus
The location
THe major she is interested in
The seminar program
THe opportunity to go to programs at NYU, Columbia
A program that has to do with media and communication
THe ease of getting to Manhattan
THe chance to see some amazing musicals and plays
The ease of traveling to Boston and Philly and WashDC
THe ease of getting to SF non-stop
The study abroad programs
The small class sizes
and so much more</p>

<p>Sure, it isn't Perfect, no place is, but she is mature enough to look beyond any annoyances and to see what an amazing place she is in</p>

<p>SHe also wanted a smaller school to give her the opportunities to have a chance to work on the radio station, or maybe the newspaper, or whatever</p>

<p>Often bigger schools have much more competition for a few spots, so it is tougher to get into those Ecs</p>

<p>A large school may have 100 trying for one of 20 slots on a radio station, while a smaller school may have 50 for 20 slots</p>

<p>SO larger and more competitive does not mean "better" by any stretch</p>

<p>Some people aren't looking to impress by where they went to school. the best people impress with what they accomplish and what they do with what they learned</p>

<p>Employers are smart enough to not just look at the name on the degree- they look at the person</p>

<p>So when talking about "experience" one must not only look at the classroom, but ALSO at the rest of the person's life and interests</p>

<p>Having an amazing history prof does not make up for being in a city that doesn't offer what you want</p>

<p>Many people are just as interested in the grander world, and can make mature decisions looking at the big picture, not just some pie charts</p>

<p>Oh yes, BC, my D didn't apply, it was a great school, but was so similar to her HS it didn't apeal</p>

82

<p>another factor was housing, some schools don't guarantee housing after the first or second year, my D may not want to stay in housing after 2 years, but knowing it is an option was very important</p>

<p>another criteria for my D was that she did not want a campus with much greek presence...for some, greek life is great, but my Ds, don't want schools where it is a big factor of student life</p>

<p>again, to each their own</p>

83

<p>Endowments have nothing whatever to do with the quality of education or overall experience a student may have, in my humble opinion. They are however, important for several other factors, the schools financial health being primary, money for rainy day projects as needed, and its a measure of alumnae giving...which relates to its ranking. As Fordham's endowment grows, their rank will rise. BC was in bad financial shape several decades ago, before they became a highly ranked school.....and to their credit, they have improved the endowment and their rank considerably. </p>

<p>Fr. McShane said he was on a ten year plan to make Fordham the number one catholic school in the country. He did not spend the time in that brief speech he gave that April day to admitted students, to outline in detail the tactical and strategic moves he plans on making to accomplish that goal, other than to say they are going to recruit the best kids they can find from many regions of the country. I believe he can and will do that without suffering the Jesuit identity of the school, its mission or wellbeing.</p>

<p>I am sure a capital campaign is in the works for existing alumnae, family and friends. I dont know what they have planned, but I am sure its not a bunch of hoopla and hot air.</p>

<p>One of the things that was most attractive to us about Fordham is its STRONG Jesuit identity. Its not a Jesuit in name only school, in fact, I think I heard them say it has the highest number of working/teaching Jesuit priests in residence than any Jesuit college in the United States. And that is a very big plus in my books.</p>

<p>By the way, two of my D's professors are of the Jewish faith. There are a lot of Christian Orthodox students on campus as well, and I think an Orthodox priest in residence, who teaches and provides spiritual direction. There are even agnostics among the student body. The Jesuit order is known for being very open minded and respectful of other faiths. Many, many Jesuits work in third world countries and developing countries. In fact, at Orientation Mass two weeks ago, there were several who concelebrated mass with Fr. McShane who had worked and studied in India and Pakistan.</p>

84

<p>My D went to a Jesuit HS, didn't think she would ever imagine herself at a Jesuit college, she is pretty much not a practicing Catholic or anything religious anymore...and is about as liberal as you can get</p>

<p>And she feels very comfortable at Jesuit institutions, there is a way of teaching, and being, that is so wonderful</p>

<p>And I must say, coming from SF, one of the most liberal yet down to earth places on the planet, we wouldn't be happy in a place that felt closeminded...sure there are some religious ideas that we don't agree with- ie choice and gay marriage, but there are also religious ideas we embrace- service, empathy, working for and with others, being with the community, not just in it</p>

<p>My Ds favortie teachers in HS were the religion teachers, never any problem with asking questions, raising doubts, etc</p>

<p>Participation was what mattered,not what you believed</p>

85

<p>I'm not trying to add anymore fuel to the flames but I just stumbled upon this excerpt from businessweek mag:</p>

<p>"For one thing, location matters. To a casual observer there wouldn't appear to be much to differentiate the undergraduate B-school program at Fordham University from that of the University of Denver. Both are private, four-year programs. Tuition and enrollment are almost identical. And in last year's ranking they came in at No. 48 and No. 49, respectively. But at Denver, 57 companies recruited undergrads for internships. At New York-based Fordham: 200. Emily Sheu transferred from No. 4 Emory University to No. 34 (this year) Fordham, where she had internships at Bloomberg and Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER ) For her, it was all about location. "Atlanta," she points out, "is no Manhattan."</p>

<p>Haha, I think that the last few lines are especially relavent.</p>

<p>Enjoy.</p>

86

<p>...And from that very same site:</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Please note that Fordham is nowhere to be found on either list...</p>

<p>It'd be interesting to see how Fordham's B-School recruitment compares to an (actual) Ivy, NYU, or even anything else in the top 20-30 range.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

87

<p>I want to work in magazine journalism and this summer the beauty director at Teen Vogue told us to go to the best school we could get into. Of course she went to Johns Hopkins then transferred to Columbia. Citysgirlmom do you know what programs Fordham has with Columbia - the only ones I see are graduate and engineering? Also I just wanted to add that I know some people that go to UPENN Wharton and internships are super hard to get in NYC but my friend got something this summer and guess what? he was working next to some Fordham students. I honestly think its about location and alumni connections (especially if your family or close friends don't work in the business). Personally out of all the places I have lived I dislike Atlanta the most - no culture.</p>

88

<p>Eh, I'm sure Fordham would do quite well to be honest. But even if it doesn't beat out Harvard or whatnot that doesn't matter.. it has the location.</p>

<p>Which was the point of that excerpt.</p>

<p>Anyway, maybe it was a mistake posting it.. I'm not a petty person so I'm not going to comment on this anymore. Let's let this issue die.</p>

89

<p>amen, rainoffire87</p>

<p>and location is huge in my book, my D didn't want to live in a place where the city sandwich places didn't have avocado</p>

<p>grtsky89, I will send you a PM,</p>

90

<p>@grtskt89</p>

<p>Why did you just make me spend a good amount of time responding to your PM, if this is what you really felt?</p>

<p>Don't worry, no hard feelings from this end...</p>

91

<p>As a Fordham MBA, I speak from experience.</p>

<p>My husband and I have lived in NY for almost 50 years, were both educated at Fordham, and both have 30 years of corporate experience in Manhattan.</p>

<p>The 3 most important things you need to know about Fordham recruitment are: location, location, location.</p>

<p>Fordham may not be on any top 20 or 30 lists for that matter, but they need not be in NYC. They are New York and they are the #1 Catholic University in New York. The school's reputation and the reputation of the undergraduate and MBA graduates, their work ethic, moral values, community service, professionalism and strong education are well known and respected in New York. I need not mention the reputation of the law school graduates who are held in the highest esteem in NY.</p>

<p>Understand that this is a New York school with a huge alumni base in New York businesses. If someone with an MBA from Fordham comes in for a job interview and they are competing against someone from one of these colleges on the above list that are not well known in NY & do not have an alumni base in NY, you can be sure that the Fordham alumni will have the upper hand if both candidates have equal experience. </p>

<p>It is just utter nonsense that a 19/20 year old is now attempting to (or should I say subliminally)denigrate the MBA recruitment of Fordham based on rank. This is a very angry, prejudiced, immature young man, which can be evidenced by his first post to CC, "I'll get blasted for this but: I find airheaded whiny Italian kids from long island who bathe in spraytan and hairgel to be the utmost in annoying/ disgusting. Guess which school I am transferring out of." This speaks a lot about character and agenda against Fordham.</p>

<p>With regard to Fordham being a commuter school, this is not the case. Many, many years ago Fordham was a commuter school. When I attended, Fordham was becoming a residential school, dorms were filled to maximum. O'Hare Hall had to be built to accommodate additional residents. Even in the 70's/80's there was always a rift between commuters & residents. The commuters never felt that they were truly part of the Fordham community and now that they are the minority, this is still true to this date. There was a recent article in the school newspaper about this topic written by a commuter. Fordham does have a commuter's group on campus, but many feel that this further separates the commuters & the residents. This problem is not unique to Fordham, but is present in any university that has commuters & residents on campus. Unless you are in the dorms, living and eating and socializing with your fellow students, commuters will not have the same college experience as residents. This is just a fact of life and a concern to local students who want to have the full college experience.</p>

<p>One more note, my d is now a senior and looking at lots of different colleges. Like most on CC, her test scores, grades and EC's qualify her to apply to Ivy's, so she should have a good amount of colleges to choose from since she has a nice range of safeties & matches. No matter what college we visit, our first question is "would it benefit you to leave NY and would you get an equal or better education at Fordham?" It is clear to us that if she wants a good job in New York, getting an education from a better ranked school that is not in NY and is not popular in NYC business recruitment would not help her. </p>

<p>Finally, I was on campus last week and couldn't help but notice the improvements to the campus and the nice group of kids attending. Lots of diffent groups for different types of people. Lots of happy students. We also attended last year's Presidential reception and as parents of a prospective student, we were very impressed with the progress Fordham has made over the years. We went in with an impression of how Fordham was in the 70's/80's and came out with a completely different impression of a school that is on the move for the better.</p>

92

<p>Greg I appreciate you telling me about your experiences so far at Emory - so it wasn't a waste of time. But I also told you (I think) that I don't like living in the ATL burbs.</p>

93

<p>I have an idea, lets take the emory talk to the emory board...</p>

94

<p>and that is not address at you grtskt89</p>

95

<p>I split time between city and suburbs of New York, and from what I've seen, Fordham is a school that is much better and more prestigious than the US News rankings let on. I come from an area where conservative and religious values are quite important, and the rising stars of my local high school-- the kids who could be considering Harvard and Cornell-- prefer the idea of going to Fordham. Very very very prestigious in these parts. </p>

<p>Fordham also draws in a lot of students from Catholic high schools-- Fordham was the well-liked safety school for one of my college friends, and a lot of my friends who are from Catholic high schools liked the idea of Fordham and again, many chose to attend.</p>

<p>At my elite private high school, Fordham is also gaining ground. I found it telling that the school rejected a handful of my friends whom I imagined would get in, no problem. The high school sends off a student or two every year, and in my prestige-conscious high school, that means quite a lot.</p>

<p>The moral of the story is that Fordham's prestige, like most schools, is extremely regional, and the school will tend to carry more weight with Catholics than with non-Catholics. (ie. New York Catholics will think of it as a tip-top school, non-Catholics will tend to think of it as a solid school, much like Wheaton is for Christians, Brandeis is for Jews, and Howard is for blacks).</p>

<p>However, if you're going to pick a region for a school to be prestigious in, New York is most definitely it.</p>

<p>Completely unrelated: two of the most influential people in my life are both Fordham grads.</p>

96

<p>unalove, you hit the nail right on the head with respect to NY, to Fordham's regional prestige, and how Catholic's view the school.</p>

97

<p>
[quote]

I've never (ever) said/implied that not getting into NYU or Columbia will mean the end of the world. I've only (and frequently) said, in order to balance out some of the posters here, that getting into Fordham is not in the same realm as getting into Harvard, and that the notion that Fordham is flawless and grossly undervalued is patently false.</p>

<p>Your D will do well at whichever school she attends, and if she chooses Fordham, she should be well informed in advance that her experience at Fordham will not be identical to NYU or Columbia; I certainly wish I knew this in advance before I decided to go to Fordham instead of forking out 37,000 to go to NYU. Thinking outside of the box is something that I absolutely hated not being able to do while I was a Fordham student...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Greg, permit me to be blunt, but this is meaningless gibberish. </p>

<p>"Thinking outside the box" is a meaningless cliche. What precisely do you mean by that? I bring that up only because I would hate to see you say something that empty in a job interview in a few years. It will not impress, trust me. </p>

<p>In any event, while I sincerely doubt that an educational experience at Fordham is "identical" to that at Columbia or NYU -- isn't every school different in some meaningful respects? -- I can honestly say it is my impression that it is comparable. I know that because the corridors of my firm are lined with my partners, many of whom are graduates of Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Stanford, etc. -- and Fordham. And if I am to believe you, the Fordham graduates are apparently disproportionately represented.</p>

<p>(That means there are a lot of them. ); )</p>

<p>Honestly, Greg, this is true not only here but up and down Wall Street, Park Avenue, or wherever.</p>

<p>Whether they are thinking inside the box, outside the box, or in the middle of the box, I have no idea. But many of the Fordham graduates are among the most resourceful and creative thinkers here. So I find it hard to believe that Fordham discourages creative thinkers.</p>

98

<p>Soemthing else to consider, not everyone on the planet wants to work for a huge firm....many students have other agendas and plans</p>

<p>And being at a school that has lots of opportunities to do many things of interest is wonderful</p>

<p>and again, having a different experience is not a bad thing-</p>

99

<p>The measure of a man (woman) is his (her) character. There is nothing in life more important than one's character. That is all I have to say.</p>

100

<p>What are Fordham's programs w/area universities like Columbia, NYU? All I saw was graduate and engineering.</p>