Fordham University

Date: Feb 20 2015
Major: Communications (This Major's Salary over time)
Fordham University is not for everyone. Just like New York City, no one will hold your hand here. Fordham deflates their grades, so getting all As is extremely difficult, and you will struggle in a couple of classes. However, you can still get a good GPA as long as you put some decent effort in to the class; that's what the professors care most about. Good professors have been about 50/50. I quite dislike graduate students as professors, because they usually make the class harder and don't know how to teach properly. I've had some really amazing professors though, which I make sure to take again in the different semesters. The core is extensive and a bit annoying and repetitive from high school, but its fantastic once you get to your major classes.Fordham's Communications program is relevant and interesting once you really delve into your core classes.

The student body consists of what you've basically been reading about: white, upper middle-class kids from the tri-state area. However, I've met many people from California and Texas; some of my best friends are from there. In addition, there are many international students here, composed mostly of people from China but I've met others from France, Russia, and Peru. Although a lot of the people here conform to the norm, you can find diversity and really interesting people if you just search and know what you're looking for. A lot of the students here are very smart; this was not their choice school. A decent amount of people who go to Fordham only enrolled because they could not afford the top-tier schools, because Fordham does offer a great deal of financial aid and scholarships. Most of the student body is attractive, in shape, and looks stylish a good deal of the time. Although sports isn't that big, everyone is always at the gym to make sure they look good and keep active. The campus is always beautiful no matter what time of year. Although it is small and cramped, it takes a very short amount of time to get from place to place, which is helpful for early morning classes and in the winter. Being in New York City is great. There are many ways to get into Manhattan (intercampus shuttle, subway, Metro North) in a short amount of time. There is no excuse for not doing anything on the weekends. It is nice to go into the city from time to time and splurge on expensive food, clothes, or partying. Most of the partying at Rose Hill occurs at our many bars and apartment/house parties. The bars don't care if you're under 21, as long as you're over 18. Alcohol is easy to get, many places don't card and many people have fakes. We don't have any frats or sororities here which I believe is a good thing in my experience. I've been to frat parties and heard all the gossip about sororities, and while it may be great at some schools, Fordham has no cliques here and guys can get into any party regardless of whether you know someone or not. Around 80 percent of people at Fordham drink and go out during the week and weekend; we party a lot and party hard. Weed and cigarettes are the most common drug, but you can find others if you ask around enough. The food here isn't great to be fair. The problem is not the quality but the lack of variety. There are not many places to eat but it's easy to live with. The food off-campus is fantastic. Manhattan always has every type of food you want but the Bronx is great because it's cheaper with great quality. Many restaurants deliver straight to campus and Arthur Avenue always has great sandwich shops, restaurants, and bakeries. Don't be afraid to get involved because it's a great experience and helps keep you busy. I just got a job at RamVan and the newspaper this year and I should have done it last year. It gives you great experience, marketable skills, and you get to meet a lot of new people. The Fordham dorms are similar to all other dorms. While freshman dorms are crowded, the sophomore dorms are much better, and usually come with bathrooms. Juniors and seniors get to live in apartment style dorms complete with bathrooms and kitchens. A lot of people like to live off campus though, especially as an upperclassman. Not only is it cheaper, and bigger, but it is also free of campus rules. Fordham is very strict about catching students drinking and smoking in the dorms; if they see you, you will get into trouble. The residential life policy is also quite annoying, because after 5 in the afternoon you have to sign someone into a dorm if they do not live there, and they have to leave by 3:30 in the morning. If you want someone from a different dorm or from outside of school to be able to stay in the dorm with you, you have to obtain a guest pass at least 24 hours in advance. You cannot have a guest that is a member of the opposite sex, but people usually just get their friends to do it for them. Fordham is very good for networking, especially if you plan to stay in the tri-state area. Fordham offers many internships and workshops to help you prepare for life outside of school.