Lack of Diversity at Fordham
&lt;p&gt;I was accepted EA at Fordham and went to visit the Bronx campus last week. I was very disheartened to see how homogenous the student body was. Despite being in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, I saw a&hellip;
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College Confidential Forums
<p>Seafood, I never accused Fordham of trying to be an intentionally homogeneous population. </p>

<p>What I was trying to say was that it does not seem diversity on campus is a priority for Fordham. Even just walking into the cafeteria you can see the segregation that exits. The few African American students that exist were sitting at one table and the Asian students were sitting in another table. It reminded me of High school and this is seriously something Fordham should work on if they want to attract a more diverse student body like NYU, Boston College etc.</p>

<p>Surely you are not suggesting that because African American students and Asian Students choose to sit together that there is something wrong with Fordham? Please tell me I am wrong about that.</p>

<p>If you think Fordham is like High School, then you apparently have a very incorrect perception. Its anything but High School. </p>

<p>But nobody is going to make you choose a school or attend a school you don’t like. Good luck at NYU.</p>

<p>1989: Yes.</p>

<p>Avian: No one is attacking you. We are defending against your accusation and perception of Fordham. The simple point we are making is that your apparent observation did not comport with the facts. Yes, it is overwhelmingly white. But so are Harvard, Yale, Princeton and most colleges. Some parts of the country have more asian minorities, for example California and so you will see more asians there. Fordham does not discriminate and neither do its students.</p>

<p>I challenged your assertion about visiting during finals on an icy week because it sounded funny. If you in fact visited that week, perhaps because you were off from school, then please accept my apologies.</p>

<p>If you have a strong interest in Fordham which we presume by your EA application and now admission, then I strongly encourage you to accept the offer of admission. If you still retain that perception of people sitting in social and racial groups in the cafeteria (which by itself does not indicate anything other than perhaps their preferred lunchmates on that particular day, or perhaps they were athletes eating together) then there is something positive you could perhaps do about it when you are there, such as encouraging more people to be inclusive and more people to reach out regardless of their racial, ethnic, or social background.</p>

<p>For your information, Fordham boasts one of the highest Pell Grant applicant acceptance rates among prestigious universities in the United States. </p>

<p>Part of attending university is about expanding our views and attitudes and changing lives. We hope you attend and feel welcome and challenged.</p>

<p>Fordham admits students from 50 states and numerous foreign countries, and I would suggest to you that most of them feel like “outsiders” when they first arrive, but within days or even hours, are accepted by their peers.</p>

<p>One of the things that Fordham is also known for is that students are very tolerant of other views on campus. I can assure you that differing political and social views abound on campus, but there is an overall culture of mutual respect.</p>

<p>“Fordham does not discriminate and neither do its students”</p>

<p>Well, I agree with half of that statement. The Jesuits really and truly are amazing people. They are very open and accepting to every student.</p>

<p>As far as the students, quite a few are open, genuine people, however, throughout my experience here for 2.5 years, I have seen many people who aren’t. I have heard some of the most degrading and shocking comments about race/religion at Fordham. My high school was probably 10X as diverse as Fordham and most everyone at my high school was open. I’ve written this here before on these boards but I’ll say it again-- coming to Fordham was a bit of a shock to me.</p>

<p>My background isn’t similar to many Fordham students-- I didn’t grow up in a big, upper-class house with predominantly white neighbors. But I loved that. I loved not living in a fancy house-- or even a house for that matter. I guess it’s just who I am. I’ll always be a city person. </p>

<p>I’ve made some great friends at Fordham and overall, I really do like it here. It’s just there are, unfortunately, a fairly high number of airheads who make deragatory comments. I feel like, at times, Fordham is a mass of sheltered children who haven’t learned how to become adults-- Mommy and Daddy have done everything for them.</p>

<p>I saw a comment on here awhile ago stating that Fordham’s student body is “fluffy and lacking substance.” I agree, to some extent. I’ve certainly met some extremely intelligent people here; many people here are far smarter than I. But then again, there is that horde of “fluffy” people that I can’t seem to get out of my mind. I can’t seem to forget the various comments about race/culture that I’ve heard. I guess it affected me more than I thought.</p>

<p>I will say it again, though-- I like Fordham overall. It has its strengths and many weaknesses. But then again, we must remember that the school is run by humans and no single human is perfect.</p>

<p>I think what you say can be applied to a lot of people at many schools, particularly the private schools that admit a lot of well to do kids. But even in state schools there is a shocking attitude about social class and sometimes race. Sometimes that shocking attitude comes out of the mouths of minorities who have grown up in a privileged environment.</p>

<p>Its endemic to any upper middle class neighborhood and is really a measure of spoiled rich kids and not one particular school. Its also a measure of immature people which you will find on any campus.</p>

<p>Also a lot of kids who mouth politically correct statements are really just saying one thing and living another, going home to a far different neighbhorhood driving fancy cars and shopping in expensive stores. Their views of the world are not measured from experience on the streets so to speak and many would not be caught dead in neighborhood that is not upper middle class. Hopefully, they will grow up and when they enter the working world they will all become better people and citizens.</p>

<p>Name any school in the top 100 of US News and World Report, and I will show you some kids on campus with unpleasant socio economic attitudes and even a fair number of “airheads.” </p>

<p>Some students with high grades and SAT scores are students who perform well on paper but in person are not what you think they may be. That happens at a lot of places. I know kids with high SAT scores who are merely good at regurgating correct answers on a test but are really very shallow and like papier mache. You can find them almost anywhere.</p>

<p>But that is also life in general. Not everyone is into deep thinking and philosophical discussions or have well defined social and political viewpoints that they can debate.</p>

<p>I agree. Its very difficult to respond to an “observation” like that. All we can do is refute it as best we can. NYU is a private non sectarian highly visible and recognized institution. Fordham is a Catholic, Jesuit private institution that is about 60% catholic in its student body. NYU gets thousands of applications each year from most every minority group. Fordham gets far fewer, I am sure, often times because it is a Catholic school. What people need to know is that mutual respect is the overall campus culture, practiced both by faculty and students. I for one encourage more minorities at Fordham, whether they are african american, native american, asian, latino. Fordham is a very good school. But if somebody prefers NYU because it has more minorities represented on campus, there is not much else we can do but say, “good luck and best wishes.”</p>

<p>Well, Fordham’s Law program is top 25, number one ranked in ethics. Its business school is highly respected. Fordham is nationally recognized for theology, philosophy, medieval studies, middle eastern studies, english, and many more. It also has renowned alumni. Fordham has students from 58 countries, plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.</p>

<p>No, NYU and Fordham are not the same. But NYU’s President is a Fordham Alumnus. So was the recently retired President of Georgetown.</p>

<p>The single biggest difference between the two schools is that NYU is an urban campus in Washington Square and Fordham’s main campus is a normal college campus on 90 acres of lush green lawns, gothic buildings, a library ranked number 5 in the nation by Princeton Review, a FOOTBALL and BASKETBALL team and other NCAA Div I sports in the Bronx, next to the world famous Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Gardens. If NYU turns you on or someone else, its a superb school that I would highly recommend to most people. But I would also highly recommend Fordham to anyone who wanted to go there.</p>