Graduating near the top of my class from a Jesuit prep school in the Northeast, I believed that Fordham would be a great college experience; a beautiful campus close to (but not in) Manhattan, a strong connection to Wall Street, a wealth of internship opportunities, and, what appeared to be, a very smart, motivated, and well-rounded student body. After attending Fordham for 1 semester, I can say that my impressions of Fordham back when I was applying/deciding to attend were highly misled and that I really sold myself short.
I will begin with academics. Two of my five professors spoke very little english and constantly struggled to communicate with the class sufficiently. Another professor would show up to class late every day (unprepared), borrow a students textbook, and start lecturing on a random topic right from the book. Overall, only two of my five professors were of acceptable quality, and even then, I would not say that they were "good teachers" by any stretch of the imagination.
What was even more disappointing than the poor teaching quality was the fact that the majority of my classmates did not seem to care. In fact, many were pleased because it meant that they could skip some classes and not have to do as much work. I found that the prevailing attitude amongst students at Fordham is mediocrity; really just wanting to get by with a B-average while "going out" (to the bars) as much as possible. Additionally, there are very few students that actually get involved with clubs or organizations on campus. I found that it is a relatively small "fringe" group of students that belongs to a number of different clubs. When I went to a debate club meeting, I was met with funny looks since Im an athlete and, apparently, athletes shouldn't join clubs because it isn't "cool."
Next: Social life. I would say that I'm a pretty easy going and chill person who makes friends easily. However, I was surprised to find that, since most students come from the tri-state area, a great number of kids come to Fordham already having a group of friends and are not that interested in making new ones. I also found that people aren't into socializing that much during the day but are absolutely fixated on "going out" as much as humanly possible. By going out, I mean going out to the few dive bars off campus that serve alcohol to anyone who is 18. While this was enjoyable the first few times, I found this to be an extremely unsatisfying "social life." But apparently, I am in the minority.
The campus leaves a lot to be desired. While the campus is beautiful and the landscaping is constantly being updated, the dorms and athletic facilities are certainly sub par compared to other schools. And the cafeteria is absolutely terrible. I found myself eating the same 4 or 5 meals over and over because there are so few options. And even these things were poor quality and very industrial. (Fordham was ranked worst in the nation for food by the princeton review)
And finally, the Bronx. The Little Italy section of the Bronx looks kind of alright on a bright sunny day in the spring, but it is certainly not a place that you would want to reside. It is risky going out to bars and apartment parties at night (someone gets mugged almost every weekend) and the locals have a very clear distain for Fordham kids. Every time I went off campus into the neighborhood, people would give me funny looks (I assume because I am white) and on three occasions, I was offered pot from some hoods dealing on the street.
All in all, my one semester at Fordham was a major disappointment in just about every way, to be completely honest with you. Academically it was very poor, socially there was nothing to do besides the bar scene and the kids were very stuck up and unfriendly. The facilities were not that nice, the food was terrible, and the Bronx neighborhood is almost unlivable. If you want to put your head down, ignore all of the problems that Fordham has, and get good grades, then there really are internship opportunities that become available. A lot of kids do this and ultimately get good jobs. However, I do not believe that it is worth giving up a quality education and a positive college experience just to get an internship on Wall Street while you are still in college. This is why I have transferred to a small liberal arts school in the NESCAC league. I would advise anyone who wants to true education/college experience, and not just a job, to skip Fordham.
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